The conversation between Araki and Minato reached Jiraiya's ears clearly.
Jiraiya didn't actually feel any pressure when facing these three people.
However, he did not resolve the issue quickly or easily.
This was because he wanted to see how his three disciples would handle such a situation.
After all, once he dealt with the people in front of him, he would need to help his three disciples; otherwise, just standing there and watching wouldn't seem like a proper thing to do.
After overhearing Araki and Minato's conversation, he silently nodded in approval. Faced with this unexpected situation, both of them maintained a rare composure and their thoughts were very clear.
What surprised him was that he had originally thought Minato would be the core of the command in this team, but it now seemed that Araki was the one giving orders.
This is not something that is difficult to understand. When faced with an unexpected situation, those who can remain calm and analyze the situation are often the ones who have the most right to speak out.
It's obvious that Araki is the calmest one!
This might not be obvious to others, but Jiraiya saw it clearly. Araki had tried his best not to say anything meaningless or pointless, nor was he trying to show off. The points he emphasized were all extremely important.
Even if Araki didn't say it...
He would also proactively intervene if there was a possibility of leaving no survivors, to prevent the situation from deteriorating beyond repair.
at the same time.
Jiraiya was also pondering something very important...
What was the purpose of the Kumogakure ninjas lying in ambush at the entrance of Konoha?
Chapter 22 Is this what medical-nin is like?
There's no need to drag this out any longer.
Jiraiya silently made a decision in his heart. For him, not eliminating these people immediately was because he wanted to test his three disciples.
By now, he had taken in all three disciples' initial reactions and formed a basic assessment in his mind. Moreover, judging from the visual effects at this moment, the balance of the battle had tilted in their favor.
On the other side, nine Kumogakure Genin a joint attack, still in the form of a sneak attack, but they were all stopped by Araki and Minato. At the same time, they launched a counterattack, so victory was only a matter of time.
There's no need to excessively deplete these disciples in a battle where victory is assured despite being outnumbered.
After all, there are still long missions to be carried out to transport ninja tools and supplies, and these people need to conserve their physical strength.
Now that the goal has been achieved, we can stop here.
Thinking of this, Jiraiya instantly accelerated, quickly appearing in front of the three Kumogakure ninjas. He grabbed the back of two of them with both hands and suddenly exerted force, slamming their heads together.
"Bang!"
With a loud crash, the two Kumogakure ninjas collapsed to the ground, instantly losing consciousness.
"..."
The only remaining conscious Kumogakure ninja froze on the spot, completely unprepared for the fact that his two companions had been defeated so easily. He stared blankly at Jiraiya's face, his pupils suddenly contracting sharply, his eyes filled with immense shock.
Jiraiya?!
Konoha Sannin Jiraiya of Konoha?!
Only now did he realize the seriousness of the problem. When they hid, they tried to conceal themselves as deeply as possible to avoid revealing their location. As a result, it wasn't as convenient for them to observe the external situation.
In addition, they dared not stare at others for too long, as this would be detected by some ninjas with keen senses.
They just need to define their goals.
but...
They never imagined that their primary target would be someone so influential in Konoha.
"Smack!"
Just as the Kumogakure ninja was pondering this, a chop to the head landed directly on him. He didn't Jiraiya see how Jiraiya appeared in front of him before he lost consciousness and fell uncontrollably to the ground, passing out.
On the other side.
Araki, wielding a massive wooden crate, swept it relentlessly across the crowd. The crate contained Chakra and was incredibly sturdy. Everyone he struck felt as if they had been struck by Taiseki, a dull, excruciating pain.
From the perspective of medical-nin, this is a rather special type of blunt force injury. The only marks left on the body surface are redness, swelling, and bruising. However, the force transmitted through the skin and tissues such as fat, even if weakened, can still directly affect the bones and internal organs.
"Snap!"
"Snap!"
"Snap!"
"..."
Araki wielded a massive wooden box that was disproportionately large for his height. With each strike, the sound of bones cracking could be clearly heard. The ninjas hit by the box suffered internal organ rupture on the spot, instantly losing all fighting ability.
Araki paid no attention to those he had already hit. After being struck, these people either collapsed to the ground or knelt there coughing up blood. The intense pain not only prevented them from standing up again, but also marked the countdown to their deaths.
In an instant.
Araki was fast and his attacks were fierce; in the blink of an eye, he had knocked down five Kumogakure ninjas.
Almost everyone he struck was doomed, but they did not die on the spot. Instead, they gradually lost consciousness and died in the final pain, clearly feeling the helpless passing of life.
"???"
A whole bunch of question marks popped into Minato's head. While fighting, he kept an eye on Araki and noticed that the latter didn't leave any room for maneuver in his attacks; he was aiming for certain death. However, during the strikes, he cleverly used certain angles to avoid fatal blows, which Minato couldn't understand at all.
Whoosh!
Just then, Jiraiya suddenly appeared in front of Minato, his broad and sturdy back completely enveloping Minato.
