The Art of Evasion

On the battlefield between the forces of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Sand Village, the fighting remained intense, with no sign of stopping from either side.

Everywhere one looked, there were flashes of blades and dazzling ninjutsu, creating a truly spectacular sight.

"That naturally evil White Fang of the Leaf, I shall kill you with my own hands today!" Chiyo gritted her teeth, her ten nimble fingers connected to blue chakra threads as she manipulated the Modern Ten Puppets to shield her body.

Sakumo Hatake's blade work was ruthless, putting immense pressure on her. Most importantly, the Ox-Head Puppet she used for close-quarters defense had been damaged, making her afraid to let her puppets stray too far, lest Sakumo Hatake find an opening.

If he managed to close the distance, it would be difficult for her, a puppeteer, to put up any resistance.

The Sand Ninja also noticed Chiyo's predicament.

Two Hidden Sand Village Jonin made a decision: they left their own opponents to be intercepted by their subordinates and charged toward Sakumo Hatake.

"Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel!" One Jonin swung a massive folding fan, creating a gale that blew toward Sakumo Hatake.

Sakumo Hatake remained unhurried, his hands moving in a rapid sequence of seals.

Although his body had undergone training far beyond that of an ordinary person, he could not rely on his physical form alone to defend against offensive ninjutsu—not even a Great Fireball Technique!

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" A wall of earth, carved with a dog's head in the signature style of the Hatake clan, rose from the ground and blocked the gale.

"If you want to harm Lady Chiyo, you must get past me first." The other Jonin, wielding a long blade, blocked Sakumo Hatake's retreat.

However, Sakumo Hatake was renowned on the battlefield for his swordsmanship; for this Jonin to encounter him was like a drop of water trying to challenge the ocean.

Sakumo Hatake brandished his White Fang Short Blade, his continuous, sharp attacks forcing the Jonin to retreat repeatedly. Several gashes appeared on the man's body, and he was soon drenched in blood.

It was fortunate that Sakumo Hatake did not like to coat his blade in poison, or this Jonin would already be dead.

As the Jonin became unable to resist, Sakumo Hatake saw his chance. He gripped his blade in a reverse hold and lunged forward, aiming straight for the Jonin's throat.

Despair flickered in the eyes of the Hidden Sand Village Jonin, but at that very moment, three iron whips whistled past.

Sakumo Hatake had no choice but to stop his pursuit and raise his blade to parry.

His momentum interrupted, the Jonin who had unleashed the wind technique arrived behind Sakumo Hatake, forming a pincer attack with the blade-wielding Jonin.

Chiyo was finally able to release her puppets with peace of mind, surrounding Sakumo Hatake.

Facing the pincer attack of the three, even Sakumo Hatake found it somewhat exhausting to cope.

After all, he had already been locked in a stalemate with Chiyo for a considerable amount of time before this.

As a genius beyond the reach of ordinary men, his chakra reserves were higher than the average person's, but only to a limited extent.

Just as the three were about to launch their attack, a loud boom echoed, followed by a gust of fierce wind.

"Sakumo, you really are in a sorry state!"

Looking toward the sound, the first thing that came into view was a wooden giant, followed by Senju Genma, who stood atop the wooden figure's head clad in red armor. Beside his feet lay an old man dressed in monk's robes.

Senju Genma noticed the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, but he merely stood with his arms crossed, looking down at the masses from high above with a calm, indifferent air.

Beneath that cold expression, however, his heart was not so calm.

There was a reason Second Pillar loved to act cool; acting cool was truly, damnably satisfying!

As an elite Jonin who had executed many important missions, Sakumo Hatake naturally saw through the true state of mind beneath Senju Genma's cold exterior at a glance. He could only curl his lip and mutter unhappily, "This brat really loves to show off!"

Seeing the suddenly appearing giant wooden figure and the captured Bunpuku, the Sand Ninja immediately lost their will to fight, and their forces began to rout.

"White Yasha!!" Chiyo was horrified, gritting her teeth as she said, "Why does the Leaf always have so many geniuses!"

There was Sakumo Hatake, who left her struggling to hold her own; there had been Tsunade, against whom her poisons were useless; and now there was Senju Genma, who could defeat Shukaku. How could Chiyo accept this!

Chiyo sighed, knowing the situation was lost, and recalled her puppets.

The greatest source of confidence for her decision to launch this all-out attack had been the One-Tail Shukaku. Now that even Shukaku had been defeated, and their own strength was already inferior to the Leaf's, there was simply no point in continuing the fight.

Unless the strongest, the Third Kazekage, were present, there was not even a sliver of a chance for victory.

Chiyo took one last, unwilling look at Sakumo Hatake before turning and leaving without looking back, the two Jonin following closely behind.

Seeing this, Ebizo and the severely wounded Rasa also retreated under the cover of their loyal subordinates.

Senju Genma jumped down from the wooden figure and breathed a sigh of relief once he saw no one was around.

His consumption from battling Shukaku had been significant. This wooden figure, not counting the Wood Release's ability to absorb chakra, could only maintain combat capability for at most half an hour.

"Are you alright?" Suddenly, a large hand patted Senju Genma on the shoulder.

Senju Genma turned and stepped back two paces, assuming a combat stance.

"Why are you sneaking around? You want to scare someone to death?"

"You defeated a Tailed Beast, why are you so tense?" Sakumo Hatake asked, spreading his hands.

The Tailed Beast was defeated, but there were far too many things in this world more powerful than a Tailed Beast!

Senju Genma pursed his lips. "This shows that I am cautious and prudent. What do you know?"

"I hope you can always maintain this cautious attitude!" Sakumo Hatake nodded, fully agreeing with Senju Genma's statement. "Why is Shukaku just lying there motionless? Is he dead?"

As he spoke, Sakumo Hatake crouched beside Bunpuku and began to rummage through his body.

"No, the jinchuriki just ran out of chakra and fainted. With Shukaku inside him, he should recover before long."

"That's good. Only the living have value." Sakumo Hatake picked up Bunpuku and hoisted him onto his shoulder. "As an important jinchuriki, the Hidden Sand Village should be willing to pay a high price to ransom him back."

Senju Genma remained silent.

He just didn't know if Hiruzen Sarutobi would send him back for free in the name of peace.

Probably not.

After all, the current Hiruzen Sarutobi was still the Shinobi Hero.

The two soon found the main force.

Orochimaru and Danzo Shimura both looked at Senju Genma with complex expressions.

Orochimaru's eyes seemed to say that he was very interested in him, while Danzo Shimura's gaze was somewhat unpredictable.

Danzo Shimura lowered his head, a sense of powerlessness surrounding him at that moment.

He felt the gap between himself and Senju Genma was too vast, a thought that even began to shake his resolve to become Hokage.

Fortunately, Danzo Shimura's will was strong enough; the position of Hokage had already become his obsession, and this wavering came and went quickly.

Senju Genma and Sakumo Hatake, unaware of what everyone was thinking, began leading the team back to the Land of River.

Everyone was filled with joy.

Not only had they achieved the strategic goal of intercepting Shukaku, but they had even managed to capture it, which was undoubtedly a great achievement.

Although Senju Genma was the only one who had fought Shukaku, the rest of them had held off the attacks of the Sand Ninja, so they certainly deserved their share of the credit.