Kaito Chapter 30: Elusive Victory
But Minato was not one to surrender without a fight. he activated his Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting himself away from the masked man's grasp.
The masked man, momentarily caught off guard, watched as Minato vanished into thin air. "He teleported away. He's fast... next time, I'll get him faster... the instant we make contact," he muttered to himself, a hint of frustration in his voice.
….
Minato's body crashed near his Hiraishin kunai, just outside the remnants of the warehouse where he had teleported baby Naruto with the explosive tags. As he picked himself up, his mind raced, trying to comprehend the events that had just transpired.
"My attack missed," he thought, his brow furrowed in concentration. "But he managed to materialize and instantly attempted to drag me into his dimension... what is this jutsu?"
As he slowly rose to his feet, a sudden sense of foreboding washed over him. Instinctively, he spun around, his eyes widening as he caught sight of a figure emerging from a swirling vortex.
"Heh, I won't let you get away," the masked man declared arrogantly, his single Sharingan glinting menacingly through the mask.
Minato's mind raced as he observed his opponent's use of the teleportation jutsu. 'Could this be how he abducted Kushina and escaped so swiftly?' he wondered, retrieving the Hiraishin kunai at his feet.
As he slowly rose to his full height, Minato's thoughts continued to unravel. 'A shinobi who managed to outmaneuver the Anbu assigned under the Third Hokage's direct command, slipped through a top-secret barrier, and possessed the knowledge that the Nine-Tails seal would weaken during childbirth,' he mused, his gaze never leaving his masked adversary.
'Furthermore, he undid the Nine-Tails seal, tamed the beast, and infiltrated and exited the Hidden Leaf's barrier undetected... there's only one shinobi capable of such feats,' Minato concluded, his voice hardening as he addressed the masked man.
"Are you Madara Uchiha?" he inquired, a hint of suspicion lacing his tone. "No, that's impossible. He's dead."
The masked man lowered his hood with slowly, tilting his head at an angle. "I wonder about that myself," he replied enigmatically.
Undeterred by the theatrics, Minato pressed on with his question. "Regardless of your identity, why are you targeting the Hidden Leaf?"
The masked man's expression remained inscrutable as he offered a cryptic response. "Ah, the reasons behind my actions are as varied as the winds that blow. I could tell you it was a fleeting impulse, a meticulously crafted plan, an act of war, or a pursuit of peace."
As he spoke, he produced a peculiar chain with cuffs at each end, its purpose shrouded in mystery.
Minato, sensing the gravity of the situation, adopted a serious demeanor. 'Whatever the case, this man is no ordinary shinobi,' he thought. 'He can control the Nine-Tails, his teleportation jutsu surpasses both the Second Hokage's and mine, and his ideology is undeniably dangerous. I must deal with him now, or he will pose an even greater threat than the Nine-Tails itself! If I transport myself back to the village now, he will follow, and the battlefield will become even more chaotic. If he's anything like Madara, I can't keep the Nine-Tails under the summoning jutsu for too long. I must entrust the village to the Third Hokage and face this man here and now!'
With that determination in mind, Minato gripped his Hiraishin kunai tightly, assuming a battle pose.
As Minato pondered his next move, the masked man fastened the cuffs to his wrists. "now that i have freed the nine tails, you people have no hope left!" he declared, his voice echoing with a chilling confidence.
In a synchronized burst of speed, Minato and the masked man charged towards each other, their movements blurring into a whirlwind of motion. As Minato closed in on his adversary, he thrust his kunai forward, aiming to skewer the masked man. However, just as he had experienced before, the kunai and Minato himself passed straight through the masked man's form, as if he were made of intangible phantoms.
Capitalizing on this momentary disorientation, the masked man seized the opportunity. With a swift tug on the chains attached to his wrists, he ensnared Minato in a tight grip, the chains wrapping around the Yellow Flash's midsection.
Sensing the impending danger, Minato reacted with lightning-fast reflexes, employing his signature Flying Thunder God technique to teleport out of the chains' grasp. In an instant, he materialized a few meters away, crouching low, his presence a blur against the backdrop of the battlefield.
As he regained his composure, Minato's mind raced, analyzing the peculiar nature of his opponent. 'His physical form... my physical attacks have no effect on him,' he thought, his eyes darting towards the masked man's position. 'But he materializes to launch his attacks. That means I can only target him when we both strike simultaneously!'
'However,' Minato continued, his thoughts sharp and focused, 'his vulnerability lies in that brief moment of materialization. And considering the time constraints of the Nine-Tails summoning jutsu, he clearly isn't interested in prolonging this battle. Victory will hinge on who strikes that split second faster.'
With a surge of determination, Minato turned and sprinted towards the masked man, who mirrored his movement, both figures converging in a high-speed dance of death.
When Minato got near the masked man, he threw the Hiraishin kunai at the masked man's head. The kunai passed right through the masked man's head, just like Minato's last attack.
The masked man reached out his right hand to touch Minato. As the kunai passed through the masked man's head, Minato made a Rasengan in his right hand. However, this Rasengan was different from the regular Rasengan. It made a high-pitched sound and was white in color. It was a Wind Release Rasengan that Minato had mastered recently.
"I win," the masked man thought as he was about to touch Minato first. But just then, Minato teleported to the kunai he had thrown.
Appearing above the masked man, Minato used his superior speed and reflexes to slam the Wind Release Rasengan on the masked man's back. All of this happened so fast that the masked man was not able to react or activate his Kamui.
The force of the attack was so great that it destroyed the entire field and formed a big crater. Realizing what had just happened, the masked man cursed, "Damn it! He teleported to that kunai earlier!"
"That was my Flying Raijin, Level 2," said Minato as he ended the Rasengan and marked the masked man with his Hiraishin mark.
After awhile the masked man jumped out from the crater, his body battered and bleeding profusely from the Wind Release Rasengan's devastating impact, landed heavily upon an uprooted chunk of earth, clutching the stub where his left hand once was.
His voice hoarse and strained, he acknowledged his defeat, addressing Minato, who stood resolute amidst the wreckage of the battlefield. "You got me," he admitted, his eyes filled with a mixture of awe and resignation. "This is what is meant by 'elusive'. I should never have let down my guard."
As the masked man's words hung in the air, Minato vanished, reappearing in an instant directly in front of his adversary. With a swift and precise motion, he plunged his three-pronged kunai into the masked man's chest, simultaneously placing his hand upon the man's heart.
Caught off guard by the sudden reappearance and the swiftness of Minato's attack, the masked man could only gasp in surprise as he realized the true nature of Minato's prowess. 'Flying Raijin Jutsu!.. So that's it... he marked my body somewhere!' he thought, his mind struggling to comprehend the blinding speed and precision with which Minato had executed his attack.
As Minato's hand rested upon the masked man's chest, a seal matrix materialized, its intricate patterns glowing with an otherworldly light. The masked man felt the connection between himself and the Nine-Tails severed in an instant.
"A contract seal? He intends to separate the Nine-Tails from me?" he thought, a wave of despair washing over him as the extent of his defeat became painfully clear.
"With this," he declared, his voice resonating with authority, "the Nine-Tails no longer belongs to you!"
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