The gray sky poured down torrential rain, while in the distant horizon streaks of white lightning flashed across the sky from time to time.
Two Sunagakure (Sand Village) ninjas were searching near a pond, trying to find and rescue their scattered comrades. Earlier, that terrifying water tornado had caused the river to surge violently, creating a devastating flood that tore the entire Sand defensive line apart.
Moreover, most of the Konoha ninjas were either wounded, dead, or had already fled. The battle had essentially ended.
So their mission now was simply to rescue companions who had been swept away by the floodwaters.
"Chikawa, did you find anything over there?" one of them asked.
"No. The current is too strong… Even if someone was here, they've probably been washed further downstream," replied the ninja named Chikawa.
"Sigh… our losses this time were terrible. I can't believe the victory that was right in our hands just slipped away…"
"I wonder if it was one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha… or maybe the Third Hokage himself who made that move," Chikawa said with a sigh.
"Yeah… a jutsu of that level… I've never even heard of anything like it," the other Sand ninja said, still shaken.
For a moment, the two stopped their rescue efforts and looked at each other, falling silent.
The reason they had survived was because their mission had been to restrain Konoha forces, not to fight on the main battlefield. Because of that, Shimizu's jutsu had not reached them.
But the world-shaking water tornado, towering into the sky, had completely stunned everyone on the battlefield.
The scene, like the arrival of the apocalypse, had been burned deeply into their memories.
"…Did you hear something?" Chikawa suddenly asked.
"Huh? No… maybe you heard it wro—"
His voice suddenly stopped.
Because the roaring sound of rushing wind coming from the south was getting closer and closer.
What is that—?!
Both of them looked up at the same time.
A yellow flash streaked past.
In the blink of an eye, two red lines were drawn across the air.
The two Sand ninjas immediately clutched their throats and collapsed into the pond. Their hollow eyes were filled with confusion and terror.
Several minutes later, another figure landed at the scene.
She paused briefly and examined the wounds on the Sand ninjas' corpses, confirming that the injuries were caused by Minato's tri-pronged kunai.
This was already the fourth group of Sand ninja corpses that Satomi had encountered.
If the four locations were connected with the starting point…
She softly murmured:
"Captain Namikaze is moving in a straight line…"
Was it so he could reach Uzuki-senpai as quickly as possible?
Even if it meant risking being discovered and surrounded by the Sand army…
"I need to move faster."
Her dark-green figure vanished instantly.
A few minutes later, Yoshimaru also arrived at the scene.
Frowning, he muttered,
"How is Satomi this fast too? I might not have been good at speed before… but that was in the past."
He glanced down at his now slim body and wondered aloud,
"I'm an elite jōnin, yet I can't even catch up to a newly promoted jōnin…"
Shaking his head, he dismissed the absurd thought that he was a fraud and continued forward.
...
When Minato arrived near the cliff, he was immediately discovered and surrounded by dozens of Sand ninjas who had already been waiting there. Not far away, even more Sand ninjas were rapidly gathering.
From the Sand Village's perspective, Minato's act of returning to the battlefield was not only reckless—it was foolish.
He had come alone, yet dared to break directly into their territory.
He actually came back?!
Wasn't this basically walking into a trap?
Did he think they were just decorations?
Yet Minato remained calm even in danger. During the high-speed battle, he had already finished placing his marked kunai.
Time to leave.
Just as he was about to withdraw, he suddenly sensed a familiar chakra signature approaching from behind.
Hyuga Satomi?!
Why was she here too?!
But more Sand ninjas were quickly approaching from the front.
He might be able to escape…
But how could Satomi withstand the siege of so many enemies?
If that's the case…
There was only one move left to use.
Jiraiya-sensi…
Kushina…
Shimizu…
Please… lend me your strength…
…
SAGE… MODE!
Minato slowly opened his eyes.
Those once azure blue eyes were no longer there…
Replacing them were black eye markings, golden-yellow pupils, and a pair of eyes possessing an almost bewitching beauty.
"Ha…" Minato let out a small sigh of relief.
It actually worked?!
Sage Mode is a state that allows the user to harness natural energy. In this state, natural energy greatly increases the body's vitality, boosting both attack and defense, while also expanding the range of taijutsu and sensory perception.
By creating senjutsu chakra from natural energy, the power of one's ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu can be elevated dramatically.
However, because it takes Minato too long to gather senjutsu chakra, and the form can only be maintained for a short time, he rarely used it in real combat.
This time, he had activated Sage Mode while taking an enormous risk.
Fortunately…
In the blink of an eye, Minato sent the nearest Sand ninja flying. The man was blasted dozens of meters away!
This overwhelming sense of power… and the senjutsu chakra surging through his body…
He could do this!
"Satomi! Find Shimizu!" Minato's voice echoed from afar.
"I'll hold them off!" he declared firmly.
At that moment, Satomi had already reached the edge of the battlefield. She nodded slightly toward Minato and immediately rushed toward the cliff.
Several Sand ninjas who tried to pursue her were attacked before they could even move.
A massive Rasengan infused with senjutsu chakra crashed down with unstoppable force…
After many twists and difficulties, Satomi finally arrived beneath the cliff.
Within the vision of her Byakugan, she saw someone lying motionless on the cliff above—his life or death uncertain.
That was Uzuki-senpai!
At the same moment, a bolt of heavenly lightning struck down from the sky, hitting the cliff directly.
Satomi's heart jolted in alarm, and she immediately accelerated toward the cliff.
But what happened next made everyone tremble with fear.
Bolt after bolt of blinding lightning split the clouds like giant axes. The white brilliance shattered the dark sky.
The lightning flashed like daylight, illuminating the heavens, overwhelming the wind and rain, and striking the top of the cliff again and again.
Finally, the ground itself ignited under the assault.
Unable to withstand the tyrannical power of nature any longer, the cliff collapsed instantly, crumbling apart.
Huge amounts of earth mixed with rainwater quickly formed a terrifying landslide.
In the distance, the sky thundered again.
It was as if heaven and earth were splitting apart.
Through her Byakugan, Satomi saw something strange—
Within the lightning flowed chakra identical to Captain Namikaze's, brilliant and powerful.
Was that really just ordinary lightning?
Because of the intense lightning and the overwhelming power contained within it, her Byakugan was "burned."
Two streams of bloody tears slowly slid from her tightly shut eyes.
Yet she did not forget her mission.
Find Uzuki-senpai.
By now, Shimizu had already been buried deep beneath the landslide.
Then she would dig him out.
Before long, blood began to seep from her palms, dripping into the muddy earth.
Beneath that small and slender body was an unyielding will.
This 15-year-old girl, with nothing but her flesh and blood, was fighting alone against the overwhelming force of nature.
...
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