Time flew by.
The sun set, then rose once more, sunlight spreading across the land again.
A full day and night had passed, yet the battle between Uchiha Yuzuru and Namikaze Minato still had not ended.
The Konoha ninja had finally come to accept a brutal truth.
They were nothing but clowns.
After sustaining high-intensity combat for an entire day and night, that monster was still bursting with vitality—yet they had actually believed they could wear him down with sheer numbers…
No wonder the way Yuzuru looked at them had been filled with mockery. In his eyes, their so-called plan was nothing more than a joke.
If Namikaze Minato hadn't become a perfect jinchuriki, then even tens of thousands of them probably wouldn't have been able to outlast him.
So…
Lord Minato, you absolutely have to win!
———
———
Boom!
After another clash of fists, Minato's figure flickered and vanished from the spot.
When he reappeared, he was already in a narrow alley a hundred meters away.
His brows knitted tightly. "Nine-Tails, is there any way to end this quickly?"
Yuzuru fought without any restraint. If the battle couldn't be decided swiftly, the longer it dragged on, the greater the damage the village would suffer.
Yet his attacks found it extremely difficult to deal effective damage to Yuzuru, who was using Lightning Release Chakra Mode and possessed the ability to phase his body.
"If you were proficient in Sage Techniques, you might have a chance. Unfortunately, you're not."
"And without my chakra, if he so much as touched you once, you'd be saying goodbye to this world."
Minato fell silent.
Yuzuru's ability to render himself intangible made it nearly impossible, in high-speed combat, to distinguish between feints and real attacks.
During their fight, Minato had already been sent flying multiple times by Yuzuru.
Just as the Nine-Tails had said—if not for its chakra protecting his body and its regenerative power healing his injuries, he would have died long ago.
"Is that guy really an Uchiha? His physical strength is absurdly strong."
Clashing head-on with Minato while he was empowered by Tailed Beast chakra—and still holding the upper hand.
Even Madara back then couldn't have achieved that relying on his body alone, could he?
Hearing the Nine-Tails' doubt, Minato shook his head. "Back when we were in the Ninja Academy, Yuzuru didn't show anything particularly surprising in terms of physical ability."
"Then that's strange…"
Minato's figure vanished once more. In the next instant, Yuzuru smashed the spot where he had been hiding into fine dust with a single kick.
"This is exhilarating. It's been a long time since I've fought this freely."
"Minato, stop thinking about running all the time."
Yuzuru's expression was brimming with excitement. The instinct for battle within his body had been completely unleashed.
He possessed the Uzumaki Sage Body, the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Night-Moon Bloodline, the Chinoike Bloodline…
Whether in chakra or physical strength, he had long surpassed the realm of ordinary people.
The Third Raikage might have been able to contend with him in terms of raw durability—but his speed was far too slow.
That was why Yuzuru hadn't experienced such an intense battle in a very long time.
From that perspective, Minato really was a decent opponent.
It was just that the other side clearly didn't want to continue fighting head-on, instead relying on the Flying Thunder God to constantly evade.
'He's probably thinking of a way to defeat me.'
Seeing through Minato's thoughts, Yuzuru let out a cold laugh.
If you won't fight me, then I'll go find someone else to fight.
Abandoning the pursuit of Minato, Yuzuru directly activated Susanoo.
Empowered by terrifying Dōjutsu Power, a Susanoo over two hundred meters tall manifested out of thin air above Konoha.
Its jet-black armor radiated an oppressive chill under the sunlight, resembling a demonic god of death descending from hell.
Susanoo stepped forward, the ground trembling violently. In the next instant, a black flash of light erupted.
A terrifying blade wave cleaved the distant Hokage Rock clean in two, leaving behind a bottomless gash in the cliff face.
The Konoha ninja stared up at Susanoo in horror, despair wrapping itself around every heart.
"Are you kidding me? After fighting for a full day and night, you're telling me he can still use power like this?"
"Just how far does this guy's limit go? If I'm going to die, at least let me die knowing!"
"In the face of this kind of power, do our tactics, our efforts, our sacrifices… actually mean anything?"
Many people even laughed bitterly, tossing aside their weapons and dropping straight to their knees.
Not just the ordinary ninja—even Hiruzen Sarutobi, hidden in the shadows, couldn't help but gape.
"Why do his eyes still have so much Dōjutsu Power?!"
"After so many years of high-intensity combat, he should have gone blind long ago!"
"Could it be that he's already obtained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
The moment the thought surfaced, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately cast it out of his mind.
That was absolutely impossible!
Just as his thoughts were running wild, Minato appeared beside him.
"Third Hokage-sama, I want to draw Yuzuru outside the village. Could you step out first and help me?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face flushed. "I understand."
"Summoning Technique: Enma!"
The moment Enma appeared, its eyes landed on the towering Susanoo.
It swallowed hard, sounding uncertain. "Hiruzen… your opponent this time…"
"That's right. That demonic titan."
You really think highly of me.
Enma's last shred of hope died on the spot.
It knew it. The monkey never sent it into low-difficulty battles.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
As soon as * Minato finished speaking, his figure vanished once more.
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't keep hiding either. He had Enma transform into the Adamantine Staff and charged outward.
"It's the Third Hokage-sama! We're saved!"
"Everyone, get a grip! The Third Hokage is the strongest of all Hokage—he'll definitely defeat Uchiha Yuzuru!"
"The battle isn't over yet! We can't lose our fighting spirit now!"
Facing the hopeful gazes of the ninja around him, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt like he was riding a tiger and couldn't get off.
Back when he'd boasted about himself, he'd never imagined someone would rampage into Konoha like this, forcing him to take action…
But his reputation was what he valued most. At a moment like this, he couldn't afford to show weakness.
He spoke solemnly, "Where the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire will burn on."
"The Will of Fire will not be extinguished—and neither can we give up like this."
"Though my body is plagued by illness, I will offer my final strength to the village."
After stacking a layer of resolve on himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised the Adamantine Staff and charged forward. "Adamantine Staff, extend!"
Yuzuru felt his vision blur—and the next instant, a massive staff slammed straight into his body.