The female Puppet Master was dead.
With Minato's strategy and Kushina's full cooperation, they successfully dealt with the poison-user.
One of Kushina's shadow clones used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise herself as Minato, while Minato himself transformed into a Shuriken and landed at the female Puppet Master's feet. Once Kushina successfully drew away the puppet, Minato immediately released the Transformation Jutsu, leaped up, and easily slit the female Puppet Master's throat.
"That little brat... what a crafty one."
From the shadows, Ninomiya Hao's shadow clone watched the entire battle.
As a jonin, he saw through the battle plan at a glance. It was simple; put plainly, it relied on the poor sensory abilities of genin and the Puppet Master's weak close-combat skills.
The Transformation Jutsu was the most basic ninjutsu taught at the Ninja Academy, but that did not mean it was worthless. Just as Minato had demonstrated, so long as it was used properly, even the Transformation Jutsu could prove extremely useful.
Of course, this trick could fool genin, but it would fall short against chunin. As for jonin—well, may heaven have mercy on them.
"Still, that talent is truly outstanding, and his combat instincts are exceptional... Impressive!"
This was not the first time he had seen Minato fight. During this period, they had dealt with several groups of illegal border-crossers, including Sand ninja spies as well as samurai and ronin who had committed crimes in the Land of Rivers. Minato had acted several times, each strike swift, steady, accurate, and ruthless. Even as a jonin, Ninomiya Hao could not help but admire him. At Minato's age, he would have had to admit inferiority.
After dealing with the Puppet Master, Minato and Kushina immediately turned their attention to Rasa, the wielder of the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai.
Compared with