Pursuit and Return

Because Orochimaru acted in time, and most of the Sunagakure were still in shock, no one rushed to finish off the culprit who killed the Tailed Beast.

After landing, Shuichi said to Orochimaru, "Tell them not to stand there in a daze, and to launch a counterattack now. The problem of the Tailed Beast has been solved."

Orochimaru didn't ask him about the Rasenshuriken. He knew his disciple's talent better than anyone else, and he had long known that geniuses couldn't be judged by common sense.

The command was relayed through the Katsuyu, and the Konoha Jonin quickly realized that now was the time to attack. They immediately shouted to their comrades to be alert, "The Sunagakure's Tailed Beast has been killed by us! Quick, follow me! Now is the time to pursue!"

"As expected, it was done by one of the village's top ninjas." Hearing this, the morale of the many Konoha Ninja soared, and they immediately rushed over with their captains.

"That kid Shuichi, is that Nature Transformation of the Rasengan?" Jiraiya felt a sense of familiarity Jiraiya seeing the Rasenshuriken; the sphere at the center was clearly a transformation based on the Rasengan. "This talent..."

Even he, who had personally taught Minato and Rinnegan Nagato, was somewhat shocked. Developing Ninjutsu and learning Ninjutsu are two different things. To have such strength at only 12 years old is simply outrageous...

The situation on the battlefield is constantly changing. The two sides had been fighting for a long time, and many people were already tired and their chakra was almost depleted.

Now that we've entered the later stages of the battle, what matters is the ability to sustain combat.

At this moment, Tsunade's group healing power was fully unleashed. Under the combined attack of Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and many Elite Jonin, Konoha, whose condition was far superior to Sunagakure, finally broke through the enemy's main force. The only question now was how much they would achieve.

Rasa, Chiyo, and other high-ranking Sunagakure members looked extremely grim. Shukaku had been killed on the spot, and the lower-ranking ninjas had lost all will to fight. The situation was already on the verge of collapse, and the village would likely face a huge crisis after this battle.

Seeing that the battle was beyond saving, they could only order everyone to find a way to escape back to the Land of Wind, and then try to gather as many key and elite troops as possible to leave together.

In the arena, Shuichi sat resting where Shukaku had died. Most of the Konoha Ninja had already chased after Sunagakure, and not many remained here.

"Lord Shuichi, are you alright?" Several ninjas walked up to him, looking at him with reverence. This was the man who killed the Tailed Beast. Having such a powerful figure in their village boosted everyone's confidence.

"It's alright, you guys go ahead with your work."

Shuichi felt that the Shinobi World was incredibly realistic, but its simplicity and directness actually felt quite comfortable.

For ordinary ninjas, the strongest person is the one who commands respect; they can make that decision with their feet.

Previously, he was labeled as Sannin Disciple and a rising genius of Konoha, but after today's battle, his image in everyone's mind has changed.

The reactions of these Konoha Ninja indirectly demonstrate that although the titles of Kage and Jonin the Shinobi World are merely positions rather than actual strength, experienced Jonin each have their own set of standards for evaluation.

Without a doubt, Shuichi, who stepped on the corpse of Tailed Beast, has surpassed the level of an ordinary Jonin. From now on, everyone will regard him as a top ninja in the Shinobi World and a pillar of the ninja village. He has thus acquired a unique title.

He stood up and stretched, feeling alright. "My right hand is temporarily useless, so it's best to avoid using large-scale Ninjutsu. Taijutsu, on the other hand, is fine."

"Brush!"

Having regained some of his strength, Shuichi got up and joined the pursuit. This act of fighting despite his injuries earned him the admiration of the Konoha Ninja around him.

A young man, eager to curry favor with him, thought to himself, "I must come up with a cool nickname for Lord Shuichi..."

In the Land of Rivers, several Konoha Ninja are besieging Sunagakure Ninja in the center. Judging from the numerous corpses around them, this person is clearly not so easy to defeat.

"Ding ding ding..."

