Chapter 86: Ding!
"Wind Release: Wind Bullet!"
Boom boom!
Just as Li Yao retracted his Black Iron Chains, Minato—who was still retreating—had already completed a set of hand seals and spat out two head-sized wind bullets. They were true to their name, tearing through the air like cannon shells as they blasted toward Li Yao.
Clang clang… Two Black Iron Chains shot out from Li Yao's chest, striking the incoming wind bullets mid-air.
Bang bang!
The moment they were hit, the wind bullets exploded like real airborne bombs, releasing a violent gust of wind that swept out in all directions.
"Such concentrated Wind Release chakra…"
A portion of the chakra dispersed by the blast brushed against Li Yao's skin, and he instantly sensed it—Minato's control and strength in Wind Release chakra were far beyond average.
To turn an ordinary Wind Bullet jutsu into something with the destructive force of a cannon shell… Minato's Wind Release was truly exceptional.
But… now it was his.
Gaining another powerful chakra nature, Li Yao was delighted. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Taijutsu doesn't work…"
"Ninjutsu defense is also strong…"
On the other side, Minato had just stabilized his footing. Seeing how Li Yao's chains had so easily shattered his Wind Release jutsu—and recalling how his shadow clones had failed to kick through the Black Iron Chains—Minato immediately deduced two crucial pieces of intel.
"This is going to be trouble."
Minato frowned slightly. At present, he hadn't developed any high-impact finishing moves. His opponent was clearly a defensive-type ninja, capable of launching those black chakra chains from all over his body, making both taijutsu and ninjutsu hard to land.
"Minato!"
Though it had seemed like many exchanges had taken place, in reality, the entire fight had lasted only one second. As Minato came to a stop, Kushina finally caught up mentally. She looked at Li Yao, his four chains swaying behind him, and warned with a serious expression, "Be careful. Those black chakra chains are the Adamantine Sealing Chains from our Uzumaki clan. If they touch your body, they'll seal your chakra instantly. Don't let them touch you directly!"
"Got it," Minato replied calmly, eyes fixed tightly on Li Yao.
By now, Li Yao had activated the full-body Black Iron Feather Cloak. Only his eyes and nose were exposed, with the rest of his body fully armored to minimize any openings.
Li Yao leaned forward into a runner's stance. Behind him, four Black Iron Chains plunged into the ground. At the same time, he gathered strength in his legs to launch himself forward.
Boom!
In an instant, Li Yao broke the sound barrier, shooting toward Minato like a missile.
Unlike other Konoha ninjas, Minato was a prominent figure in the original story. Li Yao knew exactly what kind of skills Minato was good at.
Though Minato was already strong enough to kill three Kumo jonin at this point in the timeline, he hadn't yet created the Rasengan—nor had he learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, which would later earn him the title "Yellow Flash of Konoha."
Even if his reflexes and reaction speed were superior, and even if Li Yao's chain control wasn't quite fast enough to match him, Li Yao still had the upper hand.
Because if he could land just one hit with his chains, it would be fatal.
So Li Yao needed to get as close to Minato as possible.
Then, like when he destroyed the shadow clones earlier, he could use a sudden strike from point-blank range—one even Minato couldn't dodge.
That would be checkmate.
Bang bang!
Minato reacted swiftly to Li Yao's acceleration with chain-assisted propulsion. He immediately created two shadow clones to carry Kushina away as he himself dashed forward to meet Li Yao.
Kushina didn't even have time to react before she was whisked away.
Ting…
As the two drew close, Li Yao didn't bother with fancy moves. He made no attempt at flashy attacks. His goal was clear—relying on the unparalleled defense of his Black Iron Feather Cloak and the regenerative properties of his Wood Release chakra, he had no fear of conventional damage.
He rushed Minato relentlessly, firing Black Iron Chains from all parts of his body to force Minato into defensive movement.
Minato, in turn, used his kunai to deflect and redirected Li Yao's attacks, retreating or sidestepping to avoid the chains while continuously moving.
Sparks lit up the air like fireworks.
But no matter how hard Li Yao tried to close the gap, Minato kept a two-meter distance at all times, never allowing him to get truly close.
"If that's how it is…"
Frowning as Minato smoothly evaded all his attacks, Li Yao changed tactics and continued the high-speed battle.
Ten seconds later—
Li Yao, having observed Minato's movement speed, abruptly shifted strategy again. This time, he stopped using the four rear chains for offense and instead used them like spider legs—anchoring them to the ground to dramatically increase his movement speed.
Boom!
In a split second, Li Yao burst sideways, aided by his chains, and appeared just half a meter from Minato's flank. His arms spread wide in a grappling motion.
At that distance, with eight Black Iron Chains erupting from all over his body—Minato had no way to…
Whoosh!
Before the victorious expression could fully form on Li Yao's face, Minato vanished—visually vanished.
"Flying Thunder God?!"
Li Yao's heart trembled. He thought it was the famed teleportation technique—but quickly realized it wasn't. It wasn't space-time ninjutsu. Minato's sudden burst of speed had simply outpaced Li Yao's eyes, creating the illusion of disappearance.
In his chakra sense, Minato was now directly above him—vertically aligned, their heads separated by a mere head's length.
Minato's right hand was extended downward, and in his grip was a kunai gleaming coldly—right in front of Li Yao's eye.
Li Yao's nervous system hadn't caught up. His whole body froze, as if time had stopped. He didn't even feel the incoming attack.
While Li Yao had been seeking a chance to land a finishing blow—
Minato had also been searching for the exact moment to kill him.
Against the fully armored Black Iron Feather Cloak, Li Yao's only exposed weakness was his eyes.
Minato knew this. It was his only opening.
But eyes are the most sensitive part of the body—any incoming threat typically triggers an instinctive flinch, even without brain input.
Attacking the eyes was extremely difficult.
But not impossible. As long as he got close enough, struck fast enough, and caught the enemy off guard…
It could work.
And now—it had worked.
Exploiting Li Yao's desire to get close, Minato had quietly adjusted his chakra output for Body Flicker throughout their fight. At the critical moment, he unleashed a burst twice as fast as before—vaulting upward and delivering what should be a fatal strike.
Li Yao's brain hadn't processed what was happening. All he had was raw, physical instinct to rely on.
But instinct wasn't enough. It wasn't ninjutsu. It needed time.
And in that brief instant, Minato's kunai had already reached Li Yao's eyeball, ready to pierce into his brain and end him.
"Forgive me… Yao."
Minato sighed inwardly, apologizing to the friend whose body he was about to destroy.
Ting!
Just when Minato thought it was over—when the kunai had already touched Li Yao's cornea…
An unexpected sound rang out.
(END CHAPTER)
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