join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr
No, impossible!
Hanzo's body was deeply embedded in the ruins, so tightly that he couldn't pull himself out.
But at this moment, his mind was filled with inexplicable thoughts.
Who exactly was that guy? What kind of attack was that just now?
Why couldn't he even see a Shadow Clone, and as soon as he charged forward, he was directly blasted back?!
Even the poison gas he prided himself on was repelled!
"Crash—"
"Ugh!"
Hanzo struggled to lift an arm, pressing against the shattered rock wall beside him, which had cracked into a spiderweb pattern, and forced himself out of the indentation.
As soon as he crawled out, a large amount of blood immediately gushed from his mouth.
It was clear that several bones were broken.
Seeing his miserable state, Namikaze Minato's expression couldn't help but become a few shades more serious.
Although Konoha's strength had far surpassed Hidden Rain Village through years of development, and Konoha's top-tier combat power was many times greater than Hanzo's, it was no longer the era of the Third Hokage when he alone could subdue the Sannin.
However, this man before him still possessed the foundation of a top-tier expert, someone no Ninja could underestimate.
Therefore, a Ninja capable of easily injuring him to such an extent...
Namikaze Minato turned his head and looked outside the door.
"Tap, tap, tap."
A few light footsteps came from the hallway outside the room.
Hanzo looked up and saw the young man with strange pupil shapes, vibrant red hair, and the ability to use unusual Ninjutsu without hand signs, stepping into the office.
Konan and Yahiko followed closely behind him.
All three of them wore identical dark black robes.
Namikaze Minato recognized at a glance that it was the uniform black robe of the Moon Organization.
However, their gazes did not fall on him but were fixed on Hanzo.
Seeing his disheveled appearance, even Nagato couldn't help but sigh in a low voice:
"The legend of yesteryear has fallen to such a state... Hanzo."
"Has the glory and prestige of these ten years caused you to neglect your former skills?"
"No wonder Hidden Rain Village has fallen to its current state."
Hanzo didn't respond at first, but upon hearing the keyword 'Hidden Rain Village,' he suddenly looked up, staring at him with fierce, beast-like eyes, blood in his mouth:
"To possess such strength."
"Who exactly are you?!"
"There were no people like you among the Amegakure Ninja before!"
Upon hearing this, the solemn Yahiko slowly stepped out from behind Nagato and said in a low voice: "Of course, you wouldn't know who we are, Lord Hanzo."
"After all, we were once just small beggars under your rule, who lost everything due to war and famine, and were displaced."
"Years of war took the lives of all our family members, the Village's exorbitant war taxes took the last bit of food from our homes, until finally, we ourselves became slaves under the rule of others, forced to run errands and serve them."
"So, Lord Hanzo..."
"You should know very well what we are here to do."
As his voice fell, not only Yahiko, but Nagato and Konan also looked at him expressionlessly.
Seeing the righteous and eager expressions on the faces of these three young people, Hanzo suddenly laughed, as if without the slightest fear.
He turned his head and smiled at Namikaze Minato behind him: "Special-Grade Namikaze, look—isn't this the consequence of Konoha desperately squeezing money out of us?"
"We truly can't squeeze much more money out of ourselves."
The moment they heard this sentence, the three, Nagato included, who had subconsciously ignored the others in the office, immediately shifted their gaze to the blond young man beside him, their eyes narrowing slightly.
Over these seven years, many things related to Konoha had spread throughout the Ninja World.
For example, Konoha's Jonin reform initiative, and the new grading system from Special-Grade to Fourth-Grade.
Only a very few monstrous individuals like Sawara Kiri would be given the title of 'Special-Grade.'
At this moment, almost as soon as they heard the surname and title 'Special-Grade Namikaze,' the few people present realized the identity of the opponent as a top-tier Konoha Ninja.
At the same time, the hostility contained in their gazes became even more undisguised.
'Old fox.'
Namikaze Minato cursed inwardly, but verbally, he corrected him professionally: "Please watch your words, Lord Hanzo."
"Hidden Rain Village has never paid Konoha a single penny."
"However, there are indeed other important matters between Lord Hanzo and my Konoha that need to be discussed."
"Gentlemen, although I am not clear about the grudges between you and Amegakure, I ask that you give me face."
"Please postpone today's battle until next time."
Namikaze Minato said, turning his head to meet the red-haired Ninja's eyes.
Being on an envoy mission, he alone bore the honor of Konoha; there was no room for weakness.
Although he and Hanzo both wished they could kill each other on the spot, they couldn't allow the other party to die so easily in front of him before the negotiation mission was completed.
Not only was he aware of this, but Hanzo himself was also very clear about this point.
Almost the moment his voice fell, he saw that Hanzo had already slowly risen, turning sideways to Namikaze Minato, forming a pincer attack with him, subtly creating a standoff with the three individuals opposite.
Facing Namikaze Minato's threat, Yahiko's expression immediately became several shades more serious.
"Oh?"
