I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 248: The momentum of their comeback is impressive, but be careful not to stumble again.

"Tatsuma!"

Seeing Tatsuma flying backward, Hatake Sakumo completely disregarded the fact that he needed to call Tatsuma by his code name during the mission. Just as he was about to head towards Tatsuma, a heavy and swift kick came towards him.

"Phew~"

I narrowly avoided the kick, the whistling sound of the wind being torn apart still lingering in my ears.

"I'll go check on Yaksha."

As soon as Minato finished speaking, Flying Thunder God appeared directly behind Tatsuma and caught him while he was flying backwards. However, the two of them had already flown out of the mountain's range and were falling towards the water below.

Seeing that Minato had passed by, and knowing that he also knew some medical ninjutsu, Hatake Sakumo suppressed the urge to check on Tatsuma's condition and looked at the newcomer instead.

The lightning dissipated, revealing a tall and imposing figure. Sakumo Hatake blurted out a name: "Ai?!"

Upon seeing the newcomer, Hatake Sakumo instantly understood how A had suddenly appeared: it was the Sky Transfer Technique of Kumogakure. The Third Raikage, A, was the only person who could use the Sky Transfer Technique for spatial teleportation.

Because of the nature of this technique, almost no one can withstand the damage caused by spatial teleportation. This technique is usually used for the teleportation of supplies, not for the teleportation of people.

But the only one who could withstand the damage and use the Heavenly Gift Technique as a space-time teleportation technique was Ai.

Ai's appearance was so sudden that even Hatake Sakumo couldn't react in time. Looking back now, if Tatsuma hadn't pushed him away in time, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand Ai's elbow strike.

It was precisely for this reason that Sakumo Hatake felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. As the captain, he had to rely on his own team members to ensure his safety.

This should have been his responsibility as the team leader.

"Tatsuma?"

Ai murmured the name softly, revealing a flamboyant and unrestrained smile, and said, "Sakamoto Tatsuma? I was just wondering how to deal with him if he grows up in the future."

Unexpectedly, they actually delivered themselves to my doorstep and took this blow head-on. Let alone a child, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi came, he would be seriously injured, hahaha~”

Seeing that Ai was still smug, Hatake Sakumo's face turned completely ashen. His cold and stern aura reappeared, confronting Ai's arrogance. At the same time, he formed the opposing hand seal with his left hand and drew his short sword, White Fang, with his right hand, directly slashing.

"Kite~"

As the blade sang, a flash of white light appeared, and the sharp blade went straight for A's throat. A stopped laughing wildly, and his right hand gathered lightning chakra to meet the blade.

"Hellish Thrust! Four-Point Piercing Hand!"

"Clang~"

The clash between the blade and flesh produced a sound like metal clashing against stone. The sudden gust of wind blew some gravel far away, and some of the more fragile stones were even directly crushed by the shockwave.

The clash between the two was like a signal. In an instant, Hatake Sakumo sheathed his short sword and then launched a series of slashes. Aya grinned, his entire body erupting with Lightning Release chakra, lightning enveloping his body as he used his bare hands to confront Hatake Sakumo's blade.

In just a moment, the surrounding land was utterly destroyed, its destructive power no less than that of the mountain peak in the distance, which was wantonly ravaged by the Eight-Tails.

In the distance, on the shallows of the river below the mountain, Minato anxiously used medical ninjutsu to try to heal Tatsuma. He was so anxious that he didn't even have time to examine Tatsuma's body.

After all, it's impossible for him to be unharmed after being hit by the Third Raikage's full-force attack, right?

But just as he placed his hands on Tatsuma's left shoulder wound, Tatsuma grabbed him with his right hand, shook his head, and then grabbed his severely deformed left hand, pulling and pushing it.

"Click-clack~"

He took back his left hand, which had been hanging down in a strange way. Minato looked at Tatsuma with a face full of astonishment as he began to clench his left fist, as if he was feeling the recovery of his left hand.

