Charging at Rousa wasn't just because of the Monstrous Strength advantage. The battle was decided; Sand's defeat was inevitable. If an unengaged Rousa fled, the assassination mission would fail.
As Taiichi predicted, Rousa considered fleeing. He needed to report Konoha's ambush. This provocation would unite the hawkish faction with Stone against Konoha.
But execution was harder than planning.
"Damn it! How is this kid so fast?!"
Using CES Body Flicker, Taiichi closed in like lightning. He smashed through Rousa's backup puppets with single punches.
Rousa was running out of puppets. Sakumo had destroyed many, and now Taiichi was finishing the rest. He was down to rejects.
With Sakumo pressing and Taiichi charging, Rousa had no chance to escape.
"White Fang! Konoha breaks the alliance to kill me! Do you not fear Sand's retaliation?"
Desperate, Rousa tried verbal threats.
Sakumo didn't answer. He just kept the puppets engaged, distracting Rousa for Taiichi.
Taiichi broke through. Only one obstacle remained: a massive scorpion puppet guarding Rousa.
Learning from previous mistakes, the scorpion kept Taiichi at bay with poisoned senbon and a bladed tail that struck like lightning.
While dodging, Taiichi felt a sting on his foot. Numbness spread quickly. Poison.
He looked down. He had stepped on a hidden senbon. The ground was littered with them.
Crafty veteran. Taiichi's movement was restricted.
Seeing his plan work, Rousa started retreating.
Taiichi popped an antidote pill and wove signs. "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A roaring fire dragon melted the senbon. Taiichi poured more chakra, turning the flames white-hot.
Puppets were fire-resistant, but not against this.
Rousa, confident in his materials, reacted too late. The heat was searing even from a distance.
The dragon impact melted the puppet's joints. It collapsed into a pile of scrap metal and slag.
The sheer power shocked everyone, even Hizashi, who paused in his advance.
Taiichi didn't pause. Coating his feet in fire, he sprinted along the path cleared by the dragon.
Rousa panicked. He threw out more junk puppets, but they barely slowed Taiichi down.
Distracted by Taiichi, Rousa missed the kunai flying past him.
It didn't hit him, so he ignored it. But then Minato appeared behind him.
Flying Raijin Slice.
Minato's second use of the technique in this battle. First a Chunin, now the target.
With Rousa dead, his puppets collapsed.
"Clean up! We need to leave!" Sakumo ordered.
Taiichi went to Rousa's body. He needed the real antidote.
He searched carefully and found a bottle labeled "Antidote." But he didn't take it. He kept searching until he found all of Rousa's medical supplies.
"Something wrong?" Sakumo asked.
"Better safe than sorry. I need to test them." Taiichi also collected poisoned senbon.
"Find a spot. I need to test the poison."
A few minutes later, the team gathered around the vitrified ground caused by Taiichi's fire. It was too conspicuous.
"Earth Style to sink it?" Hizashi suggested.
Everyone looked at him.
"Don't look at me. Hyuga aren't known for elemental ninjutsu," Hizashi said awkwardly.
They looked at Sakumo.
"Lightning only. No Earth," Sakumo shrugged.
Minato spoke up. "I know some Earth Style, but nothing suitable for this."
Taiichi stepped forward. He wanted to hide his skills, but necessity called. Thanks to Tsunade's scrolls, he knew many utility jutsu.
He wove signs slowly. "Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The ground turned into a bubbling swamp, swallowing the glass slag deep underground.
Then, fast signs. "Earth Style: Earth Flow Divide!"
He slammed his palm down. The ground rumbled, crushing the buried glass.
Finally, slow signs, massive chakra. "Earth Style: Mud River!"
The area turned into a rushing river of mud, churning everything into a mess.
When the jutsu ended, the ground looked like natural mud. Taiichi stood up, exhaling. Cleanup took as much chakra as combat.
He turned to find the others staring at him like he was a monster.
Sakumo patted his shoulder. "No need to explain. Good job."
"Let's move!"
"Yes!"
Half an hour later, the Sand vanguard returned to the rendezvous point. No one was there.
After waiting, they panicked. The envoy missing a crucial meeting was a disaster for the alliance.
They rushed back to the outpost to report, missing the battle site by a hundred meters. This bought Sakumo's team time.
---
In a cave deep in the Land of Bird.
Taiichi was busy.
Never trust a dead poison user's labels.
The "Antidote" on Rousa was a trap—a semi-finished product that needed mixing with other compounds.
Anyone else would be dead. But Taiichi tested the poison on himself (the most affected one) and some small animals.
Within the hour limit of his suppression pill, he synthesized the real antidote.
He held out sticky, black pills. Sakumo, Minato, and Hizashi looked at each other, reluctant. It looked disgusting.
Taiichi popped one into his mouth and closed his eyes.
Five minutes later, he opened them. "This is it!"
He handed them the pills.
Seeing their hesitation, Taiichi frowned. "Eat it. Time is almost up. Any later, and you'll have permanent damage."
They gritted their teeth and swallowed.
Fishy, bitter, astringent.
Three unrelated tastes combined into a flavor from hell. Their faces twisted.
"Taiichi, your cooking is divine. Why does your medicine taste like death?" Minato gasped, trying to clear the taste.
Taiichi looked at him like he was an idiot.
Minato doubted his reality. Is it me? He looked at Sakumo and Hizashi. They looked constipated too.
"Good medicine tastes bitter! It's not food; efficacy is what matters!" Taiichi argued self-righteously. Then he mumbled, "Besides, it tastes fine."
Ninjas have good hearing. They all heard it.
Mystery solved. Taiichi's taste buds are broken.
They swore never to eat his medicine unless absolutely necessary.
Detoxified and cleaned up, they moved toward the Land of Rain. The Wind border was too hot. They would cross Bird, then Rain, back to Konoha.
Meanwhile, the Sand border outpost was in chaos.