Chapter 116 — Taichi, Unlike Anyone Else
Taichi charging straight at Rōsa wasn't only because monstrous strength countered puppets so perfectly.
At this point, the battlefield's outcome was already clear—Sunagakure's defeat was only a matter of time. If Rōsa, now unrestrained, sensed the situation turning hopeless and chose to abandon his subordinates and flee, then Konoha's assassination mission would lose all meaning.
And just as Taichi anticipated, Rōsa was already thinking of retreat.
If he could escape and bring the news back—that Konoha had dared to assassinate Sunagakure's diplomatic delegation—it would be an enormous provocation. As long as he survived, he could easily use this incident to incite the militant faction of Sunagakure, pushing them to unite with Iwagakure and retaliate against Konoha.
The idea was sound.
Executing it, however, was another matter entirely.
"Damn it—why is this brat so fast?!"
With monstrous strength-enhanced Body Flicker fully unleashed, Taichi closed the distance like lightning. As Rōsa frantically threw out puppet after puppet, Taichi relied purely on speed and raw power—one punch per puppet, destroying them effortlessly.
This wasn't just because Taichi was strong.
It was also because Rōsa was running out of options.
By now, even excluding the puppet Taichi had already obliterated, Sakumo had destroyed several more. The accumulated losses had nearly emptied Rōsa's reserves. The puppets he was deploying now were nothing but inferior substitutes.
Watching Taichi close in relentlessly, Rōsa felt cornered. Sakumo required constant puppet deployment just to be restrained—meanwhile, Taichi was pressing him directly. Every shred of Rōsa's focus was being dragged in multiple directions.
He had no chance to escape.
"White Fang of Konoha!" Rōsa shouted desperately.
"Konoha violates its alliance and dares to assassinate me—are you not afraid of Sunagakure's retaliation?!"
It was a last, pitiful struggle—verbal intimidation in the face of death.
Whether Rōsa was foolish or simply thought Konoha shinobi were, no one could tell. At this point, such words were meaningless.
Sakumo didn't bother replying.
He wasn't even rushing to destroy the remaining puppets. As long as he kept them occupied, Rōsa's attention would remain divided—creating the opening Taichi needed.
And Taichi did not disappoint.
He broke through cleanly, closing to Rōsa's position. The only thing left between them was Rōsa's final guardian—a massive scorpion-shaped puppet that never left his side.
Having learned from earlier mistakes, this puppet denied Taichi any chance to approach. Every mechanism activated at once—poison-coated senbon sprayed continuously, forcing Taichi into constant evasive movement.
Worse still was the tail.
The segmented scorpion tail, formed from dozens of broad blades, extended and retracted freely, capable of stabbing and sweeping like a living weapon.
For a moment, Taichi was forced to circle just outside its attack range.
Then—
Pain flared beneath his foot.
A numb, tingling sensation spread upward. It wasn't enough to impede movement yet, but it was unmistakably poison.
Taichi glanced down.
A senbon had pierced his foot.
Scanning the area, he saw the ground densely carpeted with them.
So that was the trick.
A veteran jōnin indeed—the senbon weren't just projectiles, but area denial, sealing off movement paths and slowing pursuit.
Taichi's mobility was now severely restricted.
Seeing his plan succeed, Rōsa wasted no time. He began retreating steadily away from the battlefield—his intent painfully obvious.
Taichi stopped holding back.
He swallowed an antidote pill and immediately formed seals.
Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
A roaring dragon of flame burst forth. Every senbon in its path softened and melted into flowing metal. As Taichi increased chakra output, the flames shifted from gold to blinding white, their temperature skyrocketing.
Puppet materials were treated to resist fire—but only ordinary fire.
Rōsa initially remained confident, barely concerned.
Then the flames turned white.
The heat scorched even from afar.
By the time he tried to pull the puppet away, it was already too late.
The instant the fire dragon struck, the puppet's joints ignited and softened. Without structural support, such a massive construct couldn't be moved by chakra threads alone.
When the flames died out, the once-imposing puppet was gone—reduced to a puddle of molten metal and a few warped frames barely holding shape.
The sheer power stunned not only the enemy, but Konoha's own shinobi as well.
Hizashi—having just finished off the swordsman—was already moving toward Taichi, but instinctively halted when he saw the aftermath.
Taichi didn't slow.
Flames wrapped around his feet as he surged forward, using the scorched path cleared by the fire dragon to close in on Rōsa.
Now truly panicked, Rōsa abandoned his retreat and desperately summoned more puppets to defend himself—but these inferior constructs only delayed Taichi by moments.
Then—
A kunai flew past Rōsa, embedding itself behind him.
It hadn't been aimed at him, so he paid it no attention.
The next instant, Minato Namikaze appeared.
This was Minato's second use of Flying Thunder God in the battle.
The first had killed a chūnin.
The second—ended the mission.
Moments earlier, Minato had finished his own opponent. Seeing Rōsa fully preoccupied with Taichi, he instantly recognized the opening.
And he took it.
In a flash of yellow light, the assassination was complete.
With Rōsa's death, the three puppets that had been entangling Sakumo instantly lost all power and collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"Quick—clean up the battlefield. We need to withdraw immediately."
Sakumo issued the order without hesitation. No one questioned it. The team moved with practiced efficiency—disposing of bodies, erasing traces, every step executed with precision.
Taichi, meanwhile, knelt beside Rōsa's corpse.
He hadn't forgotten that everyone was still poisoned. His antidote pills could suppress the toxin, but suppression wasn't the same as a proper cure.
After a careful search, Taichi found a small bottle marked Antidote tucked inside Rōsa's inner robe. He didn't take it immediately. Instead, he continued searching, collecting every medicinal item on Rōsa's body before finally stopping.
