Whoosh!
The moment the Sage Art Yin-Yang Rasengan found its target, reality itself seemed to convulse in protest. The sphere of balanced energies detonated with a force that transcended simple physical impact, black and white light intertwining as they formed a miniature hurricane of pure cosmic power. The explosion rippled through dimensions that existed beyond normal perception, unmaking and remaking the space around the impact point with each pulse of energy.
Madara's Rinnegan clone was hurled backward by forces it had no framework for understanding, its normally invulnerable form now bearing a visible scratch across the chest—proof that something fundamental had changed in the nature of their conflict.
"It worked!"
The exclamation burst from Minato's lips with the relief of someone whose desperate gamble had paid off beyond all expectations. He didn't concern himself with the relatively minor nature of the damage his technique had inflicted on the shadow. What mattered was that damage had occurred at all.
After combining the power of Yin and Yang Release with senjutsu enhancement into his signature Rasengan, he had finally achieved something that should have been impossible—successfully striking Madara's Rinnegan clone, that dimensional projection which existed in the limbo space between worlds.
"The Limbo clone was actually hit!?"
The shock in Madara's voice was audible even through the protective sphere of Truth-Seeking Orbs that surrounded his true form. His enhanced senses, linked directly to his dimensional projection, had experienced the impact as if it had struck his own body. The feedback was both painful and profoundly disturbing.
According to every calculation his cosmic awareness could perform, according to every principle of power that had governed reality since the dawn of ninjutsu, Namikaze Minato should not have been capable of such a feat. The gap between mortal techniques and cosmic abilities was supposed to be absolute, unbridgeable by any amount of skill or determination.
BOOM!
Just as Madara struggled to process this impossible development, two more beams of compressed air—products of Guy's relentless Eight Gates assault—struck the defensive barrier formed by his Truth-Seeking Orbs. The impacts, which would normally have been absorbed without effort, now found purchase against defenses that had been compromised by their wielder's momentary distraction.
Cracks appeared in the previously impenetrable barrier, hairline fractures that spread across the dark surface like spider webs on black glass. For the first time since achieving his transformation into a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, Madara's defenses showed signs of vulnerability.
"Fifth speed!"
Guy's voice carried across the battlefield with the determination of someone who had already accepted death and now sought only to make that sacrifice meaningful. He had identified the area where the cracks were most concentrated, where his enhanced strength might finally break through the cosmic barrier that had seemed impossible to penetrate.
His approach was devastating in its directness—pure speed and power focused into his right arm as he prepared to launch what could be his final continuous attack. Every muscle in his enhanced form was dedicated to this singular purpose, every scrap of life force burning in service of breaking through Madara's defenses.
"Guy, stop!"
Minato's shout rang out with desperate urgency as he realized what was about to unfold. With this attack, Guy might indeed succeed in shattering Madara's Truth-Seeking Orb defense—but every technique executed under the Death Gate's influence came at the cost of the user's own life energy.
Each blow Guy struck was literally trading years of his existence for moments of devastating power. Now that Minato possessed alternative methods for dealing with Madara's defenses, he couldn't bear to watch his friend continue down this suicidal path.
Whoosh!
Even as he called out his warning, Minato hurled one of his specially designed kunai toward Guy's position. The projectile traced a perfect arc through the chaotic battlefield, its trajectory calculated to provide a spatial anchor for Flying Thunder God activation at the precise moment when intervention would be most effective.
Hearing Minato's voice, Guy's enhanced form came to an abrupt halt. The sudden cessation of movement created a moment of vulnerability that his tactical mind immediately recognized—but his loyalty to the Fourth Hokage overrode his combat instincts.
Even Madara, despite his cosmic awareness and enhanced reflexes, felt a genuine flicker of danger from the attack that Guy had been preparing to unleash. The power building in the taijutsu specialist's enhanced form had reached levels that could threaten even divine defenses.
But Guy's momentary pause provided the opening that Madara's tactical brilliance immediately exploited. With reaction speed that transcended normal physical limitations, the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki counterattacked with lethal precision.
Part of his cracked Truth-Seeking Orb barrier began to flow like liquid mercury, its shape transforming with supernatural grace as it condensed into several needle-like projectiles. The newly formed weapons shot toward Guy with the speed of light made manifest, each one capable of piercing through any conventional defense.
