Seven days passed in a flash. There was no need to arrange a duel—both Konoha and Sunagakure regrouped and naturally lined up their battle formations again, ready for the next round of slaughter.
"Huh? Konoha's formation looks a bit odd..."
Jinghang narrowed his eyes, carefully studying Konoha's cloud-like battle ranks.
The army was still divided into eleven squads, led by Minato Namikaze. Some teams had new commanders, but even from a distance, Jinghang could make out the familiar silhouettes of veterans like Choza Akimichi, Shibi Aburame, and Hinata Rōnichi—all seasoned Konoha warriors.
That was nothing unusual. Though Hidan was temporarily off the battlefield, Jinghang had quickly promoted jōnin Ban no Akira and Takenaka Shishio to fill the gap. Though they weren't Earthly Branches members, both were young jōnin who'd proven themselves in the regular army over many years—more than capable of handling major responsibilities.
The real issue was that after Konoha had reinforced its ranks, their numbers had grown, but the gaps between each squad were now much wider. Their formation covered twice as much ground as Sunagakure's.
What are they up to?
Flanking maneuvers? Divide and conquer?
Neither seemed feasible...
As the ancient saying goes: "With ten times the force, surround them; with five, attack; with double, split; if equal, engage."
Now both sides had roughly equal numbers—about a 1:1 ratio. Splitting forces didn't seem to offer any advantage.
What's more intriguing was that standing directly opposite him wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi, but Minato Namikaze.
What's this about?
Building military merit for Minato? Establishing prestige for the heir apparent?
That was possible, but it wasn't Minato's call to make.
I'm a Kazekage, after all. What's your rank? What's your status? What gives you the right to face off with me?
Besides, if I'm busy with you, who's watching Hiruzen Sarutobi? Sasori? He's got work to do tonight!
Speaking of which, where is Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Jinghang scanned the battlefield for Hiruzen's figure. Wait, what's that thing?
In Konoha's central formation, a watchtower had been erected at some point, and atop it, observing the field, was none other than Hiruzen Sarutobi.
What's he playing at? Trying to be Zhuge Liang? Playing "I stand atop the city to survey the mountains"? Or is there some scheme at work?
While Jinghang was still pondering, Hiruzen waved his command flag from the tower, and the Konoha army instantly shifted into combat formation and charged forward.
They're coming already?
"Sasori, stay in the rear and don't move. Let Shishio take command of the squad. Minato's mine—you keep an eye on Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
"Yes!"
Sasori understood perfectly. The real show was tonight's operation—he needed to conserve his strength and energy. He swapped positions with Shishio beside him.
"Meet them head-on!"
When soldiers come, generals block; when water comes, earth stops it. Jinghang still charged straight at Minato Namikaze—not for any other reason, but because aside from himself and Sasori, no one could handle Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique. If Minato was allowed to run wild, the losses would be devastating. He had to keep him contained.
As for the outcome of this battle, Jinghang wasn't particularly concerned. Even suffering a small setback was acceptable, as long as it wasn't a complete rout. After all, he'd prepared a "spicy hotpot" for Konoha tonight!
Konoha's new formation forced Sunagakure's troops to spread out as well, but it wasn't a major problem. After rigorous training, Sunagakure's field army had mastered various combat formations thoroughly, and the battle quickly became an evenly matched exchange.
"Ink Movement Technique!"
Minato was quite cautious, not charging at full speed. Instead, he first spread his markers and casually tossed several kunai.
Jinghang instantly activated Sage Mode. Blue-gold light blazed brilliantly. While his Lightning Release: Armor's speed was still slightly inferior to the Flying Thunder God Technique, with Sage Mode's enhancement to physical strength and agility, he could completely prevent Minato from finding any openings.
But actually hitting this guy was incredibly difficult. As a fellow practitioner of the Flying Thunder God Technique, Jinghang knew that as long as you had enough chakra, possessing Flying Thunder God put you in an invincible position.
You literally can't touch him.
In a flash, Minato appeared before Jinghang wielding a resin kunai. Jinghang's iron sand instantly condensed into a black sword to parry.
Weapons clashed—Minato vanished instantly. Jinghang, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, ducked low and thrust the black sword backward, perfectly intercepted by Minato's kunai.
What incredible reflexes!
Minato was secretly alarmed. Back at Lishi Fortress, even activating Sage Mode, he couldn't scratch Jinghang; the man's terrifying chakra reserves had nearly drained him to death.
But today's objective was different—he needed to lure Jinghang into the designated ambush zone.
Without hesitation, Minato immediately activated Mount Myōboku Sage Mode. Instantly, his speed increased, his strength grew, and his afterimages filled every direction. Jinghang responded calmly, wielding his iron sand black sword in an impenetrable defense, creating a barrier that water couldn't penetrate. Only the sound of clashing weapons could be heard; their figures were barely visible.
Is Minato going crazy?
Such high-frequency attacks came with massive chakra consumption. Mount Myōboku Sage Art only lasted about five minutes. Once time ran out, would he have chakra left to teleport? Then I could deal with him however I wanted! This didn't seem like something Minato would do...
Sure enough, after about five minutes, the orange "eye shadow" around Minato's eyes gradually faded, and he began gasping heavily, clearly exhausted.
Time to strike while he's down!
Jinghang lunged forward with a sword thrust. Minato barely managed to block with his kunai, and Jinghang clearly felt that this guy was running on fumes.
No need to hold back then.
Jinghang slashed horizontally in reverse, blocked again by Minato. Jinghang then transformed the black sword into iron sand, wrapping around the resin kunai. With a twist and pull, the kunai flew from Minato's grip.
Now Minato's guard was completely open. Jinghang closed in with a Bajiquan heart-piercing elbow, striking Minato squarely in the chest.
Minato immediately coughed up blood and was sent flying.
"Trying to run?"
Jinghang accelerated again, moving even faster than the airborne Minato, delivering a spear-hand strike straight at Minato's throat.
If this hit connected, it would punch a clean hole through his neck.
Just as that hand was about to reach Minato—
Minato vanished instantly.
"Knew you had an ace up your sleeve."
Watching Minato gasping for air a dozen meters away, Jinghang smiled wickedly.
You can teleport once—but can you do it a second time?
"Now!"
Minato suddenly shouted.
Jinghang immediately sensed danger. He suddenly realized that during his fight with Minato, he'd gradually been lured deep into Konoha's side.
There's a trap!
Sure enough, four masked Konoha ninja burst from the ground, their hand seals already formed.
"Four Violet Flames Formation!"
In an instant, a square purple barrier enclosed him.
Good thing it's just the Four Violet Flames Formation—a single Wind Release: Rasenshuriken would be enough to break it.
Jinghang prepared to raise his hand, only to discover he couldn't lift it at all.
Not good! This is the Nara clan's Shadow Imitation Jutsu!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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