Neferpitou, who had knocked Han flying and sent Roshi crashing to the ground with a preemptive strike, steadied herself and revealed a wild, arrogant grin.
Damn, this feels amazing!!
Ever since her first appearance, when she got humiliated by Minato Namikaze, the fire in Neferpitou's heart had only grown stronger.
So what if I can't beat Minato Namikaze? Don't tell me I can't handle you two fighters?
Yeah, it's a bit shameless, but the reputation I lost before—I'll take it back from the two of you!!
What?
Bullying the weak and fearing the strong?
This is called tactics, you idiot!
"Where the hell are you looking?!"
At that moment, Bertholdt also rushed to the front of the Hidden Leaf Village camp. Faint golden lightning flickered across his body, and on his thumb, a tiny trace of blood could be seen.
He didn't dare bite his thumb directly, fearing the damage might exceed the shadow clone's limit and cause it to disperse, so he had casually used a wooden splinter along the way to prick his finger and draw blood for the transformation.
Of course, before this, when Akashō was still at the Hidden Leaf Village camp, they had already tested it—this level of damage alone wasn't enough to make a shadow clone disperse.
Damn it, why did I zone out?!
On the opposite side, Minato Namikaze cursed inwardly. The intel had clearly stated that Bertholdt's weakness might be his original body before transformation. He should have used his speed advantage to kill him before he transformed—even interrupting him would have been enough.
His body moved with his thoughts as Minato instantly used Body Flicker to rush toward Bertholdt. But at that moment, a bolt of golden lightning descended from the sky and struck Bertholdt.
Transformation explosion!!!
Halfway through his charge, Minato felt a violent pressure of wind around him, along with a wave of scorching steam rushing toward his face.
It was a technique comparable in power to a Tailed Beast Bomb explosion!
Information about Bertholdt flashed through Minato's mind. His pupils shrank, and he immediately used Flying Thunder God to teleport away.
"Boom!!!"
A blinding white light shot into the sky as a violent explosion erupted, engulfing several hundred meters around it, even affecting Neferpitou on the other side.
Neferpitou turned into a blur, dodging the aftershock of the explosion. Malice surged from within her as she unleashed En, enveloping all the Hidden Stone Village ninja within its range.
Judging from Han and Roshi's earlier condition, pure physical strength alone was enough to deal with them—there was no need to enhance her body with Nen.
Expanding En could both suppress the main force of the Hidden Stone Village ninja and allow wide-range detection. Multiple attacks would be more effective. Even if something unexpected happened later, she still had Terpsichora as backup.
Under Neferpitou's overwhelming malice, nearly half of the Hidden Stone Village ninja, who had just recovered from Bertholdt's massive explosion, began to feel fear again. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably as they stiffened in place.
Come to think of it, this malice really is perfect for harvesting reputation points from the weak.
"Neferpitou!!"
On the other side, Han—who had been kicked away earlier—had already entered a semi–Tailed Beast transformation. Steam billowed around him as he charged toward her.
Unfortunately, after taking Neferpitou's kick in his normal state before transforming, even as the Five-Tails jinchūriki with incredible vitality and recovery, Neferpitou could still see that his steps were slightly unsteady.
"Heh."
Before Neferpitou could mock him, Roshi, already in semi–Tailed Beast form, leapt behind her.
"Where the hell are you looking?!"
Hmm, as expected—taking that kick while already in semi–Tailed Beast form is different. The injury isn't serious, recovery is quick, and the movements are agile.
Too bad—you're inside my En.
Neferpitou merely tilted her head slightly and dodged Roshi's punch.
Such fast reactions!
Roshi, shocked, swung his tail toward her.
"You're not the only one with a tail, you bastard!!!"
Neferpitou's tail turned into a black blur, instantly lashing across Roshi's waist and sending him flying like a shadow straight toward Han, who was rushing in from afar.
You think you can touch me? Go learn Flying Thunder God from Minato Namikaze for a few years first!
"Roar!!!"
As the explosion ended, a massive figure burst out of the smoke. Without hesitation, it took two steps forward and stomped toward the Hidden Leaf Village camp.
Amid the screams and scattering of countless Hidden Leaf Village ninja, Minato—who had just teleported nearby—looked on in shock.
Even though he had already seen descriptions of the Colossal Titan in the intelligence reports, witnessing it in person still filled him with a deep sense of helplessness.
Damn it… a size like this is exactly the type I'm worst at dealing with.
Fighting something like this—my attacks will probably really end up like what Neferpitou said… just scrubbing its back.
And my only large-scale combat method is…
"Summoning Jutsu!"
In a rush, Minato summoned Gamabunta.
"Boss Toad, I'm counting on you!!"
Gamabunta burst out of the white smoke and immediately leapt dozens of meters, landing right beneath the Colossal Titan's foot.
"Holy—!"
With one stomp, Gamabunta—who only reached the Titan's lower leg—almost collapsed, nearly crushing over a dozen Hidden Leaf Village ninja beneath him.
"Damn it, Minato, you really know how to dump trouble on me! This thing's even bigger than the Nine-Tails!"
Minato pulled out a Flying Thunder God kunai from his pouch.
"Sorry, Boss Toad—hold on a bit longer!"
As he spoke, Minato used Body Flicker to circle around the Colossal Titan, tossing Flying Thunder God kunai along the way to form a triangular encirclement around it.
"Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder!!"
Before arriving here, Minato had already anticipated the presence of jinchūriki on the Hidden Stone Village side, so he had set up guiding markers for Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder at a distance—just like the triangular formation of kunai now surrounding the Titan.
At the very moment Gamabunta could no longer hold and was about to collapse, the Colossal Titan's massive body suddenly vanished, reappearing several kilometers away.
Even so, with its enormous size, Minato could still clearly see its figure in the distance.