However, Nagato had already stepped forward, looking coldly at the blond man before him, and drew a dark black short staff from his wide sleeve.
"If Sawara Kiri himself were here today, then perhaps we would comply."
"But—"
He raised the short staff, pointing its dark tip at the blond young man before him, and said coldly: "What are you?"
Namikaze Minato's gaze suddenly sharpened.
Almost the instant this sound fell, the dust flying in the arena dispersed.
Inside the room, five figures shot out in unison.
"Clang, clang, clang—"
The weight of the lock pulled a long iron chain, producing a crisp ringing sound in mid-air, piercing through a distance of over ten meters in one breath, directly aiming at Yahiko's face, who was charging at the forefront.
Yahiko's Kunai, held in his hand, pointed diagonally, deflecting the lock's weight while intersecting with the iron chain, the splashing metallic sparks creating a series of flashes, his footsteps rubbing against the wooden floor with an ear-piercing creak, his body half-spinning as he turned, using the friction from his feet and hands, swinging the straight chain in a smooth arc.
With just this brief pause, Hanzo's figure had already lunged in front of him, the sickle held in his other hand in a reverse grip swinging out from his waist in an Iai-like stance, pointing towards his side.
Yahiko's other hand, holding the Kunai in a forward grip, pointed downwards, his right foot stepping forward, his body bent, poised to punch, his left knee subtly lifted halfway.
"Clang!"
In the instant of brief collision and borrowed force between the intersecting sickle and Kunai, Yahiko's feet immediately exerted force, his already prepared left knee suddenly lifting, flying towards Hanzo's chest with a whistling sound, the impact dull and powerful.
However, Hanzo was still strong in his old age; facing Yahiko's flying knee strike, he neither dodged nor avoided, letting go of the hand holding the chain, he blocked with his horizontal arm, and at the same time, extended his elbow forward to grab his calf.
Yahiko's body, however, flexibly distorted his hips in mid-air, his thigh rotating with force, suddenly sweeping like a swinging great axe, his calf diagonally striking towards Hanzo's shoulder and neck.
"Snap!"
It hit.
Yahiko's heart first filled with joy.
But looking closely, he saw that between the shoulder and calf, there was still a thin palm.
His joy, instead, reversed into vigilance.
As expected.
Almost the moment this thought arose, he saw Hanzo suddenly re-grab the iron chain that was shooting out in mid-air, and with a 'whoosh,' pulled it back.
The immense pulling force that suddenly rose from his waist immediately bound Yahiko's body, like a large hand grabbing him from behind and yanking him fiercely.
"Crack!"
The sickle, connected to the iron chain, detached, and with a crisp metallic clang, suddenly struck down.
"Paper Ninjutsu: Dance of the Shikigami!"
The instant the blade was about to strike Yahiko's torso, a layer of clothing originally attached to Yahiko's body suddenly flipped open, transforming into countless snowflake-like paper fragments, layered densely, obstructing the blade and his body.
The moment the sickle struck that layer of paper, it actually produced a heavy metallic clanging sound for an instant.
Konan, from a distance, maintained the posture of having her hands extended, her expression grave.
Although Hanzo was old, he was still far from being someone Ninja of their caliber could underestimate.
"Secret Technique: Poison Mist Blizzard!"
Before Yahiko could fully break free from the chains, Hanzo's cheeks puffed out, and he let out a whistling breath, blowing large swathes of deep purple poisonous mist towards the two of them.
The poison of the salamander, even when he himself used it, had to be handled with extreme caution.
Ordinary people would surely die with just a few grams of contact.
However, before the large expanse of poisonous mist could reach their bodies...
"Shinra Tensei!"
Suddenly, an invisible surge, like ripples spreading through the air, abruptly caused the large amount of poisonous mist that had appeared between the three of them to freeze in mid-air.
It was only a momentary pause.
The countless poisonous mists that had been swarming towards Yahiko and Konan immediately rolled back, simultaneously carrying countless dust, sand, and pebbles.
Even Hanzo's body was pushed by this immense force, and with a 'boom,' he was once again smashed back into the ruins.
Behind Yahiko and Konan, Nagato's red hair fluttered, and he calmly lowered his hand.
Namikaze Minato looked at him with a wary gaze.
The other two's strength was only at the level between Second-Grade and Third-Grade Jonin; even facing Hanzo alone was quite difficult.
Only this individual, suspected to be a survivor of the Uzumaki clan, possessed unimaginably formidable strength.
'That Ninjutsu just now... is it some kind of reflective sealing technique?'
'Or, is it the ability of his eyes?'
'If it's his eyes, does he have other abilities?'
Namikaze Minato thought to himself, but his actions were not slow at all.
Almost the instant the poisonous mist spread, the three three-pronged Kunai in his hands had already been thrown in three different directions.
'First, the angle of the Ninjutsu.'
As he threw the Kunai, his body shot out with a speed too fast to be seen, attempting to move into the three's blind spots.
