[Name: Minazuki]
[Chakra: 72,000]
[Skills: Ice Release (Mastery Level: 3600/15000), Water Nature Transformation (Mastery Level: 3500/15000), Wind Nature Transformation (Mastery Level: 2700/15000), Ice Release: Ice Dragon Kill (Mastery Level), Ice Release: Icefall (Mastery Level)...]
Minazuki was indeed someone to be wary of. Just judging by the panel, among the Konoha ninja on the East Coast battlefield, only Mutsuki and Orochimaru could completely suppress Minazuki.
With an Ice Release proficiency over 3000, combined with strong Wind and Water nature transformations and a series of Mastery-level Ninjutsu, Minazuki ranked among the stronger ninja Mutsuki had encountered.
Mutsuki unhesitatingly used Transformation to record Minazuki's information. An Ice Release at over 3000 proficiency and Mastery level was well worth copying.
Mutsuki's own Ice Release was currently only at Proficient level, with just over 1000 proficiency-still a long way from Mastery.
He only used Ice Release when fighting weaker enemies; in battles against strong opponents, it was rarely of much use.
After copying Minazuki's data, Mutsuki's Transformation database reached capacity. To store more information from other ninja, he would have to delete existing data.
"Your Ice Release is quite interesting, but unfortunately for you, you've run into me," Minazuki said, not attacking immediately but instead observing Mutsuki carefully.
In the ninja world, most Ice Release users were members of the Yuki Clan. This was the first time Minazuki had seen Ice Release on a ninja from another village.
Minazuki could only say that Mutsuki was just unlucky-to have run into him, the head of the Yuki Clan and the strongest Ice Release ninja in the ninja world.
No one currently understood Ice Release better than he did, and no one's Ice Release was stronger than his.
In a fight against him, Mutsuki's Ice Release wouldn't be able to play any role at all.
"Is it time for his secret technique to wear off?" Raiga glanced at the weakened Guy and guessed.
Guy had just displayed abnormal strength-it was obvious he had used some kind of secret technique to boost his power. Techniques like that usually came with a time limit and side effects.
Thinking of this, Raiga felt it was the right call to return. With Minazuki and the four of them-Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist-the opponent was just an unknown Ice Release user.
Even though the battle hadn't started, Raiga already felt like victory was theirs.
There was no way Mutsuki could be stronger than Minazuki-strong enough to defeat him and still handle the four of them at the same time.
"So it's him," Kakashi revealed a surprised expression the moment he clearly saw Minazuki's face.
Kakashi had gathered intel on all known powerful Hidden Mist ninja currently on the battlefield. He instantly recognized Minazuki, the Hidden Mist Ice Release specialist.
Kakashi was thankful that Mutsuki had arrived in time. If he hadn't, even Guy in the Sixth Gate and Stone Breathing Chakra Mode might not have been able to defeat these enemies.
Their luck was just ridiculously bad-how could they run into something like this on a random A-rank mission?
"Kakashi, you know him?" Obito asked curiously.
Kakashi nodded and quickly relayed all the information he knew about Minazuki.
"Sounds pretty strong... but there's no way he can beat Mutsuki-sensei," Obito said firmly.
Even facing such a strong enemy, and with his own chakra and stamina nearly depleted, Obito wasn't nervous at all. With Mutsuki there, nothing could go wrong.
"Is that so? Confidence is a good thing, but it needs to be backed by strength," Mutsuki adjusted his black-rimmed glasses and replied with a smile.
Minazuki's strength was indeed impressive, but he had chosen the wrong opponent. In the entire Eastern Konoha Ninja forces, only two people could defeat Minazuki in a one-on-one fight-and unfortunately, he had run into one of them.
"You're right, but it just so happens I have the strength to match," Minazuki responded with a confident smile.
"You all don't need to interfere-let me handle him alone," Minazuki said, looking at Raiga and the others.
