135. The Yellow Flash? A yellow mouse!

A monstrous creature with black wings wreaked havoc across the battlefield. In his Satoru form, Kisame’s abilities were pushed to their absolute peak, making his reaping of Leaf shinobi lives even more efficient.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Countless chakra threads shot from his fingertips, forming a web a hundred meters in diameter. It descended from the sky, trapping hundreds of Leaf ninja within. Then, to their sheer terror, a thunderous roar erupted from the ground beneath them—a violent explosion akin to a volcanic eruption. A vast number of Leaf shinobi perished on the spot.

The Leaf side attempted to counterattack, hurling countless kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags at Kisame. But they were either dodged or struck him without even scratching his defenses. Kisame laughed heartily, flapping his wings to dive into the crowd. With a backhand sweep of his claws, he sent dozens of men flying. He then soared back into the air, spread his black wings, and unleashed a barrage of feathers downward.

Swish, swish, swish.

Countless feathers, each over two meters long and sharp as the finest spears, rained down like a storm, piercing through one Leaf shinobi after another. Wails filled the air, and blood flowed like a river. For a moment, the battlefield was a living hell.

Floating in the air, Kisame looked down at the Leaf shinobi scurrying like ants. He opened his massive, bloodthirsty maw, preparing a powerful strike.

Hum, hum, hum.

A blue sphere radiating terrifying energy fluctuations rapidly coalesced in his mouth.

Samehada: Release.

In Kisame’s Satoru form, this ability’s power had grown exponentially, in no way inferior to a Tailed Beast Bomb. Finally, with a sharp whistle, the blue sphere was launched. It expanded rapidly as it flew toward the ground, its diameter quickly exceeding fifty meters. It was like a comet falling from the heavens.

The Leaf shinobi on the ground were paralyzed with horror at the sight of the massive energy sphere descending. Once it landed and exploded, no one within that range would survive.

"We have to risk it!"

With no other choice, the Leaf forces rallied under their commander’s orders and began weaving hand signs. As the ground rumbled, hundreds of massive Earth Style walls rose from the earth. Yet, these barriers were useless against the orb. It tore through them like dry wood, evaporating the layers of stone into nothingness.

As the giant sphere was about to crash into the crowd and annihilate the remaining three thousand Leaf ninja, their faces turned ashen. Many closed their eyes in despair, awaiting death.

At that critical, hair-breadth moment—

Swish.

In an instant, no one knew what happened, but the sphere, over fifty meters in diameter, suddenly vanished from the battlefield.

"What happened?" The survivors of the Leaf were bewildered, both shocked and overjoyed.

The next second, they understood why. A young man had appeared out of thin air. Wearing a green Leaf Jonin flak jacket and sporting spiky yellow hair, he struck a cool and flamboyant pose with a confident smile.

"Am I late?" Minato Namikaze turned to look at the Leaf forces and asked with a smile.

"Lord Minato, you arrived just in time!" several Leaf Anbu members exclaimed, their excitement bubbling over.

"Minato Namikaze? It’s him! The Yellow Flash is here!" A cheer erupted throughout the Leaf army; hope was rekindled in their hearts.

"Everyone, get ready—it’s going to explode!" Minato warned in a loud voice before looking toward the far horizon.

Dozens of kilometers away, on an empty field, a three-pronged kunai was embedded in the ground, engraved with the words "Sword of Ren'ai." The next instant, the massive sphere tore through space, materialized there, and detonated violently. A blinding light consumed everything, and a mushroom cloud soared into the sky. The shockwave even leveled a nearby town in the Land of Water.

The Leaf army witnessed this from afar.

"Did you all see that? Lord Minato used the Flying Thunder God technique to divert the enemy's attack!" an Anbu member shouted.

"That’s amazing!"

"As expected of our Leaf's Yellow Flash! Such divine technique! He’s truly invincible!" The Leaf ninja were stirred into an excited frenzy, their morale skyrocketing.

Minato nodded at them, but as his gaze swept over the devastated battlefield, he couldn't help but frown. So many comrades had died? This was unforgivable. Anger surged within him. He looked up at the sky, and even he was taken aback by Kisame’s appearance. What a hideous monster.

"Lord Minato, that monster is the transformation of the Fifth Mizukage, Kisame Hoshigaki. Its abilities are..." An Anbu ninja quickly stepped forward to relay the intelligence they had gathered.

"Understood. Take everyone and retreat to a safe place immediately. I will handle it from here," Minato commanded, his eyes locked firmly on Kisame with unwavering resolve.

As Minato watched Kisame, Kisame was observing him in return. This yellow-haired fellow was a student of Jiraiya and a member of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi’s faction. During this Third Great Ninja War, which had engulfed every nation and village, he had stood out alone, turning the "Yellow Flash" into a legend whispered in every corner of the ninja world.

Ninja from nearly every village had been warned: if you see Minato Namikaze on the battlefield, do not engage him; even if you abandon your mission to flee, you will face no punishment upon returning to your village. The Yellow Flash had first killed dozens of Stone ninja in seconds, then repelled the Cloud Village’s A-B combo. On every battlefield, he was the most dazzling presence.