"This is bad!"
Guy's enhanced awareness allowed him to perceive the incoming attack, but his close proximity to Madara left him with limited options for evasive action. The distance between them was measured in feet rather than yards, and even his Eight Gates-enhanced speed wasn't sufficient to completely avoid techniques that moved at cosmic velocity.
At precisely this critical moment, the special kunai that Minato had thrown earlier materialized at the intersection point between Guy's position and the Truth-Seeking Orb needles racing toward him.
Swish!
Minato appeared in a flash of golden light, his right hand already extended as cosmic energies gathered around his palm. The Sage Art Yin-Yang Rasengan formed with practiced efficiency, black and white energies swirling around each other in perfect harmony as they prepared to meet divine force with divine force.
Bang!
The collision between Minato's enhanced technique and Madara's needle-like projectiles created an explosion that painted the sky in impossible colors. The meeting of Yin-Yang Release and Truth-Seeking Orb energy generated effects that challenged the fundamental laws of physics, reality bending and warping around the impact point as opposing cosmic forces struggled for dominance.
Taking advantage of the chaos created by intercepting Madara's attack, Minato's left hand shot out to grasp Guy's wrist. In the same instant that the explosion reached its peak intensity, both figures vanished from the battlefield, carried away by the Flying Thunder God technique to safety.
"That power..."
Even as he dealt with the aftermath of the intercepted attack, even as his enhanced senses tracked Minato's spatial displacement, Madara's cosmic awareness had captured something that sent chills through his transformed consciousness.
Through the gaps in his Truth-Seeking Orb defense, he had observed the technique in Minato's hand with perfect clarity. His divine sight, enhanced beyond normal limitations by his status as a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, had identified the two distinct energies that orbited around the Rasengan's core.
"How can he possibly possess such power?"
The question burst from Madara's lips with all the shock of someone whose fundamental understanding of reality had just been overturned. What he had witnessed should have been impossible—a mortal wielding energies that belonged exclusively to the realm of divine beings.
Minato materialized within the golden chakra construct of the Nine-Tails, bringing Guy to safety beside Naruto's position. The massive fox-like avatar provided both protection and a mobile platform from which to coordinate their next moves.
At this moment, Naruto and Sasuke remained some distance away from Madara's position, their combined techniques having been interrupted by the sudden shift in battlefield dynamics.
"Dad? Guy-sensei?" Naruto's enhanced perception immediately detected the familiar chakra signatures of the two new arrivals, though something about Guy's energy pattern seemed fundamentally different from what he remembered.
"Sasuke, Naruto, halt your advance!"
Minato's command rang out with absolute authority, his voice carrying the kind of urgency that demanded immediate compliance. Significantly, he addressed Sasuke first—a detail that both young warriors noticed despite the chaos surrounding them.
Both Naruto and Sasuke were momentarily stunned by the unexpected order, but the absolute trust they placed in the Fourth Hokage's tactical judgment overrode any confusion they might have felt.
Bang!
Without hesitation, they brought the massive forms of the Nine-Tails avatar and Perfect Susanoo to a complete stop. The chakra constructs, each one powerful enough to reshape landscapes, responded instantly to their controllers' will.
Although both techniques represented tremendous concentrations of power, their massive size also made them excellent targets for an opponent who possessed reality-warping abilities. Against Truth-Seeking Orbs that could render conventional ninjutsu completely ineffective, simply possessing enormous chakra reserves was insufficient for victory.
"What's your plan?"
Sasuke's voice carried from within his Susanoo construct, his tactical mind already working to understand why Minato had suddenly called for a halt to their coordinated assault. The Uchiha's experience in countless battles had taught him to trust the Fourth Hokage's strategic insights even when the reasoning wasn't immediately apparent.
"Guy, immediately release the Eight Gates formation!"
Minato's command was delivered with the kind of clinical urgency normally reserved for life-or-death medical situations. To anyone familiar with the forbidden technique's mechanics, the order seemed to make no sense—releasing the Death Gate would simply accelerate the user's demise rather than preventing it.
Guy stared at Minato with a mixture of confusion and resignation. Even if he followed the instruction, even if he somehow managed to close the eighth gate, the damage to his chakra pathways and vital organs was already irreversible. The Death Gate's effects were absolute—once opened, it led inevitably to the user's destruction.
