"Is this... the First Hokage's Wood Release Ninjutsu?"
Jiraiya exclaimed in shock.
His eyes darkened as he surveyed the devastated area surrounding the Wooden man.
"We can't let it continue!"
Minato frowned.
The Wooden man's destructive power rivaled that of the tailed beasts.
Therefore, he immediately decided to use Space-Time Ninjutsu to relocate it outside the village to prevent further damage.
CRASH!
Suddenly, the wooden man, towering over the village, turned within the devastated area, facing the stone faces of the previous Hokages.
The five heads on its forehead opened their mouths, each condensing chakra of five different attributes.
"Fwoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Splash!"
From the mouths condensing fire, wind, and lightning, destructive force erupted with a roar.
BOOM!
The three forces collided, creating a sound like muffled thunder.
Then, a mighty firestorm erupted, sweeping across the Konoha sky, heading straight for Minato and Jiraiya, who were standing on the Fourth Hokage's face.
From the remaining two mouths, earth and water-style jutsu each formed a massive torrent, raining down towards the devastated area.
"Teacher, leave this to me!"
Minato gazed at the roaring firestorm from afar.
With a flip of his hand, a specially crafted kunai appeared in his palm.
"Okay!"
Jiraiya glanced at Minato, then leaped off the Hokage's face.
Minato, standing on his own face, formed hand seals.
"I won't let you destroy this place!"
Minato executed his hand seals and held the specially crafted kunai before him.
Then, a firestorm roared, enveloping the Fourth Hokage's face and Minato's ant-like figure.
Buzz!
Suddenly, the air ahead of the flame storm was covered with dense black lines, forming a barrier.
The powerful attack, upon contact with the barrier, was swiftly swallowed up by the air as if it were a black hole.
Inside Konoha, the Third Hokage and his clone arrived before the torrents of earth and water jutsu descended.
The Third Hokage formed hand seals and unexpectedly used the same Ninjutsu of the same magnitude, blocking both torrents.
"Why attack there first?"
Itachi gazed at the black barrier lines that filled the air in front of the Fourth Hokage, his eyes darkening.
Soon, the flame storm, imbued with destructive power, was completely consumed by Minato's space-time barrier.
BOOM!
The next moment, a loud explosion echoed from dozens of kilometers away from Konoha.
The sound and the flash of the explosion reached the village.
At this moment, Itachi, with only his single-magatama Sharingan activated, could actually see the space suddenly warp behind the solemn-looking Minato.
Behind Minato, taking advantage of his distraction from the wooden figure's attack, Masked man launched a surprise attack, thrusting his hand towards him!
Even then, Minato sensed the attack from behind.
Clang!
He thrust his kunai backhandedly, glancing sideways to catch sight of the masked man.
Even in this situation, Minato's reflexes and speed overwhelmed his opponent.
Before the masked man's hand could reach him, the kunai had already struck his head.
However, the kunai pierced directly through the masked man's skull.
Minato's eyes trembled, having never expected such a situation.
Thud!
Then, Minato's kunai-holding hand pierced through the masked man's arm and palm.
The moment his palm passed through his, masked man lashed out, grabbing Minato's wrist.
"What quick reflexes!"
"But that's all!"
Whoosh!
The space in front of his right eye suddenly began to warp, rapidly drawing Minato in.
Swish!
However, before the distortion was completely complete, Minato's figure, which had become blurred in the distortion, suddenly disappeared.
"Did you get away?"
"So fast!"
"Next time I'll catch you even faster, the moment I make contact!"
Masked man, lingering on the Fourth Hokage's face, had a faint, crimson glare.
His senses had already locked onto Minato, and the location he'd jumped to using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu was still within Konoha.
Buzz!
As he finished speaking, the space before his eyes distorted again, then vanished.
This lightning-fast battle went unnoticed by anyone in the village except Itachi.
Even Itachi couldn't see the details of the exchange between Minato and the masked man.
It was so fast!
Even so, Itachi's pupils couldn't help but shrink.
"That Madara guy is trying to lure the fourth!"
Itachi gritted his teeth and uttered a low voice.
The only person in Konoha capable of immediately expelling the Wooden man from the village was the Fourth Hokage.
