The masked man and the man in black recoiled in shock at Minato's overwhelming display of power. Both possessed some of the most formidable dojutsu in the shinobi world, their eyes capable of tracking movements that would blur past ordinary ninja. Yet despite their legendary eye prowess, they found themselves completely unable to follow Minato's movements.
It was as if the Fourth Hokage had transcended the very concept of speed itself.
"Rasengan!"
Minato's voice cut through the tension as he materialized behind the man in black, the spinning sphere of chakra forming in his palm with practiced ease. His execution was flawless, honed by years of experience and countless battles.
The azure light of concentrated chakra blazed to life, and by the time the masked man's enhanced vision registered the attack, Minato's Rasengan had already slammed into his target with devastating force.
Crack.
The sickening sound of breaking filled the air as mechanical components scattered from the man in black's back, pieces of some unknown device clattering to the ground like fallen leaves. The impact sent tremors through the structure beneath them.
"Protective modifications..." Minato's golden eyes narrowed slightly, his analytical mind already processing what he'd witnessed. It was clear that the man in black had prepared extensively for this encounter, using some form of chakra-absorbing technology to shield his vital organs while maintaining his offensive capabilities.
The masked man finally managed to lock onto Minato's position, and the intricate patterns within his Sharingan began to spin with deadly intent. The air around them started to warp and twist as space itself bent to his will.
Minato's peripheral vision caught the distortion immediately. While the masked man's spatial manipulation wasn't fast enough to catch him directly, he recognized the tactical implications. If his speed was compromised even slightly by the warping space, it would create the opening his opponents needed to launch their counterattack.
Without hesitation, he shifted sideways and vanished from their sight once more, leaving only the faintest trace of displaced air.
The man in black and the masked man exchanged a tense glance before pushing their dojutsu to their absolute limits, straining to detect even the slightest hint of Minato's presence. Their eyes darted frantically across the battlefield, scanning for any sign of movement, any disturbance that might reveal their opponent's location.
"This speed... it's inhuman!" the masked man breathed, his voice tight with a mixture of awe and fear.
Both attackers understood the implications of what they were witnessing. Minato had once earned the title "Konoha's Yellow Flash" through his unparalleled speed, his name becoming legend as he moved across battlefields like lightning given form. During the Third Great Ninja War, his reputation had struck fear into the hearts of enemy forces across all nations.
But this... this was something beyond even those legendary tales.
In his previous battles, even against the most elite shinobi from the great villages, Minato's speed, while impressive, had never reached this level of complete untouchability. The strongest ninja of their respective nations could at least track his movements, could anticipate and react to his attacks.
What they witnessed now defied all conventional understanding. At his current level, any of the renowned shinobi from the great nations would be eliminated before they could even register his presence. This wasn't merely superior speed—it was a complete transcendence of human limitations.
Seconds stretched into what felt like minutes as Minato refrained from launching his second attack. The man in black and the masked man remained frozen in place, their enhanced vision unable to locate their opponent despite their desperate efforts.
"His chakra signature..."
Both attackers could sense the lingering traces of Minato's chakra hanging in the air around them like an invisible web. The residual energy confirmed that he hadn't employed any space-time ninjutsu to teleport away from the battlefield. Instead, he was moving at such incredible speed that he remained present, circling them like a predator stalking wounded prey, waiting for the perfect moment to deliver a fatal strike.
"We can't remain passive," the man in black muttered, his eye twitching with growing frustration and concern. If they continued to react defensively, there was a significant probability that Minato would systematically eliminate them one by one, using his overwhelming speed advantage to isolate and destroy each opponent.
Making his decision, the man in black raised both arms toward the sky. His body trembled slightly as he gathered his power, and an immense repulsive force began building within him like a contained tsunami ready to break free.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The words echoed across the battlefield as an overwhelming wave of repulsive energy erupted outward. The force was so intense that it created visible distortions in the air itself, ripples spreading outward like stones thrown into a calm lake.
BOOM!
The wooden structure beneath their feet disintegrated instantly, reduced to splinters and dust in a matter of seconds. The repulsive wave continued expanding outward, obliterating everything in its path and transforming the once-solid ground into a crater of churned earth and debris.
Uchiha Yoruki and Kakuzu, who had been locked in their own fierce combat nearby, were caught in the edge of the blast. The sheer force sent both veteran shinobi flying backward, forcing them to retreat to a safe distance as they struggled to maintain their footing against the overwhelming pressure.
Under the crushing weight of the repulsive force, even the slightest movement became a monumental effort. The very air seemed to thicken and resist, and finally, Minato's form became visible as the technique forced him to reveal his position.
Thud!
His body was pushed back by the repulsive energy, boots skidding across the torn earth as he fought to maintain his balance. But rather than showing concern or frustration, Minato simply closed his eyes, his expression becoming one of serene concentration.
"There!"
Both opponents locked onto Minato's location with predatory intensity. The masked man's Susanoo, which had been only partially manifested, suddenly completed its transformation as ethereal armor materialized around the massive construct. With a gesture from its controller, the spectral warrior extended its hand, and a enormous chakra chain shot forward with devastating speed.
The space directly in front of the chain began to warp and twist, the masked man's spatial manipulation accelerating the attack to incredible velocities that would make it nearly impossible to dodge through conventional means.
