Sage Art: Goemon This was a large-scale, high-destruction ninjutsu that could only be performed under Sage Mode, in cooperation with two sages.
It was also Jiraiya's trump card.
In an instant, the battlefield was filled with thousands-of-degrees boiling oil, capable of engulfing opponents in flames. Its temperature rivaled the surface of the sun, theoretically able to consume all tangible matter.
The two sages had asked Minato if Jiraiya had taught him the oil for this very reason.
Minato didn't know this ninjutsu—but the two sages did!
All Minato had to do was spray the oil, leaving the rest to them.
"Father, it's starting!"
"Oh!" Fukasaku responded, inhaling deeply.
Shima did the same.
Minato, unaware of their full plan, cooperated anyway—dodging attacks while forming hand seals and spouting a jet of oil from his mouth.
At the same time, Shima spewed fire, and Fukasaku unleashed a gust of wind.
The oil ignited instantly. Propelled by wind and fire, its temperature soared. Any panda touched by the oil was immediately engulfed in searing flames.
Those pandas with lesser mastery of Sage Arts were incinerated in the blink of an eye.
The remaining pandas didn't fare much better. Within moments, the arena floor was coated with a thick layer of oil. From hundreds of pandas, only seven or eight remained.
Panda Ming tossed aside his trap. "I told you, not letting me use clay would be a huge mistake!"
A palm-sized clay block appeared in his hand.
"Watch this!"
"Art is explosion!"
As he shouted, the clay detonated instantly.
Thanks to his modifications, the clay no longer needed chakra to detonate. Panda Ming could remotely trigger explosions at will.
The Panda Sage watched, impressed.
Has Panda Ming finally discovered the true clay?
Minato vanished instantly as the clay flew toward him.
Back home, Minato-style… always grim.
Yuki Seisui glanced toward Hiruzen, Setsuna, and Haru. They could only see the battle between the summoned beasts from this distance—not the humans themselves.
Setsuna smirked. "Can't see clearly, huh?"
"Do you think you can?" Hiruzen snorted.
"No way… really? Can someone actually not see clearly?" Setsuna activated the Mangekyo Sharingan, the three tomoe spinning into a triangular configuration in an instant.
I've never been this speechless in my life.
The sharingan already greatly enhanced vision, even a single tomoe was impressive. Its evolution further amplified perception.
Ignoring the risk of blindness or gradual vision loss, the Mangekyo Sharingan surpassed the Byakugan in raw insight.
Remarkable perception—the only drawback was not being able to observe 360° simultaneously. Not a real flaw.
Seeing Hiruzen's exasperation, Setsuna chuckled. His Mangekyo had already been revealed while quelling the Uchiha radicals, so exposure didn't matter.
Besides, my ocular techniques haven't even been used yet.
By now, Minato had vanished from the battlefield.
The Flying Raijin kunai, previously carried away by the little toad, now came into play.
"Young Minato, this isn't looking good," Fukasaku said gravely from his shoulder.
"Even Sage Art: Goemon couldn't kill all of those pandas."
"Goemon wiped out most of them, but the remaining pandas aren't intimidated by this technique," added Shima.
They're terrifying.
They can survive temperatures near the surface of the sun and act like it's nothing!
Never before had the sages encountered beings that could bathe in burning oil and remain unharmed.
Is this another group mastering Sage Arts?
"Truly formidable," nodded Fukasaku.
Historically, the three sacred lands of the ninja world were Mount Myoboku (toads), Ryuchi Cave (snakes), and Shikkotsu Forest (slugs).
They had assumed that only these three mastered natural energy—yet these pandas, also wielders of natural energy, were unbelievably strong.
"Two sages, what should we do next?" Minato frowned.
Even such a powerful ninjutsu can't harm them.
And they're immune to genjutsu…
He couldn't think of any way to defeat these pandas.
Do I even deserve to face Seisui?
The Fukasaku-sama pondered, then suggested:
"Why not use Flying Raijin and us to circle around them?"
Your speed is your true strength.
Minato's Flying Raijin technique was unmatched—no one could catch him.
Considering the sage's words, Minato nodded, summoning a few small blue toads.
He handed them kunai.
"Take these over there," he said, pointing far from Yuki Seisui.
"Ribbit?" A blue toad tilted its head but then nodded, ready to depart.
Shima instructed: "Spread out, move away from this direction, and go as far as you can."
"Ribbit-ribbit!"
The blue toads left, but Minato remained uneasy.
Although not as fast as him, the toads were two to three times faster than ordinary humans.
Hopefully they'll get away.
He hadn't forgotten his past battle with Yuki Seisui, when he'd used a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Back then, I foolishly thought it was just a chakra cannon…
We'll return—this time, even if we lose, we'll do it with style!
"Yes!" nodded the sages. Minato vanished again.
He left a Flying Raijin mark atop one of the large pandas.
Yuki Seisui smiled upon seeing him appear once more.
"Minato, you're finally back."
"So… are you ready?" Yuki Seisui's delay in attacking had been to allow Minato to prepare.
In the dueling arena, his Flying Raijin was weakened.
He couldn't sense other kunai to teleport to; he could only move to those he threw himself during battle.
His combat effectiveness is greatly reduced.
In the outside world, he wouldn't even need preparation—Flying Raijin kunai were everywhere. He could avoid any large-scale danger effortlessly.
If only I didn't have to care about chakra, I could even go home for dinner during a mission.
…..
Completed version available on Available on [P]atreon.[c]om/Veltoria [remove brackets]