Nawaki's emotional shift happened in an instant. As he moved, the battle—previously paused by Sakumo and Chiyo's clash—exploded once again.
His furious roar reached Minato's ears, making him snap his head around.
Others might not understand, but how could Minato miss its meaning?
Was it Sarutobi Ao whose leg had been crippled by that Suna Jonin?
"Nawaki Sempai, don't act recklessly!"
Minato shouted urgently. From the enemy's chakra level and attire alone, he was clearly facing a Jonin.
Against a Jonin now, Nawaki couldn't even guarantee his own survival—how could he possibly seek revenge?
As Minato prepared to rush forward and stop him, Nawaki had already closed most of the distance to the Suna ninja. Suddenly, another ninja blocked Minato's path—one who also seemed to match the strength of a Suna Jonin.
"Out of my way!"
Minato roared, though naturally his opponent wouldn't back down so easily.
After continuous battles, Minato had burned through a significant amount of chakra, making it impossible to eliminate this new threat instantly.
At that moment, Nawaki had already clashed head-on with the Suna Jonin.
[Earth Release: Earth and Stone Dragon!]
From behind Nawaki, the earth rose, and several earthen dragons shot toward the Jonin.
[Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!]
The Jonin remained calm, releasing over a dozen wind blades. The colliding techniques shattered several earth dragons, yet still left some to strike toward Nawaki.
[Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!]
Startled, Nawaki leaped backward, raising a wall of earth to block all remaining wind blades at once.
However, the mud wall was now riddled with cracks.
Swish!
A figure leapt from atop the cracked wall, swinging his long blade downward toward Nawaki.
Nawaki flinched in shock but barely managed to raise a kunai to block.
Bang!
They collided, and the mud wall crumbled into pieces.
"You've improved quite a bit, kid."
In that instant, Nawaki was completely overpowered. His overall skill was still significantly inferior to a Jonin's. The fact that he managed to release ninjutsu was likely because his opponent had held back somewhat.
Fury burned in Nawaki's eyes, his murderous intent intense. But objectively speaking, he simply wasn't a match for a Jonin.
This was an undeniable truth—one that rage could never change.
"You really want to kill me, huh? You should thank that brat. Without him, you'd already be dead," mocked the Jonin, treating Nawaki like an ant he could crush anytime.
Even if Nawaki had become stronger these past days, it still didn't matter.
He acted too impulsively!
"...But that kid might live. As for you today... you won't be so lucky!"
The Jonin's gaze darkened as he intensified his pressure. Though Nawaki belonged to the Senju clan and possessed strength beyond his peers, before a Jonin, he was still slightly weaker.
Clang!
The two weapons scraped against each other, sparking. Nawaki hastily leapt back, yet before he could fully escape the blade's reach, it still grazed his wrist holding a kunai, though not deeply.
"Little rat, die!"
The moment he broke free from the trap, the long sword came down again. This time, there was no way to dodge.
"Instant Flash!"
At the critical moment, a golden light cut across the battlefield and arrived directly in front of Nawaki, blocking that fatal strike.
Minato slightly lowered his eyelids, breathing heavily. He had finally dealt with the enemy blocking his path, but continuous battles had already drained a large amount of his chakra.
"Another brat!"
Seeing Minato, the Suna Jonin said mockingly. Last time, when he tried to kill Nawaki, Sarutobi Ao had intercepted the blow.
Back then, Ao couldn't withstand for long. But Minato wasn't as fragile as Ao.
"This brat here will take your life today."
Minato replied angrily. Although he didn't know Sarutobi Ao well personally, he held great admiration for this young genius.
He felt it was such a pity that the boy had been crippled. Now that he had found the culprit, naturally, he wouldn't stand by.
Nawaki was stunned for a moment. Seeing Minato's back, he felt an unexpected ache in his chest.
On that day, Ao had saved him in the same way.
"Minato, I'll help you!"
But he snapped out of it quickly, swinging his kunai at the Jonin who was fighting Minato.
However, suddenly, he felt his arm go limp and could no longer grip the kunai.
"Hehe," the Jonin seemed to have predicted this, letting out a faint chuckle.
"This time, even if another brat shows up, you're finished!" he sneered while Minato pushed him back and glanced sideways.
The wound on Nawaki's wrist had turned purplish-black and was spreading upward along his veins.
"There's poison on your blade!" Minato glared fiercely at the Sunin ninja, exclaiming furiously.
The Suna ninja chuckled. "This is a special poison brewed by Lady Chiyo herself. No one in the entire Ninja World can cure it."
"Damn it!"
Minato cursed but still pulled a rope from his ninja pouch and tightly bound it around the upper part of Nawaki's poisoned arm.
This would delay the poison's progression temporarily, but ultimately only treat the symptom, not the root cause.
Unless… we cut the arm off.
In that case, Nawaki would no longer be able to become a powerful ninja—perhaps even cease being a ninja altogether.
Without hand seals, any ninja's combat effectiveness would be severely impaired.
"You're a smart kid, but in the end, you still can't save him," the Jonin laughed again without rushing to attack.
Minato's expression darkened, but what that guy said simply wasn't true.
Chiyo's poison might be considered incurable for others, but certainly not for everyone!
"Nawaki Sempai, come with me!" Minato said, stepping in front of Nawaki and bending forward: "Quickly get onto my back."
"I can walk by myself," Nawaki replied.
"No, that would accelerate the poison spreading through your body," Minato denied.
Swish!
Just then, the Suna ninja charged forth once more.
"What do you think I am?"
Clang!
At that moment, a slender figure appeared before him, her long blade slashing downward.
"I'll handle this one," Junko Watanabe said with a sideways glance.
Minato nodded and replied, "Thank you, Senpai Junko!"
Without hesitation, he slung Nawaki over his back and shot off the battlefield like a bolt of lightning.
At that moment, everyone from Konoha instantly recognized the poison in Nawaki's system. They pressed hard against their enemies to create an opening for Minato, who used his incredible speed to finally break through and escape.
After dashing dozens of meters beyond the battlefield, he expanded his sensing ability to its limit. Even if he now used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to Konoha's camp with Nawaki, Jiraiya and the other two who responded to Sakumo's summons would certainly not have arrived yet.
The unconscious Nawaki on his back was growing weaker by the second; his chakra waning with every passing moment. A wave of panic surged through Minato.
"Please, I have to make it in time!"
...
...
(Happy birthday to me. A big thank you to all readers who left birthday wishes in the comments section!) (To be continued...)
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