They headed for the reinforced tower in the center of the village, occasionally intervening in battles between Shin's forces and Kabuto's warriors. Each time, Gaara asked their allies, or surviving enemies, about Kabuto's whereabouts. But no one had seen the new leader of the Hidden Sound Village. So they kept on their path, until they reached the fortress. The huge steel doors were closed tight.
"Sakura," though Gaara only said her name, the instruction was obvious. The pink-hair Kunoichi stepped forward, and with a single blow, punched one of the reinforced barriers in. The door flew a short distance, before striking a column and spiraling into the wall. A handful of Sound shinobi, standing on the other side of the portal, readied weapons.
"This is where we split up," Kakashi told Natsuki and Chiasa. After the hearing explosion, instead of returning to the staging point, at Hatake's order they went directly into the village. The Sand team and True Sound team each split off, heading in different directions.
"Where to now, Kakashi-sensei?" Shino asked quietly.
"No clue," the Jonin sounded unperturbed. He looked over the teenagers, and added, "Let's look for some pockets of battle, and see if we can find one of the targets."
Sai sighed, and Kakashi's face turned serious in response.
"Kiba, Akamaru, see if you can smell anything," he directed, "Shino dispatch your scouts. We'll head towards the village core for now."
The four shinobi started to move north, towards the open square near the middle of the town. But before they could reach top speed, Akamaru dug in his claws to quickly stop. The humans all followed suit.
"What is it?" Sai asked impatiently, "Does he need to go to the bathroom?"
The ninja hound growled at him, and then yipped at Kiba.
"He says he smells something, something thick and dangerous. That way," he pointed down an ally heading east. As they stalled, beetles flew in from all directions.
"I also sense something in that direction," the insect master informed them, "An odd chakra signature."
"I suppose," the copy-ninja conceded, "that's as good a direction as any."
Sai snorted, but followed nevertheless
"A theater?" Sai was surprised, and incredulous. But no more so than the other three humans.
"Are you sure?" Kiba asked his dog. Akamaru barked firmly. Kakashi grasped the ornate handle, and pulled the door open. A strong smell of perfume wafted from the box office. The Jonin swept his hand, and the three Chunin slunk inside.
The first thing they noticed was a fallen True Sound Kunoichi. Shino knelt down, and examined her.
"She is alive," he said simply, "She appears to have been drugged."
"Looks like Akamaru was right," Kiba needled Sai.
"I never said he was not," the former ANBU agent was not roused, "I merely think it is foolish to follow a lesser beast."
Kakashi and Shino both caught Kiba before he could lunge at Sai.
"Not exactly the crowd to say that around," Kakashi advised. Sai nodded, still not provoked. The four men moved to the inner doors, preparing to enter the auditorium. Inside, they could hear music, and lyrical voices. Kiba signaled for Akamaru to back away, and Shino silently opened the door a crack. The intoxicating scent grew more powerful, and Kakashi peeked through the gap.
"I see two men with True Sound headbands, in the back row," he told his team, "They look like they are hypnotized."
"Why do you think that?" Kiba whispered.
"Both are just staring at the stage. And one of them is drooling."
Aburame pulled the door open a little further, and Hatake shifted his view.
"Three more," he added, "the same as the first two."
"But what are they looking at?" Sai probed insistently.
"Hold on a second," Kakashi shot back. He took a small mirror from his pocket, and extended it to the opening. But when he looked into the room, he found he was staring right into the face of a beautiful young woman.
"Like what you see?" she asked, both amused and suggestive. He scrambled back in surprise, drawing a kunai. The Kunoichi pushed the door wide, and sauntered through. Her outfit amounted little more than a translucent armored ribbon, wrapped multiple times around her not insubstantial breasts, then once down her belly, and again repeatedly wound around her hips.
"Target 4," Sai observed her cautiously, "Aika Kouin. But where is the other one?"
"Target 4 is a bit of a misnomer," Tsunade explained, "As the target is two individuals."
The image appeared, and a number of the shinobi vocalized surprise or approval.
"Aika and Aimi Kouin are identical twins," Shin explained, "though Aimi swapped her hair and eye color so they can be told apart. Aika has the green hair and blue eyes, Aimi the blue hair and green eyes. As you might suspect, their specialty is seduction, using Ninjutsu and Genjutsu to enhance their own natural... talents."
"I'll bet," one of the Sand Ninja shouted. Both of the Kage glared at him, in their respective ways. The Chunin blanched under the scrutiny.
"They never go on missions with anyone else, but they have been known to practice on the men of the Hidden Sound. No one ever is able to recall any specific jutsu, but no one ever complains, either."
