Kenji stood slightly to the side, observing the standoff.
This was it. The first clash between the A-B Combo and Minato, exactly as it had played out in the original timeline. The difference was that Minato had already made a name for himself across the shinobi world with the Flying Thunder God Technique. His reputation preceded him everywhere he went.
Kenji, by contrast, usually fought through puppets and never drew much attention. He wasn't unknown exactly, but he didn't have the kind of fame that made enemy ninjas freeze when they heard his name. Which suited him fine.
He'd studied Minato's fighting style extensively, both from memories of the anime and from watching him in action over the past months. Minato had taken Tobirama's Flying Thunder God and evolved it into something his own. It wasn't just a technique he used, it was the foundation of his entire combat philosophy. Everything built around instantaneous repositioning.
For Kenji, the Flying Thunder God was more like a tool in his arsenal. Useful, powerful, but not the centerpiece of how he fought. His approach relied more on puppets, versatility, and adapting to whatever the situation required.
His hands moved through seals quickly.
"Summoning Technique."
White smoke burst briefly. When it cleared, the External Armor puppet stood ready several meters ahead of him. Chakra threads, nearly invisible, extended from hsis fingertips to connection points throughout the puppet's structure.
"Stay back," Minato said suddenly. "I'll handle this."
Before anyone could respond, his hands moved. More than a dozen kunai flew from his grasp in a wide spread pattern, each one marked with the Flying Thunder God seal. They scattered across the clearing, embedding themselves in trees, dirt, and rocks. Within seconds, the entire battlefield was covered with teleportation markers.
A didn't waste time talking. Lightning chakra erupted around his body. The Lightning Release Chakra Mode kicked in at full power, and his muscular frame became wreathed in crackling energy. His figure blurred and he launched forward like a bolt of lightning, closing the distance in an instant. His fist came straight at Minato's head. The punch was blindingly fast. Most jonin wouldn't have even seen it coming.
But Minato was already gone.
He'd left a kunai behind as a marker and vanished, reappearing next to another kunai about ten meters away.
A's fist hit empty air where Minato had been standing a fraction of a second earlier.
He dodged?
His eyes widened slightly in surprise.
He didn't get time to process that thought. Minato was already behind him, chakra gathered in the kunai he held. The blade thrust forward, aimed directly at A's back, at the gap between his shoulder blades where the heart would be.
"Watch out!"
Killer B's shout came from behind him. An octopus tentacle burst from his back, extending like a whip to grab A and yank him out of harm's way.
But Kenji was faster.
His fingers twitched, and the External Armor puppet blurred forward in response. Chakra threads transmitted his commands instantly as the puppet closed the distance. A short blade extended from its armored wrist, Wind chakra wrapping around the edge.
Swish.
The blade sliced clean through the Eight-Tails' tentacle. The severed piece hit the ground, still twitching.
"Interfering in a one-on-one duel," Kenji called out from his position several meters behind the puppet. "That's pretty dishonorable, but then again, we are shinobi, not samurai."
His hands moved subtly, maintaining the chakra thread connections.
B stared at the severed tentacle for a moment, then his eyes snapped up to the armored puppet before tracking back to Kenji standing in the rear.
"Yo! Such speed, who are you! Cuttin' my tentacle, that's somethin' new!"
"Has anyone ever told you that your rapping is terrible?" Kenji said before he could stop himself.
"You got no appreciation for the art! Fool, ya fool!"
By now, A had escaped Minato's strike and retreated to B's side. Blood trickled down his back from where the kunai had grazed him. The wound wasn't deep, but it was clear he'd been at a disadvantage in that exchange.
"B, you alright?" A asked, not taking his eyes off Minato.
"This guy's the Eight-Tails jinchūriki?!" Enma said from near Kenji. Fighting a tailed beast host was a completely different level of threat than fighting even elite ninjas.
"We should retreat!" His tactical assessment was sound. Against a full jinchūriki, especially the Eight-Tails, continuing the engagement was asking for casualties.
"That's right! The master of the Eight-Tails is me, fool ya fool!" B flexed his remaining tentacles and grinned, apparently completely unbothered by having part of himself cut off.
Minato prepared to withdraw, but paused and looked at B directly.
"Your courage is admirable. Not as a jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails, but as a ninja standing on his own strength. It seems you've gained something remarkable."
A looked proud at what he assumed was praise for B's power. "In terms of talent, this guy's way better than me!"
"No, that's not what I meant," Minato started to clarify. "He possesses something even more prec—"
"Enough, Minato," Kenji cut him off. "No need for speeches with intruders."
A's eyes narrowed at the dismissive tone. Lightning chakra flared around him again. "B, take care of that guy!"
He launched himself at Minato. B drew the katana from his back and charged toward Kenji.
