Do You Like the Strong?

"Tayuya?"

As the flute's melodious sound echoed, Furen asked in response.

Under the tree, Tayuya tightly gripped her flute, glaring at Furen, who had swiftly and cleanly dealt with the sensory Sound ninjas. Her instincts told her that this person was... very dangerous!

Tayuya didn't lower her flute to answer Furen. Instead, she continued playing.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three loud crashes echoed, and behind Tayuya, three massive summoned creatures appeared.

One of the gigantic creatures held a large spiked club over its shoulder, another used bone claws, and the last one was wrapped entirely in bandages, without even visible arms.

"The Three Demons Summoning, huh..." Furen muttered, making no move to stop Tayuya's flute playing. He knew that this woman, who had grown up as one of Orochimaru's test subjects, couldn't be won over by the usual methods he'd used on others.

Seeing that Furen wasn't moving, Tayuya smirked. The sound of her flute suddenly rose in pitch, and the three summoned demons behind her moved into action.

The demon with the spiked club swept it horizontally, smashing through a large area of trees. Furen leaped into the air, using the demon's club as a foothold to dodge the attack.

Immediately after, the bandage-wrapped demon leaped into the air, its massive body casting a shadow over Furen, attempting to crush him.

As Furen saw the enormous shadow of the demon about to descend upon him, he quickly activated the Eye Seal Technique he had acquired from Karin. His pupils rapidly formed a hand seal.

"Water Teleportation."

With a soft whisper, Furen's body vanished and reappeared at the location where he had used Ice Release to kill the sensory Sound ninjas, using the melted ice as the starting point for his Water Teleportation Technique.

"Tch..."

Still playing her flute, Tayuya's eyes showed a hint of frustration as she increased the intensity of her melody, commanding her final demon to attack Furen.

But as Tayuya's gaze remained fixed on Furen, his figure vanished once again, this time dashing towards her at an incredible speed.

Seeing Furen's lightning-fast movement, Tayuya knew that her demons, even under the enhanced Curse Mark state, couldn't react fast enough to attack him, let alone land a hit.

Biting her lip, black horizontal and vertical lines suddenly appeared across her body, and Tayuya's chakra, as well as the power of her flute, surged.

The summoned demons seemed to gain intelligence, their movements becoming more agile as they launched attacks toward Furen.

"So, the first state of the Curse Mark, huh..." Furen murmured.

"Magic Flute: Dream Waltz!" Tayuya commanded, and her flute's sound shifted once more.

The attacks of the three enraged demons became even fiercer and more aggressive.

However, Furen, whose power far surpassed the three demons, didn't take them seriously at all. His pupils formed hand seals as he quietly whispered, "Ice Release: Ice Mirror."

Frost began to spread across the ground, rapidly forming a large area of ice. The ice made the ground incredibly smooth, allowing Furen's already extraordinary speed to increase further!

Tayuya's flute notes intensified, and the speed of the three demons under her command also quickened in response.

The spiked club and the other weapons of the demons crashed into the ground, shattering the ice mirrors with their immense force. However, amidst this barrage of violent attacks, Furen's advancing figure remained unaffected.

By the time Tayuya realized what was happening, Furen was already standing not far in front of her.

"I admit, you're strong," Tayuya said, glaring at Furen.

Tayuya's Favorability: +5%

Hearing the system's notification, Furen slapped his forehead in sudden realization, "Oh, I get it now. You like people stronger than you."

With that realization, Furen moved again, this time fully unleashing his strength without any reservations.

Under the first state of the Curse Mark, Tayuya could only see a blur before Furen's figure disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already right in front of her.

With one swift motion, Furen knocked the flute out of Tayuya's hand and, using his monstrous strength, slammed her hard into the ground.

"What is this guy trying to do..." Tayuya gritted her teeth, wondering in her mind.

Tayuya's Favorability: +15%

Hearing the system's prompt, Furen smirked. Just as he was about to take things a step further, Tayuya, who had been pinned to the ground, suddenly grew stronger!

In a moment of carelessness, Furen was pushed away by the now-empowered Tayuya.

When Furen raised his head again, he saw that Tayuya's skin had darkened to a deeper shade of brown, and horns had sprouted from her head.

"The second state of the Curse Mark..." Furen muttered in curiosity, watching Tayuya's transformation.

----------

A/N:

Get 40 advanced chapters at p@treon.com/Ashborn69. Your support helps me so much Thank you!