Kitagawa Minamoto never denied one thing.
Although he never thought highly of Tobirama Senju, he had to admit that Tobirama was the epitome of what it meant to be a "ninja."
Minamoto always believed that a ninja should be like that. Otherwise, he wouldn't have told Kakashi about the "essence of a ninja" during his graduation.
Even if he himself didn't particularly like Tobirama.
"Maybe people just don't like others who are too similar to themselves?"
Minamoto mused to himself. But his actions were anything but hesitant.
The White Fang short blade in his hand suddenly sparked with lightning as he charged toward the three opponents!
"Damn it…"
Although Orochimaru and the other two were momentarily distracted by the strange scene outside, they were still top-tier shinobi.
The moment Minamoto made his move, they immediately reacted!
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust!"
Rasa raised one hand, and as his Chakra surged, a large amount of gold dust formed a defensive barrier in front of him.
His defensive strategy was sound, but it was ultimately too slow!
Caught off guard, the amount of gold dust he summoned wasn't sufficient. Minamoto's White Fang blade sliced through effortlessly.
Slash—
A streak of purple lightning flashed across Rasa's shoulder, leaving a gash on his arm.
The purple lightning spread through the wound, paralyzing his entire body in an instant!
"A perfect opportunity!"
While Rasa suffered, Orochimaru and the Fourth Raikage seized the moment.
"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Thousand Dance!"
The Fourth Raikage roared, gathering immense Lightning Release Chakra into his remaining right hand. He formed a hand blade and slashed fiercely toward Minamoto.
"Impressive speed…"
Minamoto glanced at him, his voice ringing out in front of the Raikage. Yet in the next moment, it echoed from behind him!
"But have you forgotten what I'm best at?"
Buzz—
The short blade descended silently, but at that moment, the Fourth Raikage let out a thunderous roar!
"Did you really think I couldn't keep up with your speed?!"
With his shout, the Raikage spun his body at an unimaginable speed, narrowly dodging Minamoto's strike.
At the same time, his hand blade, crackling with overwhelming lightning, swung toward Minamoto in retaliation.
"Hmm?"
Minamoto raised an eyebrow but wasn't particularly surprised.
After all, the Fourth Raikage was someone who could dodge even the instantaneous Amaterasu.
Given his full concentration, it wasn't surprising that he could evade Minamoto's attack.
"Not bad. In that case…"
Minamoto remained indifferent. Compared to the Fourth Raikage, his attention was more focused on Orochimaru.
After all, this was just one of his clones. Even though he wasn't afraid of Orochimaru's Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation, he didn't want to create unnecessary trouble for himself.
Boom—
In the blink of an eye, Minamoto's figure disappeared.
The Raikage's hand blade struck the ground, causing massive cracks to spread across the area!
"Damn it…"
At the same time, Orochimaru noticed Minamoto closing in.
He cursed under his breath, quickly forming seals.
But it was too late. The blade had already sliced through his body!
Slash—
Orochimaru's body was instantly split in two. However, it transformed into a puddle of mud the next moment.
A substitution.
In critical moments, such techniques were incredibly effective!
"Quick escape, but do you really think you can get away?"
Minamoto didn't seem to care.
His left hand had been forming seals all along, and now a highly compressed water vortex shot forward like a spear, piercing into the ground!
Boom—
The water vortex erupted, causing the entire platform to tremble under the pressure.
Countless cracks spread outward, and the deluge of water overwhelmed Rasa's gold dust, swept Orochimaru away, and even submerged the Fourth Raikage!
"This brat…"
Elsewhere, Ōnoki stood with Gengetsu Hōzuki, observing the battle from a distance.
The Mist and Stone ninja who had accompanied them gathered behind them, refraining from engaging in the fight.
Ōnoki's expression was grim as he watched Minamoto on the platform.
Recalling how Minamoto had used Dust Release to pierce through Shukaku and ambush Orochimaru, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
He truly wanted to say, "I was just joking earlier."
Of course, that was just wishful thinking. Given the current situation, he felt that Kumogakure and Sunagakure had clearly chosen the wrong side.
"It seems Konohagakure has won this round," Gengetsu commented.
"Orochimaru's allies seem unable to act. It looks like they're stuck outside the village."
"Yeah, it's strange. Earlier, it felt like the battle was happening inside Konohagakure. How did it suddenly move outside? And with such massive commotion…"
Ōnoki nodded, tilting his head to glance outside.
But the training ground's tall walls blocked his view.
Feeling the earth tremble beneath him, he was curious about what was happening outside.
Still, he restrained his curiosity. The "Battle of the Kage" was something he had to see through to the end.
"Perhaps someone intervened," Gengetsu speculated, sighing.
"If the commotion had erupted inside Konohagakure, no amount of preparation or Minamoto's strength would have mattered."
"True enough."
Ōnoki sighed. No individual, no matter how strong, could protect everything.
Minamoto was indeed formidable. Even relying on the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could single-handedly suppress three Kage-level opponents.
But if the enemy outside had the chance to attack Konohagakure directly, Minamoto's strength would be meaningless.
The Fourth Raikage and Rasa had dared to act because of this.
The massive Chakra surge earlier had indicated the enemy's strength, but who would have thought things would end up like this?
"Tch, what's so interesting about this? I'd rather go outside and see the action," Deidara muttered from behind Ōnoki and Gengetsu.
He pouted as he watched Minamoto's overwhelming display, his eyes filled with envy.
"You're not curious about the outcome?"
Mei Terumi glanced at Deidara.
Although they weren't well-acquainted, she knew he was Ōnoki's disciple.
"I heard you're quite familiar with Minamoto."
"Of course, and that's why I don't think there's any suspense here, hmm."
Deidara glanced at Mei.
Although his head wasn't exactly full of wisdom, he understood her status.
Not that he cared. What mattered to him was what she'd said about Minamoto.
"Minamoto shares my artistic vision. Plus, he's even mastered my Dust Release. The combination of two arts—I can't imagine how he could lose!"
"Wait... he mastered your Dust Release? Aren't you upset about that?"
"Why would I be? It's not like I invented it."
"..."
"He learned my art, which means he acknowledges it, hmm!"
"..."
Mei stared at Deidara, momentarily questioning his sanity.
Even the Mist and Stone ninja around them looked at him with strange expressions, while Ōnoki's face darkened.
"Shut up!"
Ōnoki finally snapped, turning around to yell at Deidara.
Even he couldn't understand why Deidara would take pride in this.
"Looks like you've got a fine disciple, Tsuchikage," Gengetsu teased, smirking.
Ōnoki's face turned even darker.
But before he could retort, the scene on the platform shifted once more.
(End of Chapter)~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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