"Chi chi!"
The Chakra Tanto glowed brilliantly as it struck the Metallic Puppet. Lightning immediately spread through its body like a spiderweb, sapping much of its strength.
Where Sakumo had slashed, only a shallow mark remained.
At that moment, the Metallic Puppet launched a devastating punch, as if compressing the very air itself. But Sakumo flipped backward in midair, landing several meters away to evade the blow.
Just then, Minato's voice called out to him. Sakumo suddenly turned his gaze sideways and saw that Minato had already broken free from the encirclement set up by the Sand Ninja unit.
Inside the crowded battlefield, over a thousand ninja clashed violently. The Konoha ninjas fought with all their strength, holding back the enemy.
"Good!"
Seeing this, Sakumo called out in agreement. In his jet-black pupils, streaks of lightning lit up instantly.
Hearing his response, Minato did not act immediately but instead swept his eyes across the battlefield.
Upon hearing Sakumo's words, Chiyo frowned tightly and swiftly approached Minato's location.
Regardless of whatever plan Konoha had devised, this annoying little brat who had ruined her plans multiple times needed to be eliminated—by any means necessary.
However, two figures soon blocked her path. One was Tsunade, who stood with her delicate hands on her slim waist. She looked back at Minato and winked playfully.
"Kid, although I always lose when gambling, this time I definitely don't want to lose!" Tsunade said lightly with a smile.
Hearing this, Minato firmly nodded in reply.
Tsunade turned her head fully toward Chiyo, meeting her eyes with a slight smile. "Elder Chiyo, I haven't seen enough of your legendary Chikamatsu Collection yet—let me witness more of it!"
Chiyo's expression darkened. Indeed, Tsunade's previous actions had already damaged the Chikamatsu Collection.
Over the past month, Chiyo had spent most of her time resting and recovering, and less than half of the ten puppets had been repaired.
Though she could see that Tsunade and Orochimaru weren't at their peak either, she couldn't bear to risk further damage to her beloved collection of puppets.
Immediately afterward, Chiyo summoned ten black puppets to face off against Tsunade and Orochimaru.
"Suna ninja, kill that Konoha brat!"
Chiyo barked the command once again. Those Sand ninja not yet deeply engaged with Konoha resistance quickly dashed toward Minato.
Relentless killing intent surged toward him.
And the sight of being hunted by hundreds at once would make any ordinary person tremble in fear.
But as already mentioned, for Minato, this wasn't even worth mentioning.
"Konoha ninjas, protect Minato well!"
Right after Chiyo, Tsunade also shouted an order. Immediately, the Konoha ninjas employed various techniques, intercepting midway so effectively that none of the Suna ninja could come within several meters of Minato.
"Damn it!"
Even the usually calm Mikoto, upon seeing her friend targeted, involuntarily activated her Sharingan—a single Tomoe spinning rapidly in each eye.
He clutched a kunai and lunged at a Sunagakure ninja, each slash fierce and brimming with cold fury.
"How could you target a young boy? Shame on the Sand Village!"
Nawaki spat angrily. His hands formed hand seals rapidly, and behind him, the snow rose and twisted into a winding Earth Dragon.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The snowy dragon released several Earth Dragon Bullets through the air.
"No one is touching him until I defeat this guy!"
Yan Uchiha moved like a black shadow weaving through the battle, keeping close to Minato's side all the while.
At that moment, he might not have even realized it himself—he was protecting the rival he once hated most.
Just as the Third had said, rivals could also be best friends!
As the battlefield became increasingly chaotic, everyone's vision suddenly filled with intense lightning light. A terrifyingly powerful fluctuation surged across the entire battlefield.
Everyone quickly looked up to the sky, where they saw a brilliant blue sphere shining like a great sun of thunder.
Inside this "Thunder Sun" burned an extremely potent, nearly extreme level of Lightning Release chakra.
A deafening roar of thunder echoed in their ears, leaving everyone momentarily dazed.
[Hatake Secret Technique—Roaring Heavenly Lightning!]
Suddenly, amidst the daze, a sharp voice rang out.
The enormous glowing sphere completely engulfed Leifei's metallic puppet.
"Crackling!"
Sounds of thunder exploded continuously, spreading outward. From the center of the lightning burst, a ten-meter radius instantly vaporized from the sudden extreme heat, while the snow within ten meters was blasted away by the surging lightning energy.
"What incredible power..."
Even Minato, who once served as Hokage, couldn't help but praise after witnessing Sakumo's ultimate technique for the first time.
Sakumo Hatake's mastery over Lightning Release ninjutsu was enough to rival even the strongest warriors from the Land of Lightning.
However, unlike Tsuchigawa's previous assault, this time Sakumo's Roaring Heavenly Lightning faded quickly, with barely any lightning spilling out.
Through the gradually fading lightning, Leifei's steel puppet emerged, its entire body crackling with residual Lightning Release chakra that it couldn't immediately discharge. Lightning arcs danced like intricate patterns across its frame.
The gathered shinobi couldn't help but gasp. To them, that technique had seemed strong enough to obliterate anything in its path.
Yet this metallic puppet had endured it entirely.
The only ones not visibly shocked were Chiyo and Kouhi—they knew full well how durable the puppet truly was.
Still, the looks they cast toward Sakumo carried even deeper wariness than before.
Minato narrowed his eyes slightly, observing the puppet. At this point, Sakumo stood very close to it—prime position for an attack.
Yet the puppet made no move.
"Kikikī..."
Then, slowly, the puppet began to stir—but extremely sluggishly. Even lifting its arm proved difficult.
Seeing this, a slight smile curled across Minato's face.
Though the metallic puppet had taken Sakumo's ultimate strike head-on, it was clearly struggling, unable to fully contain the shockwave.
This moment was exactly what he had been waiting for—the perfect chance to strike!
[Instant Flash!]
Whoosh!
In a flash, Minato among the crowd accelerated to an extremely terrifying speed. Even the enemy country's Jonin could barely see his shadow.
For two straight months of training—mainly used for developing new jutsu—Minato's continuous use of Nine-Tails' chakra brought his body to the brink of collapse while greatly improving his physical strength.
With every use of Instant Flash, his speed had skyrocketed to terrifying new heights.
"That fast?!"
Sakumo, upon seeing Minato rapidly charging forth from the crowd, couldn't help but smile slightly.
This kid had been hiding his real speed all along, just waiting for this moment.
None among the crowd stood a chance of stopping him. In a flash, Minato became a streak of golden light, blazing straight toward the battlefield where Liufei and Sakumo clashed fiercely.
In a blur of motion, Minato yanked a Pill from his ninja pouch and, without hesitation, tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it whole.
He dropped his gaze briefly—then suddenly, a shockingly powerful surge of chakra exploded from his body!
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