Chapter 35: Minato's Instant Kill Style

"Earth Style: Earth Prison Dome!"

Earthen walls rose from the ground, quickly forming a seamless prison around them. 

This B-rank ninjutsu was designed for control. Once someone was trapped inside, escape was impossible—the walls would even absorb the chakra of those imprisoned.

Three figures slowly emerged from the ground. The leader, a thin young man, placed his hand on the earth prison and frowned slightly before removing it.

Without a steady supply of chakra, the prison crumbled into soft mud, collapsing inward. 

But there was no one inside.

"Such quick reflexes. They must be Konoha's elite genin," the young man mused.

They had launched their attack the moment they were discovered, but the three Konoha shinobi had still managed to escape instantly.

Such speed was not typical of ordinary genin, and given their young age, they couldn't be chunin or jonin either. This had given the attackers confidence.

"They've split up," said a girl with black scorpion-like markings on her face, pointing in the distance.

Her tracking abilities were something the leader, Chūdō, could always rely on.

The three Konoha shinobi had indeed separated, fleeing along different routes at high speed. It surprised her—these genin moved with the agility of jonin.

"I'll rip them apart!" said a flat-headed boy beside her, his expression bloodthirsty, unconcerned with the strength of his enemies.

"Split up and pursue!" Chūdō ordered after a moment of thought. Destroying Konoha's promising young genin could only benefit Iwagakure's future.

As for the possibility of failure, Chūdō didn't consider it. The two shinobi with him were also considered prodigies, and he saw no reason for concern, given the age gap between them and the Konoha genin.

The three figures turned into black shadows and gave chase.

Minato Namikaze was speeding through the forest, his brows furrowed in thought. 

In that brief moment when the Iwa shinobi launched their attack, the overwhelming sense of danger had alerted them.

The attacking team included a jonin.

The three of them had immediately decided to split up. If just one of them could escape and relay the message back to the village, it would give the others a chance to survive.

But if any of them were caught by a jonin along the way, their fate was in their own hands.

Minato knew that their current strength was no match for a jonin. 

That cold, rational decision had come from Jin, who had quickly communicated it with hand signals. In that split second, Minato hadn't had time to refuse. The enemy's jutsu had already been activated.

They had no choice but to follow Jin's plan—it was their only viable option.

Minato understood Jin's reasoning.

If they stayed together, the enemy jonin could likely capture all three of them at once. But if they split up, there was a chance at least one of them could escape.

Right now, separating was their best choice.

"Please stay alive, Kushina, Jin," Minato muttered as he darted through the forest, his expression grim.

His ears twitched. He could hear someone approaching from behind—the sounds of footsteps on tree branches getting closer.

Judging by the pace, only one person was following him.

Thanks to his heightened perception from his basic ninjutsu training, Minato could sense the sound clearly. Though the pursuer didn't seem interested in hiding their presence.

Minato came to an abrupt stop on a tree branch, waiting for the one chasing him.

No matter who was coming, he needed to buy some time.

If it were the jonin, he was prepared to sacrifice his life to delay them.

He tightened the band around his head, bracing himself for what might be his final battle.

A figure soon emerged from the trees, stopping on the branch opposite Minato.

It wasn't the jonin.

Minato's heart sank.

He had hoped it would be the jonin chasing him because, out of the three of them, he was the one most willing to be the sacrificial lamb.

"You look disappointed to see me," the boy sneered, holding a kunai in his hand, which he licked, drawing a line of blood across his tongue. His grin was wild and exaggerated, like a maniac.

"Just a little," Minato admitted, pulling out his own kunai as he quickly assessed the situation.

The boy looked to be around fifteen or sixteen, much older than Minato. But a shinobi's power didn't necessarily correspond to their age.

Minato never underestimated anyone.

"You really piss me off," the boy growled, flashing his sharp teeth. "The name's Yamabe. Now tell me yours, Konoha prodigy."

Anyone Chūdō-sensei considered a Konoha elite had to be a prodigy, after all.

"Prodigies from Konoha are my favorite prey."

Yamabe's excitement grew as his brown hair started to take on a reddish hue.

"Minato Namikaze," Minato replied, crouching low on the branch, positioning himself as if ready to launch an attack. 

"I'm not really much of a prodigy."

At least not compared to Jin, he thought to himself.

"Doesn't matter who you are—you'll die here anyway," Yamabe said, his body beginning to transform as dirt and sand started to fall from his face.

"Secret Technique: Earth Beast Transformation!"

But just as Yamabe's body began to change, Minato had already finished his hand seals.

