The seemingly fierce battle ended in such an... absurd fashion.
Temari put away her folding fan and said rather smugly:
"Well? I arrived just in time, didn't I?"
Shikamaru quipped:
"You certainly did. If this guy hadn't gotten here ahead of you, I'd probably be dead by now."
Temari rolled her eyes and muttered:
"Hmph! So much for good intentions. And here I came rushing over."
Beside them, Daoist Master Sanfeng put away his sword and said with a smile:
"My young friends, sorry for the trouble, but please take care of things here. I still need to help elsewhere."
Shikamaru and Temari spoke at the same time:
"Hey, we haven't even had a chance to thank you yet!"
"Go take care of things!"
The two "rivals" exchanged a glance, then both rolled their eyes.
Daoist Master Sanfeng turned and said with a smile:
"It was nothing, not worth mentioning. We'll meet again in the Hidden Jun Village."
With that, Daoist Master Sanfeng leaped away, heading for another battlefield.
Only the pair of "rivals" remained, their faces flushed.
As for whether Tayuya was alive or dead, they had both reached the same conclusion: she was dead.
After all, being crushed by such a thick tree would leave anyone dead or crippled.
Besides, there was no longer any sign of life beneath the tree.
Not far away, the fighting on another battlefield was even more intense.
Kiba Inuzuka and his partner, Akamaru, were fighting a single enemy together.
Their situation, however, was extremely grim.
The boy and dog were being driven back steadily by their lone opponent, and both had suffered quite a few injuries.
Their opponent was none other than Sakon and Ukon, the second strongest of the Otogakure Five.
Sakon and Ukon's attacks were relatively simple, consisting entirely