Whoosh!
The moment Minato figured out Sakumo's plan, he started forming hand seals right there.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball surged forward toward Sakumo, and Minato's hands kept moving through more seals without pause.
"Crackle!"
Web-like shadows suddenly spread inside the fireball before bursting outward. The electric arcs from the chakra blade disrupted its form.
"Is water-based ninjutsu coming next?"
As the Professor of Ninja Techniques, the Third recognized exactly what jutsu Minato was preparing as soon as his fingers moved.
Using a water technique to cover up the fire attack would fill the entire battlefield with mist, blocking Sakumo's view of the marked locations.
Those markings were, in fact, the greatest weakness of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Heh, if only Minato knew Hiding in Mist Technique, this battlefield would become perfect terrain for Body Flicker Technique."
Meanwhile, the Third mused with a smile. Though Hiding in Mist was merely a C-ranked jutsu, it was a secret art exclusive to the Hidden Mist Village—one even he himself never mastered.
Still... if not for Sakumo focusing on tracking those marking points, Minato wouldn't have had time to perform hand seals right in front of him.
Sakumo saw through Minato's ploy and suddenly charged forward, launching a Sword Strike downward in one swift motion.
The slash was so fast that even Minato's Instant Flash barely managed to evade.
Yet at the very moment the blade reached him, Minato vanished again in an instant.
"What troublesome ninjutsu!" Sakumo thought inwardly.
But scanning quickly, he spotted Minato's position once more. He swung his blade sideways with another Sword Strike.
This time, Minato had enough distance to dodge and re-engage in battle.
Precisely—close combat. Minato fully understood that if Sakumo managed to observe and memorize all the marking points, he would be in real danger.
Within the arena, the two clashed repeatedly, with Minato sticking tightly to engage Sakumo head-on.
However, his overall skill still lagged slightly behind Sakumo's, placing him in life-threatening situations over and over. Yet just before each decisive strike landed, Minato always evaded using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The battle became a stalemate.
In the spectator stands, Tsunade and others grew increasingly stunned. Despite knowing Minato well, none could believe how much he had grown in under two years.
To actually reach such a level against someone like Sakumo Hatake!
Though the fight was full of near-death moments, and Minato would probably have already lost without the Flying Thunder God Technique,
just being able to use the technique to this extent was shocking enough.
After all, this ultimate ninja art hadn't been seen in the ninja world since the time of the Second Hokage.
At that moment, Minato fought like a relentless shadow, clinging to the fight with all he had.
But high atop the platform, the Third's expression darkened. Watching the figure desperately dodging amidst the battlefield, memories of the late Second Hokage surfaced in his mind.
At that time, if it weren't for The Second protecting him while retreating with Danzo, Homura Mitokado, and others, how could he have possibly ended up sacrificing himself against rogue ninja from Kumogakure? With the Flying Thunder God Technique, such an outcome wouldn't have occurred.
Undoubtedly, the Flying Thunder God was one of The Second's trademarks.
Not only the Third, but also Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane—both long-standing high-ranking officials whose hearts had become as calm as still water—struggled to maintain their usual composure.
They too had recalled memories of The Second.
Even Danzo showed visible emotional disturbance, though his expression remained calm. However, the shadows in his eyes grew heavier. Looking at Minato on the battlefield, he suddenly experienced an intense sense of headache.
...
The battle continued in a stalemate.
Minato had used the Flying Thunder God Technique to evade attacks more than a dozen times. Even though using this technique didn't take too much chakra in his current state, it still added up after a while.
Fortunately, his body had been transformed by Nine-Tails' chakra. During this period, his chakra reserves had nearly doubled compared to his levels during the Second Great Ninja War.
This amount of chakra was already close to his peak strength from when he was alive.
"Boom!"
Once again, he was blasted backward several meters by Sakumo, barely managing to stabilize himself.
His brow slightly furrowed because he sensed his endurance limit approaching in this prolonged battle.
Sakumo had already memorized all the markings within the arena.
"Hehe, only twenty seconds remaining," Minato chuckled, although after continuously disrupting the fight, only twenty seconds were left from the original three minutes.
"That's enough," Sakumo smiled. He felt astonished at Minato's growth, yet ultimately, Minato still fell just short.
He had memorized all the locations of Minato's markings. Once Minato activated the body flicker technique again, he'd strike at full speed and end it.
Sakumo had every reason to trust his own speed.
"Really?" Minato lightly laughed.
Meanwhile, Sakumo concentrated intensely, preparing for this final strike.
Swish!
In an instant, Minato disappeared from his position. Sakumo's eyes swept rapidly across all previously memorized locations.
"Where is he?" In the next moment, he trembled inwardly because Minato was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly appearing before Kushina in the spectator stands, Minato's figure materialized.
She carried a specially crafted kunai given to her by Minato during the Second Great Ninja War. Sakumo couldn't track this marking hidden on Kushina's person.
As soon as Minato appeared, only the Third Hokage immediately noticed his location among the crowd.
Kushina merely felt she glimpsed Minato's smiling face, but before her eyes could widen in recognition, his figure had already vanished again.
Sakumo was equally stunned.
"Boom!"
The next moment, dense smoke rose from somewhere within the dueling arena.
[Smoke Bomb].
Sakumo's gaze sharpened. His entire figure became like a blade of white light, his hand wielding a chakra-infused sword emitting flashes of Raikō. The two beams twisted together like lightning striking from the sky, hurtling toward his target.
"Minato, you've lost!" Sakumo declared as he struck his target amidst the smoke.
Within the thick smoke, visibility was extremely limited. Sakumo couldn't even clearly see the entirety of Minato's form whom he had hit.
But for someone of his caliber, all he needed was the memory of a location. Even without seeing it, his attack could land in an instant.
Yet a trace of confusion still lingered in Sakumo's mind—just now for a brief moment, where exactly had Minato gone?
"Puff!"
Just as the sound rang out, the "Minato" he had struck suddenly let out a popping noise.
At the sound, Sakumo's heart lurched violently. "A Shadow Clone? How is that even possible!?"
At that moment, from within the thick smoke, three simultaneous voices of Minato suddenly burst out.
"You've hidden long enough. Now it's my turn to strike."
"This is my own original Ninjutsu…"
[Spiral Flashover Super Rasengan Style No. 3]
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