Back then, Akashō had already been fooled by Kitsuchi's Earth Clone once. His usual way of dealing with it was to activate the Transparent World, which made identification effortless. But now, using Neferpitou's template, he didn't have the Transparent World.
However, Neferpitou's Nen possessed extremely strong detection abilities.
The red-and-black aura around Akashō rapidly spread into the air, reflected in Namikaze Minato's constricted pupils, enveloping an area of dozens of meters centered on Akashō.
One of Nen's application techniques, En, could greatly enhance perception within its range. It could also be understood as something like Observation Haki from One Piece.
Unlike others whose En formed a hemispherical shape, Akashō's En could be freely molded. If he concentrated all his aura in one direction, he could even probe several kilometers away.
Akashō's En enveloped Namikaze Minato and all three of his Shadow Clones—but suddenly, Akashō raised an eyebrow.
Because he couldn't distinguish which of the four was the real body.
What's going on? Could it be that En only provides a god's-eye view?
"It's useless. This is the Shadow Clone Technique. There's no difference between the clones and the original. No one can tell which is which."
At that moment, all four Namikaze Minatos spoke at once. It seemed he knew Akashō was probing his clones and casually explained the technique.
A clone jutsu like that actually exists?
No difference at all—does that include strength too? What kind of insane ninjutsu is this? Each one more ridiculous than the last. Which lunatic even invented this? It's basically cheating.
"They're coming!"
Suddenly, all four Namikaze Minatos moved at the same time, surrounding Akashō from different directions. Just as Akashō was about to pick one at random to attack, the four simultaneously threw their Flying Thunder God kunai.
Akashō frowned and immediately leapt upward, escaping the area sealed by the kunai's trajectories.
But the four Namikaze Minatos on the ground all smiled.
As expected, this guy's reaction speed and movements can't actually keep up with Flying Thunder God. Before, she only managed because the kunai patterns were too simple and she could predict them.
Though this exposed a weakness, breaking out of the encirclement did reduce risk slightly.
Good calculation.
But you overlooked one thing—how are you going to gain leverage in midair?
And the moment Akashō jumped into the air, he already realized his mistake.
High-speed battles really demand too much from the brain's processing speed.
The four Namikaze Minatos moved again, throwing more Flying Thunder God kunai straight at Akashō in midair.
Akashō immediately adjusted his posture, using En to track every single kunai.
Which one would Namikaze Minato teleport to? Which appearance would be the real body?
At the exact moment Akashō's upward momentum faded and he began to stall midair, dozens of Flying Thunder God kunai had already reached him. At the same instant, the four Namikaze Minatos on the ground vanished, appearing around him from four different directions.
They're attacking all at once!?
Akashō blocked one Namikaze Minato's strike with his left hand, while his tail swept behind him and blew another clone apart. A third Minato's kick was barely blocked as Akashō raised his leg.
One more.
"Rasengan!!!"
Namikaze Minato's cold shout rang out behind him, accompanied by the howling of wind and a series of sharp, rapid "biu biu" sounds like laser shots in a game.
Boom!!
Akashō felt a tremendous force slam into his back, followed by intense pain, as if a spear had pierced straight through his heart.
Amid dazzling blue light, his body spun as he was blasted toward the ground, crashing down with a thunderous boom and forming a massive crater.
Midair, Namikaze Minato immediately activated Flying Thunder God to return to the ground, preventing a counterattack in case that strike hadn't finished the job.
Under Minato's heavy gaze, Akashō lay in the crater for only two seconds before pushing himself back up.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he sneered, "I thought you'd rush in to finish me off."
Minato remained silent, but inwardly he was stunned. Taking a Rasengan head-on and only coughing up a trace of blood—Neferpitou's physical body was terrifyingly strong.
"But that power? Pretty underwhelming. Doesn't hurt at all. Even a bathhouse scrubber hits harder than that."
Akashō's mockery instantly darkened Minato's expression.
His strongest offensive ninjutsu… reduced to being compared to a bathhouse scrubber. Utterly humiliating.
Akashō rubbed his chest, still aching from the inside out, quietly baring his teeth.
That spinning ball of his actually hurts. The outer flesh isn't too damaged, but the internal organs took a hit… something that ignores armor, huh? No wonder he was sent to deal with the Hidden Cloud Village.
Flying Thunder God counters the speed and offense of Lightning Release Armor, and that Rasengan counters its defense.
And Neferpitou's fighting style happens to be similar to the Hidden Cloud Village's ninja. Troublesome… very troublesome.
Still, falling into a disadvantage after just a few exchanges wasn't entirely Minato's doing—it was also his own fault.
Limited by his previous two Villain Templates, Akashō had never been the type to dodge in battle. He didn't need to think much about tactics either—just trade damage and fight head-on.
But now, with Neferpitou's template activated, although his recovery was still far beyond that of ordinary humans, it couldn't compare to Bertholdt Hoover, whose Colossal Titan body didn't take damage, or Kokushibo's immortal body.
Because of that, Akashō had unconsciously begun to prioritize protecting himself during this fight with Namikaze Minato—like those three exchanges in midair earlier.
In truth, those three hits wouldn't have caused any real damage to his tough body at all. But he still chose to block them, and in doing so, ignored the far more dangerous Rasengan.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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