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BOOOOM!!
The world split open again.
A concussive shockwave blasted outward, toppling half-crumbled ruins and sending shattered masonry skyward. The flames of the earlier battlefield were extinguished instantly, as though swept away by the breath of a god.
Minato's clone gritted its teeth and skidded back, the soles of its sandals gouging trenches into cracked stone.
Its form flickered, distorted. Already fading.
The Gorilla Hollow loomed like a mountain of black steel and living fury. The massive creature slammed its plated fists into the ground, cracking it in a wide radius. Glowing orange lines pulsed across its chest and shoulders, indicating its next roar was imminent.
The clone growled to itself.
"Its skin... nothing's piercing it. Nothing's even scratching it."
It charged forward nonetheless. Hand seals flew into motion.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet Barrage!"
Dozens of high-speed fireballs burst from its mouth and danced across the gorilla's hide. They burst into flame on impact, but the Hollow didn't even flinch. Its armor-like hide absorbed the full brunt without so much as a burn mark.
In response, the beast roared again....
BOOOM!!!
The shockwave wasn't just force, it was chaos. It shredded Reiatsu, unraveling the clone's spiritual integrity like a thread pulled from the center of a tapestry.
Cracks formed across its shoulders. The edge of its hair flickered like smoke in the wind.
'One more hit like that and I'm done.'
But it didn't stop. A kunai embedded in the beast's chest, followed by a yellow flash.
"Shadow Shuriken Technique!"
Twin shuriken curved inward, crossing in a deadly X, exploding in tagged bursts of flame and reiatsu that engulfed the Hollow's face.
It stumbled back a half-step.
Not because it was damaged, but from the sheer, relentless assault.
The clone charged again, this time weaving through debris, vanishing and reappearing in blinks of speed, striking joints and underarms. But each time its kunai struck, sparks flew, and then a moment later, the Hollow responded with another thundering roar,
BOOOOOOM!!!
This one was too close. The clone was thrown like a ragdoll, slammed into a half-standing pillar which collapsed onto it.
Smoke.
Dust.
And then...
FWOOSH!
The flames flickered as wind swirled unnaturally. Golden light bled through the chaos. From above, he descended.
The real Minato, now in Sage Mode, landed between the crumbling pillar and the advancing Hollow.
His blue eyes glowed, cross shaped pupils scanning the battlefield.
He glanced at the almost fading clone and spoke softly, "You've done well."
The clone nodded, struggling to stabilize itself. "Its skin's like steel… nothing we have can pierce it."
Minato's eyes narrowed as he scanned the Hollow again. His perception, now enhanced by Reishi-infused Sage Mode, highlighted subtle shifts in the Hollow's joints, the tiny contractions in its muscles as it moved.
"There it is… small gaps between the armor at the elbows, behind the knees, and under the armpits. Those joints can't be covered completely. That's the only way to remain mobile."
He raised two fingers, forming a seal.
"I'll draw its focus. Hit it at the back of the knee the moment I give the signal."
The clone saluted, and moved silently into position. Minato focused and closed his eyes. For the plan to succeed, he needed cutting power. Sharper than what his wakizashi could achieve at the moment.
It was then that he remembered, Kakashi's Raikiri, the lightning blade meant to penetrate anything.
He adopted it, remembering the pathways Kakashi had constructed to create the Jutsu. Reishi filled Sage energy surged through him as lightning condensed into his hand, spiraling with blue-white arcs of electricity.
CRACK!
The Hollow roared, sensing the buildup. It beat its fists into the ground and let out another...
BOOOOOM!!
Minato burst forward, through the shockwave.
It bent around him, the energy of nature flowing in harmony with the spiritual storm. The Sage Mode filtered the chaos, shielding his core and letting him move like lightning.
SLASH!
He appeared under the Hollow's arm and drove the Raikiri into the soft gap of its underarm.
Sparks erupted.
The Hollow shrieked, not in rage, but pain. Its arm dropped. It staggered.
Now!
The clone appeared behind it in a golden flicker and smashed its blade into the back of the Hollow's left knee, driving it down to one side.
Minato landed in front of it. Their eyes met.
Golden against burning red.
He and the clone jumped back. As Minato extended his arm to create the Rasengan, his clone supported his palm with his, filling him with Reiatsu that expanded the massive orb of spiralling wind, nature and Reiatsu. They moved in unison.
"Odama Rasengan!!"
