In the dense forest, a slender figure kept flickering, his golden hair shining particularly bright under the noon sun. Minato looked at the map in his hand, constantly comparing it with the surrounding scenery.
In the end, he still obtained permission to go to the battlefield from the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen. As soon as he arrived at the front line, he volunteered to support Tatsuma.
No one opposed this, or rather, almost no one paid attention to Minato. It's just that when Yamanaka Tani heard Minato say he was going to find Tatsuma, she gave him Tatsuma's route map.
And he didn't set off alone but followed the support team of the Hyuga Clan to complete the flanking work together. However, Hyuga Ninjas kept leaving the team to support other teams.
So now, he was the only one left hurrying on the road. Tatsuma's location was almost at the rear of the Sand Ninja army, one of the most important passes.
But when Minato arrived, the scene before him stunned him.
The ground was littered with corpses, Konoha Ninja corpses and Sand Ninja corpses scattered everywhere, some not even leaving complete bodies.
"Tatsuma!"
Minato's heart skipped a beat, continuously sensing the surrounding environment with his chakra. Finally, he discovered many chakra signatures in the distance, the only place where there were living people nearby.
Without a moment's delay, Minato rushed towards that direction with all his might. However, as he passed through the trees, he saw Tatsuma surrounded by dozens of Sand Ninjas, with half of his body covered in blood. Even his blue and white headband was mostly soaked in thick, fresh blood, hanging down and sticking to his face, looking extremely disheveled.
"Tatsuma!"
With a worried shout, Minato landed not far from Tatsuma, taking out a kunai and cautiously watching the surrounding Sand Ninja.
"What are you here for?"
But what greeted him was Tatsuma's low voice, devoid of any joy from being supported.
"Another little brat? Hahaha, does Konoha have no one else? Sending children to the battlefield one after another?"
In the midst of the encirclement, Hoshi raged on. Beneath him lay Inuzuka Makoto's Nin-Dog, now collapsed on the ground, its snow-white fur covered in blood and mud, with only faint movements in its chest and abdomen.
Minato paid no attention to Tatsuma's recent tone but firmly stated, "Tatsuma, I'm taking you back."
"Back? Do you think you can still go back?" Hoshi's words fell, and he gave a glance to a nearby Sand Ninja. Without a word, that Sand Ninja lunged straight at Minato. Minato, seeing the fierce look of the Sand Ninja, couldn't help but hesitate for a moment.
But that momentary lapse allowed the Sand Ninja to quickly close the distance, and without hesitation, the Chunin-level ninja swung his blade towards Minato's neck.
"Splurt~"
At the critical moment, Tatsuma flickered and appeared beside Minato, colliding with him. At the same time, he raised his hand to block the Sand Ninja's attack but was still a bit too slow.
Although he avoided Minato getting injured, Tatsuma's left forearm suffered a deep wound, almost to the bone. Seeing this, the Sand Ninja took advantage of the situation and raised his blade again to strike.
At this moment, Minato reacted and wanted to throw a kunai to help Tatsuma out of the encirclement, but it was a bit too late.
Tatsuma watched as the blade fell, a sense of calmness mixed with extreme regret washing over him. He felt immobilized, unable to move. His left hand, which had been repeatedly attacked, now felt so heavy that he couldn't lift it at all.
"Wu~"
Inuzuka Makoto's Nin-Dog let out a whimper, breathing its last breath.
"Hiss~"
But at that moment, despite being numb from blood loss, Tatsuma's left hand suddenly felt intense pain. Tatsuma, who had felt like he had no strength left, suddenly sensed a surge of power within him.
Just when Hoshi thought everything had settled, Tatsuma suddenly lifted his left arm to block. The Sand Ninja frowned but didn't pay much attention.
However, in the next moment, Tatsuma's feet also began to move—not retreating, not evading, but advancing. With this half-step change, Tatsuma's raised arm block turned into an elbow strike.
"Bam!"
At this moment, Tatsuma's movement reminded him of how characters in animes fight and their flashy movement, but this time it was as if he embodied the fighting spirit of the true Shiro Yaksha and unleashed the demon that was feared on the battlefield! He had never learned these kinds of moves, but fighting was ultimately about using the body to defeat the opponent, so instinctively, he sometimes made similar stances and moves.
However, due to his height, Tatsuma's elbow didn't hit the Sand Ninja's chest as intended but landed on his abdomen instead. This solid blow dispersed the Sand Ninja's core strength, leaving him defenseless.
Seizing the opportunity, Tatsuma tried to entangle the right hand of the Sand Ninja holding the knife with his left hand. However, his injured left hand was still somewhat affected, and his fingers lacked strength.
Noticing this, Tatsuma simply used his armpit to clamp down on the Sand Ninja's wrist and used his stiff fingers to hook onto the Sand Ninja's vest, pulling him towards himself, disrupting the Sand Ninja's balance completely.
The Chakra short sword in his right hand rose swiftly leaving the Sand ninja not time to react as the short blade in his hand stabbed towards his neck.
"Szz~"
Blow after blow, this time Tatsuma didn't hold back in the slightest, or perhaps, his spiritual exhaustion and the raging chakra overflowing from his heavy left hand made it impossible for him to think about anything else.
Minato, pushed away by Tatsuma, looked on in shock at Tatsuma who hadn't even blinked. He couldn't help but swallow hard. He had killed people earlier than Tatsuma, but he had never seen such a calm madness as Tatsuma's.
"Who said I was leaving?"
Releasing the limp Sand Ninja, Tatsuma looked up at Hoshi. The violent chakra in his left hand had already begun to surge within him, making him feel extremely restless.
However, as he glanced at Minato, Tatsuma realized that the reason for the surge of power within him was because his team had been wiped out, and Minato had not yet officially joined the battle, so he wasn't counted as a teammate.
After Inuzuka Makoto and others died one by one, Tatsuma's abilities doubled, and when he was the only one left, his strength doubled briefly again.
Tatsuma's strength, speed, and stamina were already over 2500 points. Doubled, they became 5000 points, and then doubled again to 10000 points, elevating him to the rank of Jonin. This was why he could easily deal with the Sand Chunin in front of him.
Not to mention, his left hand, containing the Nine-Tails chakra sealed by Uzumaki Mito, was continuously leaking that chakra. Every moment, Tatsuma could feel his power steadily rising.
However, at the same time, his mental fatigue increased. Tatsuma glanced at Minato. If Minato got involved, it would be harmful rather than beneficial to the situation.
Not only would it make the amplification brought by Shiro Yaksha's physique disappear, but it would also distract Tatsuma from watching Minato's emotions. Therefore, he endured the inexplicable rise of his irritability and anger and said to Minato:
"Minato, leave this place!"
"But, Tatsuma..."
Watching Tatsuma, Minato still couldn't rest easy. Now that the Sand Ninjas, after a brief moment of surprise, became even more cautious and tightened their encirclement, closing in on the two of them.
Tatsuma noticed the change in the people around him. He gritted his teeth and looked at Hoshi, saying, "Don't you understand yet?! I don't have time for you. Right now, all I want is to create some chaos in peace!"
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