"Doctor Blythe!"
In a flash of inspiration, Akashō activated his Nen ability, Doctor Blythe.
A big-headed doll appeared out of thin air, floating in midair. Due to the restrictions of this ability, once Doctor Blythe is summoned, it is forcibly fixed in place and connected to Akashō's tail.
As a result, unless it disappears, Akashō cannot move more than twenty meters away from it. However, this limitation can sometimes produce unexpected effects.
Like now.
With his tail pinned to Doctor Blythe, Akashō halted his fall in just a single breath, ending up hanging upside down in midair.
His blood-red eyes instantly locked onto Minato Namikaze's descent path. Swinging his tail, Akashō dismissed Doctor Blythe and forcibly changed direction midair, lunging once again at Minato Namikaze.
"Die!!!"
Laughing maniacally, Akashō slashed out with his claws, brushing past Minato Namikaze in an instant—yet the next second, his grin froze.
There was no mystery. It was that same familiar feeling—he had missed again.
After the failed strike, Akashō landed on the ground and turned to look at Minato Namikaze in the distance. Compared to before, Minato's pupils had turned into horizontal toad-like slits, and a layer of yellow eyeshadow surrounded his eyes. Clearly, his ultimate move was fully prepared.
In response, Akashō's cute face twisted with bulging veins, like a beast ready to devour someone.
"You're messing with me—you're actually messing with me!?"
His breathing grew heavy, his mind consumed by violent agitation as he gasped for air.
Across from him, Minato Namikaze smiled faintly.
"You can't fight without using your brain."
Akashō froze for a moment. That bastard was calling him brainless—definitely, right!?
Simply put, what had just happened was this: in order to prepare his ultimate move, Minato Namikaze used a summoning technique to call forth Gamabunta and verbally instructed him not to let Akashō get close.
That statement gave Akashō the illusion that Minato couldn't use Flying Thunder God while preparing his move, making him seem vulnerable. That's why Akashō kept charging straight at Gamabunta's head.
But what was the result? During the descent, Akashō's attack using Doctor Blythe was avoided by Minato with Flying Thunder God. If Akashō hadn't fallen for that illusion from the start, he would have destroyed the Flying Thunder God kunai on the ground before charging in, cutting off Minato's escape route.
But there are no "ifs" in battle.
The reality was that in this second round, Akashō was still completely at a disadvantage.
To him, Minato Namikaze felt like a cat toying with a mouse, and he had foolishly walked step by step into the trap Minato had set.
This string of failures filled Akashō with frustration, humiliation, and rage.
Of course, from Minato Namikaze's perspective, he wasn't playing with Akashō at all—this was simply combat strategy. He was fighting seriously.
But someone as mentally twisted as Akashō would never see it that way.
"Third round. The final round. Either you die… or I do!!"
Gathering all of Neferpitou's malice, Akashō spread his arms, lifted one leg, and struck a crane-like stance.
"Terpsichora—Dance Beyond Limits!"
As his cold voice echoed, blood-red Nen formed a Shinigami-like half-bodied creature behind him. Threads extended from its fingertips, connecting to various parts of Akashō's body. As the threads tightened, his muscles stretched to their limits like overdrawn rubber bands, emitting strange creaking sounds.
Terpsichora allowed Akashō to exceed his physical limits in strength and speed by manipulating himself like a puppet—but at the cost of damaging his own body.
Originally, Akashō had avoided using this move out of caution. But now, none of that mattered. All he wanted was to kill Minato Namikaze.
On the other side, Minato Namikaze in Sage Mode immediately grew alert. From the moment he entered Sage Mode, he had sensed the dark red aura surrounding Akashō. Though he didn't understand its nature, he could clearly feel the terrifying malice within it.
A monster like this could not be underestimated.
The ground beneath both of them shattered simultaneously. In the next instant, with a thunderous burst of air, Akashō's kick slammed into Minato's arm, sending him flying dozens of meters away.
Her speed and strength had increased again!
Minato steadied himself. He had originally believed that in Sage Mode, his speed wouldn't lose to hers, and their strength would be roughly equal. But now it was clear—whatever technique she had just used had boosted her power and speed even further.
If not for the massive defensive boost from senjutsu chakra, that strike would have shattered not only his arm but his ribs as well.
"But I didn't activate Sage Mode to fight you head-on."
Looking at Akashō charging at him again, Minato raised his right hand.
"Senjutsu: Rasengan!"
His figure vanished instantly, reappearing in front of Akashō. The prepared Senjutsu Rasengan was thrust forward without hesitation—and in her Terpsichora state, Akashō had no time to dodge.
The scene looked as if Akashō had foolishly rammed her own head straight into Minato Namikaze's Senjutsu Rasengan.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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