Tatsuma knew his current strengths and weaknesses. His strength lay in the enhanced physical qualities of his body, which had been strengthened through multiple buffs, reaching the level of a Jonin due to multiple amplifications.
Moreover, thanks to the Nine-Tails Chakra, his body's functions at this moment were not merely four times the base level and barely reaching the level of a Jonin, as evidenced by his fight with that Sand Jonin.
The amplification from the Nine-Tails was simply too overpowered, reflecting the immense power of the Nine-Tails itself. No wonder Senju Hashirama considered the Nine-Tails too dangerous and chose to seal it.
However, despite Tatsuma having received so many layers of buffs, he still had disadvantages. His improvements were only in terms of physical strength—power, speed, resilience against attacks, Chakra quantity, etc.
His actual skills had not been enhanced; his Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Sealing Jutsu, and so on, had not improved and were still at chunin level. Thus, he lacked a method to dispatch multiple enemies with a single blow.
Even though he could utilize an unprecedented amount of Chakra compared to before to bolster the power of his Ninjutsu, under the siege of so many Sand Ninja, he didn't have the time to form seals and find a secure position to unleash Ninjutsu.
Therefore, since throwing himself back into battle, Tatsuma had been relying solely on the advantages of his reinforced body to fight.
Except for one jutsu!
Once again concealing himself behind a giant rock, Tatsuma took a few deep breaths, adjusting his breathing slightly, then raised his hands and began forming seals.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Smoke appeared and disappeared, and four Shadow Clones identical to Tatsuma emerged around him. In fact, this was the first time Tatsuma had deployed Shadow Clones in combat.
Because this technique was not very practical in Tatsuma's current state, his Chakra was only at the Chunin level. He was already calculating meticulously when using his own Ninjutsu, so how could he spare Chakra to assist the Shadow Clones in battle?
He generally used this technique for learning purposes, and he had also agreed with Jiraiya that the number of Shadow Clones should not exceed four, and each Shadow Clone should not study for more than two hours a day.
Jiraiya knew that Tatsuma might not resist "overusing" this technique, so he used this somewhat playful agreement to restrain Tatsuma's usage of this technique, and Tatsuma has been abiding by it until now.
Tatsuma himself had almost forgotten that the Shadow Clone Jutsu was an excellent auxiliary Ninjutsu for combat until today when he had an unimaginable amount of Chakra in his body, he dared to boldly use this technique.
"I hope the Shadow Clones won't be mistaken for friendly units, that would be too ridiculous."
With a teasing thought in his mind, bringing a strange joy to his tired spirit, Tatsuma glanced at his four Shadow Clones and then rushed out of the boulder together, attacking the surrounding Sand Ninja.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu?!"
Seeing Tatsuma's Clones actually causing substantial damage, Hoshi was surprised, surprised that Tatsuma had learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Shadow Clone Jutsu isn't a widely known Ninjutsu; it could even be said to be exclusive to Konoha. Apart from Konoha's ninjas, very few from other villages can use Shadow Clone Jutsu. In the original manga, only a handful were shown to possess this technique.
Upon closer examination, very few people were shown to be capable of using it such as Deidara. Other villages have not produced many Ninja capable of using the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Even within Konoha, there aren't many who can perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but its reputation is considerable.
Derived from Senju Hashirama's Wood Clone, which has a physical presence and can perform Ninjutsu, when a Shadow Clone disappears, the memories it has accumulated are transmitted back to the original, making it a sophisticated Ninjutsu that causes headaches for many villages.
Seeing Tatsuma, a Genin, use this technique, Hoshi was especially surprised. Although Tatsuma's strength clearly exceeds that of a typical Genin, he is ultimately still a Genin.
Moreover, he is an exceptionally young Genin, around nine years old. To master the Three Basic Jutsu, Ninja Tool Throwing, and basic Taijutsu and Ninja techniques at such a young age would classify one as a genius.
But Tatsuma? The first time Hoshi met him, Tatsuma unleashed an unknown Ninjutsu capable of destroying his Puppet. The second time, Tatsuma surprised him again with cunning and advanced Ninja Tool Throwing techniques.
Today, on their third encounter, Hoshi initially thought Tatsuma's display of Taijutsu was already impressive enough. However, Tatsuma turned around and effortlessly executed the Shadow Clone Jutsu, boosting his strength to a level where he could easily defeat a Jonin.
While the Jonin Tatsuma defeated may not have been a legendary or veteran Jonin, his Jonin-level strength was genuine.
Moreover, he excelled in Taijutsu. Before his promotion to Jonin, he had been elevated to the rank of Special Jonin due to his exceptional Taijutsu skills. Yet, despite being such a proficient Taijutsu practitioner, he was defeated by Tatsuma's Taijutsu.
Hoshi didn't even realize it himself, but he suddenly felt a sense of relief. He was glad he hadn't intervened from the beginning but instead used the lives of his subordinates and companions to gather intelligence on Tatsuma's true strength.
However, the price paid in lives was too high for the information that Tatsuma could be even stronger and more astounding. It was the first time Hoshi felt it was not worth it.
It was also the first time he understood what Tatsuma meant when he said he was someone who disrespected life and the life soon to be disrespected was his own.
Dealing with one Tatsuma was already difficult enough, but now there were five Tatsumas on the battlefield. Even though the number of Sand Ninjas outnumbered Tatsuma by tens of times, their ranks continued to thin.
As the Sand Ninjas' fighting force dwindled, their resistance against Tatsuma became increasingly futile, as he swiftly harvested them at a faster rate.
"Damn it, what kind of Taijutsu is this guy using?!"
As he watched his subordinates diminish one by one, Hoshi's heart swelled with a mixture of shock and anger. He couldn't comprehend the style of Taijutsu Tatsuma was employing.
It seemed to resemble the Gentle Fist technique of Konoha's Hyuga Clan, targeting pressure points and weak spots. However, Tatsuma's strikes were incredibly fierce, reminiscent of the Konoha style's Strong Fist.
Yet, this unseen Taijutsu, in Tatsuma's hands, had become the most formidable weapon in combat.
Finally, the tumult on the battlefield ceased. Tatsuma's Shadow Clones vanished, and Tatsuma himself, perched on a tree, stumbled slightly before squatting down to steady himself.
Hoshi understood that Tatsuma had left him for last because he had done the same to Tatsuma before. And their ultimate goal was likely the same: to kill each other!
"Phew~ Phew~"
Tatsuma panted heavily, his body covered in numerous wounds. The faint red Chakra cloak on his body continuously repaired his injuries.
As his injuries healed, the color of his Chakra cloak faded more and more. Now, it was almost invisible, but the forest had become completely quiet.
Looking down from above, Tatsuma observed Hoshi, whose face had darkened to the extreme, and said, "Now, it's just you and me."
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