Minato spoke anxiously. Jiraiya and the others heard his words, and their expressions darkened, a murderous intent flashing in their eyes.
Some time ago, the Rock Ninja and the Rain Ninja had joined forces to attack the Konoha troops, and the Sand Ninja had attempted to take advantage of the chaos. If it hadn't been for Hanzo's intervention, they might have fallen into the hands of the Sand Ninja.
And now, not long after that, the Sand Ninja had attacked their reinforcements again.
The message was clear: cut off their supplies and trap all the Konoha forces in the Land of Rain.
"Chiyo leading in person?"
Orochimaru frowned when he heard this. He was well aware of the gap between Hatake Sakumo and Chiyo. Although Sakumo was strong, he was definitely not a match for Chiyo from the Sand Village.
"Let's go!"
Though many things were involved in this situation, there was no time to think it through, and Jiraiya gave the order.
"Yes!" The Konoha ninjas accepted the command and prepared to move out.
Minato, who was standing nearby, spoke up: "The number of Sand Ninjas isn't large, but Chiyo is too difficult to deal with. Sensei, Lord Orochimaru, you must hurry and use the power of Boss Toad."
In his urgency, Minato inadvertently spoke in the same authoritative tone as the Fourth Hokage from his previous life, drawing everyone's attention.
Minato immediately realized the inappropriateness of his words and tried to change the subject.
Jiraiya, looking at him, said, "I understand. Orochimaru, let's go."
With that, he jumped onto Gamabunta's head. Orochimaru glanced at Minato before following him.
"Gamabunta, I'll leave it to you."
Jiraiya spoke, though he was unsure, given how difficult it had always been to deal with Gamabunta's personality.
"Hold on tight."
To his surprise, Gamabunta didn't object this time. After glancing at Minato, the giant toad leaped away again. Once Jiraiya and the others left, the remaining Konoha ninjas quickly followed suit.
When everyone had gone, Minato finally collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.
Summoning Gamabunta had consumed 80% of the Nine-Tails' chakra, and protecting Nawaki from falling off Gamabunta's head as they moved had drained him even further. Though he had some chakra left, he was utterly exhausted after the earlier battles and everything that had followed.
Now, besides him, only Tsunade and the unconscious Nawaki remained.
"Boy, are you alright?" Tsunade asked after seeing Minato sit down.
Minato lowered his gaze and panted, "I'm just a little tired."
He looked at Nawaki, who was in Tsunade's arms, and asked, "How is Nawaki-senpai?"
Tsunade's expression darkened a little, and she said angrily, "Fortunately, the poison wasn't too deep. But the duration of the poisoning has caused nerve paralysis, making him faint. I've stopped the poison's spread. With a few more doses of medicine and some rest, he should recover."
There was relief in her voice. Tsunade realized that although Nawaki had been poisoned, the rate at which the poison spread through his bloodstream was unusually slow. This indicated that Nawaki had refrained from any violent movement since being poisoned.
And the fact that he hadn't fainted instantly suggested that Minato had taken quick and effective measures.
"That's good."
Hearing this, Minato let out a sigh of relief. Tsunade truly deserved her reputation as the strongest medical ninja, detoxifying Nawaki in such a short time.
Though, this might also have been due to Chiyo's poison being diluted.
"Thank you for saving Nawaki."
To Minato's surprise, Tsunade actually bowed to him. He was stunned for a moment, but then, understanding how important Nawaki was to her, he realized her gratitude was only natural.
"Nawaki is my senior and my friend. Of course, I'd do my best to help him," Minato smiled, speaking sincerely, though a part of him was also speaking for someone else's ears.
In response, he heard a light, cold snort.
"Kyūbi, I did it!"
Nawaki, lying in Tsunade's arms, was breathing steadily now, and the purple-black signs of poisoning were gradually disappearing.
Minato and Tsunade exchanged glances, both feeling relieved. Tsunade calmed down and asked Minato for more details about what had happened.
By the time she finished listening, a fury was burning on her face, barely restrained.
"Sand Village... Chiyo... you just wait!"
Tsunade angrily slammed her fist into the ground, cracking it open.
Minato's eyes darkened as he watched. Tsunade's power came from her exceptionally fine control over chakra, which was also the source of her immense strength.
The fact that she had shattered the ground like this showed just how furious she was.
Nawaki was the only family she had left, and she would never forgive anyone who tried to harm him.
Even if that person was as powerful as Chiyo, one of the most formidable ninjas of her generation.
Minato couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Although history had shifted slightly, it was still within a range he was familiar with.
In the Second Ninja War, Tsunade and Chiyo, the strongest female ninjas of the old and new eras, were destined to face each other.
In the mountains, the battle between Konoha and the Sand Ninja continued, but the situation, which had previously leaned in Konoha's favor, had taken a turn.
Sakumo, already pushed to his limits, was barely dodging Chiyo's relentless attacks. Though he was highly skilled, Chiyo was still too much for him.
With his focus solely on evading, Sakumo had no means of preventing Chiyo from using the remaining puppets from the Ten Puppet Collection to attack the Konoha ninjas.
Seeing his comrades fall one after another, Sakumo was nearing his breaking point. But he knew that if he collapsed, his fellow ninjas would face even worse consequences.
"Boom!"
Just then, the earth-shaking tremors resumed, and a massive figure was seen leaping through the mountains, moving quickly toward them.
The distance was too great to make out details, but even Chiyo could recognize the silhouette of Gamabunta.
The return of the toad from Mount Myoboku was certainly not good news.
"Retreat!"
After a moment's thought, Chiyo shouted the command for all Sand Ninjas to fall back.
"Swish!"
But before she could finish, a short sword wrapped in lightning was already hurtling toward her.
"You're courting death!" Chiyo's expression darkened, and she immediately retracted all her Chikamatsu puppets, sending them to attack Sakumo with full force.
The high-speed rotating chakra sword attacked Sakumo, who barely managed to dodge, but now he had no strength left to evade the countless steel cables headed his way.
Chiyo's face twisted into a murderous grin as she prepared for her next attack. In a matter of seconds, she would take the life of Hatake Sakumo!
"Bang!"
But at that moment, a massive object slammed down in front of Sakumo, shielding him from the onslaught.
A giant sword, several meters long, had blocked Chiyo's attack, completely covering Sakumo. The steel cables harmlessly fell against the enormous weapon.
"Lady Chiyo, you've gone too far. Are you really going to bully Konoha twice?"
Jiraiya's angry voice echoed through the battlefield.
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