Perhaps noticing Minato's surprise, Tatsuma said, "You know, I developed a medical ninjutsu."

"But that's the Third Raikage."

Minato swallowed hard. Even though he knew his friend was exceptionally talented in developing ninjutsu, he still couldn't comprehend how he could develop a technique that could withstand the Raikage's full-force attack.

Tatsuma looked at himself, soaking wet, with his lower body still submerged in water, and didn't know how to explain it.

When Aina fell, he really saw Mito Uzumaki smiling at him, and he could even feel himself falling, a feeling of life slowly slipping away.

But the instant he fell into the water, he felt himself come back to life. The modified Yin Healing and Destruction technique, which had been rendered ineffective due to his severe injuries, seemed to have been enhanced.

His modified Yin Healing and Destruction technique did not preserve chakra within the body's cells, but instead left curse marks on various parts of the body.

With just a little chakra guidance, the cursed seal will be activated, drawing energy from the body and converting it into chakra. Theoretically, this is also an imperfect technique.

There are only two ways for a cursed seal to end: either the wound heals or there is no more chakra left in the body.

This time, however, it was the latter. He almost exhausted his chakra. Although Tatsuma survived, he was left with a minor dislocation injury.

He was also glad that he fell into the water. If his chakra had been extracted like this under normal circumstances, he would have died from exhaustion long ago.

He looked at the river, thinking that this might be the [Death Resistance] ability in his White Yaksha physique that he had never activated. He had read the system description before, which said that falling into the water when near death could greatly increase the chances of survival.

I just didn't expect this "extreme" to be this big.

Chenma took out two soldier's ration pills, put them in his mouth, and swallowed them. Although his injuries had almost recovered, they were of little use in the battle.

He looked up at the continuous explosions above, then glanced at the same chaotic scene where the Eight-Tails was, and said to Minato, "Minato, you run alone."

"But."

"I am currently unable to engage in strenuous exercise, and Lord Sakumo is locked in combat with Ai. The only chance to escape lies with you. Only if you escape can we be saved."

Once I recover some chakra, I will catch up with you, accompanied by Lord Sakumo.

Tatsuma spoke decisively, not wanting to give Minato any chance to bargain. His serious demeanor made Minato subconsciously nod, but he still said with concern:

"You haven't actually used the Super Gale Multi-Flash Teleport Zero Style before, isn't that too risky?"

Seeing that Minato was going to recite that shameful tactical name in its entirety at this crucial moment, Tatsuma gritted his teeth and said, "Minato, you're really too airheaded."

"Let's go quickly. Trust me this time too."

"it is good."

Minato nodded, then hoisted the exhausted Tatsuma onto his back and carried him to the riverbank. In a blind spot, he took two Flying Thunder God kunai from Tatsuma's ninja tool bag before heading out of the Cloud Thunder Canyon.

Watching Minato leave, Tatsuma closed his eyes to rest for a moment. [Unceasing] not only allowed his cells to store more energy, but also allowed him to absorb nutrients more quickly and fully, commonly known as fast digestion.

The soldier's ration pills he had just swallowed were now quickly converted into energy for his body, replenishing the energy in his almost depleted cells.

However, rapid digestion can also bring some side effects. For example, the body will regulate more blood and oxygen to be delivered to the stomach and intestines to promote digestion, while other parts of the body will be in a state of ischemia and hypoxia.

The most obvious thing is...sleepy.

But Chenma didn't dare to actually fall asleep. He just lay there half-reclined, supporting himself on his right elbow, and rested with his eyes closed.

Even if he is truly mentally exhausted, the sensation of falling caused by his physical imbalance will wake him up again.

It's like when you're dozing off in class and your neck can't support your head, a natural downward tilt of your head will wake you up.

Fortunately, the long-term training, along with the rushing river, the fighting, the noise from disturbed birds, and the occasional ground vibrations, kept him in a state of minimal alertness.

