With a Space-Time Ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God, coupled with Minato Namikaze's mind, it meant that an enemy facing him ten times would likely be caught off guard all ten times—let alone in their very first encounter.
However, in the current ninja world, it was hard to imagine any enemy surviving multiple encounters with Minato.
Those who didn't understand the Flying Thunder God basically couldn't survive for more than three seconds when fighting Minato. Relying on this jutsu, he could instantly kill fifty ninjas, and whether the enemies were Jonin or Chunin made no difference to him. This was something other ninjas found incredibly difficult to achieve.
If Hagoromo wanted to take out fifty people with ninjutsu, he would have to prepare an ultimate move like Kirin or throw a sealing scroll into a clustered group of enemies. It completely lacked Minato's effortless grace.
And with 'A's thick-skinned, bulldozing combat style, he wasn't the same type as Minato at all. In terms of defense and absolute destructive power, he was above Minato. But it still had to be said—a brain is a good thing to have. The man who would become the Raikage couldn't possibly be brainless, but in this clash, it was obvious his brain wasn't as sharp as the man who would become the Hokage.
Therefore, in just the first round of their exchange, 'A' was slammed straight into the ground.
With the Rasengan's impact force, the moment it struck 'A's back, the erupting chakra instantly sent him tumbling face-first into the dirt. Simultaneously, with a loud "bang," the ground gave way like a block of tofu, instantly blasting open a massive crater.
If 'A' had been killed by this strike, this crater would have been more than enough to bury him.
Fortunately, he possessed astonishing defense, which allowed him to avoid the fate of an instant kill... more accurately, he was likely completely unscathed.
Although 'A' looked a bit miserable, in reality, this misery was purely cosmetic.
Well, perhaps it affected his pride as well. Being instantly slammed face-down in front of his subordinates and younger brother was undoubtedly a humiliating experience. In countless battles big and small, 'A' had never suffered such a loss. Yeah, from childhood to adulthood, even his dad had never hit him like this.
"As expected, the Rasengan cannot break through your defense."
Although the Rasengan was aimed at the center of 'A's back, it couldn't breach 'A's Lightning Style Chakra Mode at all. As for the kunai aimed at his nape, its front blade had been caught by 'A's right hand, which he had reached around behind his head.
This was already 'A's most extreme of extreme reactions, allowing the kunai to barely stop right above his neck without stabbing down.
This was due to the judgment 'A' made in that split second: while the Rasengan was a powerful jutsu, it shouldn't be able to break his defense. As for the kunai, he wasn't sure.
And if you aren't sure whether an attack is fatal or not, you must treat it as fatal. Otherwise, it's very easy to end up dead.
The Flying Thunder God kunai carried a spatial coordinate jutsu formula. Who knew if that formula might convert into a spatial destruction attribute? What if this thing had the defense-breaking ability to sever space?
So regardless, he blocked this strike. 'A' wasn't fated to die here... In reality, he was overthinking it. If the Flying Thunder God kunai was that overpowered, what the hell did Minato develop the Rasengan for?
Because of their different methods of utilizing Lightning Style, 'A's Chakra Mode clearly lacked the corrosive and paralyzing properties of the Chidori. However, prolonged contact was still inadvisable.
Furthermore, constantly riding on the back of a guy like this made it very easy to get grabbed.
And in the next instant, Minato appeared beside Hagoromo.
At this moment, Hagoromo was leaning half-slumped against a tree, fresh blood continuously pouring from his body.
"Did it miss the heart and vital organs? Still, this wound is very troublesome."
With just a glance, Minato confirmed that Hagoromo's injuries were severe—a fatal wound that would be difficult to treat.
If he had been run through by a normal sword, it would have left at most a long, narrow slit of a wound. But Killer B's chakra blades vibrated. Thus, the wound on Hagoromo's chest was closer to a gaping hole.
"Cough..."
In this brief time, Hagoromo had recovered his consciousness from the recent impact. However, the momentary surge of intense pain in his chest nearly caused him to faint again.
