With a light flick of his hand, the Flying Thunder God kunai shot out sharply.
Sharp whoosh cut through the air, leaving behind stunning trajectories.
Theoretically, such a simple attack shouldn't pose much of a threat to Sora, yet he still looked seriously at Minato's suddenly raging assault, fierce as a storm.
'Flying Thunder God…'
'Space-Time Hurricane Flash Sequential Steps: Style Zero?'
Sora's gaze turned somewhat subtle.
As everyone knew, for a Ninja like Minato, who seemed to have a terminal case of being overly-dramatic, longer, more complex, and more ridiculous names often meant the technique might not be that simple!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The next instant, those seven or eight special kunai had already flown to Sora's front.
His expression calm, he moved with effortless grace, easily dodging this wave of ninja tool attacks.
'A feint to lure the enemy?'
'Or…'
'Flying Thunder God Second Step?'
Just as Sora hesitated slightly, a sudden change occurred on the battlefield.
Hum!
Light and shadow flickered.
Minato, who had been standing firm in the distance, abruptly vanished from his spot, then instantly swapped positions with the Flying Thunder God kunai in front of Sora.
'Now!!!'
Thump!
Minato kicked Sora away with a whip-like leg.
Then, Minato and his shadow clone turned into two streams of golden light, vanishing from the spot once again.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
Jump!
Lightning-fast attacks!
Using the special kunai still flying through the air as markers, Minato launched an assault on Sora with an indescribable super speed.
Bang, bang, bang!
The sound of colliding continued incessantly.
On the field, no figures could be seen.
Not only had Minato turned into a golden stream of light, but even Sora, constantly being sent flying by the terrifying force, was leaving behind trails of afterimages from the impacts.
Whoosh whoosh!
Whoosh whoosh!
Golden light filled the sky!
Gorgeous and terrifying.
This was Minato's ultimate technique, the Space-Time Hurricane Flash Sequential Steps: Style Zero, born from the incredibility of the Flying Thunder God Technique!
Extreme speed, extreme kinetic energy, extreme destructive power!
Fighting speed with speed!
Truly indestructible!
Now, the golden streams of light wrapped around Sora's body like satin ribbons.
Every time the streams intersected, a fearsome roar would erupt, and the beautiful satin would transform into iron chains meant to take lives.
Strangulation!
Cruel strangulation!
This was the Konoha's Yellow Flash's most extreme output, seemingly possessing the horrifying power to shatter all creation.
Bang!
Bang!
Under the explosive force, the earth shook, dust scattered, and grass blades flew.
Finally, the terrifying kinetic energy that could crack the earth even from the air gradually subsided, and the golden streams of light returned to their original form.
"If you are still alive…"
"I hope you can become the Mizukage!!!"
As those words, filled with a sense of appreciation, fell, Minato's original and his shadow clone had already appeared beside the sent-flying Sora, one in front and one behind.
Rasengan.
The blue sphere of light, Chakra rotating at high speed.
Boom!
Boom!
The next moment, two Rasengan slammed heavily into Sora's body. The immense impact force exploded, tearing the black robe on Sora's body, causing his skin to dent downwards, continuously cracking with wounds that sprayed plasma.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Heaven-shaking explosions sounded.
The horrifying attack power of a so-called Kage-level exploded completely and utterly on Sora's body.
That kind of power was enough to tear everything apart.
The churning shockwaves caused the already shattered earth to crack open once more. Crushed sand, stones, and dust filled the sky, as if all vitality had been utterly destroyed.
A moment later, the sky-blotting dust dispersed.
Two figures were also revealed.
"You've lost."
Minato placed a kunai on the battered and bruised Sora, his tone both appreciative and regretful: "Although you are an opponent, you're not bad…"
"It's just a pity you were born in the cruel Village of the Bloody Mist. Otherwise, we might have become lifelong rivals."
Sora looked up.
The black robe on his body was long since torn, revealing the cracked, bleeding flesh underneath. His appearance looked utterly disheveled.
"You…"
"Are you pitying me?"
Sora's tone remained as flat as ever, as if the one severely injured now wasn't him.
"Pity?"
"No."
Minato shook his head: "I just admire you. An excellent Ninja like you probably doesn't need anyone else's pity."
At this moment, Minato held all the cards.
Minato even felt some regret. If Kushina hadn't drained Sora's energy, he could have fought him more thoroughly and freely, right?
Mutual appreciation.
Perhaps because they were both speed-type 'Ninjas', Minato felt an inexplicable sense of admiration arise in his heart. He even unbelievably had the thought of wanting to recruit Sora under his command, to bring him to Konoha.
'This…'
'Why is this?'
Minato's gaze flickered. He always felt something was strange, 'Shouldn't I just kill this Yuki Sora directly according to the usual pace, to eliminate future troubles?'
'How…'
'Did I suddenly have so many hesitant, sentimental thoughts?'
'No!'
'That's not right!!!!'
Minato's heart suddenly jolted. He subconsciously tried to activate the Flying Thunder God Technique. However, right at that moment.
Thud!
Rip!
A cold light came from behind, accurately piercing through Minato's right waist, emerging from his kidney.
Excruciating pain filled his nerve!
Minato's pupils constricted.
Before he could even fully register the intense pain, he resolutely used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to a special kunai dozens of meters away.
