Hanzō released his grip to evade the attack, then whipped a vicious elbow into Minato's chest.
The blow knocked Minato straight out of the air.
It struck with such tremendous force that even two midair somersaults failed to dissipate the impact completely.
The Flying Thunder God Kunai flew from his hand and tumbled into a gap in the rubble.
Minato lay facedown on the ground, acutely reliving the force of that elbow strike.
It was nothing like Tsunade's Monster Strength.
Tsunade's power came from the impact of an instantaneous burst of chakra.
Hanzō's strength, however, was pure, top-tier taijutsu.
He was practically an elbow-striking monster.
Minato propped himself up amid the rubble and raised his head, only to see everyone laid low.
Maki knelt on one knee, the Sword of the Thunder God driven into the dirt to support his body. Blood kept seeping from the wound along his jaw, trickling down his neck.
Tsunade half-knelt at the edge of the rubble, the glow of the Mystical Palm Technique flickering around her right arm.
In that last round of head-on clashes, she had weathered several heavy blows from Hanzō, and her chakra reserves were nearing their limit.
Sage Katsuyu lay on her shoulder, continuously healing her injuries.
Jiraiya leaned against the base of the city wall, his chakra almost completely depleted and his breathing ragged.
Orochimaru's snakes had long since been driven dozens of paces back by the poisonous mist. The Kusanagi Sword stood embedded in the mud beside his feet, traces of blood from the wound on Hanzō's back still clinging to its blade.
In just a few breaths of all-out combat, four elite fighters had been wounded and brought down.
Only Hanzō remained standing in the center of the battlefield.
The Sannin were still far from their prime.