The sounds of Kunai clashing against metal echoed continuously. Shashi was struggling to control his puppet for defense, but his condition was starting to decline, mainly due to excessive chakra consumption and the puppet's Hidden Weapons running out.

With a flick of his hand, the Chakra Threads crackled and sprang to life, sending thick Steel Cable flying everywhere and forcing all the surrounding enemies back.

"This guy's going to fight desperately, everyone be careful!"

The Konoha Squad remained vigilant, watching over each other. This powerful Puppeteer was a dangerous individual; the angle and timing of his attacks alone were giving them a headache.

Shashi seemed to realize it had nowhere to escape. The two puppets exploded instantly, releasing all the remaining ninja tools inside, a desperate act of resistance, "Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

"Get out of the way!"

A Konoha Ninja's eyes widened instantly. Exhausted, he could only watch helplessly as the sharp blades hurtled towards him. Just when he thought he was doomed, several Shuriken flew out from behind him and collided with the projectiles, "Clang! Clang! Clang!"

A figure leaped directly to the side of the Konoha team, and the group exclaimed in delight, "It's Lord Shuichi! Great, that Sunagakure is doomed!"

Shuichi squinted and looked closely. "Look carefully, they've already taken the opportunity to escape."

"What?"

All that could be seen were broken and mangled parts scattered all over the ground, but the Shashi were nowhere to be seen, clearly indicating that they had escaped using that wide-range attack.

"Leave him to me. If you still have the strength, go support the other teams." Shuichi recognized the Shashi as the Puppeteer they encountered on the previous mission, and of course, he wasn't going to let him go now. "Dare to use Earth Release to escape in front of me? I'll show you what it means to eventually encounter a ghost after walking on the dark path too many times."

"... yes!"

Stubbornly pushing through the ground, Shashi, whose Earth Release is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels) had saved his life many times, thought, "My initial decision was indeed correct. Only things that can survive have value."

The Sunagakure Puppet Squad were utterly destroyed this time. They were already a key focus of Konoha's attention on the battlefield, and with the situation collapsing, these relatively weak melee fighters couldn't escape quickly, so countless comrades were forever buried in the Land of Rivers.

"Phew... that's about it!"

Realizing he was running low on chakra, he immediately moved toward the surface, poking his head out of the ground. He found it was already dusk, and the warm light of the setting sun made his face feel very comfortable.

"Um?"

Suddenly, he heard light footsteps beside him, which made his heart clench instantly, and he immediately turned his head to look behind him.

"It's you? Takeda Shuichi!"

The boy had a lot of red bloodstains on one arm, clearly indicating a serious injury, while he held a short knife in his other hand and looked down at the Shashi with a cold gaze.

"How is this possible! Why would you..."

"Wait a minute, ah..."

Shuichi swiftly plunged his knife into the ground, piercing the man's head and instantly killing the experienced Puppeteer.

Staring at the blood-red sunset on the distant horizon, he let out a long sigh. "Finally, things can quiet down for a while."

At night, in Kikyo Castle, many Konoha Ninja came and went, many of them seriously injured and wrapped in bandages, while others had their clothes covered in dust.

Although everyone looked miserable, their expressions were relatively relaxed because Konoha had achieved a great victory, and the great war in the Land of Rivers was finally coming to an end.

Inside the room, Tsunade was using Mystical Palm Technique to heal Shuichi's arm. Seeing this kind of injury for the first time, she frowned.

"How could it be so serious? Is it because of that technique you used?"

"Hmm, this is a new technique that combines the Rasengan with Wind Release Nature Transformation. I've named it Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. How about that? Impressive, right?" Shuichi said calmly, without the slightest shame for plagiarism.

Tsunade, however, showed no mercy, grabbing his arm and squeezing it. "Ugh..."

Seeing Shuichi's face contort in pain, she said gravely, "Do you know? Not only are your internal meridians ruptured, but your right hand is also fractured, has torn muscles, and suffers extensive cell necrosis. Even after I treat it, it will take a long time to recover. What exactly is this technique?"