Boom! Boom! Boom!
Countless steel balls swept through the Sunagakure team like a natural disaster, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Hatake Sakumo watched the scene, his eyes filled with shock.
This child's Chakra reserves seemed to be even greater than he had anticipated.
As the fine, persistent rain began to fall, washing the dust from the air, the situation in the field became clear to both men.
The initial force of about a hundred men had been reduced to fewer than fifty after this devastating barrage, and most of the survivors were wounded.
"Damn it! That wretched brat!"
The Commanding Jonin, who had been boasting just moments before, clutched his left arm and let out a pained roar.
His arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, his forehead covered in blood, and the corpses of his comrades lay at his feet.
The attack had come too suddenly. No one had expected a child of this age to possess such monstrous strength!
Even more surprising was that he had managed to perform the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique in such a state!
Though the initial assault had been devastating, if they had established Earth Release defenses in time, the casualties would not have been so severe.
When the steel ball was smashed away, the Sunagakure ninja present reacted with shock or instinctively dodged, losing the best opportunity to perform hand seals.
"I didn't expect it to be so effective!" Hatake Sakumo was also surprised by the result.
Minato looked at Sakumo. "Senior, should we continue?"
"No, we retreat." Sakumo shook his head. "They're no longer a threat. The enemy forces from the other two routes should be arriving soon, and your Chakra must be running low, right?"
"Hmm—enough to manage."
Minato instantly teleported to retrieve the steel ball. Amidst the Sunagakure ninja's hateful glares and the groans of the wounded, he led Sakumo back to the camp.
"Lord Sakumo, the enemy Ninja Forces on the other two routes are less than thirty kilometers away!" A ninja who had been waiting for their return immediately reported the enemy's movements.
"We're going south!" Sakumo declared without hesitation.
Haku, the leader of the western front, had already been taken care of by Minato. Moreover, compared to the flanking forces that required division and encirclement, the enemy forces attacking the front were relatively smaller in number.
With the camp's current forces, eliminating the enemy to the south would be enough to handle the main battlefield.
Minato wasted no words. He raised his hand, slapped the enemy, and the two figures vanished once more.
They employed the same tactic as before: luring enemies with crude traps and striking when they let their guard down.
Unlike the previous hurried march, this group was highly vigilant. Their leader, a young man in his twenties, immediately ordered a halt when a reconnaissance ninja discovered the trap.
"Come out. Your stealth is too poor."
The leader's gaze fixed on the rock where Minato was hiding.
A young man with spiky blonde hair peeked out from behind the rock.
"A child—"
The leader frowned, his eyes falling on the forehead protector on Minato's head. "But he's already a ninja?"
"He looks too young for that," the black-haired woman beside the leader said, her eyes softening with pity. She looked at the leader, her voice hesitant. "Takahiro—"
"This is a battlefield, Akiko."
Takahiro's tone was grave. "The Exploding Tag thrown by this child is just as deadly!"
"I understand."
Akiko let out an almost imperceptible sigh. The child opposite her looked no older than her own, and appeared just as pretty and well-behaved. It pained her to see someone of an age that should be enjoying the warmth of family instead fighting on the battlefield.
Noticing his wife's thoughts, Takahiro's eyes flickered with a hint of helplessness. He turned his gaze to Minato and spoke coldly, "Kid, this is a battlefield, not a place for someone your age. I'm giving you one chance to leave this place immediately!"
The surrounding ninjas immediately stirred.
"Lord Takahiro, isn't this against the rules? This kid just set traps in our path!"
"Exactly! Even if he's young, he's still a Konoha ninja. He might be a genius in the making!"
"Enough. His trap-making skills are worse than a Ninja Academy student's. He's just an insignificant brat."
Takahiro dismissed their concerns with a wave of his hand. He fixed his gaze on Minato. "Leave now."
Minato fell silent at these words.
He hadn't expected to receive such kindness from an enemy on the battlefield.
This emotion, born of pity and expressed with magnanimity, instantly dissolved his battle-ready killing intent.
However—the current situation left no room for indecision.
He was merely a clone; such matters were best left to the original body to handle.
With this thought, he first created a Shadow Clone to synchronize information with his main body.
Then, he casually tossed several kunai toward the Sunagakure forces.
"It seems they don't intend to retreat," Takahiro said, shaking his head as he watched the clumsy, ineffective kunai fall harmlessly before him. He seemed to regret what was about to happen. "Let's finish them."
As his voice faded, two muffled thuds echoed.
Minato had materialized before them without warning, each hand holding a kunai, which he plunged into Takahiro and Akiko's abdomens.
"Children shouldn't be on the battlefield," Minato said, "and neither should the soft-hearted."
Takahiro and Akiko stared down in disbelief at the phantom-like figure of Minato before them.
"How... how is this possible?"
Thud, thud, thud—
Vines erupted from the earth, binding the two like mummies as they began draining their Chakra.
To the two men's horror, another yellow-haired man appeared on the battlefield, bringing a white-haired man with him. Amidst the chaos of battle, they began relentlessly slaughtering the Sunagakure ninja.
"Your personalities aren't suited for leadership, but I don't dislike people like you," Minato said calmly.
"Damn you! Die! You little bastard!"
A Sunagakure ninja with a twisted expression charged at Minato, his long sword raised high. He brought it down in a brutal arc toward Minato's neck.
But Minato merely waved his hand. A golden flash streaked through the air, and the ninja was split in two, collapsing heavily to the ground.
"Next time we meet, I won't show such mercy."
Minato's gaze lingered on Takahiro's fiery red hair, a subtle feeling stirring within him. (In the manga, it's orange, just like Sasori's).
From their appearance alone, these two were almost certainly Sasori's parents.
He hadn't killed them for two reasons: first, their earlier act of mercy, and second, for Granny Chiyo—who possessed the Rebirth Through One's Own Life technique!
After all, this was a ninjutsu capable of transferring life itself, even granting puppets true life.
To Minato, this technique was as valuable as the Immortality Technique.
I spared your son and daughter-in-law on the battlefield. For their lives, it's only fair to ask for Rebirth Through One's Own Life in return, isn't it?
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