Minato also understood now.
"So this is because of Sakumo-sama…"
Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law had both been Suna jōnin, and both had been skilled puppet users. They had caused Konoha no small amount of trouble during the previous Great Ninja War. So emotionally, Minato could understand why Chiyo had come seeking revenge.
But…
One side's hero was the other side's hated enemy. Against the backdrop of a Great Ninja War, this kind of thing was unavoidable.
Since Chiyo had brought such a large force, she had clearly come with the resolve to kill. There was no way she could be sent back with a simple "Can we reconcile?"
So Minato could only let out a soft sigh. While scanning the surrounding Suna ninja, all of them ready to strike, he spoke calmly, his tone as casual as if they were chatting during a walk.
"Kakashi, if you had to choose one person from the other side to fight, who would you pick?
"Other than the ninja named Pakura."
"?"
Kakashi froze.
Pick someone? What did that mean?
Although he didn't quite understand what was going on, since Minato had asked, he still looked across at the enemy. His gaze paused on Chiyo for a few seconds, then shifted to another middle-aged man nearby, a puppet user controlling a dual-bladed puppet, with a venomous snake tattoo on his face.
"That puppet user. He looks pretty strong."
Minato nodded and then asked, "Obito, what about you?"
"Huh? Me?"
Obito answered casually, "The guy with the scar on his face, the one baring his teeth at me! I really want to beat him up!"
"And Rin?"
"For me… that female ninja, I guess."
Rin said quietly.
The teacher and students hadn't deliberately lowered their voices during this exchange, so the Suna ninja across from them heard everything.
Chiyo frowned slightly and said with a sharp edge in her voice, "Namikaze Minato, are these your final words? Is your last wish that these people, chosen by your disciples, kill them? That can be arranged—except for those two Hatake heirs."
"Hahaha."
Several Suna ninja let out mocking laughter, a trace of ridicule mixing into the tense killing intent.
Minato was also smiling.
"Sorry, but the situation may not be quite what you imagine."
As he said that,
Minato reached his right hand into the bulging tool pouch at his waist, then suddenly flung it outward. Special three-pronged kunai scattered in all directions like flowers tossed by a celestial maiden. Several were even thrown behind Yuu and the others.
Flying Thunder God kunai!
The Suna ninja initially thought Minato was throwing hidden weapons to attack them. Some hurriedly raised kunai to block.
But very quickly, they realized that most of these kunai weren't aimed at the crowd at all. Instead, they were thrown into the gaps between people. Some were even being tossed onto nearby tree trunks, rocks, and open ground, with seemingly no accuracy at all. For a moment, the Suna ninja couldn't understand what he was doing.
What… did this mean?
Was he giving up because he knew escape was impossible?
Only Chiyo, old and experienced, instinctively sensed something wrong from Minato's actions. She immediately shouted sharply, "Move! Kill them!"
However…
It was already too late.
Because Namikaze Minato's opening setup was complete.
As dozens of kunai spread across the surrounding area within tens of meters, Minato moved.
At that moment, time seemed to be slowed down, then accelerated to its absolute limit in an instant. Minato's figure abruptly blurred and vanished from where he stood, then began jumping and flashing between the kunai positions at a speed beyond the limits of the naked eye.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
This was speed in the truest sense.
From an outside perspective, Minato's body had vanished midway through. All they could see were streaks of golden light blooming at dozens of positions around them at once, forming a golden storm. The encirclement formed by twenty to thirty Suna ninja was torn apart by that violent storm in an instant!
Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!
Blood sprayed in all directions.
The muffled sounds of blades cutting flesh and severing throats linked together into a chilling, grisly symphony in the blink of an eye.
"Ughhh—!"
"My arm!"
"Stop him! Hurry, stop him!! He's coming—"
Along with short, desperate screams, the Suna ninja who had been brimming with killing intent a second earlier fell like wheat before a scythe. One after another, they clutched at gushing throats or chests and toppled backward with expressions of unbelieving terror.
The few who reacted slightly faster, dodging or blocking at the first instant and avoiding having their throats cut, still felt an overwhelming force crash into their wrists or waists. Their bodies were kicked away like broken sacks, slamming into their comrades and rolling into a heap.
