To be honest, Inuzuka Tsume's attacks were hardly a threat to Yubi.
The person he truly cared about wasn't Inuzuka Tsume.
It was always Minato Namikaze!
He was constantly observing Minato's movements—the kunai thrown at him was timed perfectly, and he had to counter it.
But with the kunai thrown first, the thrower's movement should, by common logic, be a beat slower.
However—Minato managed to arrive first despite starting later, seemingly flashing ahead to Yubi's landing point.
This wasn't the Flying Thunder God; it was simply an assassination plan executed with overclocked speed, using a most basic attack to create a fleeting opportunity.
A type of Body Flicker Technique.
"In the brief instant I used blood to deflect the kunai—he completed all of this—" Yubi's body tensed as the thought flashed through his mind.
No matter how low the threat of that kunai was to him, instinctual nature still drew his attention for a split second.
After entering the forest, Inuzuka Tsume was the first to launch an attack.
But in that extremely short time, Minato had already observed the entire forest environment, and his brain had deconstructed the spatial layout of the battlefield—
His own evasion movements and path were simulated in advance by Minato's spatial perception, optimizing a more efficient route. This made his actions appear as if he had reached the 'finish line' a step faster than Yubi.
This was an unadorned fighting style—taking combat efficiency to perfection!
It wasn't some powerful Ninjutsu or Release—the sole purpose was to find the enemy's weakness.
Even if the enemy had no weaknesses, he would use his abilities to 'create' one for them.
This was somewhat terrifying.
To achieve this effect of 'returning to simplicity,' the requirements for individual ability and attributes were extremely strict—because any slight error or failure in execution would mean failing to catch that opportunity invisible to others.
Yubi's brain similarly completed a 'data analysis' of Minato Namikaze appearing behind him.
Snap!
With a crisp sound, Minato, raising his kunai, stabbed toward the center of Yubi's back.
But the tactile sensation and the sound reaching his ears indicated that this strike failed to cause effective damage.
Minato looked closely and saw that the enemy's back was covered in a layer of blood-colored scales, like a shield, blocking the kunai's entry.
Minato immediately raised his hand, intending to touch Yubi's body.
However, with a'shua' sound.
A faint, barely perceptible gust of wind approached. Minato sensed danger and instantly jumped away.
A sharp thread sliced off a few strands of his hair.
Bang!
At that moment, from above, Inuzuka Tsume's Tsuuga finally landed, smashing into the ground where Yubi had been standing.
A large amount of dirt was kicked up.
However, when she jumped out of the deep pit, panting, she found the target standing not far away with a calm expression.
Her attack hadn't hit.
Yubi and Sasori stood on one side.
Minato and the others stood opposite them.
The situation on the field—two against six.
Behind Sasori, dozens of red-robed Puppets were now floating in mid-air. Among them were some Puppets that were familiar faces to Yubi.
They were the former high-ranking officials of Sunagakure Village.
Unlike when they were human flesh and blood, the Chakra threads pulling and controlling the Puppets no longer came from Sasori's fingers, but—shot out from inside his modified body.
This scene caused Minato, Shikaku, and the others to change expression.
The number of Puppets being controlled and the level of control technique were something they had never heard of before.
"It's them—"
When Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka clearly saw Yubi and Sasori's faces, their voices immediately wavered.
Shikaku spoke to his companions with great gravity: "Be careful, they are—Sunagakure's Blood Doctor Yubi and Sasori of the Red Sand!"
The famous twin stars of Sunagakure Village.
Moreover, they were the murderers who had killed a Konoha Jonin many years ago.
Hearing this, the expressions of the several people shifted drastically.
"It seems that among the people Konoha sent to pursue us back then, you two were indeed there."
Yubi curled his lips upon hearing this, staring at the wary Shikaku.
"Now, this is a war provoked by your Sunagakure Village—it is time for an accounting for the death of Senior Otani back then," Shikaku said in a low voice.
"Can you do it?"
Yubi stared into Shikaku's eyes, his voice suddenly dropping as he asked word by word.
"..."
Shikaku swallowed hard after hearing that.
"These two—are the rats who were scared away back then?"
Beside him, Sasori added a cutting remark.