It was rare to encounter an Ice Release ninja from an enemy village, and Minazuki wanted to test his opponent's strength himself.
Jinpachi was speechless. He thought Minazuki must be out of his mind. A ninja still talking about one-on-one duels in the middle of a war? The goal was to kill the enemy by any means necessary.
But since Minazuki had just saved him once, Jinpachi didn't say anything more.
The other Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist shared similar thoughts but kept silent. As for the ninja Minazuki brought with him, they were familiar enough with their superior to not be surprised by this behavior.
Although they didn't plan to intervene in the fight between Mutsuki and Minazuki, the Hidden Mist ninja weren't idle. They quietly sealed off Mutsuki's escape routes and began gathering chakra, preparing to launch an attack on Kakashi's group.
The talents of Kakashi and the others had already been fully revealed in this battle-if they weren't killed here, they'd become a huge threat to Hidden Mist in the future.
"You really are good at choosing the wrong option," Mutsuki shook his head.
If Minazuki had attacked with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist together, he might have lasted a bit longer. But doing this would only get them killed faster.
"Ice Release: Icefall!"
Minazuki quickly formed hand seals, gathering a large amount of Ice Release chakra, and formed six massive ice spikes-each much thicker than a person-above Mutsuki's head, sending them crashing down.
Mutsuki calmly pulled two Flying Thunder God kunai from his ninja pouch and threw them toward Raiga and the others. Just as the ice spikes were about to hit, he used Body Flicker Jutsu to dash straight toward Minazuki.
Boom!!
The massive ice spikes crashed to the ground, smashing craters into the earth with a thunderous sound.
"So fast," Minazuki was slightly surprised, but he immediately released the chakra he had already gathered.
"Ice Release: Ice Blade!"
Minazuki formed two massive ice blades in front of him and slashed them toward the approaching Mutsuki.
Mutsuki gathered chakra in his hands and transformed it into Color of Arms Chakra to protect them.
Bang!!
Mutsuki's fist struck the ice blades with a heavy blow, shattering Minazuki's Ice Blades on impact.
The Hidden Mist ninja accompanying Minazuki stared in shock at the scene.
They knew well that the ice Minazuki created was harder than rock, yet Mutsuki had smashed it apart with his bare hands.
"His strength is this overwhelming... could he actually be a Taijutsu specialist?" Minazuki immediately used Body Flicker Jutsu to pull back and create distance.
Just as Minazuki prepared to launch another Ice Release Ninjutsu at Mutsuki, he suddenly realized Mutsuki had vanished without warning.
Meanwhile, facing the weakened Kakashi and others, Raiga felt no guilt whatsoever as he drew the Thunder Swords from his back.
When Raiga noticed a kunai flying through the air toward him, he didn't pay it any mind. A kunai thrown that directly was far too easy to dodge. Plus, only one was aimed at him-the other was thrown at Jinpachi.
Raiga tilted his body to the side to evade, ready to raise the Thunder Swords and unleash lightning at Kakashi's group.
Whoosh!
Mutsuki used Flying Thunder God Jutsu to appear right beside Raiga.
With someone suddenly appearing at his side, of course Raiga noticed, and he instinctively tried to dodge-but how could his speed compare to Mutsuki's?
"Dynamic Punch!"
Mutsuki drove a chakra-infused punch directly into Raiga's back with a heavy strike.
Boom!!
An immense force exploded from Raiga's back, and an indescribable pain surged from there straight to his brain, knocking him out instantly.
Bang!!
The moment Mutsuki's fist landed, Raiga was sent flying, smashing through eight large trees before finally crashing to the ground, motionless.
Mutsuki didn't pause after finishing him off-his other kunai was already nearing Jinpachi's position.
Whoosh!
The sudden turn of events happened so fast that Jinpachi hadn't even figured out how Mutsuki had pulled it off before Mutsuki used the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to appear right in front of him.
