As the fire and smoke from the explosive tags cleared, a battered mechanical spider with a peeling outer shell staggered toward Tatsuma, relentlessly spitting senbon. Behind it, Sajin's face was flushed a deep, furious red.
He had thought losing a puppet during their first encounter was his greatest failure. He never imagined that upon meeting this Leaf brat a second time, he would nearly lose another.
Worse, Sajin's distraction had given Inuzuka Shin an opening. The man and his hound had effectively dismantled Sajin's other puppet. While "dismemberment" was a temporary setback for a puppet—usually requiring only a few replacement parts—the blow to Sajin's pride was permanent.
To be repeatedly humiliated by a child... he wanted nothing more than to pounce and skin the brat alive. But with his puppets out of commission, he was now forced to face a charging Inuzuka Shin head-on.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
Tatsuma's hands blurred through seals, and the ground before him surged upward, forming a solid barricade.
Thud-thud-thud!
The poisoned senbon buried themselves deep into the earthen wall. Tatsuma narrowed his eyes, sensing the structural integrity failing. Without a second's hesitation, he flowed into his next set of seals. The moment he finished, the earth beneath him turned to liquid, swallowing him whole.
"Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage!"
CRASH!
The mud wall crumbled under a final, concentrated volley of senbon, but Tatsuma had already resurfaced dozens of meters away, completely unscathed.
"Retreat!"
Orochimaru's command suddenly echoed through the forest. The Konoha shinobi hesitated, confusion clear on their faces. The battle had only just begun; the lines weren't even clearly drawn yet. To retreat now seemed like a tactical blunder.
However, the more observant ninjas noticed a broken senbon protruding from Orochimaru's shoulder. Realizing he was facing Chiyo, the master poisoner, the unit immediately understood the "reason" for the retreat.
Without further hesitation, the Leaf ninjas disengaged, folding their formation back toward Orochimaru as they began a disciplined withdrawal.
Watching Tatsuma disappear into the ranks with that insufferably polite smile, Sajin looked ready to grind his teeth into dust. He wanted to give chase, but even he wasn't reckless enough to charge into a full Konoha battalion alone.
He limped toward Chiyo. "Grandmother, should we pursue?"
Chiyo had sustained a few minor injuries herself, though nothing serious. She watched the retreating column and gave a sharp wave of her hand. "Orochimaru is only lightly poisoned. Do not pursue. They'll have an ambush waiting!"
Under Chiyo's orders, the Suna forces made only a token attempt to harrying the Leaf's rear before letting them go.
Back at the base, protected by the perimeter guards, Orochimaru returned with a face of ghastly pallor. Without a word to his subordinates, he ducked straight into Tsunade's medical tent.
Tatsuma followed shortly after. Primarily, he still had injuries of his own to address; secondarily, once he healed himself, he intended to help with the other casualties.
But as soon as he entered the medical wing, Tsunade grabbed him and hauled him into a smaller, private tent. Inside were only the three of them: Tsunade, Tatsuma, and Orochimaru.
There, Orochimaru's "poisoned" look vanished instantly. His face returned to its usual... well, standard sickly pale. He sat calmly at an examination table, holding a single senbon.
"Chiyo is as cautious as ever," Tsunade muttered, her voice tinged with its signature temper. "I can't believe I didn't even go to the front, and she still refuses to use her new poisons."
"She will," Orochimaru said smoothly, placing the senbon on the tray. "Assuming she actually has them."
Tatsuma looked at Orochimaru, officially retracting his previous assessment of the man's acting skills.
He had truly believed the Sannin was poisoned. He had guessed Orochimaru might take a hit on purpose to act as a carrier to bring back samples of Chiyo's latest toxins. His guess was mostly right; he just hadn't accounted for the fact that Orochimaru was too cautious to actually let the needle pierce his skin.
"How's your arm?"
Tatsuma was still processing Orochimaru's move when he felt a sudden chill on his left limb. Before he could react, Tsunade had already ripped the sleeve clean off his shirt.
"I did some basic first aid. It's fine."
Tatsuma glanced at the wound. Under the influence of his medical ninjutsu, the deep gashes had already closed into two long, thin red lines. In a few days, there wouldn't even be a scar.
Tsunade nodded, turning to speak to Orochimaru, but her eyes snagged on the right side of Tatsuma's neck. Her brow furrowed deeply. "How did you get hit there?"
"Huh?"
Confused, Tatsuma tilted his head. The moment he moved, a sharp, stabbing pain—like the world's worst case of whiplash—shot through his spine, followed by a wave of intense dizziness.
"Why didn't you treat this immediately?!"
Tsunade's tone was sharp with disapproval, but her hands were already glowing with the warm green light of the Mystical Palm Technique. She began to knit the damaged tissues back together. A few moments later, she pulled back. Tatsuma tested his neck; it was still stiff, but the pain and vertigo were gone.
"I... I honestly didn't feel it," Tatsuma explained truthfully.
Orochimaru let out a dry chuckle. "Tatsuma-kun performed quite the feat today. He took down five Chunin and very nearly ended Sajin."
"Stop talking nonsense," Tsunade scoffed, rolling her eyes. She knew her student's limits. Defeating five Chunin was plausible, but Sajin? He was one of Suna's elite young Jonin. Compared to her, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, he was only a step behind in fame and power—a genuine Jonin-level threat. There was no way Tatsuma could handle him.
"I'm not Jiraiya. Why would I lie?"
Orochimaru shook his head, then turned a piercing gaze toward Tatsuma. "This should have been your first time facing a puppet master. Why were you so composed?"
A trace of dejection touched Tatsuma's face. "It wasn't my first time. I ran into him while trying to rescue the Hyuga squad. We... had a disagreement."
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. Tatsuma had mentioned encountering Suna ninjas during that rescue mission, but he hadn't known who—after all, Tatsuma didn't know their names back then.
Now the pieces fit. Orochimaru realized why Sajin had targeted a mere Genin with such murderous intent from the very start. His previous encounter with Tatsuma clearly hadn't been a pleasant one.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes, her hand returning to Tatsuma's neck. "Was this injury his doing?"
She knew Tatsuma's strength; an average Chunin couldn't have landed such a precise, heavy blow on him.
Tatsuma nodded. Tsunade's expression went cold. "The next time we see him, I'll snap his neck for you."
"I appreciate the offer, Teacher," Tatsuma replied, "but no thanks. I'd rather do it myself."
Tsunade didn't look offended; instead, a fierce, proud smile touched her lips. "Oh? So you've finally found an enemy you're determined to kill?"
"I have. And not just Sajin. If the opportunity presents itself... I'm quite interested in the Kazekage's head as well."
"Then you'd better work hard," Tsunade laughed. "A Kage isn't exactly an easy mark."