A dozen minutes later, the energy brought by the chakra was distributed in his body, and his body no longer concentrated on supplying blood to his stomach and intestines, which made him feel much better.

After forming hand seals and refining some chakra, Chenma touched the ground with two fingers and sensed the situation inside the Cloud Thunder Canyon.

On the Eight-Tails' side, the number of Cloud Ninja has decreased again, while the battle between Hatake Sakumo and A above is not looking promising.

Sakumo Hatake's chakra was also beginning to deplete, and judging from his chakra levels, he was currently on the defensive.

It makes sense, considering that Sakumo Hatake had previously fought the Eight-Tails. Given his fighting style and abilities, he would need to expend more chakra to fight the Eight-Tails.

Then he faced the Third Raikage, who had been teleported using the Heavenly Transfer Technique. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that A was a humanoid tailed beast. Both of his opponents had styles that were more dominant over Sakumo Hatake.

It's quite remarkable that he's managed to hold on until now, even with his chakra depleted.

Within the Cloud Thunder Canyon, there was no sign of Minato. Chenma expanded the search area slightly, heading in the direction Minato had left. Soon, he sensed Minato.

At the same time, along the path, there was a Flying Thunder God Kunai left by Minato for Tatsuma. Tatsuma instantly understood Minato's meaning; this was a "transfer station" left for him in case his perception range was insufficient.

There were no other enemies around Minato, which relieved Tatsuma. In this day and age of unexpected events, this was the only piece of good news.

Next, all he needs to do is use Super Gale Multi-Punch! Continuous Flying Thunder God Techniques to bring himself and Sakumo Hatake to Minato's side.

After getting up and stretching his limbs to make sure he was in good condition, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique and instantly appeared next to Sakumo Hatake, his right hand already holding a Rasengan.

"boom!"

Having already sensed the positions of the two, Tatsuma knew he was extremely close to A, so the instant he moved over, he pressed the Rasengan in his hand towards A.

It wasn't until the Rasengan collided with A's body that Tatsuma finally saw what was happening. A launched a high sweeping kick at Sakumo Hatake's head, but Sakumo Hatake used his White Fang to block A's kick with the force of the swing.

Suddenly appearing, Tatsuma pressed the Rasengan in his hand onto Ai's jade.

"ah!!"

A rough yet sharp, contradictory sound came from Ai's mouth. Unable to maintain his strength, he flew backward and crashed to the ground. He rolled over, then reached forward with one hand to defend and used the other to cover his groin.

Seeing that Ai's face was only pale and she did not show the extreme pain that others felt after being hit, Chenma was also stunned for a moment, wondering if his skills had declined.

However, seeing the lightning chakra surrounding A, Tatsuma understood that his Rasengan was not enough to penetrate the lightning chakra armor; it only caused some deformation.

It was fortunate that he struck Ai's jade; otherwise, the slight deformation and pressure would not have made Ai so disheveled.

"Tatsuma? Are you alright?"

Sakumo Hatake's voice rang out in surprise. Tatsuma nodded and said, "The Third Raikage A's attack was nothing special."

Ai frowned, looking at Tatsuma in disbelief. But seeing that Tatsuma was indeed unharmed, he wondered if he had started to decline after becoming Raikage.

It seems we need to speed up the training of that brat!

Seeing that Ai was in a daze, Tatsuma didn't dare to delay. He grabbed Hatake Sakumo with one hand and touched the ground with the other to sense his surroundings.

Ai snapped back to her senses and angrily charged at the two of them, her fingers curling up with only two pointing forward.

"Hellish Thrust! Double Penetration!"

The powerful lightning chakra made Tatsuma feel as if his body was being pierced even before the attack arrived, but he could still sense it.

"Sayonara~ Oh my god!"

The instant the Flying Thunder God Technique was activated, lightning crackled around Tatsuma's body.

(End of this chapter)