This time, Mutsuki didn't use Dynamic Punch. Instead, he infused chakra into his kunai and drove it straight through Jinpachi's heart, killing him instantly.
"Flying Thunder God Jutsu..." Jinpachi muttered the name of the technique as the kunai pierced his body.
He realized it too late. By the time he understood that it was the famed jutsu of the Yellow Flash, his death was already certain.
Of course, even if he had known beforehand, it wouldn't have made a difference. The Flying Thunder God Jutsu wasn't something you could counter just by knowing about it.
"As expected of Mutsuki-sensei! Flying Thunder God is so cool!" Obito's eyes lit up with excitement as he saw Mutsuki instantly kill two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
They had struggled immensely just to take down one-Fuguki-and that was only with Kakashi and Obito pushing themselves beyond their limits.
Meanwhile, Mutsuki had casually killed two of them in the middle of his fight with Minazuki.
"I wonder when Mutsuki-sensei will teach me Flying Thunder God," Obito couldn't help fantasizing about himself using the technique to wipe out enemies in a flash.
Rin is in danger, and then at the critical moment, he descends from the sky using Flying Thunder God and says, "I'm not late, right?" before wiping out all the enemies-just imagining it made Obito think it was impossibly cool.
"Information is everything," Kakashi thought to himself, as if he had realized the reason Mutsuki kept such a low profile.
Even though Raiga and the others couldn't have defeated Mutsuki even if they had known about him, at least they wouldn't have been killed so easily.
"Yellow Flash's Flying Thunder God Jutsu!" Jinin and Aoma's expressions changed drastically-they instantly realized what was going on.
They were still stunned the first time Mutsuki appeared beside Raiga, but when Mutsuki used the kunai a second time to move to Jinpachi's side, if they still couldn't react, then all those years of missions would've been for nothing.
The Yellow Flash was known as one of the top young powerhouses in the current ninja world, and the various villages had long gathered every scrap of intel they could on the Flying Thunder God.
Jinin and Aoma silently retreated a short distance, putting some space between themselves and Kakashi's group.
Since Mutsuki was their sensei, it was possible Kakashi's group might also be carrying Flying Thunder God kunai. With the brutal example of Raiga and Jinpachi still fresh, they couldn't afford to let their guard down.
"Two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were actually killed just like that..." The Hidden Mist ninja who came with Minazuki all wore looks of shock.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were one of Hidden Mist's biggest trump cards, yet two of them had just been slaughtered in front of their eyes by Mutsuki as easily as killing chickens.
These weren't Chunin or Genin-they were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, renowned across the entire ninja world.
"Flying Thunder God Jutsu... Could it be that the Yellow Flash appearing on the Land of Grass battlefield was a false rumor spread by Konoha, and the real Yellow Flash was disguised and sent here to deal with us Hidden Mist?" Minazuki looked at Mutsuki's face and came up with a new theory.
If his guess was correct, then Minazuki could only say that Mutsuki must have failed his disguise class-without the glasses, it really didn't look like much of a disguise at all.
"Konoha sure takes our Hidden Mist seriously. Aside from Orochimaru, they even sent the Yellow Flash." Minazuki's expression grew serious.
If the enemy was truly the Yellow Flash, then his previous orders had been far too careless-and disrespectful toward someone of the Yellow Flash's caliber.
To deal with a foe capable of going toe-to-toe with the A-B combo, it was obvious they should have gathered every possible advantage and resource.
What's more, killing the Yellow Flash was nothing like killing an obscure Konoha Jonin-the prestige and merit earned from each would be on completely different levels.
"If I could kill the Yellow Flash, the position of Fourth Mizukage might not be out of reach," Minazuki thought as he gathered a large amount of chakra.
He wouldn't underestimate the Yellow Flash, but he wouldn't overestimate him either. Minazuki believed they were evenly matched one-on-one, and with a few Hidden Mist Jonin supporting him, he figured the odds would tip to 60-40 in his favor.
