Though Kakashi's hair absorbed some of the damage, it couldn't block it all.
The Wild Lion's Mane Technique was scorched by the blast, leaving his once-luxuriant hair charred and uneven.
This incident clearly demonstrated that using Ninjutsu without reaching Jiraiya's level of mastery carried significant risks.
Their strongest attack was the initial wave.
After Kakashi "forcefully" blocked it, the Eight Ninja Dogs, Gamaken, and Obito immediately charged in for close combat.
The Amegakure Ninja, though protected by his weapons and Kakashi's hair, was still blasted away and lay motionless on the ground.
Rin quickly rushed over.
"He's alive," she whispered.
"Raj, hide and protect me."
She began channeling her Chakra.
The explosion had likely damaged his internal organs, making simple Medical Ninjutsu ineffective.
She would need to use the Healing Palm Technique.
Raj, transformed and hidden nearby, understood her intentions.
The enemy force consisted of three Chunin and one Jonin, likely the Takayama the Amegakure Ninja had mentioned.
'I wonder how long Gamaken can hold out. In the anime, it blocked Kisame's attack, but this is still over a decade before that...'
Raj felt a growing sense of unease.
The Jonin posed the greatest threat.
While Gamaken's defense was formidable, its offensive capabilities were negligible.
A single Chunin or Shadow Clone could easily keep it occupied.
He was strong, but still no match for a Jonin.
Hiding was his only chance.
If he could land a single strike, he might buy them a moment.
"Careful... Takayama... swordsmanship," the Amegakure Ninja gasped, his voice strained as he recovered slightly under Rin's Healing Palm Technique.
"I know," Rin replied softly, pressing her hands against the Amegakure Ninja's chest, continuously healing the wounds in his organs.
Under the Medical Ninjutsu, he gradually regained his strength.
But then...
A faint tremor shook the ground.
Rin's expression changed instantly.
She broke off the Healing Palm Technique, struggled to lift the Amegakure Ninja into her arms, and in the next instant, a blade erupted from the earth, aimed at both of them.
The attack was lightning-fast.
Yet in that split second, Rin threw the Amegakure Ninja to the ground, formed hand seals, and her hair rapidly grew out to shield her back.
The sword struck with a clang.
"Jiraiya's technique!" Takayama's face darkened.
The fact that this girl possessed a Secret Technique proved she was one of Jiraiya's disciples.
But even so... he would kill her.
He drew his sword, swung it, and prepared to strike again.
Rin had only managed to block once.
The next strike would undoubtedly kill her - such was Takayama's confidence as a Jonin.
As Takayama swung his sword, a faint sound came from behind him.
'Someone's ambushing me!'
He immediately retracted his blade, spun around, and charged toward the source of the sound.
To his shock, he saw "Minato" with a Rasengan coalescing in his hand, hurtling toward Shun's head.
"How is this possible?!" Shun was horrified.
How could Minato, already facing two elite squads alone, still find the time to deal with him?
Takayama's mind raced through the faces of everyone on the battlefield.
They were all accounted for, ruling out any possibility of someone using the Transformation Technique to deceive him.
So... this guy was real.
'How is this possible?! Could it be the Flying Thunder God Technique?'
Still, they were both Jonin.
What was there to fear?
He resolutely swung his sword, clashing against his opponent.
'My sword has the reach advantage,' Shun thought grimly.
But in that instant, he felt a sudden disorientation.
A golden flash seared across his vision, and his head was already soaring into the air...
'Am I dead? No, this is an Illusion Technique!'
The experienced Jonin immediately sensed something was wrong.
In the blink of an eye, he dispelled the illusion and instinctively rolled to evade, but...
As soon as he broke free, a searing pain tore through his chest, as if countless blades were churning within.
Rasengan!
'This isn't an Illusion Technique?'
He looked down and saw a black cat nimbly leap off his chest, leaving behind five bloody, mangled wounds that were gruesome and terrifying.
'This cat... used five Rasengans at once? How is that even possible?!'
Takayama was starting to question his sanity, but he knew he couldn't afford to lose focus now.
He immediately concentrated, sensing a sudden danger - someone was underground!
A split second later, a blade flashed from beneath the earth.
Kakashi seized the opportunity, aiming a lethal strike at Takayama's throat.
But Takayama reacted with lightning speed, dodging backward.
Just then, the mass of black fur returned.
'Damn that black cat!'
Takayama cursed inwardly.
He had completely underestimated the feline, falling for its initial trick and now being ensnared by its bizarre Ninjutsu.
The blade sliced into his left shoulder, the
A wound so deep it exposed bone.
Takayama retaliated with a backhanded strike, killing "Kakashi" in turn.
But the figure was merely a Shadow Clone, impervious to the blow.
However, the destruction of the Shadow Clone sent a shockwave through Kakashi's real body, momentarily freezing him in place.
If not for the timely intervention of his ninja dog, he might have suffered a critical injury as well.
Takayama gritted his teeth against the searing pain coursing through his body, hacking through the cat fur with his single blade.
By then, the little girl had already led the Amegakure Ninja to safety, far beyond his reach.
The crucial healing process was complete; Rin now needed protection, not treatment.
She stood ready, kunai in hand, her expression grim.
As for the Little Black Cat, Takayama couldn't find it anywhere.
Worse still, Gamaken had finally broken free from its entanglement and leaped over to engage him directly.
If Takayama's left shoulder hadn't been slashed, he could've shaken off the toad with a brief struggle.
But now, his strength was failing, while the toad's attacks grew increasingly powerful with each strike.
Just as he was fully focused on battling Gamaken, a sharp pain shot through his foot.
A quick glance revealed the Black Cat lurking nearby, its eyes burning with murderous intent.
"Meow!"
Raj arched his back, poised to strike.
The momentary distraction allowed Gamaken to launch a double-armed assault, the impact numbing Takayama's arm.
Whoosh!
The toad attacked again, this time targeting his injured foot.
Crippling Takayama's foot would make it nearly impossible for him to pursue Rin and the Amegakure Ninja.
"Ah!"
Takayama screamed as another strike landed on his right foot.
The impact shattered his shoe, and the sharp cat claws severed his vulnerable Achilles tendon.
Without Medical Ninjutsu to heal him, he was now permanently crippled.
Combined with the internal injuries from the earlier Rasengan, even a Jonin like him was at his breaking point.
"Focus on entanglement, no need for direct combat, meow~," Raj instructed before leaping into the jungle, disappearing into the dense foliage.