Now, he had come to the Mist front to act as a savior for the Leaf. If Minato could defeat Kisame, the heights his reputation would reach were unimaginable. Overcoming the major villages single-handedly to write an immortal legend—it would be comparable to the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju himself.

At this moment, to the Leaf ninja, Minato was the protagonist of a heroic tale. According to the script, he would surely kill Kisame, the ugly and evil villain, to defend justice. But they forgot that Kisame, the villain in their eyes, was also a hero to the Hidden Mist.

Between Minato and Kisame, who was the protagonist and who was the villain depended on one thing: who won. The victor was justice, and the winner was the hero.

"That posturing, trying to look cool... it really is annoying," Kisame muttered, looking down at Minato. He decided to strike first, spreading his wings again to fire a barrage of black feathers at the ground!

It’s coming.

Minato’s gaze sharpened. He channeled chakra into his feet and began moving at such high speed across the battlefield that his movements were invisible to the naked eye. Even without the Flying Thunder God, his natural Body Flicker technique was top-tier.

Clang, clang, clang.

The black feathers pinned themselves to the ground, forming a dense "forest." Minato wove through them unscathed. As soon as the onslaught ended, he kicked off the ground and shot into the sky.

"Watch closely; you’re about to witness the combat of the Yellow Flash. It ends in an instant—don't blink," an Anbu member said to those around him with absolute confidence.

As he said, it happened. In the air, Minato threw a three-pronged kunai at Kisame from a distance. With a shrill whistle, the kunai brushed past him.

The next instant, Minato’s figure vanished, crossing dozens of meters to appear behind Kisame like a ghost.

This was the Flying Thunder God: Second Step.

By combining the technique with his kunai, he used the thrown blade to distract the enemy. When the kunai flew behind them, the caster instantly teleported to the target and launched a lethal strike! After mastering the Second Step, Minato had combined it with his self-created seal-less jutsu, the Rasengan, to push the technique’s power to the limit. In the original history, he used this move to exploit the flaw in Obito’s Kamui and deal him a grave blow.

Sizzle, sizzle.

A high-speed rotating sphere of chakra appeared in Minato’s palm. As he struck Kisame, the monster’s massive body was sent flying, sliding more than twenty meters through the air.

"He did it!" The Leaf ninja below cheered in unison, ready to celebrate victory.

But they soon realized they were celebrating too early. In the air, Kisame glanced at the spot where the Rasengan had hit; smoke rose from a spiral-shaped wound. Yet, to him, it was no big deal. Kisame had known about the Second Step, and with his ability to read minds, he had only allowed the hit because he couldn't be bothered to dodge.

"Are you trying to tickle me?" He grinned at Minato, flapped his wings to charge, and swiped with his giant claws.

Minato’s expression shifted; he used the Flying Thunder God to vanish and reappear on the ground in the distance. He stared at Kisame, his face turning grim.

The monster before him was even more thick-skinned than he had imagined; even the Rasengan couldn't hurt it. The Rasengan was a jutsu Minato had developed by mimicking the principles of the Tailed Beast Bomb; its power was immense, and it had led him to victory in countless battles. If that couldn't take the enemy down, he would have to use unconventional means.

Sage Mode.

It was the only move Minato could think of that might truly harm or even kill Kisame. He had traveled to the sacred Mount Myoboku with his teacher Jiraiya to train in Sage Mode and had signed the summoning contract with the toads there. Unfortunately, Minato’s mastery of Sage Mode was mediocre; since he rarely needed it, he hadn't practiced it much. After all, his previous enemies had fallen to the combination of the Flying Thunder God and Rasengan.

Until he met Kisame Hoshigaki.

Trying to cram Sage Mode now was clearly unrealistic. Faced with Kisame diving from the sky, Minato had no time to gather natural energy. Reluctantly, he chose to evade, using the Flying Thunder God to warp around the battlefield and dodge Kisame’s relentless attacks. The battle reached a stalemate. Minato couldn't hurt Kisame, but Kisame couldn't catch him.

"Minato Namikaze, do you only know how to hide like a filthy rat? If you ask me, you should change your nickname from 'Yellow Flash' to 'Yellow Rat.' Hahaha!" Kisame roared, his voice echoing across the battlefield.

"Damn it!" The Leaf ninja gritted their teeth, eyes burning with rage. Kisame’s humiliation of Minato was a humiliation of them, and of the Leaf. But they had no retort.

Kisame couldn't be bothered to chase Minato anymore. If the man truly wanted to run, he could be dozens of kilometers away in a blink. So, he turned his sights back to the Leaf army, hoping to force Minato into a head-on confrontation.

The strategy worked.

Whoosh.

Minato flashed in front of Kisame. Though he lacked the time for Sage Mode, he could use another way to borrow the power of Mount Myoboku.

"Come out! Let’s fight a monster with a monster!" Minato shouted. After a quick set of hand signs, he slammed his palm onto the ground, performing the Summoning Jutsu.

The next second, a massive shadow loomed over Kisame