The wind howled.
A dry, suffocating wind that dragged sand across the endless dunes of a sun-bleached desert. The sky above was bleached bone, white, no sun, no stars, just an endless void.
Minato stood barefoot on cracked earth, staring out across the barren wasteland.
Then he saw her.
Kushina. She stood alone at the center of the desert. The sight of her made his heart stop. Her red hair danced in a wind he couldn't feel, cascading like ribbons of fire down her back. Her violet eyes shimmered, overflowing with unshed tears. Her hand was stretched out toward him.
"Minato…"
Her voice carried across the lifeless plains, soft and distant. Just a whisper, yet it pierced straight into his chest.
"Kushina!" he called out, immediately surging forward. His legs moved with desperate purpose, sand slipping beneath his feet, but he didn't stop. "I'm coming to you!"
He reached out, hand trembling, fingers desperate to close the gap. But as he drew closer, the space between them stretched like some cruel illusion. The harder he tried to bridge it, the more the world itself denied him.
His hand hovered just an inch from hers. That was all. One inch.
But an invisible force, cold and immovable, stopped him.
A wall.
She pressed her palm flat against it. Minato mirrored her, a world away on the other side.
Tears spilled down her cheeks. Silent.
And then...
Her red hair began to pale.
First one strand, then another, until silvery-white threads ran through her like frost across glass. Her robes darkened, faded, and her features dimmed, like a dream eroding in daylight. Yet her eyes never left his.
And then ..
The roar. Low. Rumbling. Primordial.
Familiar. Minato froze. His spine locked as the roar echoed again, louder this time, shaking the very desert beneath his feet. He turned, slowly, eyes wide with dawning horror.
From the shifting sands emerged a shape… towering… colossal.
Nine tails. Nine monstrous, writhing shadows cutting through the dust like thunderclouds made flesh. A fox's silhouette, larger than any mountain, eyes like burning suns glared through the storm. Its maw opened, unleashing a howl so powerful it shattered the sky itself.
The Nine-Tailed Fox. Kyuubi
Minato staggered back, eyes wide. "No… It can't be..."
But before he could move, the ground split. The beast lunged.
Its shadow swallowed everything.
___
"SENSEI!!"
Minato shot upright with a gasp, throat dry, lungs burning.
His chest heaved as sweat poured down his face. His vision blurred, mind still caught between dream and reality.
"Sensei… please...wake up..wake up!!"
A choked sob reached him. His eyes snapped downward.
Genma.
The young boy was clutching his chest, both fists gripping his flak vest as if trying to physically pull him back to reality. Tears streamed down his cheeks, unchecked, his face twisted with panic.
Minato blinked, struggling to process. His hand, still trembling, rose and slowly cupped Genma's shoulder.
"I'm… I'm here," he murmured hoarsely. "It's alright, Genma. I'm here now."
"Tell me, what's going on?" Minato asked, his heart beginning to thump against his chest. As his focus returned, he finally sensed it. "Hollows?"
His irises contracted for a moment there. "Old man Fuji told me to come get you. He and the rest of the old men will try to hold them off till you come.." Genma tried to call himself while he spoke, choking on tears.
"It's alright. I'll handle everything. Stay here, and no matter what, don't come out. Okay?" Minato rose, patting the boy's back and ran his hand through his hair, assuring him with a smile, before his face fell. His eyes turning cold for a moment.
'These Reiatsu, clearly it's more than one, but they're so strong compared to the ones from before.. Tsk. The attacks seem too coordinated to be random. Is someone being targeted in the District? Me?..'
There was obviously no time to think, as Minato quickly rummaged through his things, picking up his recently laundered jacket and pushing it on. Picking up a small pocket sized bag and strapping it to his thigh, Minato also strapped his wakizashi onto his back and then finished off his battle attire with his Shinobi forehead protector. 'May the Sage protect me..'
He blurred into motion and was gone before Genma could blink, drowned in yellow Reiatsu.
District 50 had been turned on it's head, it's central area becoming a battlefield. The citizens, abled men and women with swords tried to battle against the invaders, but were torn apart faster than they could number.
There were three Hollows, three of them, rampaging and devouring souls without care. The one devouring the souls like a starved caged beast was a sextupedal green skinned creature with a hunched posture, walking on all six limbs when in its true form. With multiple red powerful tentacle-like arms sprouting from its back that can strike or ensnare opponents.
A large, stylized flame-patterned Hollow mask, white with red orange markings, covering its head, with huge jagged teeth like steel, and a Hollow hole in its torso.
The second was strange, humanoid in shape but gaunt and wiry, with long arms and hooked claws. Its mask resembled a jagged kabuki face, eyes glowing crimson, with a Hollow hole in its chest. A flowing red scarf-like membrane coiled around its neck and arms, responding to motion.
It's feet were digitigrade, and it's whole existence was built for one purpose. Speed. The coiling flowing scarf around it's neck turned it into a red blur whenever it zoomed across the land, at untraceable speeds, harvesting lives with it's long arms and hooked claws.
The third however was the most monstrous. A large, gorilla-like Hollow with metal-plated forearms and a mask resembling a jaw trap. Its back was lined with spiked ridges, and it moved on all fours when charging, like a beast, and had a glowing core embedded in its chest, right above it's Hollow hole..
The trio tore through whatever the villagers threw at them, and soon the battlefield became a mess of blood and gore along with destruction that soun several miles. Old man Fuji held onto a katana charging forward with all he could.
Spotting the humanoid Hollow occupy itself with tearing apart one of the villagers, he closed in the distance, his blade hefted high as he slashed down, wanting to decapitate the Hollow.
But a second was all it needed. No less than that. A hooked claw shattered the katana instantly and reached for his heart. He couldn't even move, frozen in place with terror and shock, as if death was staring him in the face, knocking on the door.. But barely an inch from his heart, he felt a shift, as if his whole world was being turned upside down.
He blinked, his senses unable to cope with the shift and in that split second, he found himself several meters away. By his side was the same scary sight that had plagued him before. The cold, calculating blue eyes, emotionless face and stance as he held onto two blades. A wakizashi in his right and a kunai in his left.
Minato had finally arrived on the battlefield. His shaggy blonde locks flew in the wind, as his eyes remained on the opponents, sizing them up before the battle could even begin. 'This one's fast. The ape looks more of a strength build. The other-' Minato had not even finished his thoughts when he moved, his instincts kicked in, his sharpened reflexes responding to danger almost automatically.
He bent backwards at an unnatural angle, allowing the sharp, glistening hooked metallic claw to whizz over him, cutting out a strand of his hair in the process. He recovered his bearing in an instant and moved.
The wakizashi in his hand was a blur, as it ripped towards the skull of the humanoid Hollow who had just tried to speed blitz him.
The hooked claw that had almost taken Minato's head off blocked the blade, but the kunai in his left tore towards its abdomen. It's eyes gleamed red as it abandoned defense and zoomed off reappearing several meters away.
The old man shook, the exchange that happened so fast, he had not even moved out of the way yet. He thanked the gods in his heart. Had it not been Minato he would've died without even knowing how like some of the villagers had.
"Go!" Minato's cold voice drew him out of his reverie, as he nodded hurriedly and rushed off, leaving him to face the Hollows by himself. Three against one. The three Hollows band together, their collosal Reiatsu seemed to formed a blanket of dark energy that threatened to swallow him, but he was unfazed. Like a beacon in the dark, he stood his ground, got into a stance, crossing the two blades before his chest, both in reversed grip.
A/N: Should've posted earlier, but here you go guys. 10 powerstones extra chapter. Kindly drop a review for me please. Helps the book reach more audience. Thanks 👍