Chapter 85: Fierce Battle with Minato
"Long time no see, Minato."
Above the treetops, on the back of the Black Iron Giant Eagle, Li Yao looked down at Minato, who stood just over ten meters below.
The boy's golden hair was still as dazzling and radiant as ever, but the gentle smile he always wore was gone. In its place was an expression twisted by anger and hatred.
Such a look rarely appeared on Minato's face.
Seeing that fury now, Li Yao's emotions were complicated.
He had thought that, upon seeing Minato again, his own face would carry the same kind of rage Minato now wore.
After all, everything he had suffered began with Minato's report to the village.
He had every reason to be angry—and every right to be.
But now, facing Minato in person, Li Yao felt unexpectedly calm. He didn't hate Minato as much as he had imagined.
Thinking carefully, Minato hadn't actually done anything wrong.
As one of the characters Li Yao most admired in the Naruto series, Namikaze Minato lived a life that could only be described as righteous and upright.
As Hokage, he did right by the villagers.
As a ninja, he never failed his comrades.
As a father, he was worthy of Naruto's love.
And as an enemy, he lived up to Konoha's ideals.
From beginning to end, Minato followed his own ninja way.
In the latter part of the Fourth Great Ninja War, after realizing that the masked man was Obito, Minato had not hesitated. When Obito tried to use the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu to revive Uchiha Madara, Minato had instantly teleported in front of his former student and struck him down without mercy—disrupting the resurrection.
If it hadn't been for the life force from Hashirama cells, Obito would've died then and there.
As an enemy, Minato truly embodied the principle that when stances differ, mercy has no place.
Li Yao was not Mokumura Yao. He was the one who had killed Mokumura Yao and taken his body—a hostile enemy. Reporting him was only natural. If Minato hadn't done it, he wouldn't have been Minato.
Li Yao understood Minato's decision. He even admired the kind of man he was.
But understanding and admiration didn't change the fact that, as an enemy, Li Yao still wanted to kill him.
On this point, Li Yao fully agreed with Minato: different sides meant only life or death—no other outcome.
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, Li Yao leapt from the Black Iron Giant Eagle.
Even he was momentarily stunned at his own action—he hadn't expected himself to enter the fight personally, taking such a risk.
The moment he saw Minato carrying Kushina, he immediately realized—this was the canon scene where Minato annihilated three Kumo jonin and saved Kushina.
For Minato to do that, regardless of the reason, his strength had to be exceptional. Combined with a chakra monster like Kushina…
The logical choice would've been to send in a shadow clone to test their strength and then plan a killing blow.
But for some reason, his body had acted before his mind.
Maybe… he just didn't want to lose to Namikaze Minato.
And so… he wanted to face him head-on with everything he had.
Clang…
As Li Yao descended, he dismissed the shadow clone inside the Black Iron Giant Eagle and recalled the eagle to his body, donning the long-unused Black Iron Feather Cloak in one smooth motion.
Whoosh whoosh…
Before he even hit the ground, six shuriken were launched, perfectly aimed to strike at the precise moment he landed.
Had he truly landed as expected, they would have hit him dead-on.
Bang bang!
But of course, Li Yao didn't land as expected.
He reacted swiftly—four Black Iron Chains burst from his back. Two drove into the ground to suspend him midair and dodge the six shuriken, while the other two shot toward Minato's approaching shadow clones on either side.
It had to be said—Minato's combat talent was terrifying.
One moment he had been staring at Li Yao in rage.
The next, he had snapped into a cold, calculated battle state, making tactical decisions instantly.
The moment Li Yao jumped off the eagle and disappeared behind the treetop canopy, Minato immediately created two shadow clones. They circled wide through the trees to flank Li Yao's landing point.
Meanwhile, Minato's main body launched six shuriken to hit just as Li Yao touched down, then sprinted in with a kunai to finish the job.
Had Li Yao landed, he would have been attacked from three angles—four simultaneous assaults.
For a normal ninja, there wouldn't have been time to even form a hand seal, much less defend. Only taijutsu could be used in that tight window.
But unless they had a bloodline like Kimimaro's, no ordinary shinobi could fend off Minato's simultaneous multi-angle attacks.
Most would've died the instant his kunai struck.
But Li Yao wasn't ordinary. His Black Iron Chains didn't require seals—they responded directly to thought.
Two chains propped him above the ground to avoid the shuriken, while the other two shot out to strike the shadow clones' hearts.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out.
Li Yao's expression changed slightly.
"Such fast reflexes!"
Minato's shadow clones, faced with the sudden chain strike, instantly responded—wedging a kunai into the gaps between the chains, flipping themselves midair, and delivering a spinning kick aimed at Li Yao's head.
That kind of reaction time and physical response—Li Yao couldn't match it.
Minato did it effortlessly.
In that regard, Li Yao had lost.
Still, Li Yao wasn't helpless. His ability to shoot Black Iron Chains from any part of his body compensated for his slower neural response.
Whoosh whoosh!
So, when his body couldn't dodge, he attacked. Two more chains burst from his temples and struck upward at the shadow clones' feet.
Bang! Bang!
Smoke erupted on either side—Minato's shadow clones had been destroyed.
Li Yao's chains packed more power than Minato's—only due to proximity and the clones being midair without leverage were they taken out so directly.
Bang! Bang!
At the same time, Minato's real body suddenly leapt back. Two more chains erupted from underground—these were the same two that had earlier held Li Yao aloft.
As they rose, they shot toward Minato.
Unfortunately, Minato had sharp chakra perception.
Even attacks coming from underground didn't escape him. He sensed them just in time and reacted.
Whoosh whoosh!
Li Yao controlled the chains to strike again, but Minato's nimble footwork and agile flips allowed him to evade each time. His erratic, unpredictable movements made the chains miss again and again.
At that moment, Li Yao realized something: while his chain speed was high, their flexibility wasn't enough.
In other words, his reaction speed still couldn't match Minato's.
"A terrifying reaction time…"
Li Yao had to admit it.
Even with his destroyed acupoints releasing the body's natural limiters and enhancing his reflexes, making him above average among most ninja—
Minato was on another level.
Only someone with such insane reflexes could use the Flying Thunder God Technique to instantaneously kill dozens of enemies.
Only someone like that could, without being faster than the chains, use slight rhythm changes and angular movements to make Li Yao's attacks feel like they were in slow motion.
Which meant—those two shadow clones had only been taken out due to proximity and poor positioning in midair. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been hit.
Then again… perhaps Minato was also probing Li Yao's capabilities.
Thinking of this, Li Yao withdrew his ineffective chains and shifted his battle stance, making sure not to give Minato another opening.
(END CHAPTER)
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