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Sakura's POV (Eastern Forest of Irminsul - Terra)
As the remaining ants saw them they retreated into the cave. Sakura and Shino racing forward to intercept this new threat themselves. Even as he sprinted forward, Shino allowed dozens of his allies into the air, most of which were racing toward the beast. To both of their shock, however, the beast, with a mere lunge, closed the distance between them. It hissed as it attempted to smash them both with its muscular arms. Sakura barely slid under the blow, while Shino only managed to raise his guard before being swatted into stone. Luckily, it revealed it was an insect clone; the insects quickly raced forward and completely covered the creature; however, it merely twitched as several tendrils burst from its body and whipped through the air with speed, managing to smash the insects near instantly. Almost fully freeing the creature from Shino's attack.
Sakura spun with momentum of her slide, launching two explosive tag kunai at the beast, which exploded with a small controlled explosion, managing to stumble the beast. Shino appeared behind it, now ungloved, and quickly launched a barrage of left-handed jabs before leaping back as the tendrils lashed at him. The two stood united as the beast rose and stared them down.
"That thing shrugs off explosives like nothing. Why'd you think your punches would be any different?" Sakura asked as she activated her chakra scalpels again.
Shino merely raised his dark purple hand. "I recently gained a gift from a relative of mine. Someone I had long thought dead, the gift in question is a microscopic parasitic insect that deletes living tissue on a cellular level. This fight has already-" Shino did not finish as the beast lashed with its tendrils, sending a literal wall of stingers flying toward them. Sakura flinched. Luckily, Shino, with a hand sign and stomp, raised a wall of earth to tank the attack.
"Parasitic Insects that consume on a cellular level?!" Sakura asked, "Why does everyone have such absurd abilities?!"
"Because we're cool." Shino answered smugly. However the impact from the stingers shook the ground and shattered the wall. Showering them both in debris, there was no time to recover as the giant suddenly appeared and swatted them both away with a single strike.
Sakura cried out in pain as she and Shino flew through the air, a tangled mess of limbs. Both desperately had to keep their hands away from each other during the flight and, as such, prepared no landing strategy and impacted the ground roughly.
Sakura quickly kicked Shino off and out of the way of danger. The beast narrowly missed them as it crashed and landed where they had been standing. The creature roared at her and raised a massive fist to smash her. Luckily, the ground broke beneath it, causing the blow to miss.
"Sakura, get some distance!" Shino cried, having landed, and immediately used a basic earth jutsu to save her. However, Sakura had a different plan; flooding her muscles with chakra, she raced forward and grabbed an arm of the creature. Stunned, its tendrils couldn't quite reach her as she managed to lift it above her head. Sakura roared as she flung it away from her into a tree, breaking it in half. "Earth Style: Stone Launch Pad!" Shino cried; the ground beneath the creature became a flat plate, which launched it across the clearing and through several trees. Surely even it would at least be hurt by that.
Sakura gasped as she caught her breath. The blow earlier fractured a rib; with a glow, she began using medical chakra to heal quickly. Another blow would undoubtedly break it, but she would be good to keep fighting for now. Shino, next to her, also looked somewhat worn; a cut on his forehead had blood flowing down the left side of his face, and the right lens for his sunglasses was cracked, revealing one eye.
"It's fast, powerful, and difficult to predict!" Sakura said with a grimace. "How long before the insects take effect?."
"They should have already," Shino answered with a frown. "The fact that it didn't suggest its armor is somehow resistant. Is it not living tissue?"
"An animal with nonliving armor? That's not exactly the norm… unless it is human-"
"ABURAME!" The creature roared with a double-layered, broken, and harsh voice. "KILL ABURAME!" It was still a distance away but was clearly racing back to them.
"Can it speak?!" Sakura cried out in shock. "Wait that voice, is that the man from before…"
"It matters little; we must assume it's immune to my technique," Shino said while putting back on his glove for his left hand. "Do you think your chakra scalpels can pierce it?"
"Safe to assume, living or nonliving, they cut through materials regardless of their durability. With its size, it'll probably take a couple of hits. If that's not enough, my new technique will surely do it." Sakura explained as she prepared herself. "Can you make an opening?"
"Yes, my allies are working on draining him, though it's only a small number due to its tendrils. And my earth style should allow me to control the battle. Hit and run; I'll cover you." Shino assured the group as he prepared to unleash more earthly style.
The creature came back into the clearing to the home of the Antuni Clan. Roaring in mindless anger, but it did not seem hurt from its flight. Shino answered its rage with calm indifference. "Earth Style: Gia's Canon." A large clump of stone shot from the ground and smashed into the creature's head, making it stumble back.
Sakura didn't bother answering herself, merely racing forward, throwing several kunai as she did. As expected, the beast's tendrils deflected each with ease, but it left them dealt with as Sakura moved close; she raced past the extended ones as the beast roared and swung wildly with another punch. Now prepared for its shocking speed, she managed to weave past it again and slashed with her chakra scalpel at its shoulder. It screamed in pain as Sakura leaped above its head. The beast's tendrils writhed as they prepared to spear her, but suddenly, a box made of stone formed around it, trapping it for a moment. Though a mere flex from the beast shattered its constraint, it allowed Sakura the opening to slash both shoulders with both of her hands. Sakura landed on its chest as it cried out and used it to launch herself back, narrowly avoiding a beheading bite from its mandibles.
Sakura deactivated one chakra scalpel, landing with a roll drawing a kunai and racing forward yet again, determined to stay on offense and maintain her advantage. The tendrils shot off more stingers, but Sakura skillfully weaved and deflected her way through, managing to slice off two tendrils as she did. The beast however, suddenly kicked her back. The blow caused Sakura to spit out blood and slide back, but with a determined grimace, she raced forward all the same. Luckily, a short burst of earth rising via Shino tripped the beast, knocking it to the ground as Sakura closed in.
"Earth Style: Piercing Formation!" Shino cried out, and a sudden barrage of spikes stabbed through its tendrils, tearing them asunder before quickly crumbling away so Sakura could strike the now defenseless Kurobachi.
Sakura did not waste the moment sliding along the creature. Her chakra scalpel cut into its back mercilessly with several strikes, and Sakura finished the barrage with a slash at its ankles as well. Before she leaped away, Kurobachi tried to stand before a spike of earth formed and stabbed into its chest. Knocking it flat on its back.
The creature rolled over and attempted to stand but fell to its knees, crying in pain all the while. Sakura and Shino regrouped and prepared to go back in, but both were shocked as two giant ants raced from the cave, seeking to take advantage of Kurobachi's moment of weakness. Both used their massive mandibles to attempt to crush the beast. But both of their mandibles shattered against its armor in a gory display; the beast struck out with its hand, clutching both by the face and smashing them into each other in front of it. With a desperate and greedy lunge, it bit into both, quickly and savagely, tearing chunks from the two ants and swallowing them. The two watched in stunned shock as it quickly feasted upon the ants. Merely managing to wholly consume their heads by the time it was done.
"This is strange," Shino concluded as the two felt a burst of chakra race from the creature as its chakra nearly doubled. Its tendrils burst from its back yet again. "If this is Kurobachi, he wasn't nearly so formidable nor monstrous. And he seems to gain power from his victims…"