Chiyo's eyes radiated piercing killing intent. Her defeat last time had largely been due to this blond nuisance from Konoha, and now he was interfering with her plans again.
Yet in the midst of anger and shock, Chiyo couldn't comprehend where this boy had obtained such strength—how he could so easily wipe out the elite puppet masters she had personally selected.
Could this kid's stamina and chakra truly be inexhaustible?
"Boom!"
Another Suna puppet master collapsed before Minato, blood splattering his body. Without even glancing at the corpse lying at his feet, he immediately extended his sensory perception to locate his next target.
Puppet masters manipulated their puppets using Chakra Threads, and this external emission of chakra allowed Minato to instantly lock onto them.
However, after eliminating four Suna puppet masters in succession, the Nine-Tails' chakra given to him had now been nearly drained.
But he had no intention of stopping. He shut his eyes once more and silently called out inwardly.
"Give me chakra!"
In an instant, he reopened his eyes—their pupils transformed into vertical slits yet again.
"If you keep this up, your body will collapse!"
A voice echoed within him. The Nine-Tails' chakra was overwhelmingly vast; replenishing it for Minato even a hundred times wouldn't be difficult.
Yet his physical form could never endure repeated surges of that power. Even if his body could withstand the same maximum chakra reserves as before, sustaining that level continuously was still impossible.
The human body isn't like a container—it cannot endure repeated bursts of overwhelming energy.
Even if the body could hold up, the mental exhaustion from battle could not be restored by the Nine-Tails' chakra alone.
"Don't worry, I know my limits."
Minato muttered internally while casting a glance toward Chiyo, who was locked in combat with Tsunade and Orochimaru. He completely ignored the shadowed hatred in her gaze.
He had long become accustomed to such murderous stares.
Seeing Minato charge forward once again, Chiyo's heart involuntarily trembled.
"Puchi!"
One minute later, another Suna puppet master and his puppet were destroyed by Minato.
This near-frantic slaughter swept across half the battlefield, leaving both Konoha and Suna forces stunned.
Minato's former comrades—Mikoto, Shurou, and Hiashi Hyuga—were equally astonished. At this moment, none of them possessed the capability to even consider targeting these Suna puppet masters themselves.
Chiyo's expression darkened further. Then, Minato's gaze met hers again. This time, the deep-blue intensity of his eyes carried such a ruthless look that even she hesitated momentarily.
Such an expression—an air of merciless decisiveness—even Chiyo, in her forties and seasoned by decades of experience, found difficult to comprehend.
How could a mere youth possess such a gaze?
After their eye contact, Minato flickered through space and locked onto yet another Suna puppet master.
Witnessing the fate of his earlier companions, the man was seized by terror. Teaming up with another nearby Suna ninja, they steeled themselves and prepared to confront Minato together.
Because of the heavy losses Konoha ninjas suffered earlier from Suna Puppet Brigade's attacks, the forces were now heavily imbalanced, and no one was left to help Minato.
But fear? That wasn't in Minato's vocabulary!
The three became entangled in battle. With two working as one, Minato quickly found himself at a disadvantage.
After dozens of fierce exchanges, they struck together, kunai aimed straight for Minato. Their ninja tools were all coated in poison—landing any hit on Minato would mean victory.
Buzzzz!
Minato spread his hands to meet the incoming weapons. Spiraling Spheres had already formed atop both palms.
"Bang! Bang!"
The two kunai shattered upon impact with the Rasengan. Minato retaliated instantly, slamming his palms into both enemies and sending them flying away.
After eliminating the sixth Puppet Master, Minato suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot through his body. Sweat trickled down his forehead, but now was not the time to collapse.
His actions right now were a psychological game against Chiyo.
Minato wasn't killing the Puppet Masters out of revenge, nor did he think he could singlehandedly change the course of the battle.
But he had no choice—he needed to force Chiyo back.
As the Fourth Hokage, Minato naturally had interactions with Kages and high-ranking officials across the ninja nations. Chiyo valued interests greatly—these Puppet Masters were her elite subordinates.
Every high-level figure within each Hidden Village maintained their own forces. Chiyo's power base within Sunagakure was built by her son and daughter-in-law, Kouhi and Liufei, along with the entire Puppet Brigade.
To her, losing one Puppet Master hurt far worse than losing several ordinary Suna ninjas.
"Give me more strength!" This was already the third time Minato had drawn upon Nine-Tails' power today.
Chakra surged within him again.
"Careful…"
This time, the voice inside didn't try to stop him. They were one being, or rather, completely inseparable.
Therefore, no one understood Minato's personality better than himself.
He couldn't just watch helplessly while Konoha forces were destroyed here under Suna Puppet Brigade's assault.
So today, even if it cost him his life, he'd still fight with everything he had!
Swish!
Once again, Minato's golden figure like a god of death reappeared before another skilled Suna ninja—an enemy Puppet Master.
His actions were clearly visible to the four Konoha elites present.
Under normal circumstances, they would have thought deeply, just like Chiyo, about where exactly Minato had drawn this strength from.
But now, all four of them only worried about the dangers Minato might face.
Tsunade intensified her assault, holding nothing back as she recklessly charged toward Chiyo.
[Thousand Snake Formation!]
Orochimaru opened his mouth wide, spewing forth a flood of tiny snakes, resembling an array made entirely of countless serpents.
These small snakes crawled beneath both Tsunade and Chiyo's feet, though they launched no attacks on the latter.
"Hiss! Hiss!"
"Pfah!"
As Chiyo and Tsunade clashed, the former's puppets fired off shuriken. At that moment, those slender snakes erupted like a gushing wall of water, surging up to shield Tsunade.
"Puchi!"
Just then, a fresh spray of blood burst from within the Suna ninja ranks. A Suna puppet master was sliced in two by Minato, blood splattering everywhere.
Seeing this, Chiyo's eyes burned with fury. Then she looked at the increasingly fierce Tsunade and Orochimaru before her, and at the rapidly thinning ranks of the Suna puppet masters...
She gritted her teeth, squeezing out a few words through her mouth.
"Fall back!"
Chiyo's voice immediately reached the ears of most Suna ninjas present. From among the crowd, Minato's face twitched involuntarily as he heard this — the Nine-Tails' chakra still wracking his body with pain.
Then, a grin slowly spread across his already rigid face.
"This contest... I've won!"
...
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