Minato saw this scene and, unable to shout the name of the technique in time, gathered a Chakra ball in his hand and threw it towards Chitsuchi.
Chitsuchi looked at the Chakra ball that appeared without needing hand signs, and was first startled. But seeing the Chakra ball dissipate in the air, he suddenly felt relieved.
This boy must be panicking. How could he throw out a random ball of Chakra and think it could cause harm?
"Bang~"
Chitsuchi's body was suddenly thrown sideways. A large part of his clothing around his waist disappeared, revealing skin with black, twisted lines.
Minato quickly ran to the center of the sunken ground to check on Tatsuma, only to find that Tatsuma was not embedded in the soil as he had imagined.
The sunken area of the land seemed not to be a solid layer of earth but an extremely loose sand layer.
"Alright, I'm not so easily knocked down by such a clumsy technique."
At this moment, a familiar voice sounded behind Minato. He turned around to see his close friend climbing out of the ground, with the surrounding soil having turned into loose quicksand.
"Are you alright?"
Although there were no visible injuries on Tatsuma, Minato still asked with some concern.
Tatsuma casually shook his head. He had just wanted to test Chitsuchi's strength, and didn't expect that while he could withstand Chitsuchi's power, the ground could not.
As a result, he quickly used Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu to escape from underground. After this round of confrontation, he had a rough idea of his own strength level.
Although it was still weaker compared to his sensei, his strength was sufficient when dealing with ordinary ninjas. If necessary, he could use his Enhanced Strength talent, and if that wasn't enough, there was also the Senju Enhanced Strength taught by Tsunade.
The knocked-back Chitsuchi quickly got up. He wanted to organize a comprehensive offensive, but the hastily assembled team lacked that kind of coordination.
Some people were afraid to advance recklessly due to the combined strength of Tatsuma and Minato, while others were entangled with Vulture and Caterpillar. Although Vulture and Caterpillar were more functional than combat-oriented, they were still genuine Jonin.
Originally a twenty-to-four situation, after only a few exchanges, it became seven-to-four. This shift caused Vulture, who was initially tense, to gradually relax, making him handle the opponents more effectively.
Chitsuchi's expression darkened. He knew that if he couldn't break the deadlock, the remaining people wouldn't put in much effort either. Enduring the intense pain in his ribs, he formed hand seals again.
"Earth Release! Sandwich Jutsu!"
"Boom boom boom~"
Two quarter-sphere chunks of earth rose from the sides of Tatsuma and his companions, moving at high speed to pinch them.
Minato raised an eyebrow. While Earth Release indeed surpasses other elemental techniques in terms of "power," it is too clumsy. A Kunai appeared in his hand, and after rotating it around his finger, he threw it towards a rogue ninja.
Before activating Flying Thunder God, Minato glanced at Tatsuma and found him eagerly rubbing his hands. Although his expression was not visible, Minato could tell from Tatsuma's eyes that his friend was still "playing."
Not wanting to interrupt Tatsuma's enthusiasm, Minato used Flying Thunder God to instantly teleport and appeared in front of a rogue ninja.
The rogue ninja was already aware of the Flying Thunder God technique. Although he didn't know all the details, he was very cautious. When Minato suddenly appeared, he quickly reacted, blocking Minato's attack and attempting to restrict him through close combat.
Tatsuma took a glance and then focused elsewhere. He trusted Minato's skill completely. Tatsuma raised both hands to the sides, trying to bring the semicircular earth together. However, the seemingly thin body was firmly blocking the way, preventing further convergence.
Chitsuchi gritted his teeth and increased his Chakra output. The giant rock, which was previously immovable, began to move again. Tatsuma also used stronger force to hinder the mutual attraction of the giant rocks.
"Is he really aSenju?"
Chitsuchi thought to himself. Seeing that Tatsuma had taken the initiative to enter the trap, he couldn't miss this opportunity and continued to output Chakra, aiming to further compress Tatsuma.
Feeling the force of the giant rocks on either side increasing sharply, Tatsuma's previously straight arms began to bend slightly. Clearly, with his current strength, completely blocking Chitsuchi's Sandwich Jutsu was still somewhat challenging.
"Bang bang~"
Not being able to block didn't mean it couldn't be destroyed. Although the strength of the giant rocks increased with the added Chakra, they still shattered under the pressure of Tatsuma's Enhanced Strength.
The sudden release of energy caused Chitsuchi's face to turn a shade paler, but he quickly readjusted. Seeing Tatsuma charging at him, Chitsuchi formed hand seals again.
"Earth Release! Rock Gun Jutsu!"
Rocks were expelled, expanding against the wind like stone projectiles, rushing towards Tatsuma. These rocks were arranged in an orderly manner, even capable of blocking the path of any hypothetical thrown ninja tools from Tatsuma.
"Water Release! Continuous Water Bullets!"
Tatsuma brought his hands together, and a large amount of mist gathered around him, forming Water Balloons that were thrown at the incoming earth chunks.
"Bang bang bang~"
Earth Release can counter Water Release in terms of Chakra nature, but this countering depends on the specific technique and the mastery of Chakra Nature Transformation.
In terms of Chakra Nature Transformation, Tatsuma's Water Release is actually on par with Chitsuchi's Earth Release, with Chitsuchi's being slightly more refined due to years of practice.