"Something feels off," Sakumo said, noticing Taichi's caution.
"Better safe than sorry," Taichi replied.
"Anyone skilled with poison is someone you can never be too careful with."
As he spoke, Taichi also collected several of the poison-coated senbon scattered on the ground.
"Find a place quickly," he added. "I need to test these toxins."
---
A few minutes later, after most of the battlefield had been handled, the team gathered in front of the glassy, crystallized terrain left behind by Taichi's fire technique.
The black-and-red vitrified ground stretched conspicuously across the field.
"This… is a problem," someone muttered. "Anyone who sees this will remember it."
"How about using Earth Release to sink it underground?" Hizashi suggested.
Everyone immediately turned to look at him.
Hizashi coughed awkwardly.
"Don't look at me like that. The Hyūga clan isn't exactly famous for elemental ninjutsu."
Their gazes shifted to Sakumo.
"I only use Lightning Release," Sakumo said helplessly. "No earth affinity."
Before they could look at Minato, he spoke first.
"I know some Earth Release, but nothing suitable for this."
Just as disappointment began to spread, Taichi quietly stepped forward.
Truthfully, he hadn't wanted to draw attention. In the shinobi world, those who stood out too much often died young. Hiding one's strength was usually the wiser path.
But the situation left him no choice.
Ever since Tsunade had entrusted him with her personal collection of techniques, Taichi had mastered a wide range of functional ninjutsu. While some lacked polish in live combat, they were more than sufficient under stable conditions like this.
Standing before the vitrified ground, Taichi began forming seals—slowly, deliberately. After several breaths, he completed the sequence.
Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld.
The ground softened, bubbling into mud. As Taichi poured in chakra, the swamp expanded rapidly, swallowing the entire glassy field, which slowly sank beneath the surface.
After confirming it had sunk deep enough, Taichi switched seals—this time much faster.
Earth Release: Earth Shattering Palm.
He slammed his chakra-coated palm into the ground. A deep rumble followed, accompanied by the sharp sound of shattering glass—the buried vitrified layer was being pulverized.
Then came the final technique.
The seals were slower, the chakra output far greater.
Earth Release: Earth Flow River.
The land turned to churning mud, flowing like a river and expanding beyond the original area, thoroughly mixing and dispersing everything beneath.
When the chakra dissipated, the mud settled back into ordinary earth.
Taichi straightened, exhaling deeply.
Post-battle cleanup, it turned out, consumed almost as much chakra as the fight itself.
When he turned back, he was met with three pairs of eyes staring at him as if he were some kind of monster.
Before Taichi could explain, Sakumo stepped forward and patted his shoulder.
"No need to explain," he said calmly. "You did well."
Then, addressing the team:
"Everything's handled. Let's move."
"Yes!" ×3
---
More than half an hour after Konoha's team withdrew, the four-man scouting unit that had gone ahead returned from their mission.
Their hurried movements betrayed their unease.
The reason was simple—the diplomatic delegation they were supposed to rendezvous with never arrived. Even after waiting an extra half hour, there was no sign of them.
Panic set in.
A failed rendezvous during such a critical alliance mission was no small matter. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the scouts immediately abandoned all other concerns and rushed back toward the outpost to report.
Their haste caused them to miss the battlefield—less than a hundred meters from their route—buying Sakumo's team valuable time to retreat.
---
Deep within a cave inside the Land of Birds, Taichi was busy again.
One rule was absolute:
Never trust anything taken from a dead shinobi—especially a poison specialist puppeteer.
As expected, Rōsa's "antidote" was flawed. More precisely, it was incomplete. The real antidote required precise recombination with other substances found on his person.
For most shinobi, this would have been a nightmare.
Unfortunately for Rōsa's legacy—Taichi was the one handling it.
And Taichi had been the most severely poisoned of them all.
By personally observing the toxin's behavior in his body, conducting several tests, and sacrificing a few unfortunate animals, Taichi managed to complete the antidote within the one-hour suppression window.
He held up a dark, sticky, unappealing pill.
Sakumo, Minato, and Hizashi exchanged glances.
No one wanted to be first.
Taichi noticed their hesitation—and without warning, shoved the pill into his own mouth, closing his eyes as he felt it take effect.
The others sighed in relief… then immediately grimaced, realizing they'd still have to eat it themselves.
Five minutes later, Taichi opened his eyes, satisfied.
"That's it. Correct formula."
He handed the remaining pills to the others.
Seeing their reluctance, Taichi frowned.
"Eat it. Now. If we wait any longer, the toxin will start damaging your bodies permanently—even with an antidote."
That did it.
Gritting their teeth, the three swallowed the pills.
The taste hit instantly.
Fishy. Bitter. Astringent.
Three completely unrelated flavors, perfectly combined into a single nightmare.
All three immediately pulled faces worthy of suffering.
Minato, after recovering slightly, muttered,
"Taichi… you cook so well. How are your pills always this bad?"
Taichi stared at him like he'd just heard something profoundly stupid.
Minato briefly questioned his own sanity—until he saw Sakumo and Hizashi wearing the same constipated expressions.
Ah. The problem wasn't him.
"Good medicine tastes bitter," Taichi said confidently.
"It's medicine, not food. The more it helps, the worse it should taste."
Then he added quietly,
"Besides… it tastes pretty good."
They all heard it.
And in that moment, all three reached the same conclusion:
Taichi's sense of taste was fundamentally broken.
Cold sweat ran down their backs.
Never again, they swore silently,
unless absolutely necessary.
With the poison neutralized, the team erased their final traces and immediately moved out—heading toward the Land of Rain. At this point, approaching the Wind Country border again was impossible.
Their route would take them straight across the Land of Birds, then home.
And while Sakumo's team began their return journey—
The Sunagakure border outposts were already in complete chaos.