"Ah, so it's the two of you here..."
"It took me quite a while to find you."
A sarcastic voice sounded somewhat inappropriate, catching the attention of Minato Namikaze and the masked man as they looked up.
Above their heads, a black-clad, white-haired youth had appeared at some point, standing on an invisible line in mid-air.
"Yu?"
"Why are you here?"
Seeing Yu's sudden appearance, Minato Namikaze's expression momentarily froze.
"Hmph..."
"So, it's the Scarlet Yu that the entire ninja world has been talking about recently... quite troublesome."
Seeing the youth who had appeared out of thin air above them, the masked man recognized Yu's identity with just one glance.
'If I hadn't stopped absorbing chakra in time just now...
I'm sure my body would have been pierced through by now...'
Glancing at the ground beneath his feet that had been completely blown apart, the masked man couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
Moreover, this sudden and unannounced appearance...
I didn't expect this guy to be even more formidable than before...
Recalling his humiliating defeat when he had challenged Yu in the past, feeling the increased strength of Yu compared to before, and considering the various rumors circulating about Yu in the ninja world recently, a shadow fell over the masked man's heart.
"Oh? It seems you've also heard of my name..."
Gazing at the mysterious masked man below, Yu's lips curled with a hint of playfulness. "Why do I feel like I've seen you somewhere before... do we know each other?"
Of course, Yu knew the true identity of the masked man, but he intentionally said this in front of Minato Namikaze just to embarrass him a bit.
Does this guy... perhaps sense something?
Feeling the teasing gaze from Yu, the masked man's heart suddenly shook, wondering if Yu had already figured out his true identity.
"Hmph, Yellow Flash and Scarlet Yu, huh..."
"Even if the two of you come at me together, I won't fail."
With that in mind, the masked man deliberately snorted, shifting Minato Namikaze's attention to the ongoing battle in front of them.
"The two of us teaming up? You're overestimating it..."
"To deal with vermin like you, who hide their true intentions, I don't think it's necessary for the Fourth Hokage and me to join forces."
Upon hearing the masked man's words, Yu couldn't help but chuckle. Then, he turned his gaze to Minato Namikaze on the other side below.
"Fourth Hokage, go handle the Nine-Tails and take care of Kushina while you're at it..."
"I'll take care of this guy. Let me have some fun with him here."
Minato Namikaze had once saved Yu during a mission involving spying on Mist Village's intelligence at the Land of Fire's border. Now, by intervening to hold off the masked man and buying time, Yu considered it repaying a favor to Minato Namikaze.
"Since that's the case..."
"I'm counting on you, Yu."
Upon hearing this, Minato Namikaze's mind raced, and he quickly made a decision.
It was clear that the safety of Kushina and Naruto was more crucial than entangling with the masked man here. Moreover, as the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, dealing with the disaster caused by the Nine-Tails outside was an unavoidable duty.
Most importantly—based on Yu's demonstrated strength on the battlefield, Minato Namikaze had complete confidence in entrusting the mysterious masked man to him.
"I'm leaving this guy to you..."
"Be cautious of his space-time Ninjutsu..."
Before departing, Minato Namikaze solemnly reminded Yu. Then, with a swift movement, he activated the Flying Thunder God Jutsu and instantly disappeared from the spot.
"Damn it..."
"Don't think you can just leave so easily!"
Seeing Minato Namikaze leave like that, the masked man clenched his teeth, preparing to pursue him.
"Boom!"
The moment the masked man took a step forward, the entire air in front of him was instantly flattened.
A terrifying shockwave pierced through his body, creating a deep and bottomless bear-paw-shaped crater where he stood.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"I told you... I am your opponent."
Following Yu's words, the masked man felt a flash before his eyes, and Yu's figure instantly appeared in front of him.
Not only that, Tyrant, Michael, Toshogun, and the newly acquired Third Raikage puppet with the Door Devil Law, were all summoned by Yu in an instant, blocking all of the masked man's retreat routes.
"Puppets..."
Seeing Yu simultaneously controlling four puppet figurines blocking all his paths, the masked man remained unfazed. However, when his gaze fell upon the puppet of the Third Raikage in front of him, his expression suddenly changed.
"Wait a moment... What is this?!"
"Third Raikage? You actually turned the Third Raikage of the Hidden Cloud into a puppet?!"
"What a madman... As a ninja of Konoha, meddling with such forbidden Ninjutsu, aren't you afraid of being hunted down by the entire ninja world?"
Seeing that Yu had turned the defeated Third Raikage into a puppet on the battlefield, the expression on the masked man's face became extremely intense.
"The entire ninja world hunting me? Heh..."
"I think you should be more concerned about yourself right now!"
Hearing the masked man's words, Yu responded with a disdainful smile. The Third Raikage puppet, manipulated by his Parasitic Threads, suddenly emitted a burst of lightning.
Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!!
Before the masked man could react, a lightning-fast streak flashed through the air, and the Thunder Spear in the hand of the Third Raikage puppet had instantly pierced through his body.
"This speed?!"
"Indeed, he truly deserves to be the strongest Raikage of the Hidden Cloud..."
Seeing the incredible speed of the Third Raikage puppet manipulated by Yu, the masked man was shocked, though a deep and ominous chuckle escaped his lips.
"But it's futile..."
"Any attack in this world is ineffective against me!"
After his ethereal form phased through the Hell Stab of the Third Raikage puppet, the masked man swiftly retreated to the side, rapidly forming hand seals.
"If you're so eager to play with me..."
"Don't blame me if I end up playing you to death later!"
As if he had resolved to teach Yu, this arrogant youth, a lesson, the masked man, after completing the hand seals, unleashed scorching Fire Release directly from his mouth.
Immediately, searing flames twisted along the spiral distortion of his space-time Ninjutsu, transforming into a flaming whip that rapidly spun towards Yu with astonishing speed.
"Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance!"
Though just a B-rank Fire Release Ninjutsu, when combined with the masked man's Mangekyo Sharingan and space-time abilities, the speed of this technique made it nearly impossible to evade!
"Protective Barrier!"
Facing the massively expansive and swiftly approaching Fire Release Ninjutsu unleashed by the masked man, Yu, standing firmly in place with his hands in his pockets and didn't even furrow his brows.
At his side, Michael stepped forward, intertwining his fingers in a cross shape in front of him, instantly creating an enormous transparent Protective Barrier. It perfectly blocked all the flames before them.
"Hehe..."
"You've truly become ruthless, huh..."
Standing motionless and having blocked all the flames, Yu looked at the masked man who was now a far cry from the carefree and passionate youth he once knew. A satisfied smile adorned Yu's face.
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