That was why Madara had initially launched a feint, his real goal being to eliminate Minato.
However, the Fourth Hokage, known as the Yellow Flash, would not be so easily defeated.
He had indeed been lured away from the mountain.
Itachi believed, however, that the Fourth Hokage himself understood this.
"No matter how powerful a technique is, if it's far from the caster."
Itachi gazed at the Wooden man in the village.
While it possessed destructive power comparable to that of a tailed beast, without Madara's control, its movements should have been sluggish.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Just as Itachi thought this, Jiraiya, who had left earlier, formed hand seals in the air above the Wooden man's head and pressed his palms against the air.
Bang!
Immediately, a vast expanse of white mist filled the air.
Thud!
A massive summoned beast descended from the sky, bearing down on its head.
"Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique!"
Just as Jiraiya, perched above the toad, thought he had succeeded, a massive hand behind the Wooden man swiftly extended to meet him.
Whack!
The hand crashed down on the giant toad of Myoboku Mountain with such force that it sent it flying.
The toad landed heavily on the ground, looking up at Jiraiya and saying, "Jiraiya, what the hell are you doing!"
Bunta said in pain, but as he glanced around at the devastated Konoha, his pupils, small compared to his size, trembled suddenly.
"How could this happen!?"
Itachi's face trembled, his eyes fixed on the Wooden man towering over the village.
Madara had already entangled the Fourth Hokage far away, yet it still had such a quick reaction to strike back?
He stared at the wooden figure, and suddenly, from its massive body, he sensed an extremely subtle, yet very familiar, wave.
"This wave... is it the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
...
Just as the Wooden man used its palm to knock back Bunta, Konoha ninjas throughout the village, already on high alert, began evacuating civilians.
Itachi, holding Sasuke, stood on the rooftop and cried out in horror as a small figure darted toward him.
Hearing the noise, Itachi immediately deactivated his Sharingan and turned.
"Itachi-kun, are you all right?"
Concerned, Izumi landed on the rooftop of Itachi's residence and hurried over.
"Yes,"
Itachi nodded.
Swish!
A Konoha ANBU suddenly appeared near Itachi's residence.
He glanced toward Itachi and Izumi and said, "It's not safe here. Leave quickly and go to the village shelter!"
"Oh, okay!"
Izumi replied, looking at Itachi beside him.
"Itachi, shall we go?"
However, Itachi's attention was still focused on the Wooden man in the village.
Rumble!
After repelling Gamabunta, the Wooden man's massive body moved forward, heading toward the village where the civilians were gathered.
Itachi's pupils narrowed as the giant's hands extended from behind, descending toward the civilians ahead.
"Adamantine Staff: Kongō Nyoi!"
At this moment, the summoned beast, Enma, beside the hurriedly arriving Third Hokage, transformed into a black rod, suddenly stretched out, and struck the Wooden man's hands.
Bang!
The transformed rod blocked several of the Wooden man's hands in succession.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Jiraiya appeared in front of the civilians and erected a thick earthen wall.
Swoosh!
Minato, fleeing through the distorted space, fell to the ground in the village, somewhat disoriented.
A Flying Thunder God kunai was stuck in the grass before him.
"My attack actually passed through that guy's body, yet it materialized immediately after passing through."
"What kind of Ninjutsu is that?"
Minato muttered inwardly, still terrified.
"Is this an ability even Itachi doesn't know about?"
Whoosh!
He had just risen from his crouch in the grass when the space in front of him warped again.
Minato looked up suddenly, and a Masked Man in a loose black robe appeared before him.
"I won't let you escape," the Masked Man said jokingly, his scarlet eyes filled with amusement.
Minato pulled out a special kunai from the grass in front of him and slowly stood up.
"Uchiha Madara..."
He was filled with questions.
Judging by the Masked Man's actions since his appearance, it seemed only that man could pull this off.
But he couldn't help but feel something was amiss.
Even this man before him could use the First Hokage's Wood Release secret technique.
"If he moves to this position, he should..."
Minato pondered.
This was already the edge of Konoha.
At this distance, the Masked Man's control over the Wooden man should have been significantly reduced.
However, just as this thought arose, he suddenly sensed the still-powerful chakra fluctuations emanating from the village.
"Very surprising." Minato's eyes flickered.