However, he hadn't even run far when Nagato, alerted, raised his hand and blasted all three Kunai away in one go.
But Namikaze Minato felt no discouragement in his heart.
'Second, the Ninjutsu's frequency.'
At the same moment the three three-pronged Kunai rolled back, his hands simultaneously pulled three thin steel wires connected to the ends of the Kunai, guiding the repelled Kunai to once again coil towards Nagato.
His other hand continued to throw a barrage of flying shuriken.
Nagato first dodged the re-coiling Kunai by shifting his body, then evaded the shuriken that swept towards him with nimble footwork.
It wasn't until the last Shadow Clone suddenly emerged from the ground, holding a Kunai in a reverse grip and lunging towards his calf, that Nagato, as if stimulated, suddenly unleashed that invisible, surging tide from within his body once more.
"Boom—!!"
The violent explosion instantly blew apart the entire office located at the top of the Amegakure tower, symbolizing the highest authority of the entire Hidden Rain Village, erupting into a plume of dust rising straight into the gloomy rain.
However, this hurried exertion of power had already allowed Namikaze Minato to discern the opponent's Ninjutsu capabilities.
"Five seconds."
Namikaze Minato stared at him, his previous solemn expression now softening into a hint of a smile.
He looked quite intimidating.
Was that all there was to it?
For others, such a powerful Ninjutsu, capable of blasting away all matter within a radius of tens of meters in one go, with a five-second interval, would already be an incredibly high Ninjutsu frequency.
But today, his opponent's name was Namikaze Minato.
The fastest in the Ninja World.
It seemed Nagato also realized that he had exposed too much Ninjutsu information.
Almost the moment the dust around Nagato settled, he widened his eyes, clapped his hands together with a 'snap,' and shouted:
"Asura Attack!"
The instant his voice fell, two massive protrusions suddenly swelled on the skin behind his shoulders, presenting as cannon-like steel nozzles that distorted from behind to in front of him, and surging streams of light, with a humming activation sound, all aimed at Namikaze Minato's figure.
At the same time, his palms also faced him.
"Bansho Ten'in!"
"Buzz—!!"
Accompanied by piercing buzzing sounds, a powerful suction force suddenly enveloped Namikaze Minato's body, causing him, along with large sections of the reinforced concrete floor that had been blasted away beneath him, to disintegrate into large fragments, whistling as they shot towards Nagato.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!!!
A series of laser streams, as if capable of piercing the sky, shot out like raindrops, directly targeting Namikaze Minato.
However, the next moment.
"Flying Thunder God!"
His suddenly vanished figure appeared like lightning above a Kunai that had been blasted behind Nagato, and Namikaze Minato's hands, just before gravity took effect again, once more threw countless three-pronged Kunai, mixed in with the rain, into the air.
The Bansho Ten'in, effective in all directions simultaneously, like planetary gravity, captured the Kunai he threw in an instant.
But this also became Namikaze Minato's best path to his side.
'Third item: test Ninjutsu intensity!'
This thought flashed through the Yellow Flash's mind in that instant.
At the same time, in his right palm, a Cham blue Chakra sphere suddenly distorted into existence.
Just as Sawara Kiri had diligently prepared for battle over these seven years.
Namikaze Minato, who was chasing after Sawara Kiri, hadn't spent all of these seven years being intimate with Kushina.
What appeared in his palm now was one of his most satisfying achievements from these past seven years.
Stepping forward, advancing.
The originally solid, smooth, azure sphere suddenly integrated a strange golden light at this moment.
Even the previously tangible sphere now appeared faintly illusory.
"Space-Time Release—!"
The instant his voice fell, Namikaze Minato's figure, following the coordinates of the Kunai rapidly being pulled by Bansho Ten'in, continuously flickered and shot towards Nagato.
His figure constantly disappeared and reappeared.
The lasers from behind Nagato pierced the sky like lines, but all were avoided by his figure with a hair's breadth.
At this moment, even Nagato's action of turning his head seemed so slow.
Beneath the heavy, overcast rain, he maintained his sideways posture, and the Bansho Ten'in, which had been continuously attracting and pulling all surrounding matter, was forcefully changed into Shinra Tensei under extremely difficult conditions.
The two transformations of pulling and pushing made the meridians within his body feel as if they were being forcibly squeezed by an elephant, the vessel walls nearly tearing.
The spreading waves made all surrounding matter seem to fall into stagnation at this moment.
However, Namikaze Minato's attack had arrived.
Flying Thunder God: Second Step! And...
—Spiral Gale Light Arrow: Sixteen Forms!!!"
Although there were still tens of meters between them, Namikaze Minato had already fiercely thrown the golden spiral, condensed into a spearhead shape in his palm.
That illusory light and shadow, as if ignoring all physical rules around it, pierced through everything in its path with a phantom-like extreme speed.
Transforming into a true golden flash.
Until it collided with the Shinra Tensei wall.
"Boom!!!"
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr