Trump Card

Han's commotion was significant, Yichen, positioned on higher ground, easily spotted his target.

Considering that the human stump was tough and resilient, it should be able to withstand Jiraiya's attack for a short time. So Yichen abandoned Jiraiya and headed straight for Ikura.

Saka below also noticed that Yichen turned in the direction of Ikura, and frowned. In Saka's opinion, Ikura could hold off Minato Namikaze without much problem and did not need support, but since the Jinchuriki was uncontrollable, Yichen should stay with Han.

If the Tailed Beast out of control, Yichen will be the last line of defense.

However, Ban hesitated for a moment and did not stop Yichen. The main reason was that Yichen was not a person who disregarded the overall situation, Yichen, being in a superior position, might have discovered something.

For example, Yichen's timely warning just now greatly reduced the losses of the Iwa ninja.

Yichen was very fast and there were no obstacles in the air. When Yichen reached the other side, Ikura had not even fought with Minato Namikaze.

Seeing Yichen approach, Ikura asked, somewhat puzzled, "Yichen, why aren't you keeping an eye on Han? Be careful something might happen to him."

Ikura was naturally referring to the Tailed Beast, Yichen knew this perfectly well. He explained, "Han will be alright for a while, but I find Minato Namikaze very troublesome and I'm worried about him. Let's join forces!"

Ikura nodded. A ninja wouldn't say something as foolish as "I want to fight alone." Now the two sides were mortal enemies, and if joining forces with Yichen could kill Minato Namikaze, Ikura would definitely not refuse.

As they spoke, Ikura and Yichen, one on the ground and the other in the sky, were already not far from Minato Namikaze, who was standing on the Toad's head.

The Iwa ninja lacked the deep foundation and giant Summoning Beast of Konoha. Facing Gamabunta, they had no good options but to confront him head-on.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld." Like Ikura and, Yichen used Ninjutsu for output, so he unleashed his first Ninjutsu from a great distance.

This move wasn't intended to inflict damage, but rather to restrict Gamabunta's movements.

As soon as this Ninjutsu was used, starting from Ikura, a large area of land began to turn into a swamp. This swamp continued to spread towards the location of Gamabunta.

Toad could choose to escape, but that would leave Ikura, a powerful fighter capable of Kage-level Combatant, among the main Konoha forces charging towards them.

Considering that Ikura still uses Area of Effect Ninjutsu, the consequences will be difficult to predict.

Instead of fleeing, Gamabunta used Water Style Jutsu: Cannonball. Several Water Release were used to strike the rapidly spreading swamp, effectively halting the spread of the Swamp of the Underworld.

"Porcelain Release." While Gamabunta was dealing with Swamp of the Underworld, Yichen used Porcelain Mud to form a large number of rock spears, which shot out towards Gamabunta at an extremely fast speed.

This is a method of puppetry that Yichen learned from the Third Kazekage Puppet. Like Iron Sand, Porcelain Release can be transformed in countless ways.

Having just finished his Ninjutsu, Gamabunta was unable to dodge the hundreds of giant rock spears that Yichen was attacking. Just when it seemed there was no way to dodge, Minato Namikaze intervened.

"Wind Release: Wind Style: Wind Tornado!" A hurricane immediately swept towards the front of Minato Namikaze.

Yichen's hundreds of rock spears were relatively scattered, and after being fired, they blocked a large part of Gamabunta's evasive range. Only a few dozen in the middle were aimed directly at Gamabunta.

After the hurricane passed, these dozens of rock spears were immediately scattered. However, the powerful impact also caused the hurricane to shake violently a few times.

Under Minato Namikaze's control, the hurricane did not dissipate but eventually stabilized. Then it continued to rage forward.

Wherever the hurricane passed, the swamp created by the Swamp of the Underworld was immediately torn away layer by layer. Although there was still some danger, it was no longer fatal compared to Gamabunta's enormous size.

Yichen Chen observed all of this and thought to himself, "Truly worthy of being the future Fourth Hokage, this Ninjutsu was perfectly chosen, killing two birds with one stone. It both blocked my attack and disrupted the battle environment created by Ikura."

"But aren't you underestimating my Kekkei Genkai?"

At this moment, of the hundreds of rock spears that Yichen had shot out, except for a small portion that was destroyed by the hurricane, the rest had all swept past not far from Gamabunta, having slowed down and completed their turn.

Then, under Yichen's remote control, these rock spears shot out again from behind towards Gamabunta's massive body.

However, this time Gamabunta had the time and space to dodge.

Sensing the danger behind him, Gamabunta first charged forward, traveling dozens of meters along the path ravaged by the hurricane, then leaped back to his previous position, narrowly avoiding Yichen's barrage of rock spears in mid-air.

"What a nimble Toad," Yichen muttered to himself, cursing his bad luck.

Gamabunta just now seemed like a big move, but the energy it took for Gamabunta was negligible.

Yichen, controlling the rock spear back and forth consumes a lot of Chakra.

This can't go on.

However, Yichen wasn't fighting two against one; Ikura made his move again.

"Earth Release: Rock Forest." A large number of irregularly shaped rocks emerged from the ground, precisely at the moment when Gamabunta was about to land after leaping over Yichen's rock spear.

Gamabunta was plummeting through the air and had no time to dodge. He was immediately struck by several rocks falling from below.

That's not the most troublesome part. The most troublesome part is that Ikura's follow-up attack arrives right after "Rock Forest Technique".