Clatter!
At that moment, chains suddenly slipped from the Masked Man's black sleeves.
"Why not use Wood Release?"
He wondered in his heart.
"Who do you think you're facing?"
"Facing the Yellow Flash of Konoha, how could I have time to unleash my Ninjutsu?"
The Masked Man grinned inwardly as he buckled the chains around his wrists.
His crimson eyes fixed on Minato.
"But now, I'm faster than you!"
He muttered to himself, chained up, and charged at Minato.
Minato, his palms tightly clenched with a kunai, suddenly charged out.
He thrust the kunai straight out.
The two men approached each other, their bodies closing in on each other. Minato's attack, including his own, gradually penetrated the Masked Man's body.
When their bodies were completely separated, the Masked Man twisted the chains and suddenly tightened them!
Whoosh!
However, just as the chains restrained Minato's arms, he vanished with a swish.
"That's still not fast enough," the Masked Man raised his brows.
He had intended to use his eye technique to pull Minato in the moment he made contact.
However, the lack of physical contact, coupled with the distance between them, meant his plan failed.
Minato had already leaped over to the other Flying Thunder God Kunai on the grass.
He glanced at the Masked Man behind him, his mind calculating.
"My physical attacks are ineffective against him, but he must materialize before attacking, which is why he only launches his attack after completely penetrating my body."
"And he seems eager to finish me off. It seems his long-range control of the Wood Golem won't last long."
Minato didn't know how the Masked Man was able to remotely control the village's Wood Golem, but wielding such a powerful force would inevitably incur a corresponding loss of energy.
The Masked Man hoped to end the battle quickly, which was exactly what Minato desired.
"For him, attacking means risk. My only chance is to find the perfect moment to kill him!"
Minato, pondering this, abruptly stood up and ran towards the Masked Man.
"Victory or defeat depends on who's faster!"
"You stand no chance with just the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Seeing Minato charging, the Masked Man sneered inwardly.
He knew every bit of information about the Flying Thunder God Technique, even the Fourth Hokage.
His eye technique surpassed the opponent's space-time Ninjutsu.
From the outset of this battle, he was undefeated.
The Masked Man charged directly at Minato, intending to attack at close range!
Thump-thump!
The only sound on the quiet lawn was the rapidly approaching footsteps of Minato and the Masked Man.
The distance between them rapidly closed.
Ding!
At one point, Minato backhandedly hurled his special kunai at the opponent.
Five meters, three meters.
As the distance between them closed, the expression beneath the mask grew increasingly excited.
The Masked Man completely ignored the kunai Minato had thrown earlier.
Judging by its speed and distance, it had no impact on his well-formulated battle plan.
Buzz!
With the distance between them now less than half a meter, Minato suddenly raised his right hand, and a ball of azure chakra instantly condensed in his palm.
At that moment, the Masked Man had already extended his hand, grabbing Minato's shoulder. Minato immediately unleashed his Ninjutsu.
"I'm faster."
"I won this battle!"
Compared to Minato's Rasengan, the Masked Man's palm was much closer to Minato's shoulder.
His palm was just a hair's breadth away from reaching Minato, and upon contact, he would be sucked into the alternate dimension.
At that point, everything would be over.
Now, no one in Konoha could protect the village!
Swish!
And in that split second, the Masked Man, who had thought victory was certain, saw his target vanish from sight.
The Flying Thunder God kunai that Minato had thrown earlier had already pierced the Masked Man's head and rested on his back.
Minato suddenly appeared beside the kunai.
"Rasengan!"
Without hesitation, he unleashed the Rasengan at the Masked Man.
BOOM!
The jutsu landed, slamming the Masked Man to the ground.
The powerful force coursed through his body, crumbling the ground beneath him.
"Oh no! He actually jumped with that kunai!"
The Masked Man exclaimed in belated surprise, his eyes filled with shock.
He had thought he had understood all the weaknesses of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, but the truth was, he was completely defeated in this encounter!
He had never known that the Flying Thunder God Jutsu had such applications and combat methods.
Minato's azure eyes, calm yet filled with murderous intent, met the Masked Man's scarlet eyes, filled with shock.
"This is the second part of Flying Thunder God!"
.....
By the way, don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me :)