By the time Yuto Souta finally caught up,
Obito Uchiha had already been wrapped up by the chains like a mummy...
Still,
With his three-tomoe Sharingan, Yuto Souta could clearly see the massive bump on Obito's forehead...
That was too much.
Yuto Souta's gaze turned cold in an instant.
"Does Sensei Minato... know you're beating up Obito like this?"
His voice dropped noticeably, and as he spoke, Yuto Souta's mind raced with analysis.
This fight was unavoidable.
His odds of winning... honestly, weren't great.
Even with all the ninjutsu he'd accumulated, his two most lethal techniques were off-limits. Plus, without Obito Uchiha's protection or Kakashi Hatake's frontline charge, the situation was even less promising.
He'd have to figure out another way.
Yuto Souta quickly glanced at his attribute panel.
He had a rough estimate of Kushina Uzumaki's strength.
Back then, that group of Stone ninjas definitely wouldn't have been enough to take her down single-handedly...
This wasn't a life-or-death battle, but Yuto Souta still felt the need to give it his all.
Luckily,
After grinding for a day and two nights, he'd amassed quite a few research points.
Especially the Kekkei Genkai-specific points. While they were still a ways off from pushing his Sharingan straight to LV4 Mangekyo, they'd still provide a decent boost.
Then there were the ninjutsu proficiency points.
Also plentiful—enough to get all his newly acquired Lightning Release techniques to LV2 without issue.
They wouldn't be maxed out, but the jump from LV1 to LV2 was significant.
From chakra consumption to technique power, the difference was substantial.
And finally...
The universal research points.
A total of 2,809.
After a moment's hesitation, Yuto Souta didn't allocate them to ninjutsu proficiency or his Sharingan.
Instead, he dumped them all into vitality!
He'd hold out as long as he could!
As for chakra reserves?
Yuto Souta glanced at the countdown in the system shop.
The next flash sale was just past midnight tonight...
About six hours away.
Kushina Uzumaki was also sizing up the kid in front of her.
Those three tomoe made her feel uneasy.
Or rather, they made the fox inside her uneasy.
"This brat gives me a... really bad vibe, Kushina!"
"Kill him quick! This is definitely a conspiracy!"
In the sealed space, the Nine-Tails' massive bell-like pupils glared at the boy in front of her.
Sharing Kushina's vision, that familiar feeling in the boy's eyes really rubbed it the wrong way!
"Shut it, you stinking fox!" Kushina snapped back without hesitation.
"Don't ruin my fun!"
This dumb fox was even starting to fake malice now?
After scolding the Nine-Tails, Kushina's consciousness returned to reality, her interest piqued as she studied the kid before her.
So this was the little guy giving Minato, that idiot, headaches all the time?
She'd heard the Third Hokage couldn't find a suitable jonin instructor and had reluctantly pushed Minato into the role?
Kushina Uzumaki was actually grateful to these three kids.
If it weren't for them, Minato Namikaze wouldn't have become their jonin instructor, wouldn't have had so much time to spend with her in the village...
And she wouldn't have gotten this chance to step in as their substitute teacher while he was out on a mission!
So, she had to thoroughly thank these three little guys!
"Of course Minato doesn't know I'm... educating you like this!" Kushina Uzumaki said with a grin, loosening the chains slightly.
"But if you've got a problem with it, you're welcome to go tattle to him..."
"I don't mind at all!"
Her tone dripped with playful mischief.
Yuto Souta glanced at his two tightly bound teammates and sighed.
"Bear with it..."
He'd roughly formulated a battle plan.
First, find a way to free Obito Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake, then... stall for time.
Without revealing Dust Release or Wood Release, stalling was his only option.
Wood Release aside, using Dust Release would turn this into a life-or-death showdown...
For now, he could only drag it out—drag it out until midnight when the system shop refreshed.
In other words,
This was going to be a war of attrition.
"Souta! Hurry up and—mmph! Mmph mmph mmph!"
Obito Uchiha seized the brief slack in the chains to let out a wild yell, only to be instantly rebound by Kushina Uzumaki...
"Shut up, you noisy brat! I'll deal with you later... Huh?"
Kushina Uzumaki, mid-"education" of Obito, suddenly froze.
From the corner of her eye, she caught Yuto Souta's insanely fast hand signs!
"Nitrogen Release: Water Dragon Nitrogen!"
"Nitrogen Release: Great Nitrogen Stream!"
He opened with two Nitrogen Release techniques!
These were highly deceptive moves with solid power.
Back when they were only LV1, they'd worked wonders against a group of Stone ninjas.
Now, facing Kushina Uzumaki, Yuto Souta planned to test the waters.
In the original story, aside from sealing techniques, Kushina Uzumaki didn't showcase much else in terms of abilities.
Yuto Souta was on full alert.
But... Kushina Uzumaki's response left him feeling a wave of helplessness.
With just a single hand sign raised in front of her, two chains suddenly shot out from behind her—one smashed into the airborne ice dragon, while the other whipped around, shattering the sizable liquid nitrogen stream into bits!
That was kind of cheating.
But Yuto Souta also spotted something crucial.
These two chains... were thicker than the ones binding Obito Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake!
"Looks like she can boost their power by adjusting chakra output."
Yuto Souta mentally jotted that down.
Meanwhile, having blocked Yuto Souta's opening move, Kushina Uzumaki didn't counterattack.
She retracted both chains, gave a tug on the ones holding Obito Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake, and kept that playful glint in her eyes.
"Too bad... You almost beat me there!"
"So, what's your next move, little Souta?"
Yuto Souta's expression turned odd.
And not just him— even the two bound and immobile teammates mirrored his look.
When it came to stamina or physical coordination, Yuto Souta might fall short.
But when it came to tricks...
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With a quick hand sign, four identical clones appeared behind Yuto Souta!
"Ever heard of... a mage's infinite combo?!"
--- Translator Note ---
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