BOOM!
The explosion raged with primordial fury across the endless ocean, transforming the sea's surface into a churning cauldron of elemental chaos. Wave after wave of titanic swells rose from the epicenter, each one tall enough to dwarf mountains and powerful enough to reshape coastlines.
As far as the eye could see in any direction, violent waves dominated the horizon like an army of liquid giants marching toward every shore simultaneously. The brilliant light produced by the collision between ultimate techniques illuminated areas that had been plunged into artificial twilight by the previous exchanges, briefly turning night into day across hundreds of miles of ocean.
Then came the winds—massive air currents that spread outward from the blast site like the breath of some cosmic deity, carrying with them the raw power to flatten forests and level cities.
"What in the world is that?!"
In the fishing villages dotting the coastline of Wave Country, every civilian who happened to be looking toward the ocean witnessed an impossible sight—a light so brilliant it could be seen clearly even under the noon sun, as if a second star had suddenly ignited on the horizon.
Whoosh!
Out on the open sea, the Kirigakure reconnaissance team that had been racing toward the battle zone found themselves forced to a complete halt by winds so powerful they threatened to tear their bodies apart.
"This pressure is beyond anything we've ever encountered," their leader said through gritted teeth, his face pale with the strain of simply remaining upright.
What they had previously detected as mere chakra signatures was now manifesting as the very real aftermath of destruction on a scale that defied comprehension. The air in front of them rippled with visible distortions that stretched all the way to the horizon, making it impossible to accurately judge distances or directions.
On this vast oceanic battlefield without any landmarks or obstacles, the ninja could only make out a faint point of light in the distance—a tiny speck that their minds struggled to process as the source of such overwhelming devastation.
The explosion was still miles away from their current position, yet its effects reached them with terrifying clarity.
"Sir," one of the younger Mist ninja managed to say after swallowing hard, his voice barely audible over the howling winds, "should we continue forward?"
The team leader hesitated for a long moment, weighing duty against survival. "We wait here and observe," he finally decided. "With our current capabilities, advancing recklessly into that maelstrom would accomplish nothing except adding our names to the casualty list."
At the center of the explosion, the very geography of the ocean had been permanently altered. Rough channels and furrows scarred the sea's surface like the claw marks of some titanic beast, while the water level within a kilometer radius had been lowered by several meters due to the sheer energy displacement.
Seawater rushed constantly toward the newly formed depressions, but the ongoing energy interference made it impossible for the ocean to return to its natural state anytime soon. The chaotic flow patterns within the affected area would make it nearly impossible for even skilled ninja to maintain their footing using standard water-walking techniques.
Buzz!
The nine massive tails that had glowed with dark golden radiance slowly dispersed across the turbulent waters, their ethereal forms dissolving back into raw chakra that was quickly absorbed by the surrounding chaos.
Minato, who had been knocked prone by the tremendous recoil of his own technique, slowly pushed himself upright on the unstable sea surface. His brown-yellow vertical pupils—still bearing traces of his fox-like transformation—contracted as he surveyed the apocalyptic scene he had created.
The sheer scale of destruction gave him pause. In all his years as a ninja, through all the battles he had fought, he had never unleashed power on this magnitude. The ocean itself bore permanent scars from their conflict.
Raising his gaze toward the distance, he confirmed that the god-like form of the perfect Susanoo had been completely obliterated in the explosion. The ethereal giant that had seemed invincible moments before had been reduced to scattered particles of chakra.
It didn't take long for Minato to locate his opponent—the masked man was kneeling on one knee above the chaotic waters, his chakra signature barely registering as a flicker compared to its previous intensity.
The enemy's eyes were clearly damaged, blood seeping from beneath his spiral mask as he stared at the transformed seascape with undisguised terror. Even someone of his caliber had been shaken to his core by witnessing destruction of this scale.
The perfect Susanoo—supposedly the ultimate defense of the Uchiha—had been utterly unable to withstand the explosion. If not for his space-time ninjutsu allowing him to partially phase out of reality at the critical moment, he would have been vaporized along with his ethereal guardian.
But shock and fear were luxuries he couldn't afford right now.
Swish!
Because across the turbulent waters, a familiar golden flash was racing directly toward him with lethal intent.
The masked man had attacked Konoha twice now, and both times he had brought the village to the brink of total destruction. While Minato was deeply concerned about what might be happening to his family and friends during his absence, he knew that Shisui, Kushina, and the other defenders were strong enough to hold out for a while longer.
This threat had to be eliminated completely and permanently.
If the masked man escaped again, not only would Konoha face future devastation, but the entire ninja world might suffer unimaginable catastrophe at the hands of someone with such power and ruthless determination.
"AHHH!"
Sensing the killing intent radiating from the approaching Fourth Hokage, the masked man's eyes blazed with desperate fury as he let out a guttural roar.
Forcing his battered body to stand, he extended chakra chains from his sleeves—the last weapons at his disposal. His movements were sluggish, his reflexes dulled by exhaustion and injury, but he refused to surrender without a final struggle.
Minato had expended roughly eighty percent of his chakra reserves on that ultimate technique, while his opponent was running on fumes and willpower alone. Both combatants were operating far below their peak capabilities, making their movements noticeably slower than the lightning-fast exchanges that had characterized the earlier battle.
Even so, Minato's speed remained formidable by any normal standard.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The Yellow Flash's hands moved with practiced precision, each finger gripping one of his specially marked kunai. With fluid motions born of countless battles, he hurled all five weapons directly at the masked man in a spread pattern designed to eliminate escape routes.
Given his current condition, the enemy's movements were so compromised that he couldn't even dodge simple projectile attacks—a far cry from the supernatural reflexes he had displayed earlier.
However, when the kunai reached their target, the familiar spiral pattern in his visible eye suddenly crystallized with desperate focus, and every weapon passed harmlessly through his body as if he were made of mist.
"Does he still have enough ocular power left?" Minato wondered, his analytical mind processing this crucial tactical information.
The purpose of the kunai barrage hadn't been to inflict damage—it had been to test whether his opponent could still access his space-time abilities. The answer would determine his next course of action.
CRACK!
The kunai passed completely through the masked man's intangible form, but immediately afterward, he felt a spike of excruciating pain lance through his brain like a red-hot needle.
Earlier, he had managed to forcibly suppress the backlash from overusing his Mangekyō Sharingan through sheer willpower and desperate determination. But now, with his perfect Susanoo shattered by Minato's overwhelming power and his chakra reserves nearly exhausted, the accumulated strain finally demanded its due.
The ocular backlash struck with vengeance, and this time, he had no strength left to resist its effects.
Minato immediately noticed his opponent's distress from his position several dozen meters away. The subtle changes in posture, the way the masked man's hands moved to his head, the slight tremor in his form—all indicated that the enemy's supernatural abilities had finally reached their breaking point.
"Flying Thunder God: Stage Two!"
Without hesitation, Minato's consciousness focused on one of the kunai that had passed through his opponent's body. In an instant, his physical form vanished from its current location and materialized directly behind the masked man.
The enemy sensed the spatial displacement and attempted to turn around, but his compromised reflexes made him a fraction of a second too slow.
Thrust!
The specially crafted kunai, its blade wreathed in cutting wind chakra, pierced cleanly through the masked man's back and emerged from his left chest in a spray of crimson. Both the weapon and the hand wielding it protruded from the front of his torso, having found their target with surgical precision.
Blood ran down the kunai's edge in steady droplets, each one falling to the chaotic waters below like liquid rubies.
"Cough!"
The light in the masked man's visible eye flickered and dimmed as blood foam bubbled from beneath his mask. The fatal wound had been delivered with the same ruthless efficiency that had made Minato legendary throughout the ninja world.
Despite his grievous injury, he managed to turn his head enough to meet those merciless golden eyes that promised nothing but death.
"It's finished," Minato said quietly, his voice carrying the finality of an executioner's judgment.
He didn't understand how his opponent had survived their previous encounter, but this time there could be no doubt. The kunai had pierced directly through the heart, causing damage that no human could survive. Regardless of any tricks or techniques the masked man might possess, death was now inevitable.
"Namikaze... Minato..." the enemy whispered, his voice growing progressively weaker with each word.
Minato's expression remained cold and implacable. "Who are you really? What did you hope to accomplish with all this destruction?"
"Heh... hehehe..."
The masked man suddenly began to laugh—a sound that was equal parts bitter and triumphant, though his hidden expression remained a mystery.
"Fourth Hokage," his voice turned icy despite its weakness, "do you truly believe this is the end?"
Splurt!
Without warning, black liquid began oozing from the masked man's body, spreading across his clothes and skin like living ink. His vital signs were clearly fading, yet this new development radiated an ominous energy that made Minato's instincts scream danger.
"The Four Symbols Seal?" Minato's eyes widened in alarm as recognition dawned.
The Four Symbols Seal was an ancient and forbidden technique of the Uzumaki clan—a suicide sealing jutsu designed to drag everything within its range into the void along with the caster's corpse. It was a technique of mutual destruction, activated only when the user was on the verge of death.
The implications hit Minato like a physical blow. If the seal completed its activation, it would attempt to consume everything in the immediate area, including himself.
He tried to withdraw his hand from the masked man's chest, but something within his opponent's body seemed to be actively preventing his escape—tendrils of dark energy that had somehow infiltrated his arm and were working to keep him trapped.
Just as Minato prepared to form one-handed seals to disrupt the activation process, the masked man's remaining strength allowed him to grab hold of both the Fourth Hokage's arms, physically restraining his movements.
"You're planning to seal me away along with yourself?" Minato's voice carried a note of grim understanding.
Time was running out. He no longer had enough opportunity to complete the complex hand seals needed to counter such an advanced sealing technique.
Flash!
In an instant, Minato vanished from his position behind the masked man and reappeared on the water's surface dozens of meters away, his Flying Thunder God technique allowing him to escape the immediate danger zone.
The black liquid continued to spread across the masked man's form, expanding outward in geometric patterns that pulsed with malevolent energy.
Hum!
Dark light erupted from the center of the seal formation, coalescing into a sphere of absolute void that began expanding across the ocean's surface. The technique created a zone of annihilation that consumed everything in its path, reaching hungrily toward Minato's new position with the inexorable advance of approaching doom.