Dōtō, Gaku and Enma had no choice but to abandon the retreat plan and engage the other Kumo ninjas accompanying A and B.
B came in fast, his katana already mid-swing aimed at Kenji. But the External Armor surged forward, intercepting the blow a heartbeat before it reached him. Kenji leapt backward to put some distance between himself and B, letting the External Armor's wrist blade snap upward in a diagonal slash that B barely managed to block.
Metal rang against metal as their weapons met.
B pushed forward aggressively, using his strength advantage to try to overwhelm the puppet. His tentacles whipped around, creating additional threats that Kenji had to account for while maneuvering the puppet to defend against the katana strikes.
But the puppet had advantages of its own.
The speed boost gave it a swiftness that even B's reflexes struggled to track. More importantly, Wind Release held a natural advantage over Lightning Release. Each time their blades clashed, the puppet's wind chakra disrupted B's lightning enhancement, tipping the exchanges in the puppet's favor.
After a dozen rapid exchanges, Kenji saw his opening. B overextended slightly on a thrust. He manipulated the puppet to twist aside and let the katana pass, then immediately counterattacked. Wind chakra surged through the blade, increasing its cutting power to lethal levels.
Crack.
The wrist blade sheared through B's katana. The weapon broke cleanly in half.
The blade continued its arc, now aimed directly at B's chest. If it connected, it would cut through flesh and bone without resistance.
At the last instant, B's body erupted with dense red chakra.
The Tailed Beast Cloak manifested around him. Multiple thick tentacles burst from his back, way more than before. The violent surge of chakra created a shockwave that forced the puppet back several meters, its feet leaving grooves in the dirt as it slid.
Perfect test. Nice for puppet marketing. I think I'm ready for Hiruzen, Kenji thought, assessing the situation. B had entered a partial transformation state, drawing directly on the Eight-Tails' chakra. But instead of retreating, his hands flashed through seals and he slammed his palm against the ground.
"Summoning Technique! Mind Clone Switch Technique!"
White smoke exploded outward in a massive cloud around Kenji's position. When the smoke cleared, two new figures stood near him. Both were puppets: one the Wood Release puppet, the other the Transparency Release puppet.
B's eyes locked onto all the puppets, and something feral entered his expression. The Tailed Beast Cloak flared brighter, chakra surging to even higher levels. He charged straight at Kenji, no longer bothering with technique or strategy. Trees shattered as he plowed through them. Boulders cracked and exploded into fragments when his chakra-wreathed body made contact.
"This is bad! He's entering a tailed beast state!"
Minato and A, who'd been locked in their own high-speed duel, both sensed the shift simultaneously. They exchanged one final clash and immediately disengaged, both moving to extract their respective allies before things escalated further. Dōtō and Gaku abandoned their opponents and rushed toward Kenji to help.
The Wood Release puppet stepped forward. Its hands moved through seals.
"Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"
Thick wooden branches erupted from the puppet's arms, extending rapidly like living snakes. They shot toward B with incredible speed, wrapping around his body. More branches emerged from the ground itself, summoned by the Wood Release chakra. They coiled around B's limbs, torso, and tentacles, binding him with dozens of wooden constraints.
The branches constricted, pulling tighter and tighter. B struggled against them, his Tailed Beast Cloak flaring as he tried to break free, but the Wood Release chakra naturally suppressed tailed beast energy. The more he fought, the more branches grew to restrain him.
"B!"
A's eyes went wide at seeing B completely immobilized. Lightning chakra erupted around him at maximum intensity. Blue arcs of electricity crackled wildly across his entire body, so bright they hurt to look at directly.
He made his decision in a split second. The puppeteer was the weak point. Take him out, and all the puppets would stop functioning.
He became a streak of lightning, abandoning his fight with Minato entirely. He moved faster than he had during the entire battle, the air screaming as he tore through it. His fist cocked back as he aimed straight for Kenji.
Kenji's eyes widened. He tried to dodge but his body couldn't move fast enough.
A's lightning-wreathed fist connected.
The impact should have been fatal. But the "Kenji" he'd struck dispersed into nothing, white smoke dissipating on the wind.
A Shadow Clone.
His eyes widened in shock as understanding hit him. A clone?! Then where—
He didn't get to finish the thought.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
The Wood Release puppet's hands blurred through another sequence of seals. Thick wooden walls erupted from the ground on all sides. They formed a complete enclosure around him, the curved wooden panels locking together overhead to create a sealed prison.
He was trapped inside.
He spun around in the enclosed space, lightning chakra flaring as he prepared to smash his way out. That's when he looked down.
Explosive tags covered the ground beneath his feet. Dozens of them, all primed and ready.
"Shit—"
BOOOOOM!