"This kid again!"
Junko Watanabe could clearly see the competitive tension between Yan Uchiha and Minato, but she didn't expect that boy to be so reckless in the middle of a fight.
The two hurried to catch up, but since the previous trio had been fighting in perfect coordination, they were slightly slower now.
However, as Minato caught sight of both Junko Watanabe charging into the battlefield and the mad grin on Tachiyama Shinsaburo's face, he suddenly froze mid-step.
"Come on!"
Tachiyama Shinsaburo's eyes burned with madness. He didn't even try to dodge as over a dozen shuriken stabbed into his body.
Swinging the Bloodthirsty Sickle of Three Moons, he launched a direct clash with Yan Uchiha.
At the moment of collision, Yan Uchiha lowered his stance. Being small for his age, he dropped down just in time to avoid Tachiyama Shinsaburo's scythe swing.
At the same time, he swung a kunai straight toward the latter's neck with all his strength.
Cutting off his throat wouldn't be enough—only a clean severance of his entire head would ensure the kill.
Yet surprisingly, instead of dodging, Tachiyama Shinsaburo simply stayed still, yanking the rope tied to his weapon, sending the [Bloodthirsty Sickle of Three Moons] flying from behind his back.
Yan Uchiha looked determined to go all-out—whether his kunai would take off Tachiyama Shinsaburo's head first or whether the sickle would pierce through his own body before that.
Even though Yan Uchiha was fast, Tachiyama Shinsaburo's sudden burst of power in that instant proved even more terrifying.
"Clang!"
Just as the [Bloodthirsty Sickle of Three Moons] was about to strike, Junko Watanabe appeared behind Yan Uchiha, raising her blade vertically to intercept the attack.
Swish!
Yan Uchiha kept moving without hesitation, but seeing Junko charging in together, Tachiyama Shinsaburo suddenly dropped downward.
His kunai sliced sideways across Tachiyama Shinsaburo's neck, but the wound wasn't deep.
As Tachiyama Shinsaburo fell, the limited length of the rope yanked Junko off balance just as she'd regained her footing.
Still, being an experienced fighter, she supported herself with one hand alone. However, the third segment of the bloodthirsty scythe still grazed across the back of her sword-hand.
Yan Uchiha withdrew his move and stabbed again, but Tachiyama Shinsaburo countered by throwing a pitch-black spike straight at Yan Uchiha's forehead.
Yan Uchiha's pupils narrowed; twisting his body sideways, he barely dodged the attack.
Swish!
Junko rose back to her feet while Tachiyama Shinsaburo took a step backward, performing an unexpected action.
He retracted the [Bloodthirsty Sickle of Three Moons] and ran his tongue along its bloodied edge.
Immediately afterward, his body began transforming drastically, resembling the evil deity form he had taken during the ritual earlier.
"What is this?" Junko couldn't help narrowing her beautiful eyes. His new form was even more hideous than his earlier pale state.
Could it be that during the time they searched for him, he had already completed that ritual?
Tachiyama Shinsaburo kept leaping sideways until he retreated to the exact spot where he and Ryo Yagura had emerged earlier. He stepped into the exact ritual seal they had used before.
"Gahaha, finally I can begin... Deathly Blood Omen!"
"Woman, you're as good as dead!"
Immediately afterward, before Junko Watanabe could rush forward, Tachiyama Shinsaburo resolutely grabbed the previous pitch-black spike and stabbed it directly into his own heart!
[Earth Release: Bottomless Swamp!]
At that moment, Minato, having moved around to the side, finished forming the hand seals. The ground in front of him began transforming, forming a swamp.
Right as Tachiyama Shinsaburo was about to stab himself in the heart, the Bottomless Swamp surged beneath him, spreading under his feet and causing him to immediately lose balance, sinking deeply into it.
"Heh... heh..."
A few meters away, Minato slowly exhaled. Although he didn't possess an earth-natured chakra affinity, this didn't mean he couldn't perform earth release techniques.
However, such techniques drained a huge amount of chakra and were weaker in effect.
But just moments ago, he'd wanted to use this technique combined with Tachiyama Shinsaburo's momentarily excited mindset to restrict his movements.
Now, he had succeeded!
Caught off guard, Tachiyama Shinsaburo hadn't expected Minato to actually use such a B-ranked jutsu. But quickly regaining his senses, he forcefully pulled the black spike from the swamp and aimed it toward his own forehead.
This action didn't go unnoticed by Minato.
Swish!
Yet before Tachiyama Shinsaburo could harm himself further, Junko Watanabe's blade flashed through the air, severing his head once again.
Blood sprayed out, splattering across Junko Watanabe's face.
"Are both of you okay?" After beheading Tachiyama Shinsaburo, Junko Watanabe turned her gaze toward Minato and Yan Uchiha.
Minato stopped channeling his technique; the Bottomless Swamp had already consumed more than half his chakra reserves.
Yan Uchiha leapt forward, rushing toward them—but his target was Tachiyama Shinsaburo's decapitated body.
He knew that guy wasn't dead yet.
Junko Watanabe didn't try to stop him. But someone—faster than her—pulled Tachiyama Shinsaburo's sinking body from the swamp.
And at the same time, Minato held a kunai knife, stabbing downward into the palm of his left hand.
Meanwhile, his gaze flickered toward Junko Watanabe, though she appeared unharmed.
"Maybe I'm overthinking things?"
Minato had noticed every single strange move Tachiyama Shinsaburo had made today. This seemed to be a habit of his during combat—memorizing every detail about his opponent.
But since graduating from the Ninja Academy, he had only seen battle a handful of times. This almost automatic habit, he couldn't explain how or why he had developed it.
Still, after observing Tachiyama Shinsaburo's odd words and behavior, Minato formed a wild hypothesis—and immediately put it to the test.
But now, it seemed he might have overcomplicated things.
Yan Uchiha arrived next to Tachiyama Shinsaburo's severed head and drove a kunai straight through its left temple.
He looked at the man, glaring fiercely, his face twisted in rage, yet still somehow alive.
"Cutting off his head and destroying his brain—still not enough to kill him?" Junko Watanabe stepped closer. Actually, they had discussed methods for killing Tachiyama Shinsaburo beforehand.
But apparently, that method hadn't worked after all.
Tachiyama Shinsaburo clearly felt pain, but he understood better than anyone that right now, he truly possessed an [Immortal Body]—one that could not be killed.
"Let's move on to the next method," Minato said, turning to Junko Watanabe.
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