"Sage Art: Vacuum Bullets!" Minato Namikaze unleashed a Sage-enhanced Wind Release technique. Although he was known for his Rasengan and Flying Thunder God Technique, as an accomplished Wind Release user, it was impossible for him not to know other Wind-style ninjutsu.
The ferocious Vacuum Bullets collided with Kakuzu's Vacuum Wave and not only neutralized it but also surpassed its power, nearly striking Kakuzu himself.
Though reluctant to admit it, the old veteran knew he had lost this round.
"Let me handle this," Deidara stepped forward.
"Minato Namikaze, why don't you show your true strength already?" Deidara said. A strange sense of déjà vu washed over him. Would he end up like Kakuzu, humiliated in battle?
"Although you're in a reincarnated state and unafraid of death, if I can't achieve my goal here, I'll have no choice but to go after Naruto."
"So, if you want to stop me, you'd better kill me before the Impure World Reincarnation is undone," Deidara said, his tone laced with provocation.
As expected, Minato's expression grew serious upon hearing Deidara's words.
"As Naruto's father, I cannot allow him to be harmed," Minato replied resolutely.
"Then you'd better be careful," he added before vanishing, reappearing at the nearest Flying Thunder God mark behind Deidara.
"Rasengan!" The spiraling Wind Release sphere struck Deidara, twisting his body into a lump of clay. However, it didn't matter—this was merely a clone.
Deidara's real body had already taken to the skies. Against an opponent like Minato, he wouldn't take unnecessary risks.
"C2 Special Type: Myriad Snake Net Formation!" "C2 Special Type: Combat Swarm!" "C2 Standard Type: Rock Worms!"
From the ground, sky, and underground, clay creatures appeared in massive numbers, aiming to surround Minato from all directions.
"Orochimaru, Kakuzu, Hidan, you three should move farther away, or you might get caught in my art," Deidara warned.
"How interesting," Orochimaru said, licking his lips as he retreated with Kakuzu and Hidan.
Of course, Hidan was dragged along by Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear threads.
"Are all these creatures created by the enemy? Their numbers are overwhelming," Minato observed, preparing himself for battle.
The Nine-Tails, ever the instigator, chimed in from within him, "What are you afraid of? Afraid of dying? You're already dead, and now you're in a reincarnated body."
"If you're unsure about the enemy's abilities, just charge in and test them out."
"True," Minato scratched his head before launching a Rasengan at a cluster of clay snakes.
"Take this!"
Boom!
Half of Minato's body was blown apart. It wasn't that he couldn't evade using the Flying Thunder God Technique, but as the Nine-Tails had pointed out, there was no need to dodge. By engaging the enemy up close, he could better understand their abilities and detect any hidden secondary effects.
"So, your ability is explosions?" Minato looked up at Deidara.
Deidara had no interest in prolonging the conversation. While Minato was undeniably handsome, Deidara only liked women.
"Minato Namikaze, I'll give you one hour. If you can't defeat me within that time, I'll go after Naruto," Deidara declared.
"Then I have no choice," Minato replied, realizing Deidara wasn't bluffing. He ceased his probing attacks and got serious.
"Sage Art: Consecutive Giant Vacuum Bullets!"
Dozens of massive air projectiles infused with Sage Chakra shot toward Deidara in the sky, tearing apart the Combat Swarm, which had a high resistance to Wind Release, with ease.
Such power!
It was even more potent than the Sage Arts Jiraiya had used in the past!
"C2 Standard Type: Great Dragon!"
"Take this!"
A giant clay dragon appeared, detonating itself to create a powerful shockwave that dispersed Minato's Sage-enhanced air projectiles.
Simultaneously, a "C2 Enhanced Type: Great Dragon" emerged, positioning itself in front of Deidara to shield him from the heat and shockwaves of the explosions.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!" Seeing that the enemy had the advantage in the air, Minato didn't directly target Deidara. Instead, he aimed the air blades at the ground, slicing the terrain into evenly sized fragments.
"Sage Art: Great Breakthrough!" He then unleashed a powerful gust of wind, lifting the chunks of earth into the air. The force of the Sage-enhanced wind was so great that the fragments quickly reached Deidara's altitude, surrounding him.
I see!
Deidara realized Minato's strategy. Without Flying Thunder God kunai to provide flexible teleportation points, Minato had improvised by marking the fragments of earth with Flying Thunder God seals and sending them into the sky. This allowed him to maintain mobility and launch surprise attacks.
"Secret Technique: Dragon's Nest!"
"Take this!"
A swarm of clay dragons, along with remnants of the Combat Swarm, flew toward the airborne fragments. Although Deidara didn't know which ones bore Flying Thunder God seals, destroying all of them would eliminate the threat.
Whoosh!
However, the Flying Thunder God Technique was simply too fast. Before the clay creatures could act, Minato had already teleported to one of the marked fragments.
"Sage Art: Giant Vacuum Bullet!" Just as Deidara could use explosive shockwaves to counter Minato's Wind Release, Minato could similarly use Wind Release to neutralize Deidara's explosions.
In rapid succession, Minato teleported to three different locations, seamlessly unleashing three Wind-style attacks that neutralized most of Deidara's widespread explosions.
Realizing the altitude was no longer safe, Deidara controlled his dragon to ascend even higher.
Whoosh! Another Minato appeared on a marked fragment closer to Deidara. Whether the previous one was a shadow clone or this one was, it didn't matter—they were both equally threatening.
"Sage Art: Pressure Harm!" Minato unleashed a wide-range Wind Release technique. The high-density wind spheres exploded, creating violent gales. Enhanced by Sage Chakra, the attack exhibited disaster-level destructive power.
Deidara abandoned his dragon, slipping through its midsection and free-falling to the ground below.
The proximity of the attack left him no time to counter Minato's Wind Release with explosions.
Whoosh!
Minato reappeared, this time at a slightly farther distance. Deidara's rapid descent had momentarily obscured his exact location, forcing Minato to estimate and teleport accordingly.
Is he there?
Whoosh!
The Flying Thunder God Technique activated again, bringing Minato within ten meters of Deidara. However, what awaited him was a cluster of clay snakes.
"Clay Serpent Hands!"
Boom!
The brief moment Minato spent scouting gave Deidara enough time to react. He wasted no time in targeting the surrounding fragments of earth, systematically destroying them.
With the immediate area cleared, Deidara spread his arms and released ten clay birds and several clay clones. His real body and the clones scattered in different directions, making it difficult to distinguish between them.
"Minato Namikaze, can you find my real body?" Deidara taunted.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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