"Cough…"
"Pfft!"
After narrowly dodging that sneak attack from behind, Minato looked up, his gaze incredulous as he stared at the original battlefield.
There, two Sora existed.
One was covered in wounds, his black robe in tatters, his body cracked with many deep, bone-revealing injuries. He looked on the verge of death, beyond saving.
The other was clad in a white haori, his posture elegant and composed. He calmly took the Zanpakuto from the hands of the dying 'Yuki Sora', then slowly turned to look in Minato's direction.
'Two…'
'Was it a shadow clone?'
Minato's expression was horrified and astonished: 'How could it be a shadow clone? How could there be a shadow clone in this world that can withstand such massive damage without dispelling!??'
Stupefaction.
Bewilderment.
Madness.
With Minato's sharp insight, how could he be fooled by a shadow clone?
It was precisely after confirming Sora's true body's location that he unreservedly used his ultimate move, aiming for a one-hit kill!
Now…
To be told that the person who forcibly withstood the entire Space-Time Hurricane Flash Sequential Steps: Style Zero was actually a shadow clone… how could Minato accept that!
An extreme attack, two point-blank Rasengan outputs, and it still didn't dispel one shadow clone!??
Minato stood dumbfounded in place, sweat rarely rolling down his face.
Terrifying!
More than just troublesome!
This was the most horrifying opponent he had encountered since the start of the Third Great Ninja War!!!!!
At this moment, the endless stream of mysterious methods from Sora, coupled with that shocking and terrifying oppressive force, even made Minato think of some long-departed supreme existences.
For example…
Uchiha Madara!
And the God of Ninja… Senju Hashirama!!!!
Sunlight fell, and a gentle breeze brushed his face.
However-
This gentle feeling couldn't bring Minato even the slightest bit of warmth.
On his face, a rare emotion called panic even appeared.
'If we keep fighting…'
'Probably!'
'I would really die!!!'
Whoosh!
The next moment, without any hesitation, Minato's figure vanished from the spot once again.
Only this time, he didn't attack Sora again, but went in the direction where Kushina and the other Konoha's Ninjas had retreated.
The field fell silent.
Only Sora remained, standing calmly.
The other Sora beside him emitted a hissing white mist before dissolving into a puff of vapor and disappearing from the spot.
That was a Portable Gigai!
That's right.
From the very beginning of the battle with the Konoha's Ninjas, the person who appeared was not Sora's true body. From start to finish, the one fighting was the Portable Gigai.
Both the rampaging Kushina and the reinforcing Minato faced an enemy that was merely a technological creation of the Bleach World.
Of course-
This Portable Gigai was also infused with over eighty percent of Sora's Reiatsu. But whether in terms of combat power or real-time sensation, it was far inferior to Sora's true body.
If one had to make a comparison, it was roughly equivalent to the Edo Tensei Uchiha Madara.
Although he possessed infinite Chakra, he ultimately lost the feeling of a physical body, the perception of the enemy.
In battle, being able to exert seventy percent of his full strength was considered fortunate.
…
'Kage-level Ninjas like Minato have incredibly firm personal will. Trying to instantly control them with Kido: Soul Manipulation is completely impossible.'
'It seems Kakashi is easier. His soul resistance is almost zero, and carving the curse was simply effortless.'
Sora shook his head helplessly.
At that moment just now, he used the Portable Gigai to perform the special Kido, Soul Manipulation, attempting to control Minato's soul like he did with Kakashi, but he encountered great resistance.
Minato could even detect the abnormality.
One can only say…
The Konoha's Yellow Flash truly lives up to his reputation!
Whether in combat quality or combat will, he is an impeccable top-tier existence in the Ninja World.
At this time,
Meigetsu, who had been hiding in the distance, also flickered over. She looked at the Flying Thunder God kunai scattered messily all over the ground, her eyes still filled with disbelief.
'Namikaze Minato…'
'The Konoha's Yellow Flash, was actually driven away by Sora!??'
'Also…'
'There was also the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki before! So a Jinchuriki, plus the Yellow Flash fighting in succession, was actually handled by Sora so effortlessly???'
'Am I dreaming??!!'
'Is this something a human can do!??'
'Forget humans, even Mizukage-sama probably couldn't achieve such an outrageous feat, right?!'
The Yellow Flash!
As a Kirigakure's Anbu Captain, Meigetsu naturally knew that this person was Konoha's rising star, his battle record and qualifications could be called invincible.
He was already implicitly rumored to be a top candidate for the Fourth Hokage!
To put it bluntly, the number of people in all of Konoha with status above Minato was very few. His position was even above his teacher, Jiraiya!
Especially that overpowered Flying Thunder God Technique, known throughout the entire Ninja World, known by all. He was a formidable character that all ninjas, even Kages, had to be wary of and even respect.
And now, such a big shot was actually toyed with by Sora like a worthless foe, and almost killed outright!??
This is too crazy!!!!
At this moment, Meigetsu truly felt that under Sora's blazing sun, a faint firefly like herself was utterly insignificant.
'Kirigakure…'
'Are we finally about to enter a new era?'
Looking at the suddenly bright, sun-like smile on the young man's face before her, Meigetsu's heartbeat quickened. She seemed to see a completely different future, a paradise utterly distinct from the cruel Village of the Bloody Mist.