Word of what happened at the Kirigakure camp in the Land of Waves quickly reached Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two stared at the detailed report, utterly stunned.
"Three minutes? He can maintain that state for three minutes now?"
Utatane Koharu's face went pale. Had he really improved this much in just a year?
His one minute of fighting power, displayed earlier in the Land of Grass, had already put them under immense pressure. Now he could manage three minutes.
The difference between one minute and three wasn't simply a threefold increase in time. It was a qualitative leap, and there was no telling how much further he could improve.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi furrowed his brows. He was confident he could evade a minute of relentless attacks, but three minutes was another matter.
The main problem was that losing Enma had greatly weakened him. He had chosen a new partner from the Monkey Clan, but the new one still fell far short of Enma, especially when it came to working in sync.
"It's a new form, even larger and more powerful."
Mitokado Homura's expression was grim as well. They had known that the boy's potential was terrifying and that he still had room to grow, but they hadn't expected him to improve so quickly.
Last time, on the battlefield in the Land of Grass, he had needed a trick to kill the Five-Tails Jinchuriki and critically wound the Four-Tails Jinchuriki.
This time, however, he'd gone head-to-head with them and cut down two Jinchuriki in their fully transformed Tailed Beast forms. His strength had increased by far more than a little.
"Hiruzen!"
It took a while for Utatane Koharu to regain some composure. She turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Now they could only wait to see what he decided.
They truly