Taking advantage of the opening, Shima's tongue followed closely behind.
Unlike Fukasaku's tongue, Shima's tongue had a grotesque face at its tip with sharp, serrated teeth and closed eyes.
The tongue, covered in protruding nodules, shot high into the air, spiraling toward Sōmi from afar.
Simultaneously, Minato Namikaze hurled dozens of peculiar kunai into the sky.
Whoosh!
A faint ripple of space flashed and disappeared as Minato's figure vanished from his original position.
In the next instant—
Minato reappeared directly beneath Sōmi in the air. The kunai in his right hand was now cloaked in a fine layer of wind-nature Chakra.
Gripping the kunai single-handedly, Minato swung upward with incredible speed.
To onlookers, his movements were so swift that they appeared as nothing more than a streak of yellow light flashing through the sky.
As soon as Minato drew an arc of yellow light in the air, his figure flickered again, reappearing at the position of another kunai above Sōmi, slashing downward with force.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...
Tears in space began appearing one after another, leaving streaks of yellow scars in the air. Minato's figure flickered faster and faster.
In an instant—
The area around Sōmi, centered on him, seemed to transform into a complex star-like array of light.
"Sky-Splitting Radiance Slash: Zero Style!"
Minato's figure abruptly reappeared beside Jiraiya.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
Fukasaku's tongue suddenly secreted a deep green corrosive poison from its nodules, aggressively eroding the remnants of Sōmi's golden sand defenses.
With a flick, Fukasaku's long tongue snapped back like a compressed spring, recoiling into his mouth.
Shima's snake-like grotesque tongue also withdrew.
Whoosh!
A fierce gust of wind suddenly erupted around Sōmi, dispersing the poisonous mist generated by the venom. The wind then surged directly toward Minato and the others.
As the dust and sand settled, Minato and his companions stood unharmed, gazing into the sky.
On the golden cloud, Sōmi had transformed into a miniature form of Shukaku!
His body, resembling flowing sand, continuously shed grains of sand downward. Yet, his sinister face remained calm and composed.
Before long, the flowing sand dissipated, and Sōmi reverted to his human form.
He glanced at the white-browed toad on Jiraiya's shoulder. The intensity and speed of this attack—if caught off guard—could indeed have resulted in being sliced cleanly in half...
Minato's attack speed was truly astonishing, and the wind-nature Chakra infused into his kunai was razor-sharp. If not for Sōmi's timely use of partial tailed beast transformation to evade, he might have been seriously injured.
Moreover, it seemed Minato had inscribed some sealing techniques onto the kunai, rendering Sōmi's attempt to manipulate them with Magnet Release ineffective.
At this moment, the azure-gold mist surrounding Sōmi had thinned significantly, now resembling faint wisps of smoke.
However!
For Sōmi, a Jinchūriki, this was no different than the support Jiraiya received from the two sages on his shoulders!
"Shukaku! Is the Natural Energy fully refined?"
Inside the sealed space, Sōmi stood before Shukaku and asked.
Shukaku, sitting cross-legged with its short legs, held its hands in a lotus seal in front of its round belly.
"Yeah!"
Shukaku suddenly opened its eyes and responded.
Whoosh!
An invisible surge of energy spiraled upward from beneath Sōmi's feet, causing his hair to whip against his forehead.
The faint wisps of smoke around him instantly solidified. The immense volume of Senjutsu Chakra caused the smoke to twist and stretch, eventually transforming into several deep azure energy serpents. These serpents floated around Sōmi, baring their fangs and writhing menacingly.
"Hmm?!"
"Why has his Senjutsu Chakra suddenly replenished?"
Shima was the first to notice the change in Sōmi.
"Could it be that, like us, he has someone from Ryūchi Cave assisting him in refining Senjutsu Chakra within his body?"
Fukasaku speculated in astonishment.
"That's highly likely!"
Shima nodded gravely in agreement.
"Are you sure you want to keep fighting?"
Sōmi controlled the golden cloud to descend to a lower altitude before leaping down. Placing one hand on the ground, he manipulated the previously liquefied gold sand, now mixed with earth, to stir violently.
The gold sand boiled like water brought to a rolling boil, leaping and swirling around Sōmi as if they were loyal guards.
"Destroying peace and attempting to incite war—you despicable villain!"
"You possess such immense power and are a successor of a sacred summoning land. Why not use it to strive for peace?"
"There is no such thing as a good war, nor a bad peace!"
Jiraiya growled through gritted teeth.
"Is that so?"
"You of Konohagakure enjoy the finest resources in the ninja world—lush mountains, clear waters, chirping birds, fertile lands... Benefiting from the legacy of your predecessors, you've never known the feeling of being lost amidst the winds and sands. You've never experienced the despair of watching a life-giving spring dry up day by day!"
"Scorching sun, howling sandstorms, monotonous deserts, parched lakes..."
"If the Fire Country is willing to exchange territories with the Wind Country, I could ensure the Wind Country peacefully enjoys these resources and act as a true ambassador of peace..."
Sōmi's tone was laced with mockery.
"Besides, I fight wars for one reason only—to create a world where all civilians can live in unbroken peace!"
"Your so-called ideology of peace in Konohagakure is far too narrow!"
"Narrow enough that only a select few noble heirs can taste the sweet fruits of peace!"
Sōmi raised his hands, and the gold sand around him gathered into his palms, constantly shifting into various shapes.
"Jiraiya-sensei!"
Minato Namikaze stepped forward calmly, halting Jiraiya, who was on the verge of acting out in anger. Minato spoke with a composed tone: "Let's go."
"There's no point in arguing with someone like him."
"Even the narrowest peace is still peace."
"And the noblest war is nothing more than a key to opening the gates of hell!"
"The next time we meet on the battlefield, I believe we'll settle this once and for all!"
Minato's voice turned icy as he addressed Sōmi.
"Perhaps a nation only finds true harmony when faced with war. Even the greatest village and Hokage, without a powerful external enemy, will find their threats and downfall coming from within!"
"A village riddled with internal strife—how can it possibly lead the entire ninja world toward peace?!"
Sōmi's eyes glinted with disdain, clearly mocking Konohagakure's hypocritical ideals of peace.
"You..."
Minato's eyes flickered with a complex light. Sōmi's words had struck a nerve.
Serving as Hokage for over a year, Minato understood Konohagakure's flaws better than anyone.
These words shifted Minato's perception of Sōmi—from a ruthless, power-hungry madman to a radical yet brutal "reformer."
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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