"I can help you resolve the aftereffects of the Eight Gates technique."
The statement that followed Minato's command was delivered with such calm certainty that it challenged every assumption Guy had made about the nature of his sacrifice. This wasn't desperate optimism or false hope—this was the clinical assessment of someone who possessed knowledge that transcended normal medical understanding.
Even with this assurance, Guy found it difficult to believe what he was hearing. The Eight Inner Gates Formation was considered an absolute technique precisely because its final stage was irreversible. No medical ninjutsu, no matter how advanced, had ever proven capable of undoing the Death Gate's effects.
Rather than waste time on further explanations, Minato simply extended his right hand and pressed it against Guy's chest, directly over his heart. The contact was brief but profound, Yang Release energy flowing from the Fourth Hokage's enhanced form into Guy's damaged chakra system.
The effect was immediate and visible. The blood-red steam that had been pouring from Guy's body began to fade noticeably, the violent chakra fluctuations that marked the Death Gate's activation gradually settling into more stable patterns.
"This sensation..."
Even without Tsunade's advanced medical expertise, Guy could clearly feel his burning life force being restored and stabilized. The sensation was indescribable—like cool water being poured over flames that had been consuming him from within, like finding shelter from a storm that had threatened to tear his very soul apart.
Only then did he truly believe Minato's words. With conscious effort guided by growing hope, Guy allowed the blood-colored chakra vapor to evaporate directly into the surrounding air rather than continuing to burn within his body.
The crimson steam produced by the Death Gate's life-burning process was not something that could normally be reabsorbed—it represented life energy that had been permanently converted into raw power. But Yang Release operated according to different principles, capable of regenerating what had been lost and restoring what had been damaged.
After releasing the Eight Gates formation, Guy immediately felt an unprecedented weakness wash over his entire body. But as Yang energy continued to flow from Minato's hand, his vital signs stabilized rather than continuing their downward spiral toward death.
Although Guy's appearance had aged dramatically—easily a dozen years in the span of minutes—his life was no longer in immediate danger. The transformation that should have been fatal had been rendered survivable through the application of cosmic-level healing.
He stared at Minato with an expression of wonder and disbelief. The Fourth Hokage had actually succeeded in changing the fate decreed by the Eight Inner Gates Formation—something that should have been as impossible as altering the flow of time itself.
"What is happening?"
Madara's voice carried across the battlefield as his enhanced perception took in the scene unfolding within the Nine-Tails' chakra construct. When he observed Guy's chakra signature gradually stabilizing rather than spiraling toward death, the expression on his transformed features shifted into something approaching horror.
"Yang Release..."
The whispered identification carried with it implications that challenged everything Madara thought he understood about the current balance of power. Although his status as a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki granted him access to techniques that incorporated the five basic chakra natures plus Yin and Yang properties in the creation of Truth-Seeking Orbs, there was a fundamental difference between using these energies as components and wielding them as pure expressions of cosmic power.
True Yang Release—the power to create life itself—was the technique that the Sage of Six Paths had employed to breathe consciousness into the Tailed Beasts. It represented mastery over the fundamental forces that governed existence itself.
Only someone who possessed power equivalent to what the Sage of Six Paths had wielded in his prime could hope to strike a Limbo clone successfully. Yet this was an area that even Madara, despite his transformation into a divine being, had not yet mastered completely.
"How could anyone else achieve such mastery before me?"
The question contained both outrage and genuine bewilderment. Madara's enhanced awareness could detect no logical explanation for Minato's sudden acquisition of cosmic-level abilities.
"What exactly transpired during our previous exchange?"
Madara's eyes darkened with suspicion and growing unease. It was obvious that in their most recent confrontation, Namikaze Minato had been forced into a desperate situation where conventional techniques proved utterly inadequate.
Yet somehow, in the span of mere minutes, he had acquired access to Yin and Yang Release energies that should have required decades of spiritual development to achieve. The transformation defied every principle that governed the acquisition of divine power.
Bang!
Minato left two shadow clones within the Nine-Tails' chakra construct before his original form vanished once again. One of the duplicates immediately flew toward Sasuke's position, understanding that time was critical and that explanations would need to be delivered efficiently.