81 Chapter 81

As the entire Iwagakure team prepared to depart, having meticulously scoured the village for any traces of the enemy, they stood ready to disperse outside the village after securing their internal defenses. However, their plans were abruptly interrupted by a deafening explosion that echoed through the air, reverberating across the landscape several miles beyond the Iwagakure village barrier.

"Quick! It may be the enemy! We need to intercept them now!" commanded a Kage-class shinobi of Iwagakure, his voice cutting through the chaos as he directed his team towards the source of the explosion.

The massive explosion drew almost all of the Iwagakure ninja towards its origin, luring them into a deadly trap where Kazuki, akin to a hungry beast, lay in wait to slaughter anyone brave or foolish enough to confront him.

As the Kage-class Iwa ninja and his squad of over a hundred elites approached the explosion site, they noticed numerous other Iwa ANBU and hunter-nin converging on the same spot. Despite a sense of foreboding creeping over him, the sheer number of Iwagakure Shinobi surrounding him bolstered his confidence, dispelling his doubts as they continued towards the source of the explosion.

"Noooo.....!, It's the ghost of the Yellow Flash! Everyone run; we need to get out of here," screamed an elite Iwa ANBU, panic seizing him as he tried to flee in the opposite direction. Before the Kage-class Iwa Shinobi could stop him and clarify the situation, a specially crafted custom Kunai pierced through the ANBU's neck, seemingly materializing out of thin air.

"Run....! It's him, the Yellow..." The Iwa ANBU's words choked off as he gurgled on his own blood, falling lifeless to the ground.

"Oh, so many newcomers; the more, the merrier!" Kazuki's voice cut through the stunned Iwa ninja, freezing them in shock. They stood motionless, unable to comprehend how their assailant had approached without alerting any of their senses. Even the Kage-class ninja was drenched in sweat, unable to detect the enemy Shinobi.

As all eyes turned towards the source of the voice, they beheld a figure they had hoped to forget forever. Standing tall upon a tree, Kazuki had transformed himself to resemble Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. He stood tall and imposing on the tree branch, his presence commanding attention amidst the chaos of battle. His blond hair, the color of sun-kissed wheat, was swept back in a windswept style, framing his sharp features with an air of elegance. His piercing blue eyes, like twin sapphires, glinted with intelligence and determination, their gaze unwavering as they surveyed the stunned Iwa ninja before him.

Draped around his broad shoulders was the majestic cloak of the Yondaime Hokage, emblazoned with the symbol of Konoha—the proud leaf insignia standing out boldly against a field of deep blue. The cloak billowed behind him in an unseen breeze, adding to the aura of authority that surrounded him.

In his hand, Minato held a special Kunai, its gleaming black metal reflecting the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy above. He twirled the Kunai effortlessly between his fingers, a testament to his unparalleled skill and agility. Each movement was precise and deliberate, a silent warning of the danger that lurked beneath his calm exterior.

Despite the gravity of the situation, there was a faint hint of a smile playing at the corners of Minato's lips, as if he were amused by the chaos unfolding before him. His demeanor exuded a quiet confidence, born from years of experience and unwavering resolve in the face of adversity.

As the Iwa ninja gazed upon him, memories of past encounters flooded their minds—the legendary battles and the near-mythical feats of heroism attributed to the Yellow Flash of Konoha. And now, standing before them, was the spitting image of that legendary figure, a living embodiment of their deepest fears and their most formidable opponent.

"No, this is not possible! How can you still be alive? You are dead! Yes, you must be trying to fool us. Tell me, who are you? Maybe I will grant you the mercy of a swift death." The Iwa Kage ninja's voice quivered with fear and doubt. Despite his expertise, he couldn't detect any transformation in the enemy, nor was he under an illusion. If he were to believe his senses, then the man standing before him must be real. However, Minato Namikaze died during the Nine-Tails' rampage, so how could he be alive? If Minato were alive, would they have dared to declare war on Konoha? The only logical conclusion was that the enemy was bluffing, using some secret disguise technique undetectable by normal means. But the enemy's next action made his blood freeze.

Kazuki simply threw more than two dozen special Kunai, materializing out of the storage scroll on his wrist. Though there were close to a thousand Iwa shinobi around Kazuki, none dared to move, whether out of fear or caution. The Iwa Kage Shinobi was the first to react; he knew they were in mortal peril and needed to act. Simultaneously, Kazuki waved a series of hand signs, erecting a massive barrier that enclosed him and more than a thousand Iwa Shinobi within it.

"Let the hunt begin!" Kazuki declared, as if he were wishing everyone a good day. Over the past year, Kazuki's chakra reserves have comfortably reached mid-Kage level. With his expertise in fuinjutsu, he could confront even a peak Kage Shinobi head-on. And with his Flying Thunder God technique, anyone below Kage class was like cannon fodder.

"[Doton: Dosekiryū]" (Earth Release: Earth and Stone Dragon), the Kage-class Iwa ninja quickly released a massive earth dragon to swallow the supposed Yellow Flash, who was now erecting a barrier to trap them within and cut off their retreat path.

"Swish!" The head of an Iwa Jonin standing next to the Kage Ninja flew into the air as he was sneakily preparing to launch a kinjutsu.

