Minato saw that the Sand Ninja was using a jutsu called "Vacuum Wave," a powerful B-level technique. The wind blades gathered on the ninja's palm and fist were strong enough to slice through even the toughest of ninja tools. To any observer, Minato's decision to confront this jutsu head-on seemed like suicide.
However, this Sand Ninja would never have imagined that Minato possessed a jutsu even more powerful than "Vacuum Wave" and one that could be cast instantly—A-level ninjutsu, Rasengan!
"Bang!"
At such close range, the Sand Ninja had no chance to dodge. His body, surrounded by wind blades, collided directly with the Rasengan.
"Puff!"
The wind blades were instantly dispersed, and the blood vessels in the Sand Ninja's arm burst, spraying blood. Minato, still holding the Rasengan, adjusted his aim with a cold, indifferent expression and struck the ninja's other forearm.
The arm was instantly deformed, the wind chakra dissipated, and the wind chakra on his hand vanished as it fell beside Minato's face. The veins and bones in the Sand Ninja's arm were shattered by the Rasengan. Without chakra to support it, his jutsu failed.
This all happened in an instant. Before the Sand Ninja could even scream, Minato had destroyed both of his arms.
"Crack!"
Minato showed no mercy. With a swift motion, he sliced the Sand Ninja's throat with a kunai in his other hand.
At this time, Mikoto and the others were still more than ten meters away from the enemy. Mikoto was stunned by Minato's swift and lethal method of killing a Jonin. Her eyes gradually widened in disbelief.
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed it!
"I've already warned you before, don't underestimate the enemy, right?"
A voice pulled Mikoto out of her shock. Shikaku sighed and shook his head. Mikoto snapped back to reality and looked up. In front of her, a Sand Ninja with a ferocious expression was only a meter away, thrusting a kunai toward her.
But the Sand Ninja couldn't move. His shadow was linked to Shikaku's, held in place by the Shadow Imitation Jutsu, the secret ninjutsu of the Nara clan.
Mikoto tightly gripped the kunai in her hand, took the Sand Ninja's life, and then turned to thank Shikaku.
Shikaku sighed again, repeating his earlier warning. "I told you, don't underestimate the enemy."
"Got it, thank you!" Mikoto responded before turning back to engage with another enemy ninja.
As more than 4,000 ninjas clashed, the sound of battle shattered the silence of the desert.
After Minato swiftly killed a Jonin, the Sand Ninja forces no longer dared to underestimate him.
Among the Konoha ninjas, one of them couldn't help but twitch his mouth in disbelief. Just three months ago, this boy, who could now kill a Jonin in seconds, was still a member of his team. This person was the captain of the Sixth Guard Team, Konoha Special Jonin Akai Shuji.
"Wind Release: Aerial Cannon!"
In the chaotic battlefield, a Sand Ninja unleashed a Wind Release jutsu that bypassed a fellow Sand Ninja and hurtled toward Minato.
However, Minato, with his sensory abilities, had already anticipated the attack. He deliberately left an opening, then used the Body Flicker Technique to teleport away.
"Bang!"
The Wind Release struck the shoulder of a Sand Ninja not far behind Minato. The jutsu seemed composed of many small wind blades, which tore into the man's shoulder, cutting through flesh, blood, and even bone. The Konoha ninja who had been evenly matched with him seized the opportunity and killed him with a single blow.
"Damn it!"
Seeing his attack fail and injure his own comrade instead, the Sand Ninja cursed inwardly. At that moment, a sword light flashed behind him.
A sense of danger enveloped him, but when he turned, it was too late to react.
"Dang!"
Suddenly, a black shadow rushed out from the crowd and blocked the fatal blow. The Konoha ninja who had delivered the strike was stunned. His attack had been intercepted by a black humanoid puppet.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"
Mechanisms around the puppet activated, releasing a barrage of hidden weapons.
"Dang, dang, dang!"
The Konoha ninja reacted quickly, deflecting the hidden weapons with his sword, but some were too small and penetrated his defense, piercing his body. The attacks felt as weak as mosquito bites, but the next moment, his entire body went numb.
In the blink of an eye, a sharp blade extended from the puppet's mouth, aiming directly at the Konoha ninja's forehead.
Minato, observing the battlefield from a short distance away, noticed the situation but had no time to intervene. All he could see was the grim smile on the face of a Sand Ninja puppeteer a few meters away.
"Damn it!"
Minato gritted his teeth. In the span of just a few moments, hundreds of black figures had appeared on the battlefield. They moved like ghosts, weaving through the crowd with their small, agile bodies, taking the lives of at least dozens of Konoha ninjas. Even if they couldn't kill with a sneak attack, their hidden weapons, laced with poison, could still prove lethal.
The Sand Village Puppet Unit had arrived!
"Rasengan!"
Minato unleashed another Rasengan, instantly killing a Sand Ninja in the blast. But he had no time to seek out his next opponent. Instead, he used the Body Flicker Technique to dart across the battlefield.
A black puppet had crept behind a Konoha ninja who was engaged in a fight with a Sand Ninja, preparing for a sneak attack.
"Bang!"
In an instant, a yellow flash sliced through the puppet vertically with a sharp wind blade. Minato followed up with a horizontal slash, completely destroying the puppet.
The Sand Ninja puppeteer who had launched the sneak attack was shocked, but before he could react, Minato's figure disappeared from his sight.
"Dang!"
A sudden sense of danger overwhelmed the puppeteer as Minato reappeared and attacked. Although the puppeteer's combat ability was slightly weaker, he was still a ninja and had some means of defending himself.
After more than ten exchanges, Minato killed the puppeteer, his kunai dripping with blood. But Minato's expression remained tense as he glanced sideways. In the brief time that had passed, more than a dozen Konoha ninjas had died in sneak attacks by these puppets.
Another puppeteer had been killed by two Konoha ninjas, bringing the total to three puppeteers eliminated. But compared to Konoha's casualties, this was a small victory.
"We can't go on like this!"
Minato's eyes darkened. Under the relentless sneak attacks of the Sand Ninja puppet unit, the ratio of casualties between Konoha and the Sand Ninjas was growing. If this continued, the Konoha army would inevitably face defeat!
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