Ignoring the frantic shouts from the distance, Tatsuma felt a surge of alarm when he saw the look of pure madness on Sajin's face as the man's fingers dug into his shoulders.
However, his reflexes took over. He didn't hesitate; he drove the Rasengan forward, slamming it directly into Sajin's chest.
BOOM!
"SAJIN!!!"
In the distance, the Sand ninja who had been ordered by Chiyo to support Sajin felt the blood drain from his face, replaced quickly by a flush of panicked rage. Veins throbbed on his forehead and neck. He desperately wanted to save Sajin, but... he was too far.
He watched, helpless, as a hole larger than a human head was blasted through Sajin's chest. A high-pitched ringing erupted in the Sand ninja's ears.
He knew his future was over. His career was dead. The only way to mitigate the disaster and reduce his own culpability was to capture the brat who had somehow managed to kill a scion of the Kazekage's lineage.
The Sand ninja sprinted toward Tatsuma, who was currently grappling with a secondary crisis. Even in death, Sajin's body was changing. His skin began to bulge and ripple as if something were crawling underneath his flesh, ready to burst out at any second.
Tear!
Unable to pry Sajin's death-grip from his shoulders, Tatsuma simply ripped his own tunic, shredding the fabric to free himself. Just as he disentangled himself and prepared to use Body Flicker to escape, his feet faltered, and he stumbled.
Coo... coo...
A sickening sound emanated from Sajin's corpse. Tatsuma watched in horror as several pitch-black beaks pecked through the dead man's skin, struggling to emerge.
"Eight Trigrams Revolving Heaven!"
Just as the grotesque birds were about to lunge at Tatsuma from the hollowed-out shell of Sajin's body, he suddenly felt a sensation of weightlessness.
When he regained his bearings, he realized someone was lifting him by the scruff of his neck. With their other hand extended, his savior unleashed a swirling dome of blue chakra that encased them both.
The centrifugal force of the rotating chakra barrier repelled the strange birds and sent Sajin's remains tumbling into the distance.
"Dammit..."
Tatsuma thought he heard a faint, resentful mutter from somewhere nearby. A moment later, several figures landed in front of him, positioning themselves between him and the remains of the Eight Trigrams Revolving Heaven.
Almost simultaneously, several bursts of flame erupted. The black birds were caught in the fire, fluttering uselessly for a few moments before falling to the ground as charred husks.
"Useless! Break through and kill them all!" the Sand ninja screamed at his subordinates.
In an instant, the air was filled with a hail of ninja tools and ninjutsu, all converging on Tatsuma's position.
Hyuga Mitsuru frowned. He began to rotate his lead hand, preparing to expand the range and intensity of his Revolving Heaven, but this time, Uchiha Fugaku was faster.
"Yashiro!"
Fugaku barked the order. A ninja slightly older than him nodded and signaled the rest of the Uchiha squad. They fanned out instantly, their hands glowing with concentrated fire chakra.
"Uchiha Flame Formation!"
The Uchiha shinobi slammed their palms into the earth in perfect synchronization. Fire chakra surged underground, and a split second before the Sand's attacks reached them, a wall of brilliant red light erupted from the soil.
VROOOM!
The crimson barrier of flame swallowed every incoming ninjutsu. Any physical tools that struck the wall were instantly melted into slag and vaporized before they could even hit the ground.
By now, even more Leaf reinforcements had arrived. The Hyuga and the rest of the Konoha unit fanned out in a pincer maneuver, cutting off the Sand's flanks. They closed the "pocket" around the Suna unit, leaving the enemies with only one option: retreat back the way they came.
As the tide of the battle shifted and the forest swarmed with friendly chakra signatures, Tatsuma finally let go. The tight cord of tension that had kept him upright snapped. His head slumped forward, and as he dangled in the air, his toes pointed limply toward the dirt.
Seeing that Tatsuma had passed out, Hyuga Mitsuru swallowed the questions he had been dying to ask. His pale Byakugan eyes scanned the surrounding battlefield with growing disbelief.
The number of Sand corpses littered throughout the forest was equal to—if not greater than—the number Minato had reported earlier. Through his chakra vision, Mitsuru could see that there were no other friendly units in the immediate vicinity.
More importantly, the residual chakra clinging to several of the Sand corpses belonged to Tatsuma.
Mitsuru was forced to confront an impossible conclusion: Tatsuma had wiped out the entire Sand unit by himself.
It defied all logic, but the evidence was undeniable. From the perspective of the Leaf and the Hyuga clan, however, this was a godsend. Tatsuma had effectively thinned the enemy's numbers and secured a major victory.
Mitsuru turned to his younger brother and his two sons. "Ketsu, Hiashi, Hizashi. Protect this boy."
"Yes, Brother." "Yes, Father!" the two boys echoed.
Mitsuru tossed the unconscious Tatsuma gently toward them. Hyuga Ketsu caught him, while Hiashi and Hizashi took up defensive positions on either side of their uncle with practiced synergy.
The full-scale skirmish between the Leaf and the Sand erupted in earnest. The Leaf had set this trap with the intent to annihilate the breakout force, and they weren't about to let them slide. But for Tatsuma, the war was over for now. He was nothing more than a limp "pendant" strapped to Hyuga Ketsu's back.
"Massive Victory in the Land of Rivers!"
Tatsuma's unconsciousness didn't stop the world from turning. News of the frontline success traveled back to Konoha with lightning speed. The village erupted into celebration. Thousands sang the praises of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, for his leadership.
Many others lauded the strategic brilliance of the frontline commander, Orochimaru. As the news trickled down the hierarchy, the actual soldiers who bled for the victory received significantly less applause.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen—now well into his middle age—couldn't hide his delight. His weathered face was creased with the broad, satisfied smile of a farmer looking at a bumper crop.
Unlike the common citizens who only knew of the "victory," Hiruzen had the detailed reports on his desk. Seeing that Orochimaru had decimated the Suna vanguard at less than half the projected casualty rate made him beam with pride. His disciple had truly become a legendary shinobi in his own right.
But as he continued reading, his expression shifted from pride to utter shock. A single name in the report stood out like a lightning bolt.
"Sakamoto Tatsuma!"
Even the most detailed reports didn't list every Genin's contribution, unless that contribution was pivotal to the outcome of the campaign.
As Hiruzen read about Tatsuma single-handedly holding off dozens of Sand shinobi, counter-attacking to wipe out an entire squad, and killing two Jonin—including a scion of the Kazekage's house—his jaw slowly dropped.
"Sakumo... what do you make of this?"
"This is..."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
In a dark, subterranean base, the "Shinobi of Darkness" and leader of Root, Danzo Shimura, listened to his subordinate's report. When the agent reached the part about the civilian-born brat, Danzo waved his hand dismissively, his face twisted in annoyance.
"Where did you get this 'intelligence'? Was the scribe caught in a Genjutsu when they wrote this?!"
The Root ninja fell silent, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He had been the one who transcribed the scroll himself.
Danzo noted the ninja's reaction, then stood up and barked at the shadows. "Hmph! Sarutobi, have you really grown so wary of me that you're sending me fake reports just to mock me?!"
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