"Trouble!"
"This guy's gone mad!"
Seeing Isshiki abandon Obito and himself, flying straight toward Earth, Minato instantly guessed his opponent's goal and sighed.
It was clear that Isshiki's condition was worse than he'd estimated. If Minato knew Isshiki had less than half an hour left to live, he'd understand why his opponent was so crazed.
Since he couldn't win, he'd drag his enemy's family to hell! This Ōtsutsuki had no human moral standards; they only cared about going berserk.
"Sensei, this is bad—he's flying to Earth!"
"Kakashi and the others are still in the village!"
Obito was extremely anxious. Kakashi and Rin were still in the village; Isshiki mustn't slaughter his way into Konoha!
Though the Moon was far from Earth, with Isshiki's terrifying speed, he could likely reach the ninja world in just over ten minutes. Then, in an instant, he could wipe out the entire village…
Moreover, once he flew far enough, beyond Obito's line of sight and Kamui's maximum activation range, Isshiki could reopen a space-time portal and return to the ninja world in one step.
"Let's stop him!"
Minato was forced to adjust his strategy on the fly, grabbing Obito and activating Flying Thunder God Technique to pursue.
Isshiki's speed was too fast! Without a barrier, nothing could stop him, especially at full speed—even Minato couldn't touch him.
However, Minato had planned for this. He had left numerous Flying Thunder God marks on meteors floating around the Moon, outside the battlefield.
Over a thousand of them!
This was to prevent Isshiki from escaping the barrier and outrunning their pursuit.
*SWOOSH!*
Minato took Obito and teleported to a small meteor tens of thousands of meters away, directly blocking Isshiki's flight path.
"Chibaku Tensei!"
Minato clapped his hands, raising them to release a Chibaku Tensei gravity core, attempting to seal Isshiki or at least drastically slow his movement…
But the crazed Isshiki grew fiercer, charging straight at the Chibaku Tensei core and shattering it with a single, full-force blow!
*BOOM!*
The massive explosion destroyed many nearby meteors. But Isshiki didn't pause, passing through the blast, evading Minato and Obito, and continuing toward the distant Earth…
Clearly, he had decided not to deal with these cunning, lowly ninja world natives. He was determined to slaughter all of Konoha's ninjas to exact his revenge!
"Sensei!"
"His speed's too fast—my Kamui can't aim!"
Obito tried to activate Kamui to stop him, but Isshiki's speed was too great, zooming past them.
Like Sasuke's Sharingan struggling to track the Fourth Raikage's high speed, Isshiki, a Six Paths-level being dozens of times stronger, was even harder. Without locking his position, Kamui couldn't swallow him…
*SWOOSH!*
Minato and Obito teleported to another meteor tens of thousands of meters away, once again appearing in Isshiki's flight path.
He blocked again, unleashing a barrage of black rods and Daikokuten cubes at the speeding Isshiki.
But Isshiki didn't stop, executing a high-speed drift turn, dodging all attacks, and continuing toward Earth.
Minato intercepted twice more, using every ability, but still couldn't stop Isshiki.
An enemy this fast, determined to escape, was nearly impossible to halt.
After several teleports and interceptions, Minato and Obito were tens of kilometers from the Moon.
The air here was already thin. Minato could use Kurama's chakra cloak to shield himself, avoiding suffocation. Obito could only intermittently activate virtualization, using oxygen from the Kamui dimension to breathe.
If they flew farther, into the pure oxygen-less environment of space, it would only disadvantage them more.
Clearly, ninjas were utterly unsuited for fighting in outer space; the environment heavily restricted them. Only the Ōtsutsuki Clan could move freely in the boundless void.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
"This doesn't look good!"
"They can't seem to stop that Isshiki…"
"That guy's targeting Earth—he mustn't succeed!"
"Should we step in to help?"
Seeing Minato and the others chase Isshiki so far, the spectators in the stands grew restless.
Especially Hashirama and Tobirama, genuinely worried that Minato and the others couldn't stop Isshiki, leaving Konoha village in ruins.
"Why are you panicking, as if you could catch that guy…"
Madara snorted coldly. He was the calmest; with Isshiki's speed, even he, activating Perfect Susano'o and flapping its wings desperately, couldn't catch up.
Let alone Hashirama and Tobirama… Right now, in the entire ninja world, no one could match Isshiki's speed alone.
