"Minato, be careful. It seems the opponent has an immortal body," the half-body of the Nine-Tails residing within Minato reminded him.
Minato nodded. "I know. It's indeed a bit unusual."
"But their strength isn't all that impressive. Even if they're immortal, I can handle it."
While conversing with the Nine-Tails, Kakuzu stepped forward. "Let me warn you, I'm not as weak as that companion of mine from earlier."
"Minato Namikaze, prepare to fail."
Kakuzu immediately released his five hearts, a sign that he still had some respect for Minato's strength.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!" "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Blazing flames surged toward Minato, but with the Flying Thunder God Technique, he disappeared from his original position once again.
Where did he go? Kakuzu frowned. He had meticulously covered all the locations Minato had previously touched, yet Minato was nowhere to be seen.
"Ah! Ow, ow, ow! Kakuzu, he's here!" Hidan's loud complaints came from behind.
It turned out that Minato had left a Flying Thunder God mark on Hidan earlier. Using it, he teleported to Hidan's location.
Minato rummaged through Hidan's pockets, but to his disappointment, there were no kunai or any basic ninja tools.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!" Kakuzu unleashed a powerful lightning strike, not sparing Hidan in the process. Yet, it was futile—Minato had already teleported back to his original spot.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique truly is a terrifying jutsu," Orochimaru remarked from the sidelines.
"Indeed," Deidara nodded. "It's on the same bug-level as Kamui."
"Damn it! You brat, is running away all you can do?" Kakuzu shouted in frustration, directly entering his second state. His aura surged dramatically.
"I can't help it. I don't know any high-powered jutsu, so I have to rely on agility in battle," Minato replied, his tone still warm and sunny despite the ongoing fight.
"But dragging this out isn't ideal either. Let me try taking the initiative this time."
Minato extended his index and middle fingers on both hands, crossing them into a T-shape.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With a puff of smoke, five shadow clones appeared. Thanks to the Nine-Tails Chakra supplementing him, Minato didn't have to worry about chakra depletion from creating so many clones.
Of course, even without the Nine-Tails, his reincarnated state wouldn't have faced such limitations.
Step! Step! Step!
Six Minato Namikazes charged toward Kakuzu simultaneously. The fire-attribute heart stepped forward first.
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
Whoosh!
All six Minatos teleported to different locations using the Flying Thunder God Technique, then launched attacks from various directions.
"Wind Release: Consecutive Vacuum Bullets!" A series of air projectiles shot toward the Minatos. Meanwhile, the other hearts weren't idle either.
"Lightning Release: Purple Electricity!" "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!" "Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
Kakuzu transformed into a veritable ninjutsu turret, unleashing a barrage of powerful techniques. Against most opponents, this would indeed be troublesome to deal with.
But his opponent now was Minato Namikaze.
"Rasengan!" A high-speed spinning sphere struck toward Kakuzu. Despite the intense ninjutsu bombardment, four of Minato's clones were destroyed, but two managed to close in on Kakuzu's main body.
"Hardening Technique!"
Kakuzu's body turned black and hardened instantly.
However, the Hardening Technique couldn't withstand the power of two Rasengans, especially since these Rasengans were infused with Nine-Tails Chakra, making them far more potent than before.
Boom!
Kakuzu was sent flying but suffered no serious injuries, as his life was sustained by his five hearts.
"Another immortal body?" Minato frowned slightly.
"Minato, his immortality is due to a technique called Earth Grudge Fear. You need to destroy the five heart monsters he summons to truly kill him. Attacking his main body won't work," the Nine-Tails explained.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Well, it's rare for me to get out. I don't want to go back to the afterlife so soon," the Nine-Tails replied.
"Kurama, you're too mischievous."
"Who's mischievous, Minato Namikaze?!" Kurama roared in frustration.
"Remember, you're dead! I'm not! Why should I accompany you to the afterlife and be imprisoned there?!"
Minato chuckled helplessly. "Alright, alright." "Kurama, it's all my fault."
"Hmph! Since you admit your mistake, I'll forgive you this time," the Nine-Tails said, turning its head away in a haughty manner.
Kakuzu stood up with a serious expression. "Kid, I admit you have some skill."
"Seeing you reminds me of the first Konoha ninja I ever fought—" "The First Hokage!"
"Huh? You fought the First Hokage? How old are you then?" Minato scratched his head curiously.
"This old man is..."
"Wait," Minato interrupted. "Kurama just told me you're lying. With your current strength, you couldn't even defeat one of the First Hokage's Wood Clones."
Kakuzu: "..."
Let this cursed world burn!
"You brat! How dare you look down on me! Let me show you this move!"
"Even though you're in a reincarnated state, you'd better be careful!"
Kakuzu's hearts began gathering Sage Chakra. About half a minute later, the wind-attribute heart opened its mouth wide.
"Sage Art: Continuous Vacuum Waves!"
Considering how troublesome Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique was, Kakuzu unleashed a wide-range attack, filling the battlefield with countless razor-sharp air blades imbued with Sage Chakra, leaving no room for Minato to dodge.
Deidara and Orochimaru quickly ascended into the air to avoid Kakuzu's Sage Art.
"Hey! Take me with you!" Hidan shouted from below.
"Idiot, you have the enemy's mark on you. If we take you up, he can follow," Deidara replied.
"You're immortal anyway. Just stay down there," Deidara added.
Hidan collapsed to the ground in despair. "I may not die, but I don't want to be sliced into pieces!"
"Don't worry. Kakuzu will stitch you back together afterward."
Faced with such a powerful, wide-area attack, and with the battlefield being a featureless plain, what could Minato do?
Looking at the countless air blades, Minato murmured, "A Sage Art, huh? Impressive."
Kakuzu smirked smugly. "No need for your praise. This time, you won't escape."
"True."
"This time, the Flying Thunder God Technique won't help me avoid your attack. It seems I'll have to use Sage Mode myself."
"You know Sage Mode?" A sense of foreboding crept into Kakuzu's heart.
Minato humbly replied, "Yes, though I'm not very skilled at it."
"Haha! Sage Mode requires a lot of time to prepare. There's no way you could—"
Before Kakuzu could finish, orange markings appeared around Minato's eyes, indicating he had already entered Sage Mode.
Kakuzu's eyes widened in disbelief. "Minato Namikaze, you thief! If you're going to kill me, just do it! Why humiliate me like this?!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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