"Bang!"
A powerful punch landed on Kyuushin's crossed arms, and the immense force pressed them directly into his chest. Although he had gathered as much chakra as possible on his chest to reduce the damage, he still couldn't stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood. His entire body was thrown far away like a kite with a broken string, only stopping after crashing through two large trees.
The Sand ninja sneered, about to pursue Kyuushin to finish him off, but suddenly, shuriken and kunai shot out from the shadows, blocking his advance. Immediately after, a figure rushed out from the treetops, enveloped in Wind Release chakra, pushing his speed to the extreme. If one didn't look carefully, it would seem like a golden flash.
Minato's chakra only had one attribute, which was wind. Unlike Nawaki and Kyuushin, he didn't have to divide his attention, so he could dedicate all his efforts to it. Therefore, in terms of Nature Transformation, he surpassed his teammates at the moment. Under Jiraiya's guidance, he had fully utilized his speed advantage. Now, at this critical moment, Minato fully displayed the results of his training. In terms of speed alone, he was not inferior to many Jonin. When he suddenly displayed such velocity, the Sand ninja was greatly surprised and was temporarily suppressed by Minato's assault.
Minato moved around the Sand ninja like a dancing butterfly, constantly weaving and dodging, his kunai repeatedly creating gashes on the Jonin's body. However, relying solely on kunai, the damage was limited. With the Sand ninja intentionally protecting his vital points, such damage seemed negligible. As he adapted to Minato's speed, he gradually managed to counterattack. If more time passed, Minato might be in danger.
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"
Minato was not fighting alone. Nawaki, still hidden in the shadows, took advantage of the Sand ninja being temporarily suppressed and seized the opportunity to hide underground, casting the jutsu. As Nawaki grabbed the Jonin's foot from underground, intending to drag him down, the Sand ninja suddenly reacted. He no longer paid attention to Minato's kunai, but instead lifted his leg and stomped hard on the ground.
"Bang!"
The ground cracked under the stomp, and the explosive force shook Nawaki out from underground. He was so shaken that he spat out a mouthful of blood, but before he could wipe it away, he was punched several meters away. Minato, who was attacking from the periphery, was also flustered. Although he had inflicted many more wounds on the Sand ninja while he was attacking Nawaki, it still did not reduce his combat effectiveness.
As the Sand ninja adapted again and the power of Minato's Wind Release weakened, he finally found an opening. He parried Minato's slashing kunai with one hand and, with the other, directly grabbed Minato's throat. He sneered as he lifted Minato, just as he was about to exert force and crush his throat, a massive Fuma shuriken suddenly flew in from a distance, whistling directly towards the hand gripping Minato's neck.
Left with no choice, he had to fling Minato away and retract his hand to dodge.
However, just as the Fuma shuriken flew past the Sand ninja, with a "bang," the shuriken suddenly transformed into Kyuushin. Taking advantage of the enemy's momentary astonishment, he launched a punch directly at his waist. But even in a state of shock, the Jonin's reaction was remarkably quick. His right arm, which had just been retracted, hadn't yet regained its full strength, so he could only clench his left hand into a fist to meet Kyuushin's attack.
"Bang!"
The moment the two fists, one large and one small, collided, the surrounding dust was immediately kicked up by the force of their impact. But after only a brief standoff, with a sickening "crack," the fist that appeared twice as large as Kyuushin's was directly broken. The Sand ninja himself was sent flying four or five meters by the force of this punch, falling heavily to the ground and kicking up a large cloud of dust.
In the Gene Lock state, Kyuushin's Monstrous Strength Fist was so refined that it was not inferior to Tsunade's current level. Taking a direct hit from it caused the Sand ninja the greatest damage since the start of the battle. However, Kyuushin himself was not feeling well. Force is reciprocal, and without an equally strong physique as support, the technique harmed the user as much as the enemy. He opened and clenched his fist, feeling the tremor in his hand. His powerful perception also made him clearly feel the tearing pain in the meridians of his arm, making it likely that he would be unable to deliver a second punch.
"Kyuushin, are you alright?" Minato, who had just been thrown away, quickly came to Kyuushin's side and asked with a hoarse voice, having also injured his throat.
Kyuushin shook his head. "I'm fine. When that punch hit me earlier, I was already prepared to retreat, so it cushioned some of the force."
"Hiss!" Nawaki, who had been punched away, also stumbled over. "I wasn't so lucky. My arm and ribs are probably broken to varying degrees." Just one round of attacks, in the blink of an eye, had left them all injured, making them truly realize the overwhelming power of a Jonin.
"What should we do?" Nawaki asked in a hoarse voice.
For a moment, Kyuushin couldn't think of any good solution. The Sand ninja was far superior to them in both strength and speed, and what they currently possessed were all C-Rank ninjutsu. Relying solely on these, even if they hit directly, probably wouldn't cause much damage. After thinking it over, only *that* jutsu could cause him harm.
He said, "Minato, Nawaki, you two should temporarily avoid close-quarters combat. Use ninjutsu, preferably binding types, to interfere with him. I'll see if I can find any opportunities." Minato and Nawaki could only nod in unison.
Meanwhile, in the distance, the Sand ninja stood up again. As the dust cleared, his left hand was clearly fractured, and his uniform, neat before the battle, was torn to strips by Minato's slashes, revealing his muscular physique. But his voice still sounded calm. "I didn't expect you three brats to cause me so much trouble. You must be Konoha's geniuses, I presume. What a pity. Today is the day geniuses fall."
"Hah!" He suddenly roared, and powerful chakra erupted from his entire body. Kyuushin clearly saw the Sand ninja's already muscular body swell up again, veins bulging on his exposed arms, and his normally colored skin suddenly turning crimson. His entire body temperature seemed to have risen significantly.
"This is bad, he's using a secret technique!" Kyuushin shouted.
Minato and Nawaki, seeing this situation, also quickly formed hand signs.
"Wind Release: Wind Severing Technique!"
"Earth Release: Flying Stone Jutsu!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
After Minato and Nawaki used their ninjutsu, Kyuushin also used the Great Breakthrough technique, further increasing the speed of the jutsu they cast. Three ninjutsu whistled towards the Sand ninja, yet he neither dodged nor avoided them. His surrounding chakra became even more violent, and the three ninjutsu were easily blocked and then disintegrated.
"Hahaha, you three brats! Die under my berserk form!" The Sand ninja charged again, and this time, his speed was much faster than before.