Taking a deep breath, he unleashed his jutsu.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

A powerful gust of wind shot forward, rushing toward Yamabe.

Yamabe leaped from the tree, dodging the attack, while the sand and earth on his body morphed into tendrils that grabbed onto the surrounding trees, stabilizing his position.

Minato didn't waste any time. He pushed off the branch with both feet, launching himself toward Yamabe like a coiled spring, kunai in hand, aiming straight for Yamabe's chest.

Yamabe's tendrils yanked him away just in time to avoid the strike, pulling him to another tree. His body sprouted more tendrils that lashed out toward Minato.

But Minato was prepared.

"Step-Slash!"

He danced on the tendrils with lightning speed, moving as if they were solid ground beneath his feet, rapidly closing the distance to Yamabe.

In an instant, his kunai slashed through the air.

Blood splattered.

A fine mist of crimson sprayed from Yamabe's chest as his pupils dilated with shock. He lashed out with a kick, forcing Minato to retreat.

The tendrils yanked Yamabe to another branch, where he looked down at the blood dripping from his chest.

He was injured.

Gritting his teeth, he growled in anger.

"You dare hurt me?!"

He looked up to glare at Minato, but the Konoha ninja was already gone.

"Swift Step: Chain Slash!"

Minato appeared behind Yamabe, standing on another branch, calmly flicking the blood from his kunai.

He didn't have time to waste here.

More cuts appeared on Yamabe's body, and the tendrils on his back were quickly severed, falling to the ground as lumps of mud.

"Sorry, but I can't afford to waste time here," Minato said, his kunai lowered as the wind blew through his hair, ready for his next move.

"The fight is just getting started!" Yamabe roared as more crimson tendrils sprouted from his back, pushing his body to its limit. This was his ultimate form.

Not even Konoha's so-called prodigy could survive against him...

"Steel Flash!"

Before Yamabe could react, a razor-sharp wind blade slashed through him, cutting his body clean in two, leaving the trees behind him severed in its path.

"How… how could he be this strong?" Yamabe thought in disbelief as his body split apart, toppling to the ground.

He had never imagined losing so quickly after only a few exchanges. 

He had been one of Iwagakure's geniuses!

But now, he lay lifeless, cut down in mere moments.

Minato didn't look back at the body as he dashed through the forest, already moving on to his next target.

Meanwhile, Kushina had stopped by a small stream.

Glaring at her reflection in the water, she clenched her teeth in frustration.

At this moment, she knew she should be running. If she were caught, and the Nine-Tails was lost, it would be a devastating blow to Konoha.

She understood what the right choice was.

But...

"I can't accept this! How can I just run away like this?" she fumed, staring at her reflection in the water.

She had run away when Uzushiogakure fell. How could she abandon her comrades again?

Gripping her kunai tightly, she turned back the way she had come.

"I won't abandon my comrades!" she shouted defiantly.

She was that kind of person—stubborn to a fault.

She had followed Jin's orders to flee, but now she was going to follow her heart.

"That's such a touching speech," a voice said from behind a tree.

Kushina spun around to see a girl with scorpion-like markings on her face watching her.

"An enemy?"

Kushina assumed a battle stance. She hadn't had a good look at the attackers earlier, but the brief moment of exposure had revealed enough for her and her teammates to flee.

"Is Iwagakure still supposed to be Konoha's ally?" the girl asked with a smirk, tapping the Iwagakure headband at her waist.

"She's so skinny," Kushina blurted out, then immediately shook her head. What was she thinking in a moment like this?

The girl laughed. "You've got a good eye. I almost don't want to kill you now."

Kushina tensed, her gaze never leaving her opponent.

"If you want to kill me, then come on. Let's see what you've got."

Though inexperienced in real combat, Kushina chose not to attack right away, preferring to wait for her opponent to make the first move.

The girl smiled seductively.

"Sweetie, I've already attacked."

Slash.

A cut appeared on Kushina's cheek, her pupils contracting as she darted to the left.

But the attacks kept coming, leaving more cuts across her body.

Kushina's eyes darted around as she desperately tried to figure out what was hitting her.

But there was nothing there.

No, she realized, there was something—a fine layer of dust cutting through the air, slicing into her skin.

"You figured it out," the girl said, laughing. She no longer bothered hiding her actions, clapping her hands together.

"Dust Style: Dust Field!"

A cloud of fine dust began to cover the area, though it didn't obscure visibility. Still, it left small cuts across Kushina's body.

"That pretty face of yours—I think I'll ruin it," the girl sneered.