"Reckless."
Minato and Nawaki almost laughed out loud in frustration. Yahiko, you've really got nerve.
Too scared to curse the teacher's wife (our Sister), so he vents on us instead?
Since talks have already fallen apart by now, Minato and Nawaki decided to take action directly.
Drawing the long swords strapped to their backs, both charged at Yahiko.
Two blurs of motion shot forward as Minato and Nawaki instantly appeared right in front of him.
"Fast—truly living up to his reputation."
One of the onlookers couldn't help but feel impressed. Just this technique alone surpassed what ordinary ninja could achieve.
Why should Yahiko even need to lift a finger?
If Minato and Nawaki were fast, Kakuzu and Konan weren't slow either.
Kakuzu twisted Earth Grudge Fear's black threads into blades to block Minato while Konan wielded her paper sword and exchanged blows with Nawaki.
The force from the impact sent all four flying backward.
Yahiko stood rooted in place, silently watching Tsunade.
His calm demeanor fully embodied the bearing of a Kage-level ninja from a single-village.
Didn't expect things to actually escalate into a real fight.
Those Akatsuki Village ninja are tough.
The two from Akatsuki seem to have Kekkei Genkai.
Nope—those are secret jutsu.
Let's go already, still chatting?
This Dream Fulfillment Pavilion won't last much longer.
Some people understood quickly enough. Regardless of anything else, once Tsunade got serious, the building definitely wouldn't survive.
As someone started fleeing outward, the crowd of onlookers began evacuating.
After two more exchanges, the entire Dream Fulfillment Pavilion was completely emptied except for the two opposing sides.
You've got some strength. I'll need to get serious now.
Minato glanced at Kakuzu and pulled out specially crafted kunai from his ninja tool bag.
He knew if he didn't show off one of his signature techniques, others would get suspicious.
Those spectators had left, but hadn't gone far.
Come at me.
Kakuzu hadn't wanted to fight—he was forced into it by Nagato. Now facing Minato, he could only give his all—knowing he couldn't win anyway meant there was no point pretending.
[Activating Shifting Body Technique—Flying Thunder God!]
So fast—it's impossible to even see the afterimage.
Among the onlookers were quite a few capable individuals who still managed to follow the battle despite being outside.
Ever since Kawa and Sakumo frequently used it during the Second Shinobi World War, the Flying Thunder God had become entirely exposed within the Ninja World.
Still, knowing about it and countering it were two completely different things.
Minato held back slightly, after all, this wasn't a fight to the death. He exchanged evenly matched strikes with Kakuzu.
Reluctant to destroy the building, Kakuzu avoided large-scale jutsu and found himself at a disadvantage.
Meanwhile, against Nawaki, Konan relied purely on taijutsu as Nawaki intentionally held back his full strength.
Thanks to the Light and Heavy Rock Jutsu, Nawaki refused to let go no matter how hard Konan struggled.
Without sufficient open space or preparation time, Konan could only engage in hand-to-hand combat unwillingly.
Nawaki's certainly soft on pretty girls.
To the onlookers, this clearly looked like holding back—but they could understand.
Konan indeed looked stunning, radiating that charm of a blossoming neighbor girl.
Let me see if you've gotten lazy this past year.
"Naoki," Nawaki whispered with a smile, exchanging silent words with Konan using lip movements.
"I didn't."
Konan moved her lips without making a sound, barely managing to defend herself from Nawaki's relentless attacks.
"Your two subordinates aren't half bad in terms of strength."
"But that's still not impressive enough for me."
Tsunade slowly stepped forward. Even though it was all an act, Minato still felt immense pressure.
"We'll find out who's stronger after the fight."
Minato knew full well that if he and Nawaki weren't holding back, Kakuzu and Konan wouldn't have lasted this long. But for now, he had to feign ignorance.
"The decor is pretty nice. It'd be a shame to destroy it."
"How about this? If you lose, I won't kill you."
"I'll accept this gambling hall as your ransom money."
"What do you think?"
Tsunade wasn't even fighting — instead, she was openly plotting to take over the Dream Fulfillment Pavilion.
"The Hokage really is greedy."
"She's trying to take a huge chunk straight from Akatsuki Village."
"Practically highway robbery."
"What can you do? They've got the strongest village behind them."
Tsunade's words spread around, and the onlookers felt pity for Akatsuki Village.
"You can talk all you want once you win."
Minato let out a cold snort. Avoiding property damage was definitely a good thing.
Still, the teacher's wife truly knew how to look after her disciples' interests.
"Then I'll take that as agreement."
"Minato, Nawaki, you go fight somewhere farther away."
"Don't destroy my property."
Tsunade gave them the signal. Immediately, Minato and Nawaki intensified their attacks, forcing Kakuzu and Konan outside.
"They're coming out! They're coming out!"
The crowd gasped in astonishment. Truly, Tsunade was bold enough.
She hadn't even gotten Akatsuki Shadow's approval but was already treating it as her own.
But how could they know that, for Tsunade, it practically already was?
Wouldn't Minato and the others willingly hand it over if she truly wanted it?
As soon as they exited Dream Fulfillment Pavilion's doors, Kakuzu and Konan purposely retreated into more secluded parts of the Land of Rain.
Finally free, Konan tried to spread her wings and fly away, putting distance between herself and Nawaki.
Nawaki, however, took flight right before everyone's eyes, continuing his relentless chase.
"This is a [jutsu] from your Iwagakure Village's Tsuchikage?"
An onlooker asked a nearby Iwa ninja.
"Yeah, stolen by Kawaki Hatake."
Clearly, the Iwa ninja was quite displeased about it.
This secret jutsu was one only the Tsuchikage himself could use in all of Iwagakure.
Now, it had been learned by someone from Konoha.
"In that case, Konoha really does have a habit of being bandits."
The man couldn't help but sigh wistfully. Why did all the good things always end up in Konoha?
He had also been eyeing the Dream Fulfillment Pavilion, but unfortunately lacked the strength to claim it.
Some spectators followed Minato and the others into the distance while others stayed behind, waiting for the real showdown.
"Lord Yahiko, I dare request permission to fight."
"If I fall, then you may step in."
Nagato immediately volunteered, knowing full well that pulling off a convincingly realistic victory would be difficult if Minato and Tsunade clashed directly.
That might require Tsunade to let loose her full power. Even if she won, keen observers would spot something off.
"Do you really have confidence? Let me go instead."
Yahiko with mock reluctance refused Nagato's offer.
"Arrogant brats who don't know sky from earth, do you think you can actually fight alongside me?"
Their positions weren't equal. Tsunade's expression darkened instantly.
In the eyes of outsiders, this was entirely expected.
"Just who is this Akatsuki member, daring to challenge the Hokage directly?"
"Looks like one of the elders from Akatsuki Village."
"He doesn't look like a top-tier expert."
Nagato wasn't widely known and didn't outwardly seem tall or imposing.
To the onlookers, he naturally couldn't be considered formidable.
"Could it be the Hokage is scared?"
Nagato stepped forward directly, using a very cheap provocation ploy.
"Hahaha~ Scared? Me?"
"I can deal with you first, then beat him up — either way, it doesn't matter to me."
Tsunade raised a single finger, first pointing at Nagato, then at Yahiko.
"In that case, Hokage-sama, we shall take our fight outside as well."
Nagato lightly tapped the ground with his foot. His entire body levitated backward toward the door as if flying.
[In the manga, Deva Path jumps, but the anime adaptation has him fly. This translation follows the anime version.]
[Universal Pull!]
While gliding backward through the air, Nagato extended his right hand toward Tsunade. A powerful suction force pulled Tsunade right after him as they flew outside.
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