They slammed forward, driving the spinning orb of destruction into the Hollow's golden cored chest. The Rasengan drilled into the monster with a shrieking howl of compressed force, ripping through armor and carving into the glowing internal core beneath the Hollow's plated chest.
The pressure imploded.
KRAKOOM!!
A blinding explosion engulfed the Hollow as its mask shattered into fragments. The earth cracked beneath the force of the dual Rasengans.
When the dust cleared…
The clone had vanished, its final task complete. Minato stood, panting. Burn marks curled across his sleeves. His golden Sage Mode eyes flickered, but held steady. The massive Hollow collapsed into dust, its essence vanishing with the wind.
Silence returned.
He turned to face the remnants of the battlefield.
He instantly pin pointed the Reiatsu of the last Hollow and took a step forward, about to attack and finish it off when his body suddenly shook violently. Blood exploded from the pores of his flesh and then he dropped to the ground shivering and panting.
"Wh-what...is..this..." He cried out, as he convulsed., arcs of yellow Reiatsu rippling across his form. His sage mode has long since vanished and all that was left was his base form shifting like a madman. An intense nerve wracking pain assaulted his senses, as if lightning and flames were tearing him apart from the inside.
It was as if his own Reiryoku which was normally dormant was now active and tearing him apart from the inside out, he couldn't understand it. Right then and there, a figure dropped from the sky before him, landing gracefully. Minato lifted his head to see the newcomer.
Dressed in Shinigami robes he held onto a wakizashi smaller than his with a blue handed and an oval hilt. His face was covered with a black mask, and even more importantly, Minato could barely sense his Reiatsu.. He shook his head. He could feel his own energy tearing him apart from the inside, messing up his senses.
"Well done, well done..Minato was it? I really enjoyed the show. You don't know how long I've been waiting for this kind of entertainment. Life in the soul Society gets boring after a while ya know..." Minato tried to lift himself up from the ground, but it was as if his body had given up on him..
"Tsk. Tsk. I'm kinda disappointed. Serratin and Valgora were newer experiments, I didn't think they'd lose this bad, especially against a new soul without even a shikai.. But I don't blame them.
Serratin at it's full strength is fast enough to go toe to toe with a Captain's Shunpo, and Valgora, well shouldn't have been taken down that easily, but oh well.."
Minato could hear the voice, it irritated him, like a snake slithering in his ear. He hated it. But no matter how much energy he tried to push himself up with his body wasn't responding. Not just that, his Reiatsu wasn't heeding to his call.. He was completely powerless.
"You're wondering what is happening to you yeah? Well let me explain it for you. Your soul isn't built to drink from the world around you. We as souls are a different race, we utilize the Reiryoku within our core to materialize Reiatsu for use.
That technique you utilized, whatever it was, ignores the natural laws of our world. Now that I even think about it, you still being alive after that shows how naturally tuned to spiritual energy you are.
But in the end, Reiryoku and Reishi, while similar cannot interfere with each other. Therefore, pulling Reishi into your body could destabilise your Reiryoku and cause Spiritual dissonance which may lead to severe consequences..
You're lucky the only punishment you got was a slap on the wrist..Could've been worse....You're tearing your own essence apart just to feel strong."
Minato finally realised. His heart sank, but in the end he had no choice but to use Sage Mode, he might've lost otherwise. Counting the seconds from the time he beat that speed Hollow and the Gorilla it'd only been five minutes. Meaning, if he'd ever use Sage Mode, he could only do so for five minutes, even then, he was still in danger..
"But... That was incredible. Going toe to toe with two modified Adjuchas and winning is no ordinary feat to accomplish without a shikai. Even some of our 1st Seats would be pressed to deal with one let alone two. Those tricky techniques of yours, and that speed...Geez, I think even some Captains might be hard pressed in a.baftle against you without their zanpankutou
I wonder how he's gonna react to this .... To a talent like you..
Anyway, was nice knowing you.. Hope to see you again someday, or probably not"
The man crouched low and patted Minato's head, before he shrugged and walked off.
"I'd advise you stop playing with your food, Metastacia. The Shinigami are on their way. I can tell they've got quite the lineup by the intensity of their Reiatsu.. Let's go.."
The man gestured to the side, and then a familiar figure walked out. Upon seeing this, Minato's face sank, as his heart dropped. .
A/N: Enjoy. I could post another chapter you know😏