"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A wave of scorching heat rushed forward, snapping Akashō's attention back from elsewhere.
"Flashy nonsense."
Akashō threw a punch, smashing the massive fireball apart instantly. But behind the scattered flames, a sickle blade shot straight toward his head.
"Bang!!"
Akashō tilted his head back slightly and slammed the blade away with his forehead, then looked at the masked man not far away and sneered,
"Heh. Aside from that brief intangibility trick, your strength is honestly pathetic. At least Namikaze Minato has summoning jutsu, Rasengan, and other methods to support himself. What do you have?"
Behind the mask, Obito's expression turned extremely grim. Ever since awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan, it had always been others who struggled against his abilities, feeling frustrated and helpless. Never had he been the one feeling this kind of frustration because he couldn't deal with an opponent.
…Should he try cooperating with Namikaze Minato?
No—absolutely not. He would never work with that incompetent teacher. A fake Hokage—what right did he have?
…His mindset was slipping. There was no need to obsess over whether he could win against this woman. If he couldn't win, he could just retreat.
With that thought, Obito stopped hesitating and activated Kamui, sinking into the ground.
Akashō raised an eyebrow. The hell—he hijacked my plan and thinks he can just run?
"Dream on!"
Without another word, Akashō flashed to the spot where Obito had sunk underground and brought his leg down in a brutal axe kick.
"BOOM!!!"
The ground shattered. Akashō didn't stop—within a blink, he unleashed dozens of heavy, crushing punches, drilling straight downward like he was digging a tunnel.
At the same time, he expanded his En, covering hundreds of meters underground, locking onto Obito to prevent his escape.
Moving through the earth in his Kamui state, Obito felt a continuous barrage of thunderous impacts from behind, the surrounding soil trembling violently.
That insane cat-woman is chasing me!?
"Whoa, looks like things are getting lively over there."
Doflamingo casually swung a thick whip of intertwined threads, sweeping away the trees in front of him, and smiled faintly at Namikaze Minato, who had been dodging the entire time.
"Well then, I suppose I should get serious too. Wouldn't want it to look like I'm weak."
Doflamingo stretched his hands outward. Invisible Observation Haki spread across the area, while pitch-black Armament Haki coated his threads.
"Birdcage!"
Countless threads shot skyward from his palms, then rained down like streaming lines of light. In just a few seconds, they formed a cage-like structure, enclosing both him and Namikaze Minato along with hundreds of meters of surrounding forest.
Since this was a one-on-one fight, Doflamingo deliberately limited the Birdcage's range. Otherwise, at full power, it could cover most of the Hidden Leaf Village.
As for breaking the threads forming the Birdcage—honestly, Doflamingo didn't think anyone below Kage-level could do it. Even the Third Raikage's Piercing Four Fingered would struggle.
Moreover, the Birdcage could disrupt sensory perception, functioning almost like a large-scale barrier—a true war machine.
Namikaze Minato looked up at the massive Birdcage, his expression darkening. Even his movement range had been restricted—this was troublesome.
That masked man seemed unable to hold on and had already fled. The possibility of cooperating with him was gone.
No… what am I even thinking? How could I consider working with someone who tried to destroy the village and nearly killed Kushina?
Not that cooperation is even possible now.
Under normal circumstances, Minato might have probed cautiously, step by step uncovering the enemy's abilities before analyzing and deciding on a counter.
But this was different.
The Nine-Tails had just broken free and was rampaging through the Hidden Leaf Village. He knew full well that no one in the village could stop it.
There was only one solution: the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
And in the village, the only people who could use it were himself and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Logically, it would make the most sense for Hiruzen—the retired Hokage—to use the technique.
But would Namikaze Minato agree to that?
No.
He was Namikaze Minato—the Fourth Hokage, the man currently sitting in that position.
Setting aside whether Hiruzen would even be willing to sacrifice his life again to reseal the Nine-Tails, even if he were willing, Minato would not accept it.
He was the Hokage. He was the one who should give his life for the village.
Nothing else mattered—just responsibility.
He couldn't drag this out any longer.
"Overheat Whip"
Within the Birdcage, Doflamingo laid down thread lines like infrared beams, further restricting Minato's movement. At the same time, countless threads burst from his palm, twisting into a single strand. Coated in Armament Haki, it shot forward like a black spear toward Minato.
Minato used Body Flicker to dodge the attack. But before he could regain his footing and rush toward Doflamingo, he saw Doflamingo suddenly swing his arm—the black spear instantly transformed into a curved blade, slashing horizontally toward him.