"Exactly."
Yubi responded playfully.
Then, Minato gave Inoichi and Shikaku a look.
Without warning, he coordinated with Inuzuka Tsume to strike again.
The other two Konoha Jonin also instantly formed hand seals, aiming at Sasori.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!"
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
Both of them spat out intense flames simultaneously, though the forms and changes of the Fire Release were different.
Hmm?
Seeing this, Yubi immediately knew the identities of these two.
Members of Konoha's—Sarutobi Clan.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall."
Yubi also instantly formed seals and slammed his hands onto the ground, causing a massive stone wall to rise from the surface, blocking a portion of the spreading fire.
Of course, his Earth Release level was completely inferior to the full-power execution of the two Konoha Jonin; Yubi was merely buying some time for himself and Sasori.
He didn't want to waste too much Chakra.
He and Sasori flickered away again.
The enemy's battle plan was obvious.
In their eyes, his threat seemed greater than Sasori's.
Therefore, the two Jonin from the Sarutobi Clan rushed directly at Sasori, while the remaining four from Konoha's new generation targeted Yubi.
They intended to split the battlefield, preventing the two from working together and forcing them to fight individually.
Minato closed in again, and Inuzuka Tsume used a technique similar to Tsuuga called 'Fang Rotating Fang.' This high-speed rotation made the person and dog like two rolling saw blades; the effect was no longer a simple impact but added a cutting effect.
While in mid-air, Yubi activated his Blood Release right in front of them.
Red Scale Leap and Wing King!
This gave his physical attributes an instant boost, especially the explosive power and speed granted by Wing King—instantly allowing Yubi to turn the situation around. He no longer defended or dodged, but—actively attacked!
His movement speed—made it impossible for Inuzuka Tsume's Ninjutsu to pursue him.
Yubi was like a streak of blood light weaving through the forest and mountains—too fast for the naked eye to capture.
Even Minato was forced to use the Flying Thunder God just to keep him pinned down!
Because without using the Flying Thunder God Technique, relying solely on reaction and basic Body Flicker, Minato found—even he had a bit of trouble keeping up with Yubi's speed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The following scene became a 'one-man show' between Yubi and Minato Namikaze—
Yubi moved through the field like a ghost, while Minato vanished into thin air again and again, only to reappear and strike repeatedly.
The clashes between the two were brief, separating upon contact before quickly engaging in fierce combat once more—
"I can't—react at all—"
Yubi's heart stirred.
This was—no longer about whether the speed was fast or not.
A space-time Ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God had already exceeded the realm of predictability.
It couldn't even be sensed or captured.
When the target's position couldn't be determined, no matter how fast one was, it was useless.
Because—one couldn't keep up with the opponent's actions.
This made some of his Blood Release techniques impossible to execute, as they wouldn't hit. Using them would be pointless and a waste of Chakra.
Therefore, the only thing Yubi could do now was keep moving, forcing Minato to actively 'lock on' and get close for every attack—he knew that space-time transfers like the Flying Thunder God consumed a massive amount of Chakra.
Yubi used the 'Blood Armor' attached to his body to withstand every one of Minato's attacks. His solidified blood almost encased his entire body—making it impossible for Minato to cause effective damage with each strike.
But the opponent continued to attack incessantly, not because he was foolish, but because—he knew he wasn't fighting alone. Constantly applying pressure was meant to create an opening for his companions!
On the other side, Minato was also feeling the pressure.
His exchange with Yubi made him very uncomfortable.
There was a very discordant, eerie feeling.
Awkward—
This was a situation he had never felt with any other enemy.
After fighting for a while, Minato realized one thing—though it seemed absurd, it was likely true.
That was—this Blood Doctor Yubi was extremely familiar with his methods and fighting style!
He was even 'intentionally avoiding' some of the setups for the Flying Thunder God Technique.
This included—checking the landing points and trajectories of his marked kunai, and—after being 'marked,' that 'blood shell' would instantly crumble and dissipate, destroying the formula, before reforming again.
And the constant high-speed movement made his spatial locking and perception much more difficult.
All of this made the exchange extremely 'painful' for Minato.
Even—giving him the illusion of being toyed with by the opponent.