The Third Kazekage, Satetsu, stood tall, his piercing eyes observing the intruders with cold calculation. His presence was imposing, and the sand surrounding him hinted at his immense power.
Minato knew they were in an even more precarious situation now. The Third Kazekage was not someone to be trifled with.
'Besides Lord Third, Sakumo-sama and the Sanins, I don't think there's anyone in the village who could go toe to toe with him. That said, we need to get out of this and help Hiro and Sama.'
Satetsu reputation as one of the strongest shinobi in the Land of Wind was well-known, and the stories of his battles were legendary despite him only being a kage for a few years as compared to the rest.
"We're sinking faster," Yano muttered.
Minato glanced around, assessing their options. The sand continued to pull them down, and any sudden movement might quicken their descent. He had to think fast.
"Stay calm," he instructed. "We need to find a way to stabilize ourselves."
As they continued to sink, Minato reached out with his chakra, trying to find a kunai nearby to teleport them to safety. But the sand seemed to interfere with his sensing abilities, making it difficult to locate any of his placed seals.
"Can you teleport us out?" Renjiro asked, his voice tight with urgency.
"Working on it," Minato replied, his mind racing.
'Think, Minato. There has to be a way out of this.'
Teleporting from the Land of Wind to the Land of Earth to heed Yano's signal had consumed a lot of Minato's chakra. For such vast distances, Minato could not directly teleport to the location but had to go through any of the seals he had placed along the way.
With how limited the seals he had between the two countries were, the chakra expenditure only increased. And he made two such trips, bringing Yano and Renjiro back, so his chakra capacity was almost depleted.
While the teleportation he did with Asa also consumed chakra, it was not significant compared to the back and forth from the capital city of the Land of Earth.
"Yano, Renjiro, use clones to get us out of this," Minato instructed.
He could have done the same, but he was currently trying his best not to waste his already low chakra.
'It's going to be a bit hard,' Renjiro thought.
While making a shadow clone was easy, focusing on one's chakra when in such a precarious situation was a bit harder. The urgency and the instability of the sand added to the difficulty, but it was hard, not impossible.
The two complied. Renjiro made two shadow clones directly above him to help him out of the sand. As the clones formed, they immediately went to work.
'Getting out of this would have been much easier if I could use my chains, but again, we have to restrain ourselves to unrecognizable jutsus.' Renjiro thought.
One of Renjiro's clones grabbed him by the hands while the other clone pushed against the sand, providing leverage. With a coordinated effort, Renjiro was lifted slightly out of the quicksand.
'The sand over there is still,' Renjiro thought as he leveraged his two shadow clones to jump further from the quicksand. As he did, his shadow clones, still in the air, did the same for Minato, creating a stable platform for him to leap from.
'I knew that he could manipulate Iron Sand, but could he also do the same for normal sand?' Minato thought as both he and Yano landed beside Renjiro, their shadow clones dispelling themselves upon completion of their task.
"We need to get Sama and Hiro away from him," Minato said urgently.
"How?" Renjiro replied, still catching his breath.
Minato quickly assessed the situation. "We need a distraction. I'll create an opening, and you two grab Sama and Hiro." He glanced at Yano. "Can you use your wind techniques subtly enough not to reveal your identity?"
Yano nodded. "I can manage that."
Satetsu, the Third Kazekage, wasn't a sensory ninja, but he had already noticed the trio the moment they arrived.
He chose to do nothing, observing their sudden appearance with a calculating gaze. Though surprised that they seemed to materialize out of thin air, he quickly deduced that the three new arrivals were most likely working with the two shinobi he had captured. He figured they would come to him instead, and that was exactly what Minato did.
He moved swiftly flickering as close as he could on steady ground and threw a kunai aimed at The Kazekage's feet.
The Kazekage deflected it easily with his sand, but it served its purpose as Minato teleported to the kunai's location, now standing between the Kazekage and his captured comrades.
"You finally decided to come. Would you mind telling me what you are doing here?" Satetsu asked calmly. He had already surmised the general intentions of this group of shinobi; the only thing left was to understand their reasons.
Minato did not reply, causing Satetsu to flick his wrist, sending part of his sand toward Minato as sharp projectiles. Minato dodged them with ease, his reflexes sharp and precise.
Meanwhile, Yano and Renjiro sprinted towards Sama and Hiro, attempting to free them from their sandy prison. However, Satetsu saw this and clenched his fist, causing the sand around Sama and Hiro to harden and constrict further, making it nearly impossible for them to be released.
He wasn't about to let them escape so easily. "Iron Sand Drizzle," he muttered, and immediately, his iron sand hardened into minuscule grains.
These grains shot out across a vast range, moving so fast they were nearly invisible. Using the repellent force of magnetism, the speed of the bullets rapidly increased after they were launched, making them deadly projectiles.
The Iron Sand Drizzle was a technique that Satetsu had refined over the years. When he used it against Minato, he shaped his sand into sharp needles, increasing their lethality. This time, against Yano and Renjiro, he opted for the same strategy. The iron sand needles streaked through the air, aimed directly at the two shinobi.
Minato, sensing the danger, shouted, "Get down!" He quickly summoned a barrier of chakra to shield his team. The iron sand bullets hit the barrier, some of them piercing through and narrowly missing their targets.
Yano and Renjiro, reacting to Minato's warning, dropped to the ground. Dodgin the bullets was useless as Satetsu ensured that it covered a vast area.
Despite their efforts, a few of the iron sand needles grazed them, drawing thin lines of blood. The speed and precision of Satetsu's attack were overwhelming.
'I need a bigger distraction to deal with him.'
Minato was acutely aware of the power difference between him and Satetsu. As an elite Jounin, Minato knew he was outmatched against a Kage, and with his chakra reserves running low, he had to be strategic.
'My chakras are low, but maybe this can get us out of here,' Minato thought as he bit into his thumb, drawing blood. He quickly performed a series of hand signs and then slammed his hands onto the sandy ground.
The blood seeped into the sand creating a seal and a thick cloud of smoke erupted from the point of contact, enveloping the area.
When the smoke cleared, Minato could be seen standing on top of a giant toad with green skin and yellow pupils. This was Fukasaku, the Toad Sage.
"What is it, Minato-boy?"
Satetsu's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the sight of Fukasaku. "A summoning? Impressive," he muttered, his tone still calm but with a hint of curiosity.
"Fukasaku-sama, I need your help to create a distraction," Minato said urgently.
Fukasaku nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation immediately. "Got it, Minato-boy."
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