Minato found himself on the other side of the arena, almost under the balcony of the chunin candidates, having apparently managed to leave the appropriate mark on the abandoned kibakufuda. True, replacing it with such a small object cost a decent amount of chakra, but it was far better than losing, and the distance gained allowed him to set his shoulder joint in one blow and restore mobility to his left arm before Asani could reach it.
The kunoichi's final blow had not broken the chakra-strengthened bone, but it had done damage to the muscles, and Namikaze had begun to limp a little and was no longer as agile as he had been in the beginning.
He also gained a healthy apprehension for full contact combat, deciding to get the help of someone who had a better chance of holding on - Minato's hand stamped into the ground and was enveloped in puffs of smoke.
- Kuchiese no jutsu!
In the next second, he was on the back of a familiar toad armed with a sword and shield.
I applied chakra to my ears, habitually ignoring the noise of the crowd to hear the right voice.
- Hatosu-san, detain that girl!
- Hey, Mina-chan, whatever you say, but this is the second time today that you've asked for my help," the summoner chuckled.
- I owe you one," the blond nodded.
Hmm, so he can't just summon a strong fighter, Jiraiya must have helped his apprentice with that Hatosu.
- I'll hold the little one off," the toad nodded, shaking the boy off and leaping to meet Asani.
Naturally, the student didn't miss such a phenomenon as a rushing summoner and erected a couple of barriers on his way, but the toad broke through them with his shield, using his mass and only slowed down a little.
But even such barriers did their job - the young kunoichi finished folding her hand ninjutsu seals and slapped her palms on the ground.
- Doton: Dorojigoku (Earth Release: Reverse Ant Lion).
After another leap, the toad landed directly into a patch of softened earth that promptly began to crawl over it and harden, encasing it in stone shackles and preventing it from moving.
This was just the beginning - while the summoner was using his weapon to break the stone, Asani threw three kunai with seals wrapped around their hilt and immediately activated them. A barrier of lightning arose around Hatosu, imprisoning him more securely.
After dealing with the toad in just a dozen seconds, the apprentice turned her attention to Minato, but even such a short delay allowed him to not only create a kage bunshin, but to finish the technique with him on the pair.
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