Taking advantage of Gamabunta losing his balance after being hit, Ikura used the Earth Style: Mountain Earth Technique this time.

It was Kitsuchi's signature Ninjutsu: two semi-circular clods of earth pressed towards Gamabunta from the left and right.

Yichen was somewhat surprised, as these two Ninjutsu were of a high level. Yichen was very familiar with the Earth Style: Mountain Earth Technique, as it was a solid A-rank. As for the Rock Forest Technique, Yichen had seen it described in the village's Ninjutsu catalog; it was a C-rank Earth Style - Earth Eruption Spear Ninjutsu upgraded twice, and was also an A-rank.

"How could Ikura unleash two A-rank Ninjutsu in such a short time? When did his Hand Seals speed become so fast?" Yichen glanced curiously at where Ikura was.

"Oh, so it's the Shadow Chakra Clone Technique. Having a lot of chakra is impressive." Yichen happened to see a figure turn into smoke and dissipate next to Ikura's main body.

Yichen's Chakra is a weakness, and he rarely uses clones to perform advanced Ninjutsu because Yichen reluctant to allocate too much Chakra to his clones when performing Clone Technique.

Ikura's Chakra reserves far exceed Yichen's. The amount of Chakra consumed by the Rock Forest formation created by that clone that just disappeared is probably half of Yichen's total Chakra.

Yichen dared not do such a luxurious thing.

Ikura's true form was rapidly encircling the Earth Style: Mountain Earth Technique, unaware that Yichen was secretly criticizing him.

Within the area covered by the Earth Style: Mountain Earth Technique, Gamabunta had no time to escape. Seeing this, Minato Namikaze could only say, "Gamabunta, thank you for your hard work. Leave the rest to me!"

"Alright." Gamabunta didn't delay and immediately dispelled the Summoning Jutsu. He knew the situation was urgent and naturally dared not hesitate.

With a loud bang, the giant Toad vanished instantly. Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze used Body Flicker Technique repeatedly to escape the range of the Earth Style: Mountain Earth Technique's attack.

Minato Namikaze chose to escape not from behind, but directly forward. By the time he broke free of the Earth Style: Mountain Earth Technique's range, he was already quite close to Ikura.

Although Minato Namikaze has many ranged attack methods, his melee combat is what truly matches his Kage Level strength.

Therefore, Minato Namikaze didn't hesitate at all and immediately rushed straight towards Ikura.

Ikura breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Gamabunta disappear. The previous maneuver was aimed at Gamabunta, the giant Summoning Beast. Now, in Ikura's eyes, his biggest opponent had vanished.

However, seeing Minato Namikaze rapidly approaching, Ikura dared not be careless, after all, that round of attacks had taken a toll on him.

Including the initial defensive Earth Release, all four of those A-rank Ninjutsu were deliberately designed to maximize Chakra output. If it were Yichen, he would have been completely drained by now.

Ikura was adept at dealing with close-combat ninjas. He retreated quickly while simultaneously forming hand Hand Seals.

To Ikura, Minato Namikaze's subsequent response was less impressive than his earlier one, appearing rather conventional.

From his vantage point, Yichen clearly saw Minato Namikaze pull out four Special Kunai and then throw them all at Ikura.

These dry, Kunai attacks were too ordinary for a ninja of Ikura's caliber; he could easily dodge them by simply shifting to the side. And that's exactly what Ikura did.

However, Yichen was startled by this scene. While quickly approaching Ikura, he hurriedly dispersed the Porcelain Mud he was controlling and used the Wanshang Tianyin technique on the Special Kunai was being shot at Banshō Ten'in Ikura.

Because of the distance, the effect of Yichen Banshō Ten'in was not very obvious, only causing the Special Kunai to deviate slightly from its original trajectory.

Fortunately, Minato Namikaze was still some distance away from Ikura at that time, and by the time the Special Kunai that had deviated from its course approached Ikura, it was already a few meters above Ikura.

Ikura naturally noticed this, but knowing Yichen's abilities, he didn't care and continued forming his Hand Seals.

However, this scene led Minato Namikaze to misjudge the situation, leading him to believe that the Iwa ninja knew he had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Otherwise, why would Yichen interfere with Special Kunai's path when Ikura had already dodged it? Ikura's calm expression led Minato Namikaze to believe that Ikura also knew about the Flying Thunder God Technique.

So Minato Namikaze stopped hiding his Trump Card, and his figure suddenly disappeared from the spot, then instantly appeared on the Special Kunai was already far away from his body: that is, a few meters above and to the side of Ikura.

This position isn't the best for Minato Namikaze to attack, but since the intelligence has already been leaked, it's good to get a little closer.

But this scene, when witnessed by Ikura, sent chills down his spine.

If it weren't for his quick reflexes and the fact that Minato Namikaze was in the air and couldn't close the distance quickly, he would probably be in deep trouble.

"Banshō Ten'in!" Yichen continued to do his best to help Ikura, this time targeting Minato Namikaze himself. Because the distance had been reduced, the power of the pull was considerable, causing Minato Namikaze to pause slightly. This gave Ikura a chance to turn the tide.

Facing the approaching Minato Namikaze, Ikura continued to form Hand Seals while trying her best to dodge. Finally, with Yichen's interference, she managed to hold on until the Ninjutsu was completed.

"Earth Release - Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet." This crucial Ninjutsu from Ikura is a disruptive Ninjutsu that delivers continuous attacks. It was brought out at just the right time, with a large number of earth bullets densely and continuously covering Minato Namikaze.