The moment that person began to move, Tsunade urgently called out and immediately ran towards Kana.
Hatake Sakumo and Hattori Hanzō, meanwhile, blocked the person's path, preventing them from advancing further.
Hatake Sakumo drew the chakra short sword from his back, its blade reflecting a dazzling white light.
No one could have imagined that this chakra blade, of only average quality, would one day become a fanged weapon that claimed lives, earning Hatake Sakumo the name White Fang.
The light from the blade momentarily blurred the attacker's vision, but his extensive experience meant his attack didn't hesitate.
He swung his kunai at Hatake Sakumo's vital points, but it was blocked by the chakra blade before it could connect.
Using the blinding light, Hattori Hanzō subtly appeared in the attacker's blind spot, unleashing his family's inherited assassination techniques with a merciless strike to the attacker's body.
As a traditional ninja clan, the Hattori family emphasized instant kills.
If they couldn't eliminate an enemy immediately, their lack of proficiency in direct combat could lead to their own demise.
Hattori Hanzō had already learned to integrate his family's traditions with direct combat abilities, and at this moment, his prowess was fully evident.
The attacker felt his strength rapidly drain, his vision went black, and he involuntarily fell to his knees, seemingly completely incapacitated.
He wasn't dead because Hattori Hanzō suspected he was a Jashin follower and might possess information that Fumori Masaki needed, so he spared his life.
"Ah!" Before Hatake Sakumo and Hattori Hanzō could even catch their breath, they heard Kana's scream.
They quickly turned to see another person approaching Kana, about to make a move.
"Damn it, there's another one!"
"Fortunately, Tsunade is already there."
Different thoughts flashed through their minds.
Without time to think, they rushed over, while Tsunade was already engaged with the other attacker.
Seeing that the attacker's target was Kana, the shrine attendant quickly shielded Kana, acting as her protector while guiding her back into the shrine.
Once inside the shrine, they could activate the barrier, preventing the attacker from entering.
However, he hadn't anticipated the presence of another attacker.
After seeing Hatake Sakumo and Hattori Hanzō go to confront the first assailant, the other Jashin follower, whose identity had not yet been revealed, made a decisive move.
He seized the opportunity while the two boys were distracted, intending to abduct Kana.
Although Tsunade had rushed over, the opponent didn't take her seriously.
After all, she was just a girl, and it was common knowledge that female ninjas were generally not as strong as male ninjas, especially considering her young age.
While he wouldn't go easy on her, his underestimation led him to be careless in certain aspects.
Tsunade raised her fist and slammed it towards the attacker, who retaliated with a punch of his own.
He expected a predictable outcome given the significant strength difference in their physiques, but the actual result defied his expectations.
The power emanating from that small fist was terrifying; the attacker felt as if he had been struck by a rapidly moving boulder.
His arm instantly broke, and the intense pain made him cry out, but he was kicked unconscious by Tsunade before he could scream for long.
"Look at me, you're asking for death!" Tsunade scoffed, looking at the unconscious attacker on the ground.
Tsunade had already mastered the use of her monstrous strength, precisely concentrating chakra to a single point and releasing it in vast quantities.
Not just a person, even a massive boulder would be shattered.
To judge her strength simply by her appearance would be a grave mistake; a slight miscalculation would lead to the same fate as the Jashin follower lying on the ground.
Hatake Sakumo and Hattori Hanzō already knew this would happen.
No one would have expected Tsunade's strength to be so utterly different from her appearance.
If the Jashin follower had chosen other ninjutsu, the outcome might have been uncertain.
"Kana-nee, are you alright?" Hatake Sakumo and Hattori Hanzō asked anxiously after they arrived.
"I'm fine." Kana shook her head slightly, her expression a bit tense.
This was her first time facing such a situation, and despite being mentally prepared, she still felt scared when it actually happened.
Due to the sudden attack, other visitors screamed and fled, and the area outside the shrine became very chaotic.
"Kana-nee, this is no place to linger.
Let's quickly return to the shrine," the attendant urged, preparing to escort Kana inside the shrine when his movements suddenly froze.
The attendant lowered his head slightly, a hand protruding from his chest, his palm clutching a fresh, beating heart—his own heart.
Blood gushed from his mouth, and before he could utter "Quickly, into the shrine," he lost consciousness.
This was truly one problem after another.
Hatake Sakumo and the others had believed all the attackers were down and had begun to relax.
It was at this very moment that yet another attacker appeared, and their skill level was completely different from the previous two.
Their timing was impeccable, striking precisely at the instant the three of them relaxed.
Kana watched as the attendant fell, spitting blood, and then that hand, connected to numerous "black threads" from behind, passed through the attendant's body.
The hand then directly gripped her neck, causing such pain that she couldn't move or even breathe, and she was then dragged away.
At this moment, the three finally regained their senses and attacked almost simultaneously.
Tsunade's punch, Hattori Hanzō's hand-blade thrust, and Hatake Sakumo's stab landed on that hand.
However, Tsunade and Hattori Hanzō only felt a remarkably solid resistance that repelled their attacks.
Only Hatake Sakumo's attack achieved a result.
The chakra blade, glowing with white light, pierced the wrist, and blood seeped from it.
Immediately, a surprised voice rang out, followed by a large number of "black threads" emerging from behind, coiling around Hatake Sakumo's limbs like tentacles.
Hatake Sakumo quickly swung his short sword, deflecting the "black threads."
For some unknown reason, blood seeped from the "black threads" that were cut by the short sword.
Hatake Sakumo paused for a moment, and in that brief delay, Kana was completely pulled away.
The attendant's body was torn apart by the "black threads," and a large amount of blood splattered all over Kana, but she had no mind to care about the bloody smell covering her, as she had already been captured by the attacker.
"Useless fellows.
Masaki Kazamori isn't even here, yet you can't handle three brats." The tall man holding Kana clicked his tongue softly, speaking to the Jashin followers lying on the ground, though they couldn't hear him.
"Damn it! Give my aunt back!" Tsunade yelled at the tall man, extremely angry.
"I can't do that.
She's the sacrifice those fanatics want, so I have to take her back," the tall man replied.
Then, his other hand detached, connected by "black threads."
"I'm not interested in your lives, so don't seek death."
As he spoke, his hand rapidly extended, grabbing the two unconscious Jashin followers.
"Killing to silence witnesses!"
The thought flashed through Hatake Sakumo's mind.
Without time to deliberate, he felt he couldn't let the opponent succeed.
He immediately activated his entire body with lightning-style chakra, then dashed forward, simultaneously injecting lightning-style chakra into his short sword to enhance its penetrating power.
A bright flash of sword light passed, and the hand quickly retracted, a trail of blood appearing on its surface.
"You brats, truly you won't listen until forced." The tall man's eyes narrowed slightly, and he switched the captured Kana to his other hand.
Then, he took a deep breath, and a gust of strong wind erupted.
The pupils of the three slightly contracted.
The opponent could use such a powerful ninjutsu without hand signs; this was impossible.
No, it probably wasn't that he didn't use hand signs, but rather that his hand sign speed was too fast.
In the time it took to switch Kana to his other hand, freeing up his hands, he had already completed the hand signs for the ninjutsu.
They could only think this much, because the opponent's speed was too fast.
They watched helplessly as the Wind Release ninjutsu approached.
They could feel their skin being cut by the wind-style chakra, like razor blades.
This attack would not only engulf them but also the two Jashin followers, as it seemed the opponent intended to eliminate everyone in one go, rather than wasting energy killing them one by one.