He frowned deeply. After sensing his own condition, he felt utterly terrible.
And his first action almost made Minato think his brain had genuinely broken. As if he felt he wasn't dying fast enough, he reached out, grabbed the hilt of the sword, and prepared to pull it straight out of his body.
That's going to cause a crimson geyser, okay?
Minato grabbed Hagoromo's wrist. "Don't move recklessly. With an injury like this, you really will die."
Just as Killer B had been keeping an eye on Minato and 'A's fight, Minato had simultaneously been keeping an eye on Hagoromo's side. Because the Jinchuriki was his actual target for assassination. He had originally planned to use Flying Thunder God Phase Two during his fight with 'A' to launch a surprise, fatal strike against Killer B. But now, the plan had to change.
Moreover, Minato had seen exactly how Hagoromo's situation had unfolded. Based on his understanding of Hagoromo, the boy wasn't someone who would get careless, much less suddenly run out of chakra like that.
So, was he caught in a genjutsu?
But there was absolutely no intelligence indicating the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was a ninja proficient in genjutsu. And were any of the other enemies genjutsu types?
Impossible. Those four were firmly pinned down by Choza and Shibi, with no time to spare for this side. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed as if Hagoromo had just given up on his own treatment.
Hagoromo tried to struggle for a moment, but couldn't budge Minato's grip. Thus, he had to give up on pulling the sword out. Guess I'll just stay skewered for now. Took this hit for nothing.
"What happened, Hagoromo?" Minato asked directly.
"...Just now, I wanted to try activating a new jutsu formula, but it failed," Hagoromo said. However, that imperceptible momentary pause proved this was just an excuse he thought up on the spot.
Now it was Minato's turn to frown. How could anyone possibly try to activate a new jutsu under those conditions? The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was right in front of him! At the very least, he should have waited out this wave of attacks and changed combat modes during the next gap. Hagoromo wasn't the type to make such a rookie mistake.
This was far too abnormal.
On the other side, Killer B hadn't chosen to deliver a finishing blow to Hagoromo, but instead rapidly returned to 'A's side.
"Bro, you good?"
'A' had already climbed out of the crater by now. He truly had no injuries whatsoever. In contrast, Killer B was covered in numerous large and small wounds, looking like a bloody gourd.
"I'm fine. What happened just now?"
"I don't know. It felt like the White Yaksha gave up resisting for a split second. He clearly had the upper hand; I was almost forced to fully transform into the Tailed Beast."
"Regardless, the opponent is now heavily injured. Their only remaining enemy at this moment is Minato," 'A' said.
"Then we'll go all out. We'll deal a fatal blow to the White Yaksha first, then combine our strength to take down the Yellow Flash," Killer B said, and then he initiated a true Tailed Beast Transformation.
The Eight-Tails' chakra surged from his body, and immediately after, an ox-headed monster with eight... seven octopus tentacles appeared on the battlefield.
As for the eighth tentacle, it had long since been sliced off.
"Tailed Beast Transformation, huh?"
"Hagoromo, we are retreating temporarily."
Minato supported Hagoromo. With injuries like this, the mission could no longer continue. They had to temporarily abandon their target of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki this time.
After all, Minato couldn't just leave Hagoromo alone.
Their mission inherently carried a high degree of autonomy. Abandoning the attack on the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki wouldn't result in any punishment. Furthermore, even if the mission explicitly demanded Killer B's assassination, what would happen if Minato temporarily backed off?
Anyway, with his current status, it was impossible for him to suffer the same treatment as the White Fang.
Under such injuries, Hagoromo indeed couldn't move freely anymore. But it didn't matter. Didn't he have a mobile teleportation platform now? And one without range limits at that.
"Minato-senpai, I still have one last strike. If it catches them off guard, it could yield considerable results..."
His voice sounded hazy and sluggish. After all, there was still a sword sticking out of his chest, and he was still coughing up blood.
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