Fujiwara Inomura stood up as well and returned to the battlefield. Without him, Minato Namikaze would be in even greater danger, and so would these genin. Though he did not know whether he could win and might even die, he no longer had a choice.
Minato Namikaze and Fujiwara Inomura exchanged a glance, then charged together.
Both had witnessed Kakuzu's ninjutsu. Its incredibly fast release and power had left them struggling to keep up, so both chose close combat to counter his ninjutsu abilities.
But Kakuzu was no slouch in close combat either. His agile movements, coupled with the black threads that emerged from time to time, put considerable pressure on Minato Namikaze and Fujiwara Inomura.
Just then, Fujiwara Inomura spotted an opening and swung his kunai, slicing off one of Kakuzu's hands. Both he and Minato Namikaze were delighted. With one hand gone, Kakuzu's close-combat strength would surely drop considerably.
Minato Namikaze and Fujiwara Inomura sped up their close-range attacks significantly, and they did manage to inflict some damage on Kakuzu, though the injuries were not serious.
Suddenly, Minato Namikaze felt something grab his foot. Looking back and down, he saw that the hand Fujiwara Inomura had cut off had somehow reached his feet and was gripping his ankle tightly. Black threads were still connected to the base of the arm.
Minato Namikaze immediately realized that Kakuzu had deliberately allowed Fujiwara Inomura to find an opening and sever his arm, all to launch a sneak attack on them. But realizing it now was a little too late. With Minato Namikaze restrained, Kakuzu immediately found an opening and knocked Fujiwara Inomura back with a single blow. Controlling the arm connected to the black threads, he dragged Minato Namikaze toward him while forming hand seals with both hands, preparing to finish