Kazuyama Gekkō surveyed his surroundings and nodded. Just some stone walls—nothing easier for him.
"Since you're back, I might as well move around too."
"Hokage, let's face that guy together. I want to see just how strong he really is."
Rasa suddenly stepped forward. He had stayed out of the previous battle to protect Gaara, but now that Kazuyama was back, that responsibility no longer fell on him.
He had been waiting long enough—it was time to act.
"Alright, let's go. He's already here."
"Too bad we can't let him run wild inside the village. I'll send you to the coordinates first, then I'll bring him to you."
Minato Namikaze placed his hand on Rasa's shoulder, and Rasa vanished from the Grand Arena the next second.
Minato, meanwhile, lifted his gaze. The pitch-black Susanoo had once again descended over Konohagakure.
Its overwhelming aura made everyone in the village look up instinctively.
"Sinful Konoha!"
"Hmph!"
Muren Uchiha's hatred for the village couldn't be conveyed through words. Susanoo immediately manifested two Lances of Longinus, ready to strike.
But Minato had already anticipated his movements.
As a kunai whipped through the air, Minato appeared one step ahead. Before Muren could react, the scene before his eyes shifted again—from the sky above Konoha to a wide-open plain.
Back in the village, Kazuyama burst out laughing.
"Ahahahaha!"
"As expected! Nothing messes with someone's sanity better than Flying Thunder God!"
"How do you think he feels getting thrown out of the village twice in a row?"
Kazuyama was absolutely right.
At that moment, Muren Uchiha was furious to the point of delirium.
He'd struggled so hard to break free from Kazuyama, used his dōjutsu and Susanoo to rush back to the village—and what happened?
He got teleported out again!?
Just who invented Flying Thunder God?! Let Muren find out, and he'd rip them apart!
Second Hokage Tobirama Senju: Hmph. Arrogant Uchiha…
But things only got worse for Muren.
Right after being teleported, he was immediately met with a barrage of attacks.
"Hmph. Mangekyō Sharingan and Susanoo, huh?"
"Magnet Release! Sand Gold Waterfall!"
The plain was rich with subterranean gold dust. With Magnet Release, Rasa could draw massive quantities of it to the surface.
As long as there was gold dust, he could unleash his full power.
And freshly teleported Muren became the primary target of the flood of gold.
"Gold dust?"
"The Kazekage?"
"Hmph!"
Muren crossed his hands, and Susanoo folded its wings and arms in front of him in a defensive stance.
A torrent of gold dust surged in like a tidal wave.
Magnet Release required an enormous amount of chakra—only those with tremendous reserves could wield it flawlessly.
Under Rasa's control, the gold dust swallowed Susanoo whole.
"Already attacking?"
"Rasa, you're impatient!"
"Summoning Technique! Bunta, help me!"
Minato appeared atop the gold dust but reacted instantly upon realizing the terrain.
A summoning seal burst forth, and Gamabunta arrived with a thud.
"Minato, huh? I thought it was Jiraiya!"
"So the enemy is…"
"Tch. An Uchiha, is it? And that pitch-black thing… sheesh."
Gamabunta's keen eyes took in the situation at a glance.
He sensed the golden terrain beneath him and quickly realized that the gold enveloping Susanoo belonged to an ally, so he didn't bother with it.
"Minato, ready?"
"Of course. Bunta, I'm lacking in large-area ninjutsu—I'll need you."
Minato was extremely powerful—far above most Kage-level shinobi—but even he had weaknesses.
He lacked any kind of wide-range offensive technique.
He was known as the fastest in the ninja world for a reason, mastering spatial ninjutsu like Flying Thunder God and lethal techniques like the Rasengan.
But those were single-target attacks. When it came to area coverage, he had nothing.
So in situations like this, he relied entirely on Gamabunta.
The giant toad from Mount Myōboku could unleash massive-range ninjutsu, perfectly compensating for Minato's shortcomings.
"Water Release! Iron Cannon Sphere!"
Boom!
Two enormous water cannons blasted from Gamabunta's mouth, striking the gold-shrouded Susanoo.
Infused with senjutsu energy, the blasts scattered a large portion of the gold dust.
"Hey! Minato! You did that on purpose!"
"Oh dear, oh dear, Rasa, sorry about that. I was trying to help!"
Rasa had just buried Susanoo in gold when two water blasts punched huge holes through it. Furious, he immediately exploded in anger.
Minato, meanwhile, apologized verbally but wore no expression of remorse.
His right hand formed a Rasengan, and in a flash, he vanished from Gamabunta's head.
When he reappeared, he was already before Susanoo.
"Rasengan!"
Susanoo was incredibly sturdy, but the Rasengan's destructive force was nothing to scoff at.
The clash of chakra sent shockwaves through the area—enough to surprise even Rasa.
Boom!
But the Rasengan was only an A-rank technique.
No matter how destructive, it couldn't match the defense of Susanoo.
The Rasengan burst apart completely, and Minato used Flying Thunder God to return to Gamabunta's head.
"Well? Pretty tough, right?"
"Yeah. Extremely tough. My Rasengan couldn't even shake it."
Minato was honestly impressed—but it made perfect sense.
Susanoo was the pinnacle of the Sharingan's power. If it were easily broken, that would be more surprising.
"Had enough?"
"My turn!"
Having endured wave after wave of attacks, Muren Uchiha was beyond furious.
The Lance of Longinus swept out, blasting the surrounding gold dust away.
Then he charged toward Rasa and Minato.
"Hmph! Think you can break through? Sand Gold Barrier!"
As the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa was immensely powerful.
Even though his gold dust had been scattered, he wasn't worried at all.
With both hands extended and fingers spread, another surge of gold erupted outward.