The flames and smoke caused by the Explosive Tags dispersed, revealing a shell that had peeled off. A puppet spider, awkward in its movements, was continuously throwing Senbon at Tatsuma. Hoshi was so angry that his neck turned red.
He had initially thought that carelessly destroying a puppet last time was his biggest mistake. Unexpectedly, encountering this Konoha brat for the second time, he almost lost another puppet.
Moreover, due to the recent distraction, Inuzuka Makoto found an opportunity. At this moment, his other puppet was severely dismantled by the person and the dog combination, though the damage caused to the puppet only required replacing a few parts.
But Hoshi was not willing to accept this. Eating losses consecutively under a small brat's tricks made him want to pounce and skin the brat alive. However, Inuzuka Makoto, who had freed himself from the puppet, was already rushing towards him.
"Earth Release: Earth Shore Return!"
Tatsuma formed hand seals, and the ground in front of him rose, forming a wall.
"Dududu~"
The clearly poisoned Senbon stuck to the earthen wall. Tatsuma squinted, sensing that something was amiss. His hands formed seals incessantly, and in the moment the seals were completed, the ground beneath him flowed like water, engulfing the falling Tatsuma.
"Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage!"
"Bang~"
Just as Tatsuma descended into the ground, the earthen wall couldn't withstand another round of Senbon attacks and shattered. However, Tatsuma had already climbed back up on the ground dozens of meters away, without a scratch.
"Retreat!"
At that moment, Orochimaru's command suddenly came. Konoha ninjas showed expressions of confusion because, after a brief skirmish that had not yet clarified the situation, retreating at this point seemed unwise.
However, someone quickly noticed that half of the Senbon on Orochimaru's shoulder were exposed. Thinking about Orochimaru's opponent being Chiyo, others instantly understood Orochimaru's intention to withdraw.
Without further hesitation, Konoha ninjas disengaged from the battle, converging towards Orochimaru's direction, continuously retreating towards the rear.
Watching Tatsuma, with a smug expression, sneak into the ranks of the Konoha team, Hoshi was grinding his teeth so hard that he felt they might shatter. However, he didn't dare to charge into the midst of the Konoha formation.
Hoshi had no choice but to approach Chiyo and ask, "Grandma Chiyo, should we pursue?"
Chiyo had some injuries on her body, but they were not severe. She looked at the rapidly retreating team, waved her hand, and said, "Orochimaru's poisoning isn't deep; it's not advisable to pursue. Be cautious of ambushes!"
Upon hearing Chiyo's command, even though Hoshi was reluctant, he could only nod. Following the orders, the Hidden Sand ninjas only made a symbolic pursuit and let the Konoha ninjas go.
Under the protection of Konoha ninjas, Orochimaru returned to the camp with an unusually grim expression. Without saying a word, he plunged into Tsunade's medical camp.
Tatsuma also arrived at the medical camp. Firstly, because he still had injuries, and secondly, after healing himself, he could assist in treating other wounded personnel.
But as soon as he arrived at the medical camp, Tatsuma was pulled into a small tent by Tsunade. Inside the tent, there were only him, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.
At this moment, Orochimaru's face showed no signs of the unpleasantness that usually accompanies poisoning. Instead, he had a normal pallor with a touch of redness, holding a Senbon in his hand.
"Chiyo is really cautious. I can't believe she won't even produce a new poison now that I'm not on the front lines," Tsunade said, her tone still carrying her distinctive irritable demeanor. Orochimaru placed the Senbon on the operating table and calmly replied, "She'll use it when she needs to, as long as she has it."
Tatsuma scrutinized Orochimaru, completely retracting his previous assessment that Orochimaru couldn't act.
He had genuinely believed Orochimaru was poisoned just now. Of course, he didn't think Orochimaru would get poisoned so quickly; rather, he speculated that Orochimaru intentionally poisoned himself to serve as a vessel for obtaining Chiyo's new poison.
In fact, his speculation was quite accurate, except he didn't guess that Orochimaru wasn't injured at all. But considering Orochimaru's cautious nature, even for extracting enemy intelligence, he wouldn't actually put himself in real danger.
"How's your hand?"
While Tatsuma was still contemplating Orochimaru's actions, he suddenly felt a cool sensation on his left hand. When he snapped back to reality, Tsunade had already torn the sleeve of his left hand.
"A simple hemostasis will do, nothing serious," Tatsuma replied.
At this point, Tatsuma also glanced at his own wound. Under the healing effects of Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu, the two wounds had reduced to two slender red marks. In another two or three days, there would probably be no trace left.
Tsunade nodded, intending to continue the conversation with Orochimaru. However, her eyes caught Tatsuma's right neck. Frowning, Tsunade asked, "How did you get injured on your neck?"
"Huh?"
Confused by the question, Tatsuma subconsciously turned his neck. In the next moment, a sharp pain, reminiscent of a needle prick after a severe neck strain, struck him. Simultaneously, he felt a dizzying sensation.
"Why didn't you deal with the injury earlier?" Tsunade's tone became more dissatisfied, but she reached out and began using the Mystical Palm Jutsu to treat Tatsuma. After a while, Tsunade withdrew her hand, and Tatsuma once again twisted his neck.
After realizing that the discomfort had only turned into stiffness and was no longer painful, Tatsuma explained, "I didn't feel much pain before."
Orochimaru, smiling, commented, "Tatsuma, today you did something remarkable. Not only did you defeat five Chunin, but you also almost took down Hoshi."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Tsunade rolled her eyes. She knew her disciple's abilities well. Battling and winning against five Chunin might be plausible, but facing Hoshi, a Jonin from the younger generation of the Hidden Sand Village, was a different story.
Compared to Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, Hoshi was only slightly inferior in fame and strength, but he was undeniably at the Jonin level. How could Tatsuma handle someone of that caliber?
"I'm not Jiraiya. Why would I speak nonsense?" Orochimaru shook his head gently and then turned to Tatsuma, asking, "This should be your first encounter with a ninja using puppets in combat. Why were you so composed?"
A trace of disappointment and melancholy appeared on Tatsuma's face as he said, "This is not the first time I've encountered him. I encountered him when supporting the Hyuga team, and there were some conflicts."
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru was somewhat surprised. Tatsuma had mentioned encountering a Sand Ninja before, but he hadn't specified who it was since Tatsuma didn't know the person. Now, with the clarification, Orochimaru was amazed that Tatsuma managed to escape from Hoshi. Moreover, the fact that Hoshi immediately targeted Tatsuma upon intervening indicated that their previous encounter wasn't pleasant for Hoshi.
Meanwhile, Tsunade squinted her eyes, placing her hand back on Tatsuma's right neck, and asked, "Did he cause this injury here?"
Tsunade knew Tatsuma's capabilities well and understood that an ordinary Chunin couldn't inflict such significant harm on him. Tatsuma nodded, and then Tsunade spoke, "Next time we meet, I'll help you break his neck."
"Thanks, Sensei, but I'll handle it myself."
Upon hearing Tatsuma's response, Tsunade didn't express any displeasure; instead, she smiled and asked, "What's this? You actually have someone you're eager to kill?"
"Yes, not just Hoshi. If given the chance, I'm interested in the Third Kazekage's life as well."
"Well, you better work hard. Defeating a Kage isn't something to be taken lightly."
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