Minato did not hesitate after Yushiro's reckless charge failed to accomplish anything against him. His expression remained narrowed as usual. With finesse, he unsheathed the blade hanging at his right side, gripping it firmly with his prosthetic right arm as if it were an extension of his body. In one seamless motion, he stepped through Yushiro's blood constructs as if they were nothing more than mist and delivered a single diagonal slash.
The blade cut clean.
A gaping wound opened from Yushiro's shoulder down toward his abdomen, the force of the strike carving through layered blood armor and flesh alike. The impact sent a violent spray of blood from his wound. Yushiro bit his teeth hard as he fought to remain upright. Even while reeling from the blow, he attempted to control the blood spilling from his body, forcing it to surge outward in a desperate counterattack aimed at Minato's legs.
Minato stepped aside with minimal effort.
Yushiro's second strike came even faster than the first as he used more blood from his injured torso. Minato pivoted behind Yushiro and delivered another deep slash across his back, severing muscle and disrupting the delicate balance of chakra control necessary for blood manipulation. Yushiro's body convulsed, and the blood weapons he had created collapsed into shapeless pools that splattered to the ground.
Even with the Chinoike clan's terrifying reserves and manipulation ability, the damage was catastrophic. Yushiro staggered forward once, tried to steady himself, and then fell face-first onto the ground.
The blood loss made him unconscious.
Minato sheathed his blade slowly. "One down," he said calmly, as if marking a tally in his mind.
His gaze shifted toward Darui and Kaien.
"Which one of you two children is commanding this team?" he asked evenly.
Darui stepped forward before Kaien could react.
"It was me," Darui said firmly. "I was the one praised for intelligence and the victory I bought to Kumo in the last war. I had authority to command even elite jounin or even the Kage-level shinobi because I am smart from a very young age."
Kaien did not move.
He felt strangely detached from his own body, as if watching events unfold and the sounds were like low ringing. His mind drifted back flashing through the memories. He remembered his mother's embrace just before he left for the mission, Uncle Ay's stern lectures that he had to listen to Captain Renga, Granny Benihime's relentless training, and his grandfather lying suspended between life and death. The situation was so precarious even a grown man would piss his pants, yet no fear surfaced.
So this is where I die.
He reviewed his decisions until this point thinking where he went wrong. He had changed clothes in the crowded market to confuse scent trails. He had avoided chakra suppression to prevent obvious detection by sensory techniques. He had divided into teams to increase survival odds. Each move had been rational and strategically sound.
Yet one oversight remained fatal.
Pakkun.
He had not accounted for Kakashi's summoning technique, he did not know kakashi could already use it. He had assumed that Minato would rely solely on sensory tracking which should give them a breathing space. Without Pakkun's assistance, even the Yellow Flash would have required significantly more time to isolate their location as he is not aware of our chakra signature. That single miscalculation had brought everything crashing down.
Minato looked at Darui carefully.
"Is that so?" he said quietly. "So you are responsible for the death of Guy and the injuries to my student."
Darui did not respond.
Minato continued, "You will take me to the remaining three shinobi."
Darui's jaw tightened. "Over my dead body," he said. "I was not only the cause of this battle. I was also the mastermind behind your Hokage's death. I am the one they call Little One. I am the grandson of the Raikage."
Minato's eyes widened a fraction.
He had suspected the child possessed abnormal authority and intelligence, but this revelation changed the situation entirely. If this boy truly was the Raikage's grandson, then his value would far exceed beyond ordinary shinobi. More importantly, he might know where Kushina was.
For over a year, Minato had been unable to sense the Flying Thunder God mark he had placed on Kushina butt cheeks. That disappearance could only mean one of two possibilities: the mark had been removed or sealed.
If Kumo had discovered the mark, then did they unrobe and do that stuff to his beloved.
Rage surged through him as he drew his blade again to cut down Darui.
Pakkun barked sharply, breaking the tension.
"Minato-sama, calm down," Pakkun said urgently. "This boy may be the only way to get Kushina-san back."
Kaien understood instantly what thoughts were racing through Minato's mind. About a year ago, after Killer Bee had refined his sealing arts under Kushina's guidance, the Flying Thunder God mark on her had been sealed permanently. The decision had been made precisely to cut off Minato's ability to get her as Granny Benihime was becoming busy with kumo, she didn't want to risk it so obliged to Killer Bee's suggestion to seal the mark.
Minato's grip tightened on the blade.
"I can simply heal him after," Minato said coldly.
He stepped forward and slashed Darui cleanly across the torso.
Darui collapsed instantly, blood pouring onto the ground.
Before the blood loss and wound could overwhelm him, Minato placed his palm against the wound.
"Mystical Palm Technique."
Green chakra flared as Minato stabilized the damage, deliberately preventing fatality. He accelerated tissue regeneration, and ensured Darui would not die from the inflicted injury.
As Minato healed Darui, his sensory perception which is still expanded reflexively.
Something vast and powerful moved through the air above the clouds.
Approximately four kilometers overhead, a massive chakra signature approached towards the battlefield ahead at incredible speed.
This chakra signature was familiar... it is the Eight-Tails jinchuriki.
Minato's gaze lifted briefly toward the sky.
"So Killer Bee will arrive in a while... he must have also sensed me. He has grown very strong from our last meet... his chakra and control has increased significantly," he murmured.
The arrival confirmed the importance of the child before him. Kumo would not dispatch its jinchuriki for a trivial matter. If Bee had come personally, then this boy was critical to their plans.
Minato stood upright.
"Kumo," he said quietly as if talking to the air, "let me show you what it feels like when something precious is taken away from you."
The battle was no longer about revenge alone, It had become his personal revenge and leverage for konoha.
~~
A/N: So, Darui is playing impostor to protect kaien. Minato sensed Killer Bee gliding through the sky as killer bee is flying towards the battlefield not the village according to the information from En Oyashiro.
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