Boom!
The girl punched through the rock spear that was larger than her own body, her momentum undiminished as the strike landed on the pursuing giant's belly.
Thud!
With a dull sound, the force of the punch erupted. The fat on the giant's belly rippled like a lake's surface before he was sent flying backward, crashing through several thick stone pillars and walls before flying out of the tower.
Such a huge commotion attracted the attention of the two fighting on the other side.
Seeing his companion blasted out of the tower, Minato couldn't help but gasp in shock. He spread his legs, ready to rush to the rescue.
But a black shadow flashed before his eyes. The boy with reddish-brown short hair had already stepped in to block the way.
"You were the ones who initiated this fight. Now you want to run?" After saying this, Ryuji turned his head to Gin, who was about to come support him. "Don't worry about here. Go deal with that fat one."
Looking at the boy in front of him who always has a confident smile, Minato's heart sank.
Although he was fast, he wasn't so fast that the opponent couldn't keep up.
If he wanted to escape, he could leave anytime. But to rescue his companion in the shortest time, he needed to exit through this opening, and the enemy only needed to block it.
In other words, without defeating the boy in front of him, he couldn't go to the rescue.
But through the brief exchange, Minato had gained some understanding of the boy's character.
Confident, bold, yet extremely cautious.
It sounds contradictory, but it isn't.
To put it simply: clear-headed, with definite thinking.
Cautious and careful towards unknown things, bold and confident when dealing with known things. He would never be fooled by the enemy into a trap, nor waste an opportunity due to the enemy's bluffing.
Just like his kunai wrapped with Flying Thunder God's marks. Even though he pretended they were ordinary kunai when throwing them, the opponent always disrupted their trajectory, making his setup difficult.
Such a personality combined with that considerable strength made a quick victory simply impossible.
Moreover, the puppet that looked pathetically weak probably had some hidden tricks.
Since taking out this puppet, the opponent had become extremely confident. Anyone who truly considered it a weak puppet would be a fool.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
Continuous roars came from outside. The battle was intense, occasionally mixed with his companion's muffled grunts, making Minato increasingly anxious inside.
'I have to use that.'
Minato's eyes suddenly turned sharp.
He pressed his palms together, gazing at the boy ahead. "Shinobi of Sunagakure, whether you believe it or not, we never intended to harm you. Can't we really talk this through properly?"
"I believe you."
Looking at the boy's sincere expression, Minato was stunned for a moment, even his hand seals showing a flaw.
Ryuji seized the opportunity, swinging Armor like a heavy hammer.
Minato was startled and hastily jumped back.
Bang!
The puppet struck the ground with a heavy sound.
But what surprised Minato was that this heavy blow didn't damage the floor at all. Instead, it shattered the puppet itself, sending parts and fragments flying everywhere.
Minato was dumbfounded.
'That's it?'
'Just this?'
'The thing he took out with such confidence, treated like a trump card, just shattered like that?'
Minato felt he had fallen for the enemy's bluff.
Remembering how he had cautiously avoided it during the previous fight out of wariness towards this puppet, even his gentle temperament couldn't prevent a surge of annoyance.
"Hmph!"
A disdainful snort mixed with the sound of the puppet shattering, like a death knell closing in, jolted Minato awake.
He looked up and noticed a detail.
None of the fragments and parts flying in the air were damaged.
Or rather, as a puppet, they were fragments, but as components, they were perfectly intact.
'Could it be?'
A bad premonition arose in Minato's heart.
"I believe you didn't intend to harm me, but I also believe we cannot resolve this conflict through negotiation." Ryuji finished his earlier unfinished sentence. The soft tubes connecting to his armor disconnected one by one, revealing countless tiny ports.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!
As Chakra was injected, countless fine Chakra Threads flew out from the ports, connecting to the scattered parts in the air, then violently pulled them back.
Clack, clack, clack...
Accompanied by the sound of mechanical assembly, parts and plates combined on Ryuji's body... chest armor, arm guards, leg guards, joints, helmet... In just a second, he was clad in a layer of metallic armor with a futuristic, technological feel.
Finally, the disconnected soft tubes expelled a burst of gas before reconnecting to ports on the back of the armor. Cold, crimson eyes lit up behind the helmet's faceplate.
An intense aura radiated from his entire being, making it hard to breathe.
'It's exactly as I thought!'
Minato took a deep breath.
That puppet's joints and connecting fasteners were exposed, making it look like it would fall apart at a touch… that's why it seemed pathetically weak.
He initially thought this might be a deliberate design for some special mechanism.
But now it seemed it was indeed intentionally designed this way.
However, it wasn't for some special mechanism, but designed specifically to disassemble into parts more easily.
This puppet… no, it should be called this armor.
This armor was only placed in a puppet posture when stored normally.
Although Minato didn't know why the opponent went to the trouble of assembling it as a puppet, the fact currently displayed was just that.
"Your goal is to stop Anrokuzan from creating a puppet army using the Dragon Vein to control the world. My goal is to seize the Dragon Vein. We are destined to clash."
Ryuji's voice, filtered through the faceplate, became somewhat sharp and heavy. Combined with the tall, imposing armor, he sounded like a robot speaking.
"I understand."
Minato closed his eyes.
Ryuji felt an invisible pressure emanating from the other party and grew solemn.
Suddenly, orange markings appeared around Minato's eyes. He opened his eyes sharply, his pupils now resembling a toad's with an extra horizontal bar.
That invisible oppressive feeling suddenly intensified.
'Sage Mode...'
Ryuji became even more solemn, raising his focus to the utmost, staring intently at Minato.
Wind blew in through the holes in the wall, causing small sand and stones to roll faintly.
Suddenly, the air flow intensified violently.
Minato vanished from his spot.
'Behind!'
Sensors on the armor detected abnormal air phenomena and rapidly calculated the enemy's landing position.
Ryuji didn't hesitate. He violently swung his arm, twisted his waist, turned, and swept… the entire motion executed in one fluid movement.
Thwack!
Minato, who had just appeared behind, holding a strange kunai ready to thrust, was struck by the sweeping blow and sent flying backward.
Ryuji pressed his advantage relentlessly, chasing after the flying figure.
He took heavy strides while activating the propulsion system on his back, erupting with flames for acceleration. His entire figure turned into an afterimage, actually catching up to the flying Minato despite starting later.
"Die!"
Ryuji raised his right arm. Flame jets erupted from the back of his hand and elbow, accelerating the punch as he smashed it toward Minato's head.
Boom!