Thunder Chakra Mode

*BOOM*

With the explosion of the explosive tag, the tunnel entrance was blasted, making it difficult for the pursuing enemies to dig through quickly. The enemies who pursued from underground were unsure of the tunnel's direction, leading them to give up and return to their camp.

Minato and Shintaro were surrounded by thousands of Kumogakure ninja.

Shintaro checked with Six Eyes. The exact number was 5,623. Including the recent additions, there were a total of 5,782 ninja in this camp.

"We just need to hold out for a while, and once the main force is safely away, I'll use [Hiraishin no Jutsu] to get you out." Minato said while fighting the Kumogakure ninja.

Shintaro calmly replied, "No problem."

"[Katon: Shuriken no Jutsu]"

A large number of shuriken were launched, killing several more Kumogakure ninja.

For a moment, Shintaro and Minato's killing spree kept the Kumogakure ninja from daring to approach.

"Ahhh! [Lariat]!!!" A rough shout was heard.

A dark-skinned, muscular man with bright blonde hair rushed towards them, his body covered in visible blue lightning chakra.

Minato immediately used [Hiraishin no Jutsu] to teleport.

The man jumped into the air but seemed to stabilize himself as he had anticipated. After locating where Minato reappeared, he continued his charge.

Shintaro was truly stunned by this reckless and powerful style.

"Is this Ai?"

Although he had never seen Ai before, he could deduce it from the other's aura.

Minato was forced to evade for a moment, but he didn't want to keep dodging like this.

He threw a kunai, Ai dodged, but Minato instantly appeared next to the kunai, now behind Ai.

'[Rasengan]'

Ai's back was hit by the [Rasengan], and he was immediately slammed into the ground, creating a large crater.

However, Ai quickly got up like nothing had happened.

"Namikaze Minato, you dare to enter the camp, so don't blame me for being ruthless."

Ai glared with bright eyes.

Minato realized something and quickly threw a kunai towards Shintaro. However, Ai intercepted it in midair.

Ai raised his hand, knocked the kunai out of the air, and charged at Shintaro with astonishing speed.

Shintaro remained calm upon seeing this, which puzzled Ai.

This reminded Ai of the first time he fought Minato, as Minato had the same expression.

Ai didn't have time to think too much, raised his elbow again, and used the terrifying speed brought by his Thunder Chakra Mode to turn into a blue blur and attack Shintaro.

Shintaro calmly extended his finger in front of him.

Infinity.

Ai's elbow stopped in midair about ten centimeters in front of Shintaro.

Ai's face, not particularly pleasant already, was full of doubt. He had never seen such a strange method before.

Shintaro didn't give the opponent a chance to think and twisted aside. Ai immediately lost his balance and rushed back, crashing into the crowd of Kumogakure ninja.

Minato came to Shintaro's side at this moment and said with lingering fear, "Fortunately, you're okay. Was that a Kekkei Genkai just now?"

"Indeed." Shintaro didn't intend to hide it anymore.

Firstly, if he hid it any longer, he would be treating Minato like a fool, and secondly, Shintaro believed he now had the strength to showcase his Limitless Technique.

Minato smiled and said, "Good, let's continue."

Ai had just rushed out and nearly killed a Kumogakure ninja. Fortunately, he pulled his strength back in time and released his thunder chakra mode to save the Kumogakure ninja's life.

Ai stood up and reactivated his Thunder Chakra Mode while saying to the surrounding Kumogakure ninja, "All of you step aside; only I can handle these two."

He no longer underestimated Shintaro and saw him as an opponent equal to Minato.

"Damn it, if only Bee were here, otherwise..."

Ai was thinking about something when he suddenly felt his body lose balance and was immediately sucked towards Shintaro.

*BANG*

Shintaro punched Ai in the stomach, and the combined pull and stopping power of Infinity made Ai want to vomit from the strange sense of spatial dislocation.

Shintaro wrapped Infinity around this punch to avoid getting hurt by the Thunder Chakra on Ai's body and to create a unique attack effect to confuse the enemy.

*BAM* *BAM*

While Ai couldn't react, Shintaro punched him twice more.

However, Ai in Thunder Chakra Mode was more resilient to attacks than Kakuzu in his earth-hardened state. Kakuzu spat blood after taking two punches from him, while Ai, besides throwing up the food he ate last night, continued fighting Shintaro like normal.

However, Ai couldn't harm Shintaro at all, so they both backed off and took a temporary pause.

"Is that a gravitational pull... A very powerful ability..." Ai held back the overwhelming feeling and watched warily.

Shintaro was contemplating how to break through his opponent's shell.

To use [Black Flash], he needed to release Infinity and let his fist actually touch Ai, but that could cause his hand to get hurt again by the Thunder Chakra Mode.

Moreover, [Black Flash] couldn't be used just because he wanted to, especially since Shintaro no longer mastered the Reverse Cursed Technique. If his hand became useless, it would be a huge waste, and the benefit wouldn't be worth the cost.

[Rasengan]? But Minato had just shown that a normal [Rasengan] didn't affect Ai.

Minato thought of a solution at this moment and said, "Let's work together. You pull him, and I'll use [Rasengan] to break through his defense."

Shintaro nodded and decided to give it a try.

But as soon as he extended his hand to use Blue, Ai disappeared from his spot. Instead of rushing at Shintaro, he began moving around him and Minato at high speed.

Blue fell into the air and only sucked up a pile of gravel.

Shintaro realized that his method of sucking people in and defeating them was only suitable for dealing with ninjas like Kakuzu, but not as effective against agile and armored warriors like Ai.

Shintaro increased the effect of Cursed Energy and exerted his full power.

"[Cursed Technique Lapse – Maximum Output: Blue]"

A blue light lit up, and the rocky ground in the distance shattered into pieces, condensing into a ball in the air.

As Shintaro waved his hand, the ball of gravel moved with the blue light, chasing Ai's figure. The ground along the way was completely shattered, and the size of the gravel ball continued to increase.

Even after he spun his hand in a full circle, he ultimately failed to catch up with Ai's speed. Instead, the rocky ground within twenty meters around him was completely destroyed by him.

Shintaro waved his hand and slammed the gravel ball in the air towards Ai.

Ai used his Thunder Chakra Mode to shoulder the falling gravel, then rushed closer and raised his hand to attack Minato.

Ai temporarily gave up on the idea of breaking through Shintaro's defense and aimed his strike at Minato, but Minato wasn't an ordinary person.

Throwing a kunai, he stepped on Ai's back, injected the kunai's blade with wind element chakra, and broke through the thunder chakra defense.

However, Ai reacted instantly, turned around, and waved his hand, forcing Minato away. Thanks to his timely response, Ai only suffered a minor wound on his back.

Seeing Shintaro about to use Blue again, Ai immediately left the spot. Shintaro used Blue to continue absorbing the ground. Minato also used [Hiraishin no Jutsu] to chase him and join the battle.

The three extremely fast men fought together, and the Kumogakure ninja were mesmerized by the sight.

The battle continued until the sun slowly rose, with no clear result in sight.