" Minato, go and deal with those three unconscious ninjas over there. Tie them up. I'll handle things here," Jiraiya instructed.
"Yes." Minato didn't hesitate at all. To him, this was an order. He then quickly walked towards the three ninjas who had just ambushed Jiraiya-sensei but had been subdued by Jiraiya-sensei.
"Snap!"
Just as Minato turned away, he clearly heard the sound of bones cracking again, and felt the pain that stifled his screams. His lips twitched violently once more.
" Araki, leave the rest to me. You did a good job. Now tie up the ninjas who are unable to fight." Jiraiya said, raising an eyebrow.
"There's no need to waste ropes, they're all dead," Araki said calmly.
"What?"
Jiraiya was momentarily stunned, but his movements didn't falter at all. After quickly subduing the remaining three ninjas, he turned to look at the six Kumogakure ninjas writhing in pain on the ground and said, "Aren't they still alive?"
"Their liver, kidneys, and spleen—three vital organs—have all been shattered, along with fractures in their sternum and ribs. Conservatively speaking, they will all die within three minutes. This is merely their last struggle before death," Araki said, shaking his head.
"This... you..." Jiraiya was about to say something when he realized that Araki himself was medical-nin, so he would naturally know what such an injury meant, and a big question mark popped into his head.
Meanwhile, Minato had finished packing up the three ninjas over there, and turned around to ask the same question that Jiraiya.
" Araki, didn't you say you were going to leave them alive?"
Minato was very puzzled by this. He had just heard Araki's instructions to leave no survivors and realized that he had to interrogate the Kumogakure about their actions. But why did Araki suddenly decide to leave no survivors at all?
That's a difference between what they say and what they do!
This situation left both Minato and Jiraiya with the same question.
Kushina, however, remained largely unfazed. She had witnessed similar incidents before, such as when ninjas from Kumogakure infiltrated her home and were killed by Araki. As a result, she was unsurprised by anything Araki did.
"Oh, this!"
Araki put down the box he was carrying, raised his right hand and scratched the back of his head. Judging from his actions, he looked like a cute boy next door, with an endearing smile. There was no trace of the fierce look he had when he was swinging the box earlier.
"I'm leaving you alive so I'll have a better understanding of the situation, and then I can kill any enemy I see."
Araki's casual remark sent chills down Minato and Jiraiya's spines, especially when combined with his smiling face, creating a striking visual contrast.
"Hiss..."
Minato still couldn't help but gasp. Compared to his peers, he was already very mature, but in reality, he was still a recent graduate of the Ninja Academy and had only been Genin for a short time. This was his first mission, and the fact that he had killed the enemy so easily was incredibly shocking no matter how you looked at it.
He felt that even if he could do that in the future, he couldn't do it now. But Araki seemed to have no reaction at all, as if he had already taken it for granted. This was what shocked him the most.
Thinking about it now...
If they switched places...
He simply couldn't bring himself to leave Araki alive so he could go on a killing spree!
"I didn't expect that reason..." Jiraiya gave a wry smile. He found himself increasingly unable to understand this disciple, or rather, Tsunade's disciple whom he had only recently taken in. The way he was acting so ruthlessly was nothing like Tsunade; instead, he resembled Orochimaru more. He then asked, "Are all these people beyond saving?"
"Yes, even Tsunade-sensei can't save them. Their vital organs are already shattered, and they don't have much time left." Araki nodded.
"Everyone is the same?" Jiraiya suddenly realized something.
"That's right." Araki nodded again.
"You didn't do this on purpose, did you?" Jiraiya took a deep breath; this action implied too many things.
for example...
Precise control over the location of the injury and the application of force.
Of course, this is under the condition that the opponent is unprepared. If the situation is dynamic and the opponent is on guard, then it would be much more difficult to achieve this.
This implies at least one crucial point: the opponent's strength must be significantly superior to the opponent's in order to maintain such a firm grip on the situation.
Is this a newly graduated Genin?
Are the quality of Genin?
Jiraiya couldn't help but glance at Araki a few more times. Six Kumogakure ninjas had been killed so far. Although they were all Genin, they were still Genin who could go out to other villages to carry out missions, and they were outnumbered in the process.
In an instant.
Jiraiya was once again certain in his heart.
Araki's true strength should surpass Minato's!
"Coincide!"
Araki's answer was beyond Jiraiya's expectations. Jiraiya thought Araki would be more honest, but he didn't expect to hear such an answer.
"What a coincidence!"
Seeing that the others didn't seem to believe him, Araki added, "When I hit them with the box, I wasn't deliberately looking for an angle; they just happened to be right next to it."
"..."
A moment of silence fell over the scene. Kushina remained silent. Minato and Jiraiya, though they had been watching Araki's situation closely, hadn't noticed anything particularly unusual. Araki was indeed casually swinging the box, and since they had no way to replay what had just happened, they had no reason to say anything.