"Oh?"

Orochimaru glanced over his shoulder, a flicker of surprise in his reptilian eyes as he saw Sasuke and Izumi were already behind him.

"Not bad," Orochimaru hissed, a genuine note of praise in his voice. "In just a few short years, your speed has become quite remarkable. You are truly worthy of being Itachi's little brother"

As the two Uchiha lunged, kunai aimed for Orochimaru's back, the two mysterious Grass-nin at his side moved with blinding speed, intercepting their attacks. The two Grass-nin spoke, but their voices were a bizarre cacophony of four distinct tones.

"This female Uchiha is quite strong! Interesting!" one voice said.

"Hehehe, Lord Orochimaru, shall we kill them for you?" another asked.

A third added, "Don't worry, we'll dig out their Sharingan before we finish them."

A fourth voice sneered, "Hehehe, your eyes are filled with such delicious hatred. But hatred alone is not enough. You need strength!"

Izumi and Sasuke froze, their minds reeling. There were only two bodies, but they had clearly heard four different voices. What was this jutsu? Shaking off their shock, they disengaged, leaping back to put some distance between them and their strange opponents, their Sharingan eyes observing the two mysterious subordinates intently.

From his perch in the trees, Shiro watched the battle unfold below. He had been about to intervene, but Sasuke and Izumi had insisted he stay back. This was their fight. They wanted to be the ones to kill the monster who had coveted their beloved Itachi's body for so long.

"Izumi, you see it too, right? Something's wrong with those two," Sasuke said, his voice a low growl. "Damn it, what kind of trick is this? Even my Sharingan can't see through it!"

"Forget that for now, Sasuke," Izumi replied, her eyes narrowing. "I'm going to use a genjutsu. Be ready to move. The moment they're caught, we strike!"

"Understood, Izumi!"

As she spoke, the tomoe in her eyes spun, and the world seemed to shift. Orochimaru immediately sensed the change. Though his physical senses told him nothing was amiss, his instincts screamed that he was caught in a trap.

"Lord Orochimaru, We'll handle this!" one of the voices from the duo declared.

"Don't be an idiot! There's another Uchiha in the trees!" another snapped.

"Hmph, leave that one to me! I'll finish this in ten seconds!"

"I suggest you use your second state. Can't you see? He's the strongest of the three."

As the four voices argued, Orochimaru's cold hiss cut through their bickering. "Jirobo, Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon. We've been caught in a genjutsu."

"Huh?"

"What did you say? How is that possible?"

"Damn it! When did she cast it?"

"Hmph! The Sharingan is certainly convenient," Tayuya's voice sneered. "But I have my flute! I'll break this pathetic illusion, and then we'll see whose genjutsu is more powerful!"

"Release!"

…

A moment passed.

"Release again!"

…

"Strange… why isn't it working?"

"Heh… this is no ordinary genjutsu," Orochimaru hissed. "I underestimated them. I didn't expect Izumi's Sharingan to have grown so powerful. Allow me, Tayuya."

"M-my apologies, Lord Orochimaru."

With a jolt, the four of them snapped back to reality, their vision clearing just in time to see Sasuke lunging at them, a kunai flashing in his hand. Seeing that they had broken the illusion, Sasuke was momentarily surprised, but he didn't hesitate. He threw a kunai that plunged deep into Orochimaru's heart, then swung his own blade in a wide arc, slashing at the two mysterious subordinates.

Orochimaru collapsed to the ground, the kunai buried in his chest. Sasuke's blade ripped through the clothes of the two Grass-nin, and four distinct, dark figures burst forth from within the tattered robes.

This time, Sasuke saw it clearly. "Damn it!" he cursed. "There really are four of them!"

__________________________

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