Just as the sea of flames began to dissipate, a specially crafted kunai silently pierced through the iron sand wall.
Upon closer inspection, the kunai's surface was coated with a dense layer of Chakra, refined to an almost needle-like sharpness.
The iron sand wall, which was supposed to be impenetrable, crumbled like tofu in its presence.
Swish!
The air seemed to tremble slightly, and in the blink of an eye, Minato Namikaze appeared on the inner side of the iron sand wall.
"Flying Thunder God, Second Step!"
Grasping the airborne kunai in his left hand, Minato held a sky-blue sphere of Chakra in his right palm.
The tightly compressed Chakra within the sphere rotated rapidly—this was the result of three years of painstaking refinement, Minato's signature seal-less ninjutsu.
"Rasengan!"
Minato's reaction was lightning-fast as he thrust the Rasengan directly toward Sōmi's face.
At that moment, Sōmi appeared as if caught in slow motion. His eyelids slowly widened, and terror gradually surfaced in his eyes.
But it wasn't that Sōmi was slow—it was that Minato was simply too fast.
So fast that even Sōmi's consciousness had only just begun to react, leaving his body incapable of keeping up.
It was easy to imagine the gruesome aftermath if the high-speed Rasengan struck Sōmi's face head-on. His brain matter would likely be churned into a uniform paste, like soy milk in a blender, before exploding out of the back of his skull.
Pop!
Fortunately, a towering shadow suddenly emerged between Minato and Sōmi.
The surface of this figure emitted an eerie blue liquid, and as the Rasengan made contact, it dissolved like snow under a blazing sun.
The massive figure then swung its left arm down in a powerful strike!
Clang!
Minato blocked the attack with the kunai in his left hand.
It was only then that he realized the shadow before him was a human puppet!
The puppet stood nearly two and a half meters tall, its entire body glowing with an eerie blue light. Upon closer inspection, the glow seemed almost alive, writhing subtly across its surface.
The puppet's abdomen, which had just absorbed the Rasengan, had already returned to normal, showing no signs of the ripples from before.
Its left arm, however, resembled a massive club, covered with small protruding spikes.
Screech!
Suddenly, the spikes on the club extended into sharp, jagged short spears, thrusting toward Minato's face.
Yet Minato's expression remained calm. Just as the spears were about to strike him, his body vanished like an illusion, leaving only an afterimage behind.
Sōmi, still in a state of heightened alertness from the earlier encounter, felt his nerves tighten to their limit. In that moment, his mind even began to flash through a "Revolving Lantern" of memories.
As he instinctively reached for the Starfall Rod to defend himself, Minato's figure disappeared once again.
Realizing the immediate danger had passed, Sōmi exhaled heavily, his breaths coming in ragged gasps.
"Hah… Hah…"
"Scorpion, I owe you one!" Sōmi turned to Scorpion, who stood behind him on the left, expressing his gratitude. At critical moments like this, Scorpion's composure was truly invaluable.
"I just happened to have placed the puppet beside you. If he had attacked from another direction, I wouldn't have been able to help," Scorpion replied, his expression unusually grave. After all, he had just witnessed the terrifying speed of what felt like "teleportation."
Sōmi quickly maneuvered his golden cloud higher into the air, distancing himself from the ground. This at least reduced the risk of an enemy kunai suddenly appearing beneath his feet.
Boom!
Unnoticed by Sōmi, the Third Kazekage was already engaged in combat with Jiraiya, controlling a massive rectangular block of iron sand that buzzed ominously as it cut through the air.
Seeing this, Sōmi knew he could hold back no longer. If he didn't go all out now, there might not be another chance.
At the same time, Scorpion released his Raiga Kurosuki human puppet. Wielding the Thunder Swords, the puppet was enveloped in crackling silver currents as it charged at Minato Namikaze with astonishing speed.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Sōmi directed his golden cloud to retreat, creating some distance between himself and the enemy.
Simultaneously, he formed hand seals and used his thumbs to support the Starfall Rod, preparing to unleash the Chakra stored within.
At a distance of about a hundred meters from Minato, Sōmi gripped the Starfall Rod with both hands and drove it forcefully into the ground.
In an instant—
Boom!
The Chakra within Sōmi and the Starfall Rod erupted like a dam breaking, flooding into the earth with a deafening roar.
The immense Chakra refined the underground minerals, condensing them into a dense, solidified mass of golden sand.
At the same time, a three-meter-high wave of golden sand surged forth from the ground in front of Sōmi, roaring toward Minato like a tsunami.
Scorpion, seeing this, pulled back his puppet with a quick motion, causing the Raiga Kurosuki puppet to suddenly halt mid-charge. It then ascended sharply, as if being yanked upward by an invisible thread.
Meanwhile, the puppet crossed its dual Thunder Swords, sending arcs of lightning slashing toward Minato in rapid succession.
High in the air near the barrier, Rasa, standing on his golden platform, watched Sōmi's display of Magnet Release with astonishment.
His eyes were filled with disbelief, and several questions seemed to form on his forehead.
As a master of manipulating gold sand himself, Rasa couldn't understand how Sōmi could control such an enormous amount of Chakra. Was this power truly his?
And what was that rod he wielded made of? How could a ninja tool possess such extraordinary capabilities?
Turning to the Raiga Kurosuki puppet emitting streams of lightning, Rasa's confusion deepened.
When did Sunagakure develop puppets capable of unleashing ninjutsu without hand seals?
Could this be a new model crafted by Granny Chiyo?
Minato, observing the surging wave of golden sand approaching him, felt a ripple of emotion. But he knew that relying on this alone to trap him was wishful thinking.
Forming hand seals, Minato performed the Body Flicker Technique, vanishing from his position.
"Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet!"
On the other side of the battlefield, Gamabunta, slightly unsteady due to the Kazekage's magnetic forces, was struggling to maintain his footing. Seeing this, Jiraiya formed seals and unleashed a massive fireball from his mouth.
The fireball, infused with oil, burned more ferociously than a standard Fire Release jutsu, blocking the Kazekage's iron sand rectangle from falling.
Gamabunta steadied himself and leapt twenty meters away, resheathing his short sword. During the earlier skirmish, the blade had nearly been manipulated by the enemy, almost causing him to harm himself.
Boom!
Suddenly, the ground beneath Gamabunta exploded. Two massive arms of golden sand shot out, binding his hind legs tightly.
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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