"My sister is inside," the seductress simpered, "Do you want to see her, too?"
The scent was becoming deeper, more layered; but not unpleasantly so. The Leaf warriors where finding it hard to concentrate.
"Put that nasty thing away," she grabbed Kakashi's arm, "I'm not armed."
The Jonin complied, sliding the weapon back into his belt pouch.
"Come inside, watch the show," Kouin urged. Their eyes going blank, the four men followed her into the theater.
"I don't know, sister," the blue-haired vixen sounded dubious, "Kabuto-senpai only wanted True Sound Shinobi."
The men of the Konohagakure had been seated in the front row, and watched, mesmerized, as their captors debated on the stage.
"But he didn't say anything about Leaf Ninja, one way or another," the blue-eyed beauty argued, "He might not have known they were coming."
"Maybe," Aimi conceded, "But I would feel safer with just the rebels."
"You do know who that is, don't you?" Aika argued, "Kakashi Hatake. With Sasuke-kohai gone, this might be Kabuto-senpai's last chance to study the Sharingan. And a transplanted one, no less. Think of what he will do to us if we give him the Copy Ninja."
Aimi shuddered in anticipation. Then she nodded.
"Fine, let's kill the other three, and keep Kakashi."
The green-haired vixen pouted, "It seems like such a waste. Three strapping young men..."
The green-eyed woman pondered that, and her eyes dipped towards the laps of the Leaf Chunin.
"I suppose we could see what they have to offer, first," Aimi decided, with a lecherous look.
"I think that will be enough," a soft voice said evenly. Shino stood, not taking his eyes off the sisters.
"How..." Aimi was amazed.
"How did you break free?" Aika was less surprised, but more concerned.
Shino held up his hand, showing the insects crawling between his digits. Both of the Kunoichi looked mildly repulsed.
"Once I was entranced by your perfume, it took my friends only a few seconds to adapt and begin filtering it," he offered, "After that, I pretended in order to find out what you were doing with these men."
"Well, you never had me fooled for a second," Kiba boasted, "Those cheap, artificial pheromones could never fool a nose like this. I was just following Shino and Kakashi's lead."
"And you?" the green-haired blue-eyed enchantress asked Sai pointedly.
"I..." the artist started.
"He has the emotional range of dried sponge cake," Kiba interrupted, "He wouldn't know sexual attraction or romantic interest if they stabbed him through the heart with a kunai."
Sai looked mildly annoyed, but let the comment pass.
"Ready Kakashi-sensei?" Kiba asked. When the Jonin didn't answer, the 'ladies' smirked and the other three members of his team turned to look at him. Kakashi was still staring at the Sound Ninja in rapture. A darker spot appeared on the left side of his mask, wet at the corner of his mouth.
"Jeez, Naruto said he was a pervert, but this?" Kiba commented.
"We will just have to handle them ourselves," Shino told them.
Sai snorted, and took out his scroll and paint. Kiba whistled, and Akamaru burst into the room, tearing the doors off their hinges. Bug began to swarm around Shino, and he leapt lightly onto the stage.
"It's still four on two," Kiba told them, as he and Akamaru joined Shino, "And we already beat your main weapon."
"Silly boy," Aimi slid swiftly behind him, stabbing towards his neck with a needle, "That little bit of pheromone Genjutsu was hardly our best technique."
A black and white eagle nearly struck her, but she slid out of the way, blurring slightly as she did. Though Sai's attack missed, it had the intended effect of saving Kiba.
"See, sister," Aika said as her wind Jutsu swept Shino's beetles away from her, "You wanted to destroy such a wonderful painter."
"It's not like we can keep him," Aimi countered, "Not now that he's awake."
"I suppose not," she moped slightly. Aburame's chakra caused the bugs to link limbs like chain, overcoming the air current scattering them. Before they could connect with the lecherous beauty, she sidestepped, her form becoming soft around the edges.
"Hall of Echoes Jutsu," Aimi completed her hand signs while ducking under Akamaru's paw. The ninja hound dropped to the ground from the painful sound in his ears, as did his master.
"Release," Kiba attempted to cancel the Genjutsu, and touched Akamaru to free him too. But the spell was not completely disrupted; an annoying buzz remained.
"My Genjutsu are highly resistant to such weak techniques," she taunted, when he tugged on his earlobe to try and clear his head.
"Well," Inuzuka grimaced, "If I take you out, your technique goes with you. Akamaru!"
The large dog barked once, and moved closer.
"Paired Transformation, Canine Sapiens Jutsu!" Each of the partners transformed, Akamaru's muzzle flattened, and his forelegs became arms. Kiba sprouted fur and hunched forward, his nails becoming claws and his teeth lengthening. Akamaru dove forward, nearly clipping her with his claws. But the sharpened nail passed through her ill-defined edge.
"Water Style: Bubble Burst Jutsu," the Kunoichi exploded a sphere of water between herself and the two were-dogs, and both were thrown painfully back.
"High level Ninjutsu and Genjutsu?" Sai was skeptical, "How powerful are these two?"
The former ANBU member sent wolves to attack both siblings, but the sister fighting Shino broke away long enough to bury a single needle in the 'skull' of each ink beast, destroying them. Aburame tried to take advantage of the distraction, but once again, the attack just barely missed her. She prepared to strike back, but was interrupted.
"So that's the trick," Kakashi Hatake said, stretching as he stood languidly. The five fighters all paused to look at him.
"You see, ever since Shin told us you altered your appearances to look different," he continued, walking slowly up to the stage, "I've been wondering why. After all, it would be to your advantage, if your opponents couldn't be sure which sister they were fighting."
"Unless," he hopped lightly up on the stage, "The idea was for your enemies to think they know who they are fighting. Each of the three of you mastered a different skill set. Then in battle, you substitute for one another, switching your hair and eye color. That way the 'twins' appear impossible to hit, and masters of a large variety of jutsu. Plus, whichever of you is hiding maintains your pheromone jutsu, to keep your opponents distracted."
"Three?" Shino asked what the other two Chunin were thinking.
"Yup, three," Kakashi nodded.
"One," he pointed to Aika.
"Two," the Leaf Jonin indicated Aimi.
"Three," he quickly turned, and flung a kunai into the balcony. Two needles emerged from empty air, knocking the blade off course. The Genjutsu vanished, and a third sister was revealed, with blue hair and eyes, but otherwise the same as the two on stage.
"You were never really under our control, were you?" Aisa Kouin asked, looking down on him with anger.
"Sorry," Kakashi sounded sincere, "You're all pretty enough, but you're not really my type. My tastes go for more slender, and a darker hair color."
"We can do that too," Aika offered.
"It's too late for that, sister," Aimi shouted.
"Kiba, the one on the balcony is the weapons master. Shino, green eyes uses most of the Genjutsu; Sai, green hair is the Ninjutsu expert," Kakashi's words were both warning and direction, "Keep your eyes open so they don't switch on you again."
"What are you going to do?" Kiba growled as he and Akamaru leapt off the stage, on the backs of the second row of seats.
"I've double duty, clean-up and rescue."
The Copy Ninja lifted his hands, and formed a Chidori around each. Keeping his palms flat and parallel, he darted up the aisle, across the back row, and then returned to the stage. He repeated the circuit, and this time the air was noticeably fresher.
"You're using a killing technique to clean the air," Sai's tone was dismissive, even as he unleashed a pair of attackers on Aimi. This time, his illustrated animations were a double mockery, pin-up versions Sakura and Ino struck at the seductress.
"It's called electro-static air purification. Now that they aren't maintaining the perfume levels, I can get rid of it," the teacher explained, "And you'll find many deadly techniques have alternate uses. Just ask Naruto about the Rasengan some time."
The two canine hybrids jumped up to the balcony, surrounding her. Whenever the third sister attempted to attack one of them, the other would stalk closer.
"Illusion Art: Reflect Me Jutsu," Aika yelled, and to Shino's surprise every other person in the room took on her appearance. But he did not blink, did not give her a chance to switch with any of her duplicates.
"Ninja Art: Compound Eyes Jutsu," Shino countered, connecting with the bugs perched on his shoulders, to enhance his vision. He sent out a small swarm, his tiny allies unaffected by the mirage. Unable to substitute, the enchantress was not able to avoid all of the insects, and they began to consume her chakra supply.
The True Sound Ninja captives began to recover from their fascination. Aimi was struck hard by the black and white painting of Sakura, and the copy of Ino caught her arms, spreading ink onto her skin as she pinned the sound Kunoichi. Without their swapping trick, the sisters realized they were ill prepared for a direct battle.
"I surrender," Aisa pragmatically dropped her needles and put up her hands.
"Aisa," Aika yelled at her sibling this time.
"In another minute it will go from the three of us against the five of them, to the three of us against the fifteen of them," the oldest sister responded, "And Kabuto-senpai isn't worth dying for. He's not even worth risking a scar for. You are far too enamored with him for our own good, Aika."
Aimi stayed out of the argument, but subtly stopped resisting Sai's creations. One of the rebel captives groaned, and the youngest triplet's resolve weakened. She raised her hands in submission too, and could not hide her relief when the beetles on her skin withdrew.