Upon hearing Tatsuma's "heartless" words, Minato fell silent for a moment, but soon he nodded knowingly, realizing that Tatsuma's current state was not right.
Perhaps his staying would only hinder Tatsuma, Minato took a deep breath and then said, "Tatsuma, hold on. I will inform others about the situation here."
"Okay."
Tatsuma nodded, and just as Minato was about to turn and leave, Hoshi spoke up, "Leaving? Did we agree on that?"
With those words, Hoshi blinked at the two Sand Ninjas beside him, and they understood Hoshi's intention, rushing towards Minato. Minato gripped his Kunai tightly, about to break through, when Tatsuma's voice came.
"You go on your way. No one can stop you."
Hearing this, Minato no longer hesitated. He unleashed the Body Flicker Jutsu and dashed towards the outskirts. The two ninja turned to chase after him, but the ground beneath them suddenly sprouted white Senbons, piercing through their feet.
"When did this happen?!"
Hoshi was a bit slow to react. Somehow, Tatsuma's hair had grown extremely long, even sinking into the ground.
The two Sand Ninjas, whose feet were pierced by Tatsuma's hair, reacted swiftly. They bent down, grabbing the hair, and as they pulled it out of their feet, they yanked it forcefully, causing the hair to instantly leave the ground.
They exerted force again, attempting to unbalance Tatsuma by pulling on his hair. But Tatsuma reacted even faster. He stopped infusing chakra into his hair, and at the same time, swung his chakra short sword to sever his own hair.
Seeing this, the Sand Ninja abandoned Tatsuma's hair and glanced at Minato, who had already broken through their encirclement and was running away. They didn't pursue him any further.
After all, they didn't have any personal grudges with Minato. They weren't even particularly keen on attacking Tatsuma, considering his young age and surprisingly strong abilities. Moreover, he seemed nearly indestructible.
The injuries Tatsuma had sustained would have killed an ordinary person long ago, or at the very least rendered them unable to fight. Yet he was still lively and energetic, and the power he had unleashed when he killed their comrade just now seemed even stronger than before.
If it weren't for this 'boss' Hoshi's demands, the time they spent here could have been used to snipe several Konoha squads, each one a potential achievement.
Originally, this Konoha squad should have been eliminated long ago. But thanks to Hoshi, their boss, stirring things up, they insisted on letting that little brat experience the cruelty of the ninja world.
With one delay after another, not only did they fail to deal with this little brat, but they also allowed him to kill several of their own. Just this fact alone has left the Sand Ninja somewhat displeased.
So, when another little brat appeared, no one was actually willing to take action. If it weren't for Hoshi's signal, no one would have volunteered.
Of the three who did step up, one died and two were injured. In such a situation, they had even less motivation to pursue further.
All they wanted was to quickly deal with Tatsuma in front of them, then move on to eliminate other Konoha squads. Time was tight, and the mission was difficult. If they waited for reinforcements to arrive, it would be difficult for them to claim any credit."
They even deliberately let Minato go because before he left, he made it clear that he would inform others. This meant that if they continued to delay, they might end up facing Konoha's reinforcements.
This was putting pressure on their boss, Hoshi, who naturally sensed it. A trace of dissatisfaction flickered across his face, and he impatiently said, "It's time to deal with this brat."
After saying this, he looked at Tatsuma, feeling a strange sensation in his heart because Tatsuma's recent display of power had caught him off guard.
Having fought Tatsuma twice before, Hoshi had a rough estimation of his strength. Among peers, Tatsuma was indeed quite impressive, but he remained at the level of a Chunin.
However, Tatsuma's counterattack after being injured just now made Hoshi feel a hint of threat. It wasn't the threat posed by Tatsuma's peculiar Hair Ninjutsu, nor was it the threat of being surrounded by Explosive Tags.
It was a real pressure and threat when facing an opponent of a similar level. But he dismissed it as his own illusion, as for Tatsuma's sudden increase in power...
'Perhaps it was because of the contempt from that Sand Ninja just now, or maybe it was simply Tatsuma's last-ditch retaliation before death.'
"Brat, don't you like to successfully praise others? Now's your last chance to speak."
Hoshi taunted Tatsuma, who, after flicking the handle of his chakra short sword against the blood-soaked strands of hair clinging to his forehead, replied:
"I do enjoy successfully praising others because I believe everyone has something worthy of acknowledgment, but not you."
Tatsuma glanced around at the corpses littering the ground, then turned his gaze back to Hoshi, saying:
"Anyone who desecrates life doesn't deserve to be called human. Whether it's my comrades or the deceased from Hidden Sand, how many lives have been lost due to your disregard for life? If it were only to kill me, you didn't need to sacrifice so many people. But you chose the most disgusting method, thinking that by killing my comrades one by one, you could break me, even willing to sacrifice your subordinates for it."
"However, if you were to act against me like you did last time, I wouldn't hesitate to acknowledge you. But unfortunately, you're afraid. You're even too scared to lay a finger on me."
Feeling like he was losing control of the negative emotions brought by the Nine-Tails' chakra, Tatsuma gave up on emotionally holding himself back. He looked at the Sand Ninja closing in and said,
"Your loyalty to your boss is admirable, but unfortunately, I'm putting an end to that loyalty here."
"You mouthy brat! Still talking tough, huh?!"
One of the Sand Ninjas grumbled. While Tatsuma's earlier remark about Hoshi resonated with them, they doubted this little brat had any means of resistance left now.
Tatsuma didn't respond. Rather, an extreme mix of anger, resentment, and frenzy flooded his mind. His gaze turned fierce, and a layer of red chakra cloak gradually enveloped his body.
Even a brief lapse in focus caused him to drop his chakra short sword, and he leaned forward as if to collapse to the ground, but ultimately he didn't fall.
"What's that? How could this brat have such powerful chakra!"
Witnessing this scene, the Sand Ninjas were all surprised, but Hoshi's expression changed immediately. As a descendant of the Second Kazekage and a disciple of the Third Kazekage, he certainly knew what a Tailed Beast was.
And Tatsuma's current state... it resembled the rampaging state of a Jinchuriki.
But something was off! Hoshi quickly dismissed this speculation because Konoha's Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails wasn't deliberately kept secret. Many knew that Uzumaki Mito, the wife of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, was the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails.
However, the succession of Jinchuriki implied the death of the previous one, yet there had never been any news of that. If Uzumaki Mito was long gone, and if this brat truly were the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, they would all have perished long ago. The power of the Nine-Tails was unmatched by any other Tailed Beast.
Therefore, Hoshi didn't believe Tatsuma was the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. As for this bizarre state... who knows? Pointing in Tatsuma's direction, he shouted, "Attack him! He's just bluffing!"
With Hoshi's command, the Sand Ninja, who had been somewhat hesitant, steadied themselves and once again charged towards Tatsuma.
Tatsuma suddenly lifted his head, the vertical pupils within his red eyes scanning over the Sand Ninja around him. In the next instant, Tatsuma disappeared from before the eyes of these Sand Ninjas.
"Ah!!!"
"Ah!"
Screams echoed through the forest, playing a symphony of suffering.
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