"That's way too slow. Have you guys forgotten what I am famous for? It seems like during my retreat, everyone has forgotten about me," Kazuki declared while standing shoulder to shoulder next to the defenseless Kage Shinobi, who was launching the earth dragon at Kazuki's earlier position. The Kage Shinobi quickly created some distance, giving up on his last jutsu. He instinctively realized this was not a bluff; it was the teleportation technique that the Yellow Flash was famed for, albeit improved.

"Everyone, be careful of the Kunai he threw earlier. They are the markers for his teleportation. There are only close to two dozen pointers, and we have more than a thousand shinobi. We can pin him down." The Kage-class ninja now had a creeping doubt. Was this man really the Yellow Flash? If so, what was he going to do? How did the Leaf Village keep such a large piece of news a secret for all these years?

As the battle ensued, Kazuki started teleporting around the battlefield, pushing himself to the limit. However, he also restricted himself to the techniques for which the Yellow Flash was famous. He wanted to make everyone believe that Minato Namikaze was alive and that he was the famed fuinjutsu grandmaster of the Leaf Village.

"Rasengan!" Kazuki's palm tore through an enemy's chest with a powerful concentrated attack, punching a hole into the back of an elite Jonin who had attempted to pin him with an earth prison technique.

Although the Iwa ninjas had destroyed most of the markers, they couldn't restrict Kazuki's movement. His speed only increased as the battle progressed. What the poor fellows didn't know was that Kazuki didn't need physical markers; he could manifest a marker using shadows anywhere, using his Kekkei Genkai. Moreover, if he threw his shadow amidst the teleportation, he was practically invincible, unless someone could restrict his immaterial form of shadows.

The Iwa Kage Shinobi was quickly running out of options, realizing that the Yellow Flash was slaughtering the Iwa ninjas as if they were nothing. He understood that the enemy had left him for last so that he could witness the slaughter. As the battle progressed, he firmly believed that this was not an impostor; he was Minato Namikaze in the flesh. The ongoing slaughter was a stark reminder of what had happened during the Third Shinobi War.

It had only been a few minutes since the one-sided massacre started, and most of the Iwa ninjas were now clawing and attacking the barrier like madmen to escape the ongoing bloodbath. Although the Kage ninja wanted to rally the Iwa Shinobi, only a select few veterans responded to his command. Unfortunately, within moments, they too were cut down by the flickering yellow flash. No matter what attacks they threw, it seemed hopeless.

After almost half an hour of one-sided slaughter, Kazuki, transformed as Minato, stood in front of the last two dozen or so Iwagakure ninja who had held on till now. The Kage Shinobi shouted like a madman, his fury boiling over as he realized how they had been played all this while. Before he could continue his threats, Kazuki flashed again.

"It was you; it was you all along! You were the one responsible for all the attacks inside our own territory all this while, you, the rumored Ghost Squad. I do not know how you survived, but you, Konoha Shinobi, sure are cunning, keeping it from everyone that you were alive all these years. Ptui! Minato, don't think we will ever give up. Iwagakure will never forget; we will pay you..."

The Kage Shinobi felt the incoming threat like a dangerous predator aiming for his neck. He moved sideways with all his speed, but it wasn't enough. When Minato reemerged in his original position, a sharp scream tore through the battlefield once more, joining the chorus of agonized cries that had been echoing all this while.

"Aaaaaaaargh".

Although Kazuki deliberately avoided dealing a fatal attack, he had cleanly severed the dominant arm of the Kage Shinobi, leaving him holding onto his bleeding stump while screaming in agony. His tone was filled with anger and fear, but there was nothing he nor the remaining two dozen Iwa Shinobi could do to stop this monster, who was now drenched in blood from head to toe.

Kazuki was now completely drenched in crimson blood; even his robe had absorbed so much blood that it had turned into a blood-red Hokage robe. His entire yellow hair was now stained red, transforming him from the Yellow Flash into a visage of pure crimson. He seemed like a demon, a demon emerging from the pits of hell itself.

"You, Iwagakure, never learn. Sandaime-sama was so generous in offering such terms during the last war. We even let you guys go without making you pay any war reparations, and your Tsuchikage even swore that as long as he was Tsuchikage, Iwagakure would never deliberately start a war with Konoha. But see where we are now. You guys can only blame yourselves for all this slaughter. Remember, although it was me who killed them, it was your Iwagakure's actions that led them to their deaths," Kazuki declared, his voice dripping with scorn and condemnation.

Kazuki wanted to continue killing the remaining shinobi, leaving only the crippled Kage-class shinobi and a few Iwa shinobi, but chose not to. He detected a massive signature that had appeared outside the barrier, so he waited for the newcomer to breach the barrier. Kazuki knew exactly who the newcomer was.

"[Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu]" (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique).

Outside the barrier, Onoki, airborne and berserk with anger, launched a full-powered dust release technique at the massive barrier that had manifested just a few miles outside the Iwagakure village. He instinctively knew that the enemy he was looking for must be within the barrier, so he didn't hold back in the slightest. Although the barrier was erected by Kazuki himself, it was temporary. After taking a third full-powered dust release technique from the Tsuchikage, the barrier crumbled like shattered glass. Onoki, without thinking twice, rushed toward the battlefield. However, the scene that lay before him shook him to his very core.