Simultaneously, the man in black extended his own hand toward Minato's position. Dark energy began gathering in his palm, but this wasn't the familiar blue glow of chakra. Instead, a faint black light condensed in his grasp—an ominous darkness that seemed to absorb the very light around it, the result of some terrible force compressed to its absolute limit.
As both devastating attacks hurtled toward him from different angles, a soft whisper escaped Minato's lips, barely audible above the chaos of battle.
"Sage Technique..."
Orange pigmentation began to form at the corners of his closed eyes, spreading outward in the distinctive pattern of Sage Mode. The natural energy of the world around him responded to his call, flowing into his body and enhancing every aspect of his being.
At the same time, chakra began gathering in his right palm, spinning and condensing as he prepared his counterattack. The familiar blue glow of the Rasengan began to take shape, but this was different—more refined, more dangerous.
Ding! Ding!
The piercing sound of wind chakra being compressed and shaped filled the air, a high-pitched whining that spoke of incredible forces being contained and controlled.
"Sage Art: Super Giant Rasengan Shuriken!"
Minato's eyes snapped open, revealing that his normally azure pupils had transformed into the horizontal, toad-like eyes characteristic of Sage Mode. The natural energy flowing through him had elevated his perception and power to an entirely different level.
The ninjutsu in his palm completed its formation, a massive spinning sphere of destruction that dwarfed his previous techniques.
"He activated Sage Mode while simultaneously performing a sage technique!" The masked man's voice cracked with disbelief. In all his years of combat experience, he had never witnessed such a feat. The concentration and control required to enter Sage Mode while under attack and simultaneously form such a complex technique was beyond what most shinobi could achieve even in perfect conditions.
At that moment, Minato's enhanced senses locked onto the masked man within his Susanoo construct, reading his opponent's intentions and movements with crystal clarity.
"Universal Pull!"
Recognizing the threat that Minato's completed technique represented, the man in black's palm erupted with dark energy as gravitational forces surged outward with desperate intensity. The invisible pull sought to drag Minato off balance, to disrupt his attack before it could be unleashed.
But Minato had already anticipated this move through his enhanced sage perception. His cold gaze focused on his opponents as the sage chakra within his body responded to his will.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The air around Minato seemed to explode in rapid succession, creating a series of thunderous impacts that echoed across the battlefield. The man in black's expression shifted to one of complete shock and disbelief.
"He countered the Universal Pull?!"
Through the Frog Kata technique, Minato had used the natural energy flowing through his sage-enhanced body to create an invisible barrier of concentrated sage chakra around himself. This protective field had successfully resisted the gravitational manipulation, rendering the man in black's technique ineffective.
"This is bad!"
Both the masked man and the man in black felt a chill of pure terror run down their spines. In the brief moment that Minato had blocked the Universal Pull, he had vanished from their sight once again. Their enhanced vision, which had finally managed to track him moments before, was now useless.
Every instinct they possessed screamed danger as the hair on their bodies stood on end in primal warning.
Buzz.
The distinctive sound of wind release chakra being shaped and compressed suddenly filled the air around them, seeming to come from every direction at once.
BOOM!
The massive Rasengan Shuriken detonated directly beside both opponents, creating a semicircular dome of pure destructive energy that expanded to encompass an area dozens of meters in diameter. The technique's cellular-level wind blades tore through everything within its range, while the sheer concussive force sent shockwaves rippling outward.
"Incredible chakra reserves..."
Uchiha Yoruki had just managed to regain his footing when the explosion drew his attention. Even from his distant position, he could feel the overwhelming power of Minato's attack washing over the battlefield. While he was familiar with the Fourth Hokage's signature techniques, the scale and intensity of this Rasengan far exceeded anything he had witnessed before.
During the past decade since Minato's return, Yoruki had been aware that his own strength had reached something of a plateau. Yet seeing this display made it clear that the Fourth Hokage had continued advancing at an incredible pace, pushing beyond the boundaries that limited other elite shinobi.
Even Kakuzu, despite his centuries of experience and countless battles against legendary opponents, found himself staring in shock at the devastation before them. His eyes, which had witnessed the rise and fall of generations, reflected a deep, primal fear.
"Two opponents of that caliber, working in coordination... and the current Hokage of Konoha has suppressed them both to this extent in such a short time?"
His face contorted with a mixture of awe and terror as the implications sank in. Throughout his extraordinarily long life, Kakuzu had encountered only one other shinobi who possessed such overwhelming power and devastating techniques.
"There's actually another ninja who has reached the level of the First Hokage?" he whispered to himself, his pupils contracting as suppressed memories of his encounter with Hashirama Senju came flooding back.
CRACK!
From within the expanding dome of chakra, a tremendous force erupted outward, shattering the technique's containment and sending fragments of energy scattering in all directions.
As the brilliant light slowly faded and the dust began to settle, the results of the collision became visible. The masked man's Susanoo, which had been covered in its protective armor only moments before, now appeared severely damaged. Cracks spider-webbed across its ethereal surface, and several sections of the construct had been completely destroyed.
Beside the towering Susanoo, both the masked man and the man in black stood within a thin film of chakra-absorbing energy that had protected them from the worst of the blast. However, their loose black clothing had been shredded by the technique's residual effects, hanging in tatters around their forms.
Most disturbing of all, a pale white liquid was steadily dripping from the torn edges of their sleeves, pooling on the ground beneath them in small, ominous puddles.