The piercing whistle of steel split the air behind him. Instantly, Minato Namikaze triggered the Flying Thunder God Technique, folding space in a blink as he reappeared on a three-pronged kunai mark ahead.
"Tch… my physical attacks can't catch Ash at all."
Dodging Ash's counterstrike, Minato narrowed his eyes.
"I have to catch the moment he materializes. That's my only opening."
Ash exhaled slowly, his gaze locked onto Minato.
So he's relying on space-time ninjutsu… then it all comes down to whose attack lands first.
Ash's Aura reserves far surpassed Minato's chakra. Though only recently reaching Kage-class combat power, his chakra was already several times beyond that threshold—enhanced further by his Aura affinity and the Curse Mark. Running out of energy wasn't a concern.
A flash of silver. Minato hurled a three-pronged kunai straight for Ash's skull and immediately gave chase.
Ash didn't flinch. The kunai passed harmlessly through his head—his body still in a phase-shifted state—while his right hand reached forward, aiming to clamp down on Minato's left shoulder.
The instant the kunai exited his head, Ash rematerialized, and his palm darted forward like lightning.
"I win," Ash smirked as his hand touched Minato—
—then Minato vanished.
The Flying Thunder God seal embedded in the passing kunai flared to life. In the same heartbeat, Minato reappeared behind Ash—precisely above the kunai's trajectory—with his right hand already forming a roaring Rasengan.
"Not good—!"
Ash's Aura warned him too late.
"BOOM!!!"
The Big Ball Rasengan slammed into Ash's back, hurling him forward as his spine and organs screamed in protest. He coughed blood, vision warping from the impact's shock.
Minato didn't allow even a second.
His left hand tightened on another kunai—lunging straight for Ash's heart.
"Phase Shift!"
Gritting through the pain, Ash forced his body intangible again and blurred away, landing atop a broken boulder. Dust rained down from the crater Minato's Rasengan had carved out of the earth. His right arm, though, couldn't fully escape—the kunai sliced deep.
Breath shaking, Ash clutched his wounded arm.
"That was close… too close."
His voice was strained, but a fierce grin tugged at his lips.
"Minato Namikaze—The Yellow Flash… you live up to your name."
The words had barely left him when Minato appeared directly before him again—no visible kunai nearby, no warning at all.
It wasn't speed. It was space itself being cut and rearranged.
Ash's eyes widened.
"I won't fall for the same trick twice," he growled. "I've already figured out your Flying Thunder God."
Minato didn't speak.
He attacked.
"BOOM!"
Before Ash's voice had even faded, Minato Namikaze flickered into existence right beside him through the Flying Thunder God Technique, thrusting a three-pronged kunai toward Ash's abdomen.
But Minato's eyes widened.
Ash's body remained intangible—the kunai passed straight through him.
Ever since taking position on the boulder, Ash had already shifted into his phase state, staying immaterial to avoid another sudden spatial strike. That single kunai mark Minato had left on him earlier had been enough for Ash to predict his next move.
As Minato passed through, Ash twisted sharply—his elbow smashing into Minato's cheek with a heavy thud.
Minato grunted, but instead of recoiling, he seized Ash's right wrist with his left hand. His right palm flashed with sealing energy, slamming into Ash's left shoulder.
A contract seal spread across Ash's body like burning chains.
Ash's pupils contracted.
"Contract Seal…! You're trying to sever my link to the Nine-Tails!"
"In that case," Minato replied with calm certainty, "the Nine-Tails doesn't belong to you."
The spiritual connection snapped.
The red aura around Ash wavered—and deep within the village, the Nine-Tails' Sharingan vanished, returning to wild, bestial eyes. The assault from Konoha's shinobi had already driven the fox into rage; with its control broken, it now roared in pure fury—turning all that hatred fully upon the village again.
The ground shook.
Minato looked back in alarm—but Ash was already smiling.
"Looks like I win in the end… Minato."
Before the Hokage could respond, distorted space spiraled open around Ash— a time-space vortex swallowing him whole.
And he was gone.
...
TN:
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