Shion's unexpected appearance interrupted Sasuke's plan.
If it had been anyone else, Sasuke could have chosen to ignore them, but Shion was different. She was a member of Yakumo's squad. Even though she lacked combat power, her loud warnings at a critical moment could easily ruin any perfect ambush Sasuke had planned.
"I have to deal with her!"
In an instant, Sasuke made up his mind.
He temporarily canceled his Chidori, his body flashing as he charged toward Shion.
Seeing Sasuke coming at her, Shion was taken aback and hurriedly retreated.
She wasn't trying to get involved in the battle — she had simply been worried about Yakumo and wanted to check on the situation, but she didn't expect to run into Sasuke, who was preparing to ambush Yakumo.
Whoosh!
In a split second, Sasuke reached Shion and, without hesitation, delivered a swift hand strike, aiming to knock her out quickly and eliminate the potential threat.
However, just as his hand was about to strike Shion, a clear ding rang through the air.
A golden light flashed across Shion's chest, forming a transparent shield that sent Sasuke flying backward.
Thud!
Sasuke flew a great distance before crashing into a tree, finally stabilizing himself. He was left utterly confused. "What happened?"
Shion, remembering her bell-shaped artifact, let out a relieved sigh.
Her bell artifact only activated when it detected hostile intent.
Usually, when sparring with her classmates at the academy, even if she was hit, the bell didn't react.
But just now, Sasuke's urgency had triggered it. He hadn't controlled his intent, and the bell's protection had been activated.
Sasuke didn't understand this.
On the contrary, being repelled by Shion, who was considered the weak link in Yakumo's squad, greatly irritated him.
"Is it that bell artifact?"
His Sharingan quickly locked onto the target, and without a moment's hesitation, he charged at Shion once again.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Soon, a series of crisp sounds echoed through the forest.
Each clang marked one of Sasuke's attacks being deflected by the bell artifact, unable to penetrate its defenses.
"Dammit! How can I be held back by Shion, the weakest link?!"
Sasuke's anxiety grew with each failed attempt.
He was supposed to defeat Yakumo and bask in the glory of his victory, solidifying his place as the greatest genius. He didn't have time to waste on Shion.
What he didn't realize was that the more he tried to break through the bell's defenses, the more powerful its counterattacks became.
As soon as Shion realized her bell artifact could block Sasuke's attacks, she was overjoyed. She quickly took the artifact from her chest and held it in her hand. "Sasuke, I'm not afraid of you anymore!"
She felt a great sense of accomplishment, having successfully held off a powerful enemy for Yakumo's sake.
Breathing heavily, Sasuke started thinking of a new strategy. "That artifact is too strong. With it, I can't land a single blow on Shion. I need to find a way to get that artifact away from her, or..."
His eyes narrowed as a plan began to form.
Since he couldn't break the artifact's defense, he could trick Shion into falling and throw the artifact away. Once she lost its protection, defeating her would be a matter of seconds.
Without hesitation, Sasuke put his plan into action.
He feigned an attack for a moment, then pretended to be exhausted, showing a weakness.
Lacking experience, Shion saw Sasuke panting and thought he was on the verge of collapse. She quickly launched a counterattack, hoping to defeat Sasuke and prove her worth to her team.
At that moment, Sasuke smirked. He subtly pulled the steel wire he had prepared earlier, which triggered a rock beneath Shion's feet and tripped her.
Crash!
As he had hoped, the bell artifact flew out of Shion's hand, rolling far away.
"Got it!"
Sasuke's spirit lifted, and he quickly charged toward Shion, ready to settle the score. This time, he was determined to put an end to this distraction and show that his genius was no joke!
Just as Sasuke leaped toward the fallen Shion, the battle between Shinji and Yakumo came nearby.
Seeing this, Shinji's expression changed slightly, and he called out to Sasuke, "Stop!"
"No!"
Yakumo also yelled and immediately activated her Wood Release. Countless branches and vines erupted from the ground, heading straight for Sasuke, trying to intercept him.
Sasuke saw an opportunity.
At that moment, Yakumo was entirely focused on helping Shion. Sasuke could pretend to attack Shion and then, at the perfect moment, unleash Chidori and ambush Yakumo!
"I am the greatest genius of the academy!"
Sasuke smirked again, already envisioning what would happen next.
In a flash, he reached Shion, pretending to strike her, but his mind was already focused on Yakumo, just a short distance away.
Seeing Sasuke's hand coming toward her, Shion, with no more bell artifact to protect her, lost all sense of security and became extremely anxious.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a powerful surge of chakra erupted from Shion's body, sweeping over Sasuke, who was only inches away.
"This!?"
Sasuke was startled, and then he realized he had been trapped by a series of light rings that locked him in place. His body lost its balance, and he collapsed to the ground.
Not only Sasuke, but even Yakumo, who had been rushing toward this direction, and even Shion herself were stunned by the sudden turn of events.
"What a mess..."
Shinji muttered in disbelief.
While others believed the bell artifact was protecting Shion, only Shinji knew that it had been specially designed by Shion's mother to seal away Shion's priestess powers.
In other words, the artifact wasn't Shion's "protection," but rather her "restraint!"
If this artifact was destroyed, the priestess power within Shion would no longer be suppressed. Who knew how much destruction it could unleash when it erupted?
After all, the Moryo was a beast-level entity, and Shion's priestess power was far greater than that of Moryo.
"Ugh..."
Lying on the ground, Sasuke despairingly realized that not only could he no longer use his chakra, but he couldn't even speak.
Though he didn't know what had happened, seeing Shion neutralize Sasuke, Yakumo had no more concerns and turned to charge at Shinji.
Now, the alliance of Shinji, Sasuke, and Neji had been reduced to just Shinji.
Seeing the fierce Yakumo charging at him, Shinji couldn't help but smile bitterly and once again turned to retreat.
Shion quickly picked up her bell artifact, squatting down in front of Sasuke and poking him with a small branch. "Sasuke, what's wrong with you?"
"Ugh..."
Sasuke could only feel hopelessness as the chakra chains around him tightened further, trapping him even more.
Seeing Sasuke's panic-stricken expression, Shion hurriedly said, "Sasuke, I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush. Tell me what's going on, will you? Say something! How am I supposed to know if you don't speak!"