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The chamber had changed.
Where once it was stone and sealwork, now it was storm. Lightning licked across the floor in rivers, arcs of energy snapping between walls as if the fortress itself had come alive. The storm pulsed to one heartbeat—and that heartbeat was Ryuzen's.
He stood in the center of it all, unchained, shoulders trembling, breath ragged. His body was cloaked in stormlight, veins glowing like molten cracks in stone. His hair whipped in the energy, his eyes burned an inhuman blue.
But worse than the sight was the silence.
Not a word, not a sound escaped his lips—only the storm's howl.
"Ryuzen…" Minato whispered, his throat dry.
The boy he knew was there—he had to be. But the vessel before him was something else entirely.
The Obsidian Commander straightened, mask glinting, voice reverent. "Behold—the vessel complete. The storm given flesh."
Sakumo's blade rose, gleaming with silver light, his jaw tight. "That's no vessel. That's our comrade."
Duy stepped forward, fists clenched so hard his nails dug into his palms. "Then we drag him back—even if we break ourselves to do it."
---
The First Surge
Ryuzen moved.
Not like a shinobi. Not like anything human. One instant he stood still, the next the storm erupted outward in all directions. A dome of lightning tore across the chamber, obliterating stone and sealwork alike.
"MOVE!" Minato shouted.
He grabbed Sakumo and Duy in a flash of gold, teleporting them behind what little remained of a wall. The storm blast crashed past, searing stone into slag.
The air buzzed with electricity, every breath sharp, every muscle trembling under the oppressive pressure.
Duy gasped, staring wide-eyed. "That power—he's not even trying."
Minato's heart hammered. He could see it—the storm wasn't just pouring from Ryuzen, it was consuming him. Every pulse burned deeper into his chakra, fraying the edges of who he was.
If they didn't stop it now, they'd lose him forever.
---
Clash of Bonds and Storm
"Stay on me," Minato commanded. "Don't strike to kill. Aim to disrupt—force him to fight us, not the storm."
Sakumo nodded, blade steady. Duy grit his teeth but followed, eyes blazing with determination.
They surged forward as one.
Sakumo struck first, White Fang's arc shimmering with cutting precision. Ryuzen caught the blade bare-handed. Lightning surged down the steel, nearly splitting it, but Sakumo twisted, redirecting the energy into the ground.
Duy followed, fist slamming into Ryuzen's side. The impact cracked the chamber floor, sending shockwaves rippling outward. For a heartbeat, Ryuzen staggered—but then the storm flared, hurling Duy back with a blast that scorched his skin.
Minato flashed behind, kunai cutting across a storm seal on Ryuzen's shoulder. Sparks burst—Ryuzen convulsed, stormlight flickering.
And in that flicker, Minato saw it.
A flash of familiar eyes, pained, desperate.
"…Mi…na…to…"
The voice was barely audible, smothered by the storm's roar, but it was enough.
"He's still in there!" Minato shouted. "Don't give up!"
---
The Commander's Manipulation
The Obsidian Commander did not intervene—he merely watched, hands folded, voice dripping with satisfaction.
"Yes. Break yourselves against him. Show him the futility of resisting. Every strike you land only feeds the storm further. Every drop of blood spilled cements his bond to us."
Sakumo snarled, teeth bared. "Then why don't you fight us yourself, coward?"
The Commander tilted his head. "Because my blade is unnecessary. He is enough. And when he kills you, your deaths will become the shackles that bind him completely."
Minato's gut twisted. The Commander was right about one thing: Ryuzen's power grew with every clash, storm chakra adapting, reshaping to their attacks. It wasn't a fight—they were fueling the storm.
Unless… they stopped fighting against it.
---
Breaking the Rhythm
"Listen!" Minato shouted over the roar. "Don't strike the storm—move with it!"
Duy blinked through the blood on his brow. "Move with it? Are you insane?!"
"No," Minato snapped. "If we resist, we feed it. If we flow with it, we can reach him underneath!"
Sakumo's eyes narrowed in realization. "So instead of cutting the lightning—we ride it."
He shifted his stance, White Fang now tracing arcs alongside Ryuzen's lightning instead of against it, redirecting the flow like water. Sparks cascaded harmlessly, the clash becoming a dance instead of a collision.
Duy followed, his fists not striking into Ryuzen, but guiding the shockwaves, dispersing their impact. His body burned with pain, but his will did not break.
Minato wove between them, teleporting to weak points in the sealwork still clinging to Ryuzen's skin. With each mark he disrupted, the storm flickered weaker, more erratic.
And with each flicker, Ryuzen's voice returned, faint but growing.
"Mi…na…to… Saku…mo… Duy…"
---
The Storm Breaks Through
The Commander's calm began to crack. His voice sharpened, fury seeping through. "No… this is not possible. The vessel is perfect. He cannot resist!"
Ryuzen screamed, the storm exploding outward again—but this time, it was not cold, not empty. It was desperate. His body convulsed, eyes flashing between storm-blue and his true color.
Minato rushed forward, kunai clattering to the ground as he grabbed Ryuzen by the shoulders. Lightning scorched his arms, but he didn't let go.
"Ryuzen! You are not their weapon! You are ours—our comrade, our brother! Look at me!"
Sakumo joined, his blade pressed to block the storm arcs threatening to cut Minato down. "You're stronger than their chains. You always were."
Duy staggered to his feet, body bruised and burned, but his voice boomed with unshakable fire. "If you fall—we'll fall too! But if you rise—we'll rise together!"
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then Ryuzen's eyes snapped wide. His voice tore free, raw and human.
"—Minato!"
The storm faltered.
---
The Commander's Last Gambit
The Obsidian Commander roared, stormlight erupting from his body as he charged, blade raised.
"If he will not serve willingly—then he dies here!"
Sakumo met him head-on, White Fang clashing with storm steel in a blinding explosion. Duy hurled himself into the fray, fists slamming into the ground to split the chamber, forcing the Commander off balance.
Minato dragged Ryuzen back, heart pounding. His friend's body was weak, shaking violently, but his eyes—his eyes were his own again.
"Stay with me," Minato urged. "We're not done yet."
But even as he spoke, he felt it—the storm still coiled deep inside, hungry, waiting.
Ryuzen whispered hoarsely, voice trembling. "It's… not gone. I can't hold it… much longer…"
Minato's chest tightened. They had pulled him back—but only halfway. The storm's chains were broken, but its claws were still buried inside.
And the Commander was still standing.
---
Cliffhanger
The chamber shook violently, storm seals across the walls reigniting as the fortress itself responded to Ryuzen's instability. The air grew heavy, suffocating, every breath like swallowing lightning.
Sakumo locked blades with the Commander, sweat pouring, teeth gritted. Duy braced at his side, barely standing but unyielding.
Minato held Ryuzen, eyes blazing with resolve.
There was only one choice left.
If he couldn't cut the storm out… he would take it into himself, even if it killed him.
"Ryuzen," Minato whispered, his fingers weaving seals. "Trust me one last time."
The chamber erupted in light.
---
Author's Note
⚡ "The vessel awakens, but bonds refuse to break. Minato and his team reached Ryuzen—but the storm still coils within him, hungry and unrelenting. To save his comrade, Minato may have to gamble his own life. Next: Chapter 56 – The Gamble of Gold and Storm."
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