Konoha's Tatsuya

Whoosh, whoosh...

In a forest along the border of the Land of Rivers, two figures moved swiftly, one in front of the other. These were Tatsuya and the Suna leader who was pursuing him. They had been engaged in this chase for over ten miles.

Wind Style: Wind Cutter Jutsu!

From behind, the Suna leader shouted, and countless gusts of wind, sharp as blades, shot forward, slicing through the trees in their path.

Sensing the wind blades approaching, Tatsuya, who had been fleeing ahead, was forced to turn and stop.

Earth Style: Earth Wall!

His hands formed seals, and an earth wall rapidly rose, blocking the wind blades' attack.

Boom!

Just as the wind attack ended, the Suna leader kicked through the earth wall and charged straight at Tatsuya.

Unable to block in time, Tatsuya could only cross his arms in front of his chest, bracing for the impact. The force of the blow sent him flying back over ten meters before he finally came to a stop.

Ptooey!

Standing up, Tatsuya spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura weakening considerably. He was already at his limit.

This Suna leader, who had been chasing Pakura, was incredibly strong, definitely possessing strength at or above the level of an elite jonin.

During their running battle, Tatsuya had used every trick he could think of, yet he still couldn't shake him off. If he hadn't decisively dispelled the two shadow clones he had left behind in the village, gaining a replenishment of chakra, Tatsuya wouldn't have been able to hold on this long.

"You can't escape! For someone your age to have held out against me for this long is already something to be proud of! But, unfortunately..."

Seeing Tatsuya's significantly weakened aura, the Suna leader didn't immediately attack. Instead, he looked at Tatsuya with a hint of pity in his eyes, shook his head, and spoke.

It had to be said, Konoha was truly a place that produced exceptional talents!

From their exchanges so far, this young man already possessed the strength of a special jonin, a true prodigy. Yet, before this, the Suna leader had never even heard of Tatsuya's name. This alone showed that the sheer number of talented individuals in Konoha far surpassed that of Sunagakure.

Tatsuya looked grimly at the Suna leader. "Senior, today's events were merely a chance encounter. Konoha and Sunagakure are allies. I would never reveal anything about your village's affairs. Must you really kill me to silence me?"

The Suna leader said, "Only the dead can truly keep secrets."

With that, the Suna leader's hands began to form seals again.

Wind Style: Pressure Damage!

Instantly, a highly compressed sphere of wind began to form in front of the Suna leader. Then, like a cannonball, it shot towards Tatsuya.

This was a powerful B-rank offensive ninjutsu. The Suna leader intended to finish Tatsuya off with this move.

However, Tatsuya would not simply sit and wait for death.

Boar - Dog - Bird - Monkey - Ram

As the Suna leader formed his seals, Tatsuya's hands were also rapidly forming seals. Then, he slammed his hand on the ground.

He had no choice. Tatsuya had to use his last resort: summoning!

Poof!

As his seal was completed, a massive cloud of white smoke erupted from where Tatsuya stood, and a gigantic figure became vaguely visible within the smoke.

At the same time Tatsuya performed the Summoning Technique, the Suna leader's Wind Style jutsu arrived.

The powerful Wind Style jutsu exploded like a cannonball in front of the newly appeared giant, creating countless sharp wind blades that scattered in all directions, shredding everything around – rocks, trees, everything – into dust.

The dust and wind blades dissipated, revealing a huge green snake. Its massive body, like a mountain of flesh, stood erect, reaching a height of several dozen meters.

At the very top, on the snake's head, Tatsuya's figure appeared, subtly protected by the coiled body. Neither Tatsuya nor Seiryu had been harmed in the slightest by the Suna leader's powerful Wind Style jutsu.

"Is that Manda?"

Seeing Seiryu's enormous size and feeling the intense pressure emanating from it, the Suna leader's expression momentarily froze, and he couldn't help but mutter.

Throughout the ninja world, the summons of Konoha's Sannin were arguably the strongest. Manda, Gamabunta, and Katsuyu were all top-tier summons. It could be said that the title of "Sannin," held by Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, was inseparable from these three incredibly powerful summons.

During the Third Shinobi World War, the Suna leader had witnessed Manda's terrifying power firsthand. It was a veritable killing machine, capable of crushing the vast majority of ordinary ninja, leaving an indelible impression on him.

Therefore, the moment he saw Seiryu's massive body, the name "Manda" immediately flashed through the Suna leader's mind.

However, after observing it for a moment, he quickly confirmed that the giant green snake before him was not Orochimaru's summon, Manda.

Both in terms of size and the pressure it exuded, the green snake was inferior to Manda by more than a small margin.

Even so, the Suna leader didn't dare to be careless. Judging by Seiryu's size and its ability to withstand his Wind Style jutsu unscathed, this large summon was not something to be taken lightly.

While the Suna leader was contemplating his next move, Tatsuya's gaze also swept over Seiryu's body.

After the previous mutation, Seiryu's body had grown even larger, and the natural energy within it had become even more abundant! Through the bio-chip's analysis, Tatsuya had confirmed that the unknown energy within Seiryu was indeed natural energy.

Moreover, after a few days of familiarization, Seiryu had gained a rudimentary control over the Cursed Seal implanted within its body. Once the Cursed Seal state was activated, Seiryu's power would increase even further.

Two days ago, after experimenting with Seiryu, Tatsuya had been ecstatic about this.

"Do you still want to fight?"

With the support of the vastly more powerful Seiryu, Tatsuya's confidence soared. He stood atop the snake's head and addressed the Suna leader below.

The Suna leader remained silent. He looked up, slowly assessing Seiryu and Tatsuya, and then, without a word, turned and left without looking back.

Seiryu's appearance made the Suna leader realize that his plan to kill Tatsuya and silence him was no longer feasible. It wasn't that the Suna leader lacked confidence in his own abilities, but with Seiryu's assistance, if Tatsuya wanted to escape, he couldn't stop him, nor could he catch him.

Since the matter was no longer achievable, why take unnecessary risks? Luckily, Pakura and that small squad of Konoha ninja should have all been eliminated. With only Tatsuya escaping, the problem wasn't insurmountable.

Even if Tatsuya revealed the truth, Sunagakure would simply deny it. With that thought, the Suna leader quickly returned in the direction he had come.

Phew...

He's finally gone!

On Seiryu's head, seeing the Suna leader rapidly retreating, Tatsuya finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat cross-legged on Seiryu's head to rest.

He had faced several near-death situations just now; he had almost lost his life! Fighting against such a powerful opponent was truly mentally and physically exhausting. He couldn't afford to be distracted for even a moment!