"…Spiraling Flash Super Wheel Dance Roar Type Three!"
Only then did Minato finish calling out the name of his technique.
All of this had happened in a flash.
The golden storm appeared and vanished in the space of a breath. Only one or two seconds later, Minato's figure had returned to its original position, standing once more among Mikami Yuu and the others, his expression calm, as if he had never left.
But…
the surroundings had already become deathly silent.
The airtight encirclement from moments ago was now reduced to cold, stiff corpses and a handful of wounded ninja howling and rolling on the ground. The thick smell of blood overwhelmed the freshness of grass and trees.
Only a few people could still stand: Chiyo, Pakura, the three targets Kakashi and the others had named earlier, and one or two lucky ones who had been standing farther away and hadn't joined the charge in time.
"…Ah!"
Obito and Rin were completely stunned. Their brains nearly crashed on the spot, mouths open wide enough to fit an egg.
"W-what just happened? Was that Minato-sensei? How did he do that?"
Although they knew Minato could use Flying Thunder God, they had only ever seen him use it for travel. Even when he used it against enemies, it had been one jump at a time. They had never imagined that this space-time ninjutsu could be used to this extent.
Twenty-five kills in one second?!
That was absurd!
Across from them,
Chiyo's face also showed shock. Her aged pupils contracted violently as she stared hard at Minato, as if truly seeing this blond young man for the first time.
So this was the Yellow Flash?!
This strong?!
Didn't the intelligence say that Flying Thunder God was basically an upgraded Body Flicker Technique?
Well… strictly speaking, Minato hadn't shown off any advanced combat technique just now. It had been nothing more than teleport in close, cut the throat, teleport in close again, cut again… at most, mixed with a little Wind Release taijutsu.
But that simple combo, when enhanced by absolute speed, perfectly demonstrated the idea that in all martial arts under heaven, only speed was unbreakable.
Among the people killed just now, a few were even Suna jōnin. And yet they hadn't lasted even one extra second. They didn't even have time to release ninjutsu. Their strength had been erased before they could show it.
Even Chiyo herself hadn't clearly seen Minato's movements. She only vaguely caught a few trajectories and had no time at all to intervene.
At this moment,
Minato lightly exhaled, as if he had done something completely insignificant. The gentle smile on his face did not fade at all.
"Alright. Yuu, Kakashi, Obito, Rin—if you've chosen your opponents, you may begin."
"!!"
Only then did Kakashi and Obito belatedly realize why Minato had suddenly asked them who they wanted to duel earlier.
So that was why?
Only Yuu, who had been mentally prepared beforehand, had a relatively calm mindset…
Calm, my ass!
Was it really possible for a human's neural reaction speed to be that fast?
Minato, you bastard…
Are you really human?
Also, choosing enemies and leaving them alive like ordering dishes was honestly a little too humiliating. Did Suna not need face?
Still,
since Minato had already set the stage for them, there was nothing else to say now.
Yuu locked his gaze onto Pakura, who had not fully recovered from the shock. He stomped down and shot forward like a released bowstring, vanishing from where he stood.
Substitution Technique: Pseudo-Realm Instant Cast!
"?!"
Chiyo's eyelid twitched.
Wait—another Flying Thunder God?!
However, this "Flying Thunder God" was not as fast. The moment Chiyo noticed it, she shouted Pakura's name and controlled the puppets Crow and Black Ant in front of her to pounce toward Mikami Yuu.
But Minato flashed over and released Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, blowing them aside.
"Go, Yuu. Leave this side to me! I'm sorry, Elder Chiyo, but your opponent is me!"
"Thanks… let's talk somewhere else, Pakura!"
Mikami Yuu exhaled and shouted. In midair, he adjusted his posture slightly, then from the right side of Pakura's position, he drew his arm back like a bow and threw a plain, straightforward punch.
"Monster Strength Technique: Basic Breaking Fist!"
"…What?!"
Pakura's pupils shrank sharply as an intense sense of danger surged up. She had no time to use Scorch Release. Without thinking, she crossed both arms in front of her chest and retreated with all her strength.
