At the edge of the desert barrier.
"It feels... too quiet."
"Minato Namikaze hasn't caught up? And that Uchiha brat also..."
Looking out over the silent, endless waste where only the wind whistled, Ebizo's heart sank slightly. But he quickly shook off the distraction, squinting at the cracked, pale red barrier. After being hammered by the shockwaves of Ren Uchiha's Fire Style: Chakra Mode, the barrier was teetering on the edge of collapse. This brought a surge of joy to Ebizo's heart.
"Almost there! Almost!"
"This barrier can't hold me anymore! My desperate struggle wasn't in vain!"
Ebizo sprinted forward, staring through the barrier at the horizon where the Sand reinforcements were approaching. There was the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, coming to save him!
Ebizo had always believed this young man was too obsessed with power struggles to lead the village into the future; he had been a vocal opponent of Rasa's appointment. But now? Looking at him, Rasa seemed quite reliable, didn't he?
But why is he here? Ebizo wondered briefly. "Forget it, it doesn't matter."
Blue flames erupted from the thrusters on his puppet armor as he stared ahead with hope. "Just reach that point! As long as we stand together, as long as we don't stop moving, the path will continue to extend!"
Suddenly—
Screeeech—
A sound like brakes grinding echoed. Ebizo froze and looked up, realizing the sound came from outside the barrier.
Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, skidded to a halt. He looked at the lone figure of Ebizo trapped within the barrier and his face filled with shock.
Hell? Why is this old fossil here?
Why was this stubborn old man on the secret route Rasa had designed specifically for his own safe arrival at the front lines? And judging by his battered state, it looked like someone had been beating him to death!
Rasa's heart skipped a beat. He realized instantly that this was a pivotal moment of choice. From this position, he could use his Gold Dust to shatter the barrier and rescue Ebizo in seconds.
But...
To become Kazekage, Rasa had sacrificed and endured too much. Yet his will was constantly stifled within the village. Ebizo and Chiyo, along with the other elders, controlled the military and politics, making him a Kazekage in name only. He had even risked his life just to sit on this hollow throne.
Is this what I wanted?
If he saved Ebizo, the old man might change his view and support him, solidifying his rule. Or...
Rasa's gaze turned cold. He stood motionless, watching the desperate Ebizo run toward him. Half of his face was submerged in the moonlight's shadows, reflecting a deep, dark silence.
In the next heartbeat, a yellow flash erupted behind Ebizo!
A young man in a Konoha flak jacket appeared like a ghost behind the elder, reverse-gripping a kunai to strike at his throat. A clear, furious roar followed:
"Ebizo!"
"Carrying the wishes of my comrades and the mission of my village, I cannot lose!"
"This is the Combined Art: Flash Super-Circle Dance Howl Final Farewell Slash!"
Ebizo's face twisted in agony, his resentful roar exploding across the desert!
"How is this possible! I cannot fall here!!!"
Inside the barrier, Ebizo whirled around, his scalp crawling as he faced the suffocating speed of Minato. This wasn't a speed a human could track!
Against Ren Uchiha, Ebizo had already exhausted his Lion puppets and most of his ninja tools just to keep the boy at bay with suppressive fire. Now, he couldn't replicate that scale of defense, and even if he could, it might not stop Minato Namikaze, who was even faster.
There was only one option left.
"Since a human body cannot track your speed... then... I shall cease to be human!"
Ebizo's eyes bulged, blood vessels bursting in his whites, making his blood-stained face look like a demon. He thrust his fingers into his own chest, funneling chakra threads directly into his anatomy!
"Operating: Human Body Mimicry!"
This was the advanced secret of the Human Puppet technique—controlling one's own body as if it were a puppet to bypass human physical limits.
Instantly, Ebizo's stiff movements became fluid and uncanny. He slammed a palm into the sand, using a Gale Palm to blast himself into the air, narrowly avoiding Minato's lethal thrust. He rolled across the sand and landed.