At this moment, he didn't even need to give the command-Hidden Mist ninja were already beginning to act, preparing to gang up on Mutsuki.
After all, Minazuki was still a clan head; pride mattered. He couldn't just say "I'll handle this alone" and then a minute later turn around and say "everyone, help me."
"Ice Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"
Minazuki transformed a large amount of chakra into Ice Release chakra, forming a dense wave of ice senbon. In the next moment, the senbon shot toward Mutsuki like a rain of arrows.
As he released the jutsu, Minazuki simultaneously kept track of the locations where Mutsuki had thrown his Flying Thunder God kunai, focusing his chakra and preparing to launch a follow-up Ice Release attack the moment Mutsuki teleported.
Although the Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death covered a wide area, Minazuki knew it wouldn't be enough against a ninja who had mastered space-time ninjutsu. He only intended this move as the opening strike.
The previous assault was merely a probing attack-this was the real battle.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"
A Hidden Mist Jonin gathered chakra and spat out a water dragon that surged toward Mutsuki.
"Hiramekarei: Release!"
Aoma raised the Twinsword Hiramekarei, infused it with chakra, and unleashed a chakra light sphere at Mutsuki.
Jinin, being more skilled in close combat, didn't attack immediately. Instead, he stood silently with his greatsword, waiting for an opening.
A barrage of various Ninjutsu rained down toward Mutsuki.
In response, Mutsuki silently created a Shadow Clone.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
Mutsuki's main body rapidly gathered a large amount of chakra in his throat, performed high-speed nature transformation, and released a massive wave of fire that formed a blazing sea ahead. Then, the Shadow Clone released a high-pressure wind sphere.
The moment the wind sphere made contact with the intense flames, it transformed into a terrifying storm. The wind fanned the flames, instantly making the sea of fire surge with violent intensity, burning all the nearby trees into black ash.
The incoming senbon storm and various Water Release attacks were completely melted and evaporated upon colliding with the overwhelming firestorm.
Rumble!!
Explosions rang out repeatedly. In the end, both the fire and the incoming Ninjutsu were reduced to nothingness-only scorched earth and ashes of trees remained as proof of the fire's terrifying force.
"The Yellow Flash actually has such powerful Fire and Wind Releases?" Minazuki looked at Mutsuki with a confused expression.
After all, the Water Chakra Nature Transformation is supposed to counter Fire. Yet, despite the large number of Hidden Mist using Water Release, Mutsuki didn't even move a single centimeter and had blocked everything using a combination of Fire and Wind Release.
The Yellow Flash had used other Ninjutsu before, but none on the level of what Mutsuki just demonstrated.
"Could it be that the Yellow Flash's strength has surged again?" Minazuki was struck by a terrifying thought.
As a young man just over twenty, Minato was currently in a period of rapid growth, with endless potential.
"You can't count it that way-just say he's able to handle more situations now," Minazuki shook his head.
Although the previous Combination Jutsu was powerful, its compatibility with the Flying Thunder God was poor. You can't just teleport with Flying Thunder God and then stand still to form hand seals-no matter how slow the opponent is, they wouldn't get hit by that kind of attack.
Still, Minazuki silently recorded this intel, planning to update the Yellow Flash's information upon returning.
Even Minazuki was surprised by the power of Mutsuki's Ninjutsu, let alone the other Hidden Mist members-they all looked like they'd seen a ghost.
"This is the level of Ninjutsu a true powerhouse of the ninja world should have. Sosuke definitely has something fishy going on," thought Zetsu, silently observing from the shadows.
Mutsuki's Combination Jutsu was powerful but still within a reasonable range. Sosuke's Fire Release, on the other hand, Zetsu simply couldn't understand how he trained it-it made no sense. In all its years, Zetsu had never seen anyone reach that level of Fire Release purely through effort.
After a brief defense, Mutsuki took out three more kunai from his ninja tool pouch.
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