Thud—!
A dull impact exploded!
Yuu's fist, carrying a sharp scream of torn air, smashed into Pakura's crossed defensive arms.
She felt an overwhelming force crash into her, as if it were about to shatter the bones in both arms. She groaned. Half to bleed off the force, and half because she truly couldn't withstand the violent impact, her feet left the ground and her entire body flew backward toward the dense forest.
Yuu kicked off hard and chased after her. While Pakura was still unable to dodge properly, he landed several more heavy punches.
Their figures quickly left the area of the "encirclement" and moved to another nearby battlefield.
This time, it really was "let's talk somewhere else."
Kakashi followed suit and tilted his chin toward the puppet user he had chosen earlier.
The man froze for a second, then his face darkened in anger. After a cold snort, he followed Kakashi and rushed in another direction, soon vanishing into the forest as well.
"Pakura! Shingo!"
A fierce light flashed in Chiyo's eyes. But immediately, a streak of golden light appeared in front of her. She hurriedly pulled both hands.
Whoosh!
An insect-shaped puppet crouching on the ground suddenly straightened up and raised the shield on its back, barely blocking in front of Chiyo. Almost at the same time, a golden flash appeared before the puppet—Namikaze Minato—thrusting his kunai fiercely forward.
Salamander!
Clang—!!!
In the piercing metallic impact, Minato's kunai only left a shallow white mark on the puppet shield.
Borrowing the recoil, he teleported backward, avoiding Crow and Black Ant, which had silently attacked from both sides. He reappeared dozens of meters away and spoke softly.
"As expected of Elder Chiyo. You really are formidable."
While speaking, Minato glanced to the side and noticed that Obito and Rin had already run off with two other Suna ninja.
These Suna ninja also understood the danger of the Yellow Flash. Rather than remain here and risk getting their throats cut by a kunai at any unknown moment, it was better to get farther away and have a chance of survival. They might even take two heads. After all, those kids didn't look as strong…
Chiyo tacitly allowed it all, then looked at Minato with a dark expression.
"Hmph. You still smell of milk, brat. Are you mocking this old woman?"
Chiyo had now confirmed that Minato's Flying Thunder God, in terms of speed and flexibility, far exceeded expectations. It was indeed not something ordinary Suna ninja could withstand. Even Chiyo herself might have been assassinated just now if she had been even slightly careless.
Without puppets for protection, a puppet user's physical body was not stronger than an ordinary ninja's. In fact, it was usually a little weaker.
But…
Was Flying Thunder God really this powerful?
Or was Namikaze Minato the exception?
After all, the last person widely known in the ninja world to have mastered Flying Thunder God was Senju Tobirama, and he had died to the Gold and Silver Brothers' unit from Kumogakure. That was also the main reason Suna had not taken the Yellow Flash too seriously until now…
Forget it. Thinking too much was useless.
Chiyo suppressed those thoughts and snorted coldly.
"Namikaze Minato! Don't think one space-time ninjutsu makes you invincible under heaven! When this old woman fought the Sannin of Konoha, you junior were still off somewhere playing in the mud!"
"Kill!"
With that angry shout, Chiyo's ten fingers moved like a blur. Chakra threads controlled Crow and Black Ant as they attacked Minato again. Salamander remained in place, guarding against Minato's sudden assaults.
Facing this fierce offensive, Minato did not dare be careless. Holding his kunai, he fought while retreating, constantly observing Chiyo's side and searching for a chance to assassinate her at close range.
Judging by what had just happened, ordinary thrusts would have difficulty breaking through Salamander's defense. To do that, he needed a stronger breaching method, such as…
"Should I use that technique?"
"But that jutsu still isn't fully developed. There may be mistakes. If the first strike fails, it will probably be hard to find a second opportunity…"
While dealing with the two puppets, Minato continued thinking.
Faintly,
his gaze flicked toward the directions where Yuu and Pakura, Kakashi, and the others had each gone. Hearing the faint sounds of explosions and blades clashing from those directions, his thoughts stirred.
"Yuu, Kakashi, and the others… should be fine, right?"