"Rasengan."
The stiffness after using Body Flicker still lingered. Minato Namikaze had no time to dodge and could only counter head-on with the Rasengan, a jutsu that required no hand seals.
But the Rasengan was originally developed by Minato to be used in tandem with Flying Thunder God as a close-range anti-person technique. In other situations, it felt somewhat lacking.
After only a few seconds of stalemate, the glow of the Rasengan in Minato's hand began to rapidly fade.
Once the threads turned black, they became even sharper and tougher…
Minato pressed down with his right hand, using the force to roll his body and vault over the Overheat Whip above him.
"Fufufu."
Doflamingo let out a sinister chuckle. Just as he was about to fire another Overheat Whip from his other hand, he suddenly sensed a surge of malice rising from behind him.
This… malice?
From the main body? Why extend that intent over here?
Doflamingo tilted his head slightly and immediately understood the main body's meaning.
The timing was about right. It was time to let Minato Namikaze go deal with the Nine-Tails.
Tch. What a shame. If this dragged on a bit longer, he might've been able to kill this guy.
But considering the main body's plan, Doflamingo still retracted all the threads around him with a pull of both hands.
"Fufufu, I won't keep you company any longer this time. Hopefully… we'll meet again."
With a sinister laugh, he turned and dashed toward the massive tunnel blasted open by Akashō, leaping straight down into it.
He retreated?
Minato Namikaze stared at the battlefield that had gone from four people to just himself in an instant, momentarily stunned.
Did something happen on Neferpitou's side, forcing Doflamingo to go support?
He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to think about that—the Nine-Tails was still wreaking havoc.
Sensing the Flying Thunder God marks within the Hidden Leaf Village, Minato vanished instantly from where he stood.
...
"Hey, this should be about enough, right? If this keeps going, the Hidden Leaf Village might actually be destroyed."
Bertholdt shook his head. "No. Don't forget the old Third still has the Dead Demon Consuming Seal."
"Heh, then don't forget what Danzō said—Hiruzen Sarutobi would never use that technique in this chaos."
Kokushibo stroked his chin, looking at the short figure pushing the Nine-Tails back dozens of meters with a staff transformed from his summoned monkey.
"Tell me, why isn't Hiruzen Sarutobi using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal? Is he afraid of dying?"
"Who isn't afraid of death? Aren't you?"
"But he's the Hokage, someone like Minato Namikaze. Would someone like that really fear death?"
"Speaking of which, remember how our main body's plan at Kushina's delivery site was preempted by someone else?"
Bertholdt's gaze sharpened.
"You mean… that was the Third's doing? Is he trying to take the position again?"
"Who knows."
Kokushibo rested his chin on his hand.
"Don't forget, the intel says Hiruzen Sarutobi is the strongest Hokage in history."
"Leaving aside the First's legends—since those might be exaggerated—you know how strong Minato Namikaze is. So why is this 'strongest Hokage in history' performing so poorly right now? Doesn't that seem strange?"
"That's true…"
Bertholdt fell into thought along Kokushibo's reasoning.
"So he's waiting for Minato Namikaze to arrive and use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal?"
"If that's the case, then Biwako Sarutobi… died at her own husband's hands?"
"Heh."
Kokushibo let out a soft laugh.
"Those who aim for great things don't bother with trivial details. And setting aside that trash system cheat, I don't believe beings like us are the only anomalies in this world."
"Then should we still intervene?"
"Of course. If too many Hidden Leaf ninja die, it'll affect both the Third Shinobi War—which hasn't fully ended—and the Fourth Shinobi War the main body wants to ignite. Don't rely on others. Do you want to get scolded by the main body?"
Kokushibo rolled all six of his eyes, then stood up.
"Alright, that's enough. I'll send you off, then we'll notify the main body."
"Mm."
Bertholdt stood as well, then jumped onto the long blade formed from Kokushibo's Blood Demon Art.
"Let's go."
"Moon Breathing!"
A sharp tearing sound cut through the air. With Kokushibo's full force behind him, Bertholdt shot upward like a cannonball, aiming straight at the Nine-Tails dozens of meters away.
"Come on, Nine-Tails!!"
With blazing eyes, Bertholdt descended from the sky, locking onto the Nine-Tails that was being pushed back by Hiruzen Sarutobi's staff. He stabbed a thin needle into his finger, golden lightning instantly covering his entire body, drawing the attention of the many Hidden Leaf ninja surrounding the beast.
"Boom!"
Golden lightning struck down from the sky onto Bertholdt. The Colossal Titan burst through the smoke, descending violently amid a torrent of steam, slamming heavily onto the Nine-Tails' back.
"BOOM—"
An even more violent crash followed, accompanied by tremors like an earthquake.
Under the combined force of the Colossal Titan's massive weight and gravity, the Nine-Tails couldn't withstand it at all and was forced flat onto the ground, its limbs splayed out.
...
Check out my new story One Piece: Using the Barrier Fruit to Manifest Susanoo