Hold This Man For Five Minutes? Just Let Me Die!

Guren froze, dumbfounded. Her crystal seal could lock down chakra and stop a person cold, so how was Gojo strutting around inside it like nothing happened?

She squinted, beads of sweat forming as she muttered, "This is supposed to be an unbreakable seal. Not even a tailed beast could escape… but he's just standing there?"

The guy just casually smiled, his lollipop sticking out of his mouth like this was all some big joke. "Sakura," he called out, not even glancing at Guren, "you scared?"

Gojo hadn't moved earlier because, well, he wanted to see how the kids handled things. Adaptability? He scoffed internally. The seventh squad had none.

But he had to give it to Sakura. Despite her panic, she was already thinking about ways to keep herself from being a liability. Full points for courage, he thought. Zero for judgment.

"Don't pretend. You're scared, right?" Gojo pressed, still utterly nonchalant.

Sakura bit her lip and stammered, "Y-yes, I'm scared," she choked out, the slightest tremble giving her away.

"Good," Gojo said with a grin. "Acknowledge your fear. That's step one. Step two is yelling 'help!' as loud as you can. I got the rest."

"Gojo-sensei?" Kurenai frowned, unsure if he had a plan or was just being Gojo.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Oto-nin squad and Guren were staring at him, utterly perplexed. Make her scream for help? What a useless move, they thought.

Then, Gojo casually put his hands in his pockets and smiled even wider. "Didn't I tell you? I'm The Strongest."

Sakura remembered his words from earlier: No matter the situation, no matter the enemy, I am The Strongest.

"Sensei! Help me!" Sakura cried out, at the top of her lungs.

"Perfect! Weak and loud—just what I asked for," Gojo said, and with a flicker, the crystal seal shattered around him in a pulse of energy.

In a blink, he was gone from the crystal, now standing where Sakura had been, and in her place, Sakura was behind a barrier, completely safe.

"Guren." Gojo smirked, now at her side in the very position she thought she'd sealed him into. She barely had time to blink before he grinned. "You might want to work on your security system."

Before she could react, Gojo had her by the hair, lifting her into the air. "Now, don't get any ideas. I've got a lot of fans, and I'd hate for them to think you were getting special treatment." He tossed her to the ground and followed up with a punch that sent her crashing into the rocks, forming a crater around her.

"C-cough, cough—" Guren spat blood, looking up in a daze. That punch was unreal! Orochimaru had told her to hold him off for five minutes. Five minutes? Was he kidding?

"Whoa! Awesome!" Naruto cheered, stars in his eyes.

"Focus, idiot," snapped Sasuke, his Sharingan activated, on alert. "We're still surrounded."

Kurenai felt a wave of relief seeing Sakura safely out of the mess. She turned to the others. "Genin, get back! We'll handle this!"

The four Oto-nin recovered and went on the attack. They dismissed the seal and immediately went for Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kurenai.

Sasuke glared, his Sharingan blazing, barely dodging as Jirōbō moved with inhuman speed. Sasuke barely had time to register before Gojo appeared behind Jirōbō, casually grabbing his head.

"Too slow, big guy," Gojo chuckled and, with a twist, Jirōbō was out cold.

Sasuke glared at Gojo, obviously displeased. "I had that."

"Oh, you did, huh?" Gojo raised a brow, amused. "Did you 'have' it when you nearly got yourself pounded into the dirt?"

Sasuke turned red. "I would've taken care of it."

Gojo smirked, gripping Sasuke by the waistband of his pants as he started tugging. "Say, 'Sensei,' or everyone gets a look at your birdie."

"What?! Stop messing around!" Sasuke turned even redder, clinging to his waistband in panic.

"Better hurry. Enemy's closing in!" Gojo gave the pants a playful tug.

"Sensei!" Sasuke growled, humiliated.

"There we go," Gojo released his pants, a pleased grin on his face. "Good boy."

Nearby, Kidomaru, perched high, aimed a golden arrow directly at Gojo. With one final taunt, he let loose the deadly arrow.

"Gojo-sensei, look out!" Sakura yelled.

Gojo was mid-sentence with Kurenai, casually gesturing with his lollipop. As the arrow neared, his hand flicked in its direction, stopping the arrow dead in its tracks as he barely acknowledged it.

The rest of the Oto-nin gaped as Gojo calmly turned back to them, that same cocky grin plastered on his face.

"Didn't I tell you already?" he smirked. "I'm The Strongest.