"So, come spar with me then—the bastard who snatched my perfect plan before I could."
Akashō beckoned to Obito with a curl of his fingers.
How irritating. This plan was supposed to be carried out by his own hands. Kushina's death, Minato Namikaze's death—those were meant to be his doing!
No idea where you crawled out from, but…
"You've already prepared to commit seppuku and atone, haven't you?"
Akashō's sweet smile suddenly twisted into something grotesque.
"Huh?"
Hearing this, both Obito and Minato Namikaze froze for a moment.
Although it was now obvious that the masked man wasn't a member of the Dark Council, compared to Minato, there was clearly no opposing stance between the masked man and the Dark Council. Logically, joining forces with the masked man to deal with Minato would be the correct choice.
Minato understood this. Obito understood it too.
So why the hell had he suddenly become the target?
Was it just because he released the Nine-Tails before them?
Obito froze on the spot.
"Attack!!"
The moment Akashō's voice fell, he had already rushed in front of Obito and kicked out. Meanwhile, Doflamingo swiftly spread his threads, enveloping both himself and Minato Namikaze within them.
"Don't even think about using your Flying Thunder God, fufufu."
Using threads to create a barrier-like effect—so long as he wasn't marked at close range, Minato's Flying Thunder God kunai couldn't silently reach his side.
Without Flying Thunder God, how much of your strength can you really bring out?
"Tch, can you stop laughing like that…"
Minato narrowed his eyes. Nearly invisible threads sliced through the air toward him with sharp whistling sounds. He reacted instantly, leaping and weaving through the threads.
"Psh!"
The next second, a thin cut opened on Minato's cheek.
"Fufufu, you think dodging all the threads is that easy?"
Doflamingo let out a sinister laugh, then suddenly spread his arms and thrust them upward.
"Flowing Thread Rain!!"
Countless threads burst from his palms, falling from the sky like a meteor shower.
This was a technique developed by Akashō himself—wide in coverage but lacking in piercing power. In the world of pirates, it might struggle to deal real damage, but in this world, where human bodies weren't as durable, it could shine.
Minato looked up at the night sky, faintly reflecting the threads' pale gleam. His expression darkened as he bit his finger.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A puff of white smoke erupted, and Doflamingo could clearly feel his threads being halted mid-descent.
Tch, forgot about that toad.
…
On the other side, Akashō's kick passed straight through Obito's chest, as if striking nothing but an illusion. The force he had gathered hit empty air, causing him to stumble forward, nearly falling.
An opening!
Obito reacted just as quickly as Minato, immediately turning to grab Akashō.
A pure close-combat type like this was completely countered by him. What a shame, Dark Council—you miscalculated this time!
But just as his hand was about to touch Akashō's back, a black shadow shot through his head in an instant.
"Hah…"
Time, which had seemed slowed, snapped back to normal. Akashō rolled across the ground several times before stopping over ten meters away. He steadied himself, the tail behind him swaying gently.
Meanwhile, Obito remained frozen in his reaching posture, his back soaked with cold sweat.
So close. Just a fraction slower—
If he had activated Kamui even 0.1 seconds later, his head would've exploded on the spot!
What the hell kind of monster is this!?
Akashō frowned slightly at Obito's stiff figure, then turned his gaze toward Doflamingo.
"Damn it, it's the Dark Council again, you brat Minato!"
Gamabunta leapt out of the smoke with a cold shout, holding a short blade as he descended from the sky toward Doflamingo.
"Spider Web Nest!"
Doflamingo raised his left hand, unleashing countless threads that tangled together into a massive web spanning dozens of meters, directly covering the falling Gamabunta.
"What the hell is this!?"
Caught in the web, Gamabunta's downward momentum was instantly halted.
"Heh."
Doflamingo sneered, then turned his head toward where Minato had been—only to find him gone.
Did he retreat to deal with the Nine-Tails?
Yeah, right.
"Rasengan!"
A cold shout came from behind him. Minato had already appeared at his back, the Rasengan in his hand buzzing as it drove toward his head.
Even without Flying Thunder God, his Body Flicker was still incredibly fast!
"Boom!!"
The ground shattered violently—but Minato's expression changed instantly, because the figure struck by his Rasengan dissolved into threads the very next moment.
"Thread… clone!?"
"You could call it that. But I prefer the name Shadow Knight Thread."
Before the voice behind him could fully register, Minato had already vanished from his spot with Body Flicker, dodging a thread that shot toward the back of his head.
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