However, Tatsuma's proficiency with Continuous Water Bullets is higher than Chitsuchi's with Rock Gun, and Tatsuma used more Chakra. As a result, his Continuous Water Bullets completely neutralized Chitsuchi's Rock Gun.
Seeing this, Chitsuchi's eyebrows twitched. He wanted to use Body Flicker to escape but saw that Tatsuma had produced a Kunai.
Chitsuchi realized that no matter which direction he fled, Tatsuma would use Flying Thunder God to pursue him. Moreover, fleeing meant exposing his back to the enemy, which was a significant disadvantage.
In an instant, Chitsuchi realized he couldn't escape and focused all his attention on observing Tatsuma's movements.
At the same time, the two Hidden Cloud rogue ninjas who had been waiting finally took action.
"Lightning Release! Spider Web!"
"Lightning Release! Thunderclap Arrow!"
One ninja's Lightning Release technique spread from the ground towards Tatsuma's direction, while the other ninja's Lightning Release technique fired lightning arrows at Tatsuma, anticipating his movements.
At this moment, Tatsuma threw his Flying Thunder God Kunai while quickly forming hand seals. Chitsuchi tilted his head to avoid the Kunai and kept watching Tatsuma's hand seal movements.
Seeing Tatsuma finish with the "Dragon" seal, Chitsuchi's heart skipped a beat. Was it a Wind Release technique?
Remembering the Wind Release technique Tatsuma used in conjunction with Minato, Chitsuchi was alarmed and began forming seals to use Earth-Style Wall for defense. He completed the seals, and an earthen wall rose in front of him.
In fact, due to his intense focus on Tatsuma's hand seals, Chitsuchi forgot about the Kunai he had dodged.
But just as the earthen wall covered his view, and the two Lightning Release techniques arrived, Tatsuma left behind a silver-white flash and disappeared.
Tatsuma reappeared above Chitsuchi, catching the Kunai that grazed Chitsuchi's cheek with one hand and holding a Chakra ball in the other.
"This is Flying Thunder God: Second Step."
For some reason, Tatsuma recalled Minato's line and naturally said it out loud. At this moment, Minato turned to look towards Tatsuma.
Since he was positioned to the side of Chitsuchi, his view wasn't obstructed by the Earth-Style Wall. With his exceptional dynamic vision, Minato observed every change in Tatsuma's movements.
Watching Tatsuma use the momentum of the Kunai to slightly twist and slam the Rasengan into Chitsuchi's back, Minato's mouth beneath his mask slightly opened. He was determined to learn and master this technique proficiently!
Flying Thunder God: Second Step is not difficult. With a complete set of techniques, it can easily perform a transfer along with another technique, achieving the second phase of Flying Thunder God's attack.
Without a complete set of techniques, Flying Thunder God: Second Step cannot be used. You would only be able to teleport and then choose an attack. Besides conventional Taijutsu and ninja tool attacks, there is also the Flying Thunder God Slash developed in conjunction with Senju Tobirama's techniques.
The difference, as Tatsuma understands it, is that one is a flash followed by a Rasengan, while the other is a Rasengan followed by a flash. By altering the shape and size of the Kunai, Tatsuma made Flying Thunder God: Second Step no longer difficult.
The reason Minato is so captivated is due to the smoothness of the technique. The instantaneous coordination of body movement, Ninjutsu, and Flying Thunder God Kunai displays a beauty and power that can be described as a masterpiece of artistry.
Minato's dynamic vision surpassed his previous limits, firmly memorizing each of Tatsuma's pose changes. Although it was instantaneous, to Minato it was like a slow-motion tutorial.
His hand instinctively moved to his waist, retrieving another Kunai.
"Boom!"
Chitsuchi was pinned to the ground, taking the full brunt of the Rasengan's damage, far more severe than the earlier hit from Minato's Rasengan.
The power of the Rasengan had even penetrated Chitsuchi's body, reaching the ground beneath him, creating a vortex-shaped crater on the surface.
At this moment, Minato withdrew his gaze and turned around, sending a Kunai flying. His right hand was slightly open, with Chakra gathering in his palm, a Chakra ball faintly visible.
He closely watched the Kunai's flight path, waiting for the moment when he would pass by the enemy to complete the Flying Thunder God: Second Step!
"Pfft~"
However, Minato was somewhat disappointed to find that the enemy he faced seemed distracted by the beautiful scene Tatsuma had created and didn't even notice Minato's Kunai. As a result, the Kunai went straight into his forehead.
Although it was a fatal blow, Minato still felt it was a missed opportunity.
Meanwhile, Chitsuchi's excessive focus on Tatsuma's hand seals and his insufficient Chakra protection led to his back being severely mangled under the Rasengan's erosion.
Even the spine supporting his body had lost several segments. Although he didn't die on the spot, he was on the brink of death.
Tatsuma didn't pay attention to the incapacitated Chitsuchi. With the aid of Divine Travel and Strategist, he had no blind spots or overlooked information in his broad field of vision.
He saw that Vulture was in danger. The Hidden Mist Village rogue ninja Vulture was fighting was opening his mouth full of sharp fangs, spewing out a mist from his mouth.
Tatsuma's pupils dilated for a moment, then constricted sharply. This wasn't Hiding in Mist Jutsu but Kekkei Genkai Ninjutsu!
Without hesitation, Tatsuma triggered the Flying Thunder God Seal he had left for Vulture before the battle. Vulture also recognized the rogue ninja's Kekkei Genkai.
"Boil Release?!"
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