"Have you planned your deaths?" Yang sneered at Dosuke and Tatee, standing side by side.
"No need to worry. You are both fine materials. I will not kill you easily."
Yang pointed at Tatee. "Little sister, you surprised me. Normally, I would kill a sensory ninja first."
Then he turned to Dosuke. "Medical ninjas are rare in Sunagakure." Yang, now unmasked, kept talking, his twisted words unending.
While mocking Dosuke and Tatee with harsh words, Yang controlled Kota's corpse to attack them closely.
Hang's dead body, moved by Yang's chakra strings, sprouted bones wildly. Sharp bone blades could grow from any part of Hang at any moment.
Tatee's Soft Fist could only block this enemy. One slip in focus, and she risked injury.
A thin water line sliced through the air.
Hang could not dodge. The sharp water cut his arm.
His right hand and the bone whip from his tailbone were severed cleanly. The neat cuts showed the water's deadly edge.
Nearby, Dosuke's hand still held traces of his jutsu.
Dosuke pulled two Soldier Pills from his pouch and swallowed them fast. His chakra was too low.
Long-term use of Soldier Pills harmed the body. They slowed natural chakra flow.
But survival came first. Dosuke had no choice.
"Sister Tatee, can you seal Kota's chakra with Soft Fist?" Dosuke asked.
"No," Tatee replied. "I tried. Kota is a corpse. I do not know how Yang makes him move so well, but Kota has no chakra. His ninjutsu and bloodline rely on Yang's chakra strings."
Her answer was grim. Their odds worsened.
"Sister Tatee, Yang's taijutsu is weak," Dosuke whispered, standing back-to-back with her. "Even controlling Kota, he relies on Kota's bloodline. To win, we must fight up close."
"Then I will attack Yang," Tatee said. "You hold Kota back."
Kota's severed arm grew a new bone whip. A spiral spike sprouted from the stump. It looked monstrous.
"Got it!" Tatee shouted.
Her feet cracked the ground as she charged.
"Soft Fist, Gale Palm!" A fierce wind from her palms pushed Hang back. She rushed toward Yang.
"Water Style, Water Spider!" Dosuke launched a water ball at Hang.
The water soaked Kota's body, turning sticky. His movements slowed.
"Bagua Thirty-Two Palms!" Tatee struck Yang at top speed.
Dozens of poison needles shot from Yang's body.
Tatee could not dodge. One needle hit her arm.
She cried out in pain.
The sting stopped her attack. Tatee leaped back, out of Yang's range.
"Desert stone lizard fluid," Yang said with a grin. "Not deadly, but it sharpens your senses. The pain will feel endless."
Stone lizard fluid was a Sunagakure torture tool. Elite ninjas coated weapons with it. Intense pain could disable fighters. Its rarity limited its use.
"Sister Tatee, keep going!" Dosuke threw a test tube with light blue liquid.
A bone whip smashed the tube midair. The liquid evaporated fast, forming a mist between them.
"Anthocyanin powder," Yang said, eyeing the mist. "Tsunade-sama's invention, they say. Light blue, counters stone lizard fluid. But it is hard to make."
He stared at Dosuke. "I doubt you have another."
Dosuke's face darkened. The broken tube was their only dose.
The poison would weaken Tatee's fighting strength.
Soda was unconscious. Takuto was half-crippled. Now Tatee was hurt.
Yang was a Sunagakure special Jonin. Kota, a Kaguya with bone bloodline, was fearless in death. His corpse fought boldly, unbound by injury.
Dosuke eyed the azure mist from the spilled liquid. He slipped another light blue vial from his pouch, gripping it tightly.
A Water Style film coated his palm, dissolving the vial's contents. The water turned faintly green.
Dosuke flashed to Tatee's side. He injected her with an analgesic.
"Sister Tatee, this will ease the poison for a few minutes," he said. "Hold Kota. I will handle Yang."
Tatee, calmer now, nodded.
"Water Style, Finger Gun!" Three conical water jets shot toward Yang.
Yang dodged with quick steps.
Dosuke fired three more.
"Trying to drain my chakra, kid?" Yang laughed, seeing Dosuke swallow two more Soldier Pills.
Dosuke stayed silent, focusing on digesting the pills to restore chakra.
"Water Style, Sky Flower Rain!" Dosuke waved his hand. Hundreds of water balls flew at Yang, fast and fierce.
Yang could not dodge them all. A dozen hit him.
"Not enough chakra, brat?" Yang taunted. The water balls did no harm.
Sky Flower Rain was a basic jutsu. It looked flashy but relied on speed and numbers. It was meant to hide stronger attacks, like water-iron pellets, with teammates.