"But we can't just watch, right? What if something happens…"
"No 'what ifs'! Even if that kid Minato truly can't hold him, he still has time to call for our help. Then, someone will send us to fight. Hashirama, you'd better think about how to defeat Isshiki later. How far have you trained with the Eight Gates?"
Madara glanced at Lux, who had been calmly watching. He knew well that if things truly got dangerous, Lux would instantly send them all to the battlefield. So, what they should consider wasn't when to enter the fight but whether they could defeat Isshiki once it started!
Minato's side had already slashed Isshiki's health bar, plus some. If they still couldn't defeat a dying Isshiki, that would truly be shameful!
Madara's words calmed Hashirama and the others slightly. Indeed, Lux wasn't panicking—why should they? Besides, with the Golden Cymbal, could Isshiki still cause massive chaos?
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
On the other side, tens of kilometers above the Moon.
Seeing Isshiki still flying at high speed, Obito was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
"Sensei, that guy's about to escape the Moon's gravity!"
Obito was ten times more anxious than Minato.
But Minato was also panicked—after all, his son and all the ninjas were still in the village! If Isshiki slaughtered his way into Konoha, the consequences were unimaginable.
Yet Minato truly couldn't stop Isshiki!
In a few seconds, once Isshiki flew beyond the Moon's gravity, he could accelerate further. If he reached tens of kilometers per second, far exceeding the third escape velocity, Minato and the others could forget about catching him.
Moreover, farther out, there weren't many meteors left with Minato's Flying Thunder God marks.
No choice. It seemed he had to activate the slightly risky Plan F early!
"Obito!"
"Sensei?"
"I'll need to trouble you a bit…"
"Huh?"
Before Obito could react, Minato condensed a chakra hand blade and struck the back of Obito's neck, knocking him out!
Then he lifted the unconscious Obito, activated Flying Thunder God again, and teleported to another meteor—the closest one in Isshiki's flight path.
This time, Minato didn't attack. Instead, he shouted:
"Isshiki, do you really want to die like that? Come on, let's make a deal!"
Isshiki's heart trembled. He saw Minato and the unconscious "Obito" in his hand. Of course, he didn't want to trust this cunning, vile native, but since it concerned his life and death, he hesitated.
His intent to slaughter all of Konoha's ninjas and take revenge on Minato was based on the assumption that he couldn't find a suitable vessel for reincarnation and was doomed to die, venting his rage.
Now, if there was still a chance to live, even a sliver of hope, he'd naturally be eager to seize it!
"Fourth Hokage, what exactly do you want?"
Isshiki slowed his pace, glaring at Minato with caution and anger. Though his time was short, he could spare a minute or two. As long as he stayed cautious, he shouldn't fall for another trap!
"Let's make a deal. I know you don't want to die."
"I can't stop you when you're this desperate, and I don't want my village to be a casualty of this battle."
"So, I can hand Obito over to you, but on the condition that you agree to my terms!"
Minato lifted the unconscious Obito, signaling to Isshiki that they could negotiate.
"You're willing to betray your own student?"
"This guy is basically a traitor to Konoha; there's not much teacher-student bond left between us. Sacrificing one person to save tens of thousands—as Hokage, I have that resolve…"
Minato replied with a serious face, as if he wasn't holding his student but a bargaining chip to be sacrificed anytime.
Hearing this, Isshiki's heart stirred, growing excited.
"Namikaze Minato, I truly misjudged you! No… or is this the limit of you lowly creatures?"
Among the Ōtsutsuki, there were no bonds or friendships, only strict hierarchies. The concept of sacrificing one to save many didn't exist.
Like between Isshiki and Momoshiki—if one saw the other die, they'd only mutter that they were trash, unworthy of being a partner, then happily take over and complete the clan's mission.
"Fine! As long as you hand this guy over, I'll spare all of Konoha's villagers."
"Honestly, I have no interest in slaughtering lowly creatures like you. If you hadn't kept pushing me…"
Isshiki suppressed the excitement in his heart, urging Minato. But Minato cut off his narrative, adding:
"That's not important. Whether you spare Konoha or not means nothing. That's not my condition!"
"What did you say? Then what do you want? I warn you, don't try to stall!"
Isshiki frowned, wondering if Minato was deliberately delaying.
"I want your clan's secret technique, Kama! Give me that technique, and I'll hand Obito over to you!"
Minato stated his true demand, greedily asking as if a lion were opening its jaws.