Two puppet eyes flew out of his armor and jammed themselves into his sockets, crushing his original eyeballs. Two lines of bloody tears ran down his wrinkled cheeks. The mechanical eyes whirred, locking onto Minato.
"I see it... I can see your movements perfectly now!" Ebizo grinned savagely. "By using this technique, I am already dead! You've won! Konoha has won! But I will take you brats with me to the afterlife for the sake of the Sand's future!"
Minato said nothing, his gaze cold and focused. He flicked four Flying Raijin kunai and vanished into a yellow streak!
"Flying Raijin? Heh... I've seen it before. If your kunai can't get near me, how will you win?"
Ebizo spat a scroll from his mechanical torso and blew a gust of air.
"Scroll: Flame Hell Array! Wind Style: Wind Cutter! Combined Art: Flame-Wind Array!"
A sea of fire erupted, creating an inferno that no human could stand in. Four wind blades shaped like flaming arrows shot out, knocking aside Minato's kunai while turning his footing into a pool of lava.
Minato frowned, flickering back to avoid the heat, then immediately circling through the gaps in the flames to throw a kunai from Ebizo's blind spot. He flashed behind the elder's neck with a kunai in hand!
"So fast?" Ebizo gasped. Being a puppet now, he simply snapped his head down as his back opened up, spraying a cloud of poisoned needles at Minato. Minato was forced to flash back to his starting point, his brow furrowing.
He lacked a quick, decisive strike to crush Ebizo's heavy puppet defense. If this continued, it would be a war of attrition. He would win eventually, but they were in the heart of Sand territory, and he had noticed Rasa standing outside the barrier. Time was running out.
Should I summon Gamabunta? Or force a seal? Minato's hands began to form signs. He needed to at least mark Ebizo with a seal.
Suddenly, a figure blurred past Minato, leaping straight into the sea of fire!
It was Ren Uchiha!
He sprinted across the burning sand, his hands flashing as he threw eight kunai in a specialized pattern. The blades collided in mid-air, ricocheting at impossible angles toward Ebizo.
Ebizo's puppet eyes whirred, tracking and intercepting them with wind blades. One, two, three, four... but by the fourth collision, even the mechanical eyes couldn't keep up. And then the next wave came! Eight, sixteen, twenty-four... a rain of steel!
Hidden among them were two Flying Raijin kunai.
Ebizo panicked, desperately spitting out Wind Cutters to clear the air. Seeing this, Ren grinned and turned to the bewildered Minato.
"Ready? Let's go!"
Minato didn't have time to wonder why a boy who was "dying" a second ago was now perfectly fine. He saw the opening Ren had created and his eyes lit up!
"You're going to—"
The two were eerily in sync. A yellow flash streaked forward, overtaking Ren!
Simultaneously, Ren ignited his chakra, entering a brief Fire Style: Chakra Mode. He drew his Kusanagi, extending a six-foot blade of fire! He charged into the inferno, his eyes fixed on Ebizo. He swung the blade, forcing Ebizo to block with his left cleaver!
But mid-swing, the fire blade detached from the sword and shot forward like a spear!
At that exact moment, Minato caught a Flying Raijin kunai that had finally ricocheted behind Ebizo. He flashed to the elder's rear and delivered a horizontal slash!
Ebizo's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. He yanked his head to the side, letting the fire blade explode his ear, while his four-bladed chakra saw tore Ren Uchiha in half at the waist! His back also sprayed a storm of poisoned needles, forcing Minato to flash away!
But as the boy's body fell, Ebizo saw a smile on the "dead" Ren's face.
The second Flying Raijin kunai fell.
Minato reappeared behind Ebizo. Amidst the elder's terror, Minato caught the kunai in a fluid motion and spun.
One blade swept down! Blood sprayed into the air!
The voices of Minato and Ren echoed simultaneously:
"This is the Flash Super-Circle Dance Howl Final Farewell Slash: Second Form!"
"This is the Flash Super-Circle Dance Howl Immortal Triple Blade Slash: Second Form!"
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