Under Takuya's command, the Konoha forces halted, watching from afar as Kushina fought on her own. She moved effortlessly through the enemy's ranks, hunting down the injured Rasa. Poor Rasa had broken several ribs and was clutching his chest, desperately evading her pursuit, looking exceptionally pitiful.
"No need," Takuya said, smiling slightly.
"Kushina lacks combat experience. Having great power isn't enough; sooner or later, she will face more enemies. It's good for her to gain more fighting experience." He continued, noting the exasperated looks from Sarutobi Shiji and the others.
"Alright, stop giving me those looks," Takuya added, shrugging innocently. "You all underestimate Kushina and overestimate these enemies. Don't forget who Kushina is. It's not just Rasa and a few hundred Sunagakure ninjas—even if the Third Kazekage came back to life, he wouldn't necessarily be able to deal with her."
Takuya wasn't exaggerating. Kushina had the strength to back his words. Even if the Third Kazekage outclassed her in combat experience, it wouldn't matter. She had the Nine-Tails at her disposal. Once she unleashed that power, it wouldn't matter if it was the Kazekage—she could just overpower him.
Instead of worrying about Kushina's safety, they should consider how high a price the enemy would need to pay to push her to the point of using the Nine-Tails mode.
Compared to the Third Raikage fighting off ten thousand Iwagakure soldiers, Kushina's opponents were a minor skirmish.
"Giving her some assistance wouldn't be a bad idea, though," Sarutobi Shiji hesitated before continuing, trying to convince Takuya to stop fooling around and act seriously.
"You're right. Some help is indeed in order." Takuya nodded, seemingly in agreement, before slapping his forehead as if he had suddenly remembered something. Just as Sarutobi Shiji thought he had succeeded, Takuya turned and said, "I forgot. My pet hasn't eaten in a while."
Before everyone's stunned eyes, Takuya summoned Manda. Pointing at the battlefield, he commanded, "Manda, go help Kushina. That girl is too soft-hearted—she's made a lot of noise, but hasn't killed many enemies. You can clean up after her, and don't be shy about eating your fill."
The battlefield was filled with free "self-service meals" in the form of enemy corpses. Takuya wasn't going to bother dealing with them, nor would he leave them for the enemy to recover. He might as well let Manda benefit from it. After all, following Takuya hadn't been easy for the giant snake—no offerings, no comforts. Letting Manda feast now seemed like a fair deal.
When it came to enemies, Takuya had no mercy. The saying went, "The only good enemy is a dead enemy." And an enemy without even a body left behind? Even better.
"Hissss—!" Manda hissed in excitement, its massive body lunging toward the battlefield. Ever since it started following Takuya, Manda had been living poorly compared to its time with Orochimaru. Orochimaru would provide offerings, whereas Takuya only used it as a tool.
Demanding offerings from Takuya? That was asking to get its head smashed in. Manda was resentful but powerless, forced to endure, and it seized every opportunity for an extra meal.
Watching Manda charge in, many shinobi gasped, "How powerful!"
Sarutobi Shiji rolled his eyes. Was this worth being shocked about? Manda had once been Orochimaru's summon, and only later followed Takuya. While Manda might appear submissive around Takuya, in truth, it was strong. It might not be able to kill Jonin as easily as chickens, but it was certainly formidable enough that ordinary Jonin couldn't deal with it without a considerable numerical advantage.
Yet, despite its strength, Manda was just a tool in Takuya's eyes. If Snowy hadn't been in deep sleep, Manda wouldn't have had a role to play.
Manda's behavior also starkly contrasted with its past—it acted like a puppy around Takuya, whereas it had always demanded offerings from Orochimaru, threatening to eat him if not satisfied.
"Block it!"
"It's Manda! Takuya Yagami's summon!"
"You, go protect Lord Rasa! Everyone else, with me, stop Manda!"
Under Kushina's relentless assault, Rasa could barely protect himself. Seeing the chaos, several Suna Jonin stepped up to direct their forces. Without proper coordination, they would only give the enemy more openings.
"This is getting bad," a Suna shinobi muttered.
With just Kushina, they were already struggling. Now with the addition of a giant snake, things looked bleak. On top of that, Konoha's main forces were still observing from afar.
The Sunagakure ninjas were growing increasingly desperate, and could only think of ways to support each other while sending up signal flares, hoping for reinforcements from their camp.
It was a miserable sight.
Any Suna ninja who got too close to Kushina shared the same fate—sent flying as quickly as they'd approached. The unlucky ones were struck dead on the spot, either from a slap, a punch, or a vicious claw swipe that left them torn apart.
"It seems Kushina still lacks combat experience," Takuya noted. Though he, Nawaki, and Minato had sparred with her frequently, real battles were different. Because of her temperament, Kushina was holding back. Most of the enemies she fought ended up wounded but not dead.
"Lord Takuya, shouldn't we..." Sarutobi Shiji hesitated.
He wanted to say that if they charged in now, they could make the enemy flee. But he also knew that Takuya wouldn't necessarily agree.
Takuya seemed intent on giving Kushina the chance to improve her combat skills.
"No rush," Takuya shook his head, dismissing Shiji's request. "Just enjoy the show. Why the hurry?"
Kushina was tearing through the Suna forces like a lion through sheep, regardless of their numbers. Once you reached a certain power level, sheer numbers became irrelevant.
Even if Sunagakure had thousands of shinobi, it wouldn't change the outcome.
Kushina wasn't like the Third Raikage, who could be worn down to death. If she got tired, the Nine-Tails would just take over, and then things would really get ugly for the enemy—one Tailed Beast Bomb and their will to fight would vanish instantly.
One Kushina was bad enough; add Manda, and it was almost overkill.
Unlike Kushina, Manda was ruthless—it killed, then devoured. The sight of Manda devouring enemies alive had a far greater psychological impact than Kushina's overwhelming power.
"But if Kushina gets hurt, the Nine-Tails might go berserk," Sarutobi Shiji argued anxiously.
Takuya shot him a cold look, his tone stern. "I said no rush. If you're not happy, you can leave. I won't accuse you of desertion, and you can even complain about me later. But right now, I'm in charge."
Thanks to the Third Hokage, the Sarutobi clan had always enjoyed a certain level of privilege in Konoha. But with Takuya, such privileges didn't apply. You either followed his orders, or you left.
"How can this be?" Rasa muttered, starting to doubt everything. He couldn't even handle a single Jinchuriki!
The worst part was Kushina's lack of battle experience. She wasn't using tactics; she was just charging at him with brute force, and he still couldn't keep up!
Magnet Release—a famed ability in the ninja world—seemed ineffective against her. With her Nine-Tails cloak, Kushina's destructive power was too much; his gold sand couldn't hold up against her sheer force.
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Next Bonus: 300 power stone
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