"Crunch!"
Kicking and shattering the fire-breathing scarab puppet, Minato pulled Shibi out from the sea of flames and extinguished the fire on his body.
But Shibi was already unconscious, with large areas of his exposed skin severely burned.
Minato frowned deeply. He quickly tore open Shibi's clothing, took out burn ointment from the medical kit, and swiftly applied it.
"Let's begin the second round!"
A confident, even somewhat arrogant voice came from the other side.
Hearing the sound, Minato looked over. In the center of the ruined room, the Sunagakure's Shinobi stood controlling a puppet.
And in front of him stood a silver-haired girl.
'Another companion?'
Minato narrowed his eyes.
Boom!
The floor on the left side was broken through as Choza jumped out from within.
Kakashi also body-flickered to the other side.
"Where did that woman come from?" Kakashi asked.
He had been hiding behind the Earth-Style Wall earlier and hadn't seen Ryuji's summoning process.
Choza had fallen to the floor below and hadn't seen it either.
But he wasn't concerned about where the opponent came from; he was seriously assessing the change in the situation. "The enemy has become two, we have lost one combatant. Three against two, we still have the advantage."
"No, it's two against two."
"?"
Both Kakashi and Choza turned to look at Minato who had spoken, startled, then immediately shifted their gaze back to the enemy to prevent a sneak attack.
"The enemy has autonomous insect puppets. Shibi is unconscious and needs someone to look after him." Minato's eyes were calm and collected. "Kakashi, you protect Shibi. Choza and I will handle the fight."
"Yes."
Kakashi took a few steps back, then leaped to Shibi's side, carrying him away from the battle scene.
Ryuji didn't stop him because no one could bypass Minato to do anything else.
Of this, he was deeply convinced.
However, regarding the upcoming battle and his own inevitable victory, he was equally convinced.
At this stage, no one could be a match for Armor.
Since deciding to become a puppeteer upon entering the Academy, Ryuji had created countless puppets.
But most were practice pieces. By now, they lay in the surface-level workshop or Sunagakure's weapon warehouses as decorations or stored weapons.
Currently, he had only five usable puppets.
Gin, War Fortress, Mechanical Bird, Armor, and Scarab (all scarabs count as one).
Among them, Gin was Ryuji's first autonomous humanoid puppet, and Armor was Ryuji's first combat puppet for direct control.
With the development of autonomous puppets, Armor's usefulness had already diminished.
But out of nostalgia, Ryuji had never abandoned it. Instead, he continuously modified and evolved it, eventually crafting it into its current state.
"Are you prepared for battle?" The corner of Ryuji's mouth held a smile, his black eyes brimming with confidence and composure.
Minato's expression was grave. He said in a low voice, "You deal with that girl. I'll handle the puppet. Try to lure her away, to make it easier for me to execute my moves."
Hearing this, Choza showed surprise. "Are you going to use that technique?"
"Only by using that technique can we win."
With that, Minato flickered forward. His speed was so fast that even Choza didn't react in time, following a beat later as he charged forward.
"Master, step back."
Gin said coldly, taking the lead to stand in front, her entire body covered in a metallic black.
Faced with such god-like speed, although she could react, it would be difficult to keep up consistently. Staying in place for defense and counterattack was the better strategy.
After all, movement speed and hand speed are different.
But if the speed difference is too great, the slower side loses the initiative.
Like now... Minato lightly swerved around her, even avoiding the puppet that looked pathetically weak, attacking Ryuji from the side.
But choosing to go around means taking a longer path. No matter how fast you are, you will always be a beat slower.
Even if it's less than a second, it's enough time for an expert of this level to react.
Ryuji backhandedly pulled. Armor swung through the air in an arc like an iron ball on a chain, smashing horizontally.
And Minato happened to arrive at the direction the iron ball was coming from, as if he had run into it himself, achieving a perfect prediction.
He leaned his body forward, lowering his center of gravity. The moment the iron ball flew at him, he pushed off the ground with both hands, flipping high into the air.
Dodging the iron ball, he simultaneously flicked his right hand, throwing three kunai with strange shapes and handles wrapped in sealing formulas.
However, the thrower's skill seemed somewhat lacking.
The kunai's flight paths were a bit too off-target. Even without calculation, one could tell at a glance they couldn't hit.
But were they truly unable to hit?
Ryuji chuckled. His free left hand flicked out, similarly releasing five Chakra Threads that caught the kunai mid-air, then flung them backhandedly.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!
The kunai pierced through the air, flying towards Minato who had just landed.
Minato felt some regret inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged. Unhurriedly, he used a kunai to parry, knocking them aside.
In the blink of an eye, the two had completed two rounds of exchanges, while the other side had only just begun fighting.
"Super Multi-Size Technique!"
Choza charged towards Gin while throwing a black pill into the air, jumping up and swallowing it.
In the next second, his body visibly expanded. By the time he landed, he had become a giant around ten meters tall. If not for the high ceiling of this hall, an ordinary house couldn't have contained him.
"Take this!"
Choza roared, throwing a giant punch at the silver-haired girl.
Gin watched coldly. When the giant fist slammed towards her, she met it with a backhanded punch of her own.
Boom!
With a violent sound, a shockwave of air expanded from the point of impact. The collision of fist forces caused the entire tower to tremble slightly, and a large amount of dust fell from the ceiling.
"She actually blocked it!"
Choza's eyes widened in disbelief.
Although the previous slap had been blocked by Ryuji, at least he had been sent flying.
But this delicate-looking girl had directly taken a full-powered punch from his giant form. Apart from the floor cracking under her feet, she hadn't budged an inch.
'Could it be that this frail-looking girl's strength was even greater than that boy's?'
Choza was stunned, but Gin was not.
Seizing the moment of the enemy's distraction, she formed a single-handed seal. Instantly, a huge rock spear erupted from the ground.
Choza was startled. His body reacted instinctively, grabbing the spear tip at the last possible moment. Simultaneously, his legs left the ground, and he was pushed back, avoiding being impaled at the cost of being sent flying.
Without even a glance, Gin turned to help her master finish the battle.
Unexpectedly, the enemy was more troublesome than imagined.
The moment Choza regained his footing, he charged again without hesitation.
Moreover, he broke the rock spear with one hand and threw it during his charge.
Its massive size blocked off this entire area.
Of course, for a covering projectile like this, if Gin wanted to dodge, she certainly could.
But if she dodged, her master, who was engaged with the other enemy behind her, would be in trouble.
So, she gave up on dodging.
"You're really annoying!"
A rare flash of anger appeared on Gin's face. She leaped up, Chakra erupting from her hand as she struck towards the rock spear.