Minato noticed the situation and was just about to step forward, preparing to use the Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder to teleport the sphere away.
Even though using up chakra before the battle began wasn't ideal, letting that chakra sphere explode here in Konoha would definitely deal a heavy blow to morale.
"Allow me, Captain Minato."
Mitsuki stopped Minato, who was ready to act.
He had already heard the admiration and praise from the surrounding shinobi before using his ninjutsu—but his very first technique had been reflected right back at him.If Minato stepped in to clean up his mess again, even Mitsuki's thick skin wouldn't be able to take it.
Fortunately, aside from some embarrassment, it wasn't actually difficult to handle.Mitsuki drew Mistcutter and swung it casually.
"Full Counter!"
Minato had seen Mitsuki use this jutsu countless times, but even now, he couldn't understand its mechanics. It defied the very laws of physics—no matter what kind of attack or from which direction, it would always be perfectly repelled. And it didn't even consume much chakra.
Just like now.
The chakra sphere that Chiyo had compressed entered Mitsuki's domain of Full Counter——and was instantly hurled back toward the three puppets that had unleashed the Sanbō Kyūkai.
Chiyo tried to use the same trick again, but Mitsuki wasn't about to stumble twice on the same stone.
Just now, by using his Six Eyes, he had already seen through it.
The reason Chiyo's Sanbō Kyūkai could sever the connection between him and his Great Ball Rasenshuriken was due to some kind of unknown sealing jutsu.And that sealing technique had only worked by pushing to its very limits.
In that case, the most direct countermeasure was simple: use a technique even more powerful.
Mitsuki sheathed Mistcutter.
His left hand began to gather Wind-natured chakra once more, but this time the Rasenshuriken was several sizes smaller than before. A regular version of Rasenshuriken.
At the same time, his right hand formed an ordinary Rasengan, but that ordinary state lasted for only a moment.
Having always regarded Madara as his hypothetical enemy, Mitsuki naturally kept a few hidden trump cards for himself. And now, he was about to unveil one of them.
Scorching Fire-natured chakra began to surge out from within the Rasengan in his right hand.The once azure Rasengan slowly transformed into something astonishing.
Its pure, crystalline glow was gradually replaced by a raging crimson light, violent and molten, like lava churning deep beneath the earth.
Every streak of red chakra writhed like a fiery dragon, clawing outward as an oppressive aura filled the battlefield.
"Great Flame Rasengan!"
Amateurs only saw the spectacle, but true shinobi recognized the principle. Minato instantly realized that this jutsu worked by refining Fire-natured chakra to its utmost limit and then fusing it with the Rasengan. Even without seeing its destructive power firsthand, he could already tell from the sheer difficulty of the technique — this was without question an S-rank ninjutsu.
And Minato's judgment was correct. In terms of raw destructive force against a single target, the Great Flame Rasengan even surpassed the Rasenshuriken.
But this time, the jutsu's debut lasted only a few seconds—
Because Mitsuki slammed it violently into the center of his left-hand Rasenshuriken.
That reckless action made Minato and the surrounding shinobi's hearts skip a beat. Could that even work? Wouldn't it explode instantly?!
That was the question on everyone's mind.
But instead of exploding, what they witnessed moments later was the greatest "firework" they had ever seen in their lives.
Fire and wind were always the perfect partners. The Great Flame Rasengan was instantly absorbed into the Rasenshuriken, as naturally as a swallow returning to its nest. The bladed winds of the Rasenshuriken ignited in a roaring blaze.
Chakra raged violently, the crimson overtaking the azure entirely. The spinning blades and the flames fused into a dark violet glow, brimming with annihilating power. Two conical spikes jutted out from the central sphere, resembling erupting volcanoes.
Mitsuki had tested this once before at his secret training ground with Rin — though back then he had infused only a fraction, barely one percent, of the chakra he was pouring in now.Even then, the destructive potential was terrifying.
Now, on its second usage, it was incomparably stronger.
"Let's see you handle this one!"
With that, Mitsuki hurled the spinning mass toward his foe.
"Blazing Wind Annihilation!!!"
Its flight speed surpassed even the Rasenshuriken, quickly overtaking the reflected chakra sphere from before—and devouring it, swelling even larger.
The shinobi world had no concept of a "spinning top". To Chiyo and the Suna-nin behind her, what came hurtling toward them wasn't a ninjutsu at all. It was as if two volcanoes had been fused together, their eruption ready to dye the heavens and earth in apocalyptic violet.
Faced with such overwhelming force, Chiyo knew she had to stop it before it reached Sunagakure's formation. The shinobi world was full of deception and politics, but when it came to ninjutsu development, it was brutally straightforward——never did a technique with such grandeur prove weak.
If the display was overwhelming, the power was guaranteed to be real.
With a lifetime of battlefield experience, Chiyo didn't hesitate. Her ten puppets of the Chikamatsu Collection surged forward, assembling into the Ten-Man Formation.
"Tenfold!"
The final form of the Three Treasure Suction Crush. The suction force was multiplied dozens of times, forming a black whirlpool like a miniature black hole at its core. Not only could it sever connections and compress what was inside, it could also drain the chakra directly from its target. Even if it couldn't completely seal something at once, it could still drag the battle into an exhausting war of attrition.
But such overwhelming power came with a cost—the puppets' cores would suffer permanent, irreparable damage.
And so, the pinnacle of puppet techniques in shinobi history now clashed against Mitsuki's proudest creation.
Before everyone's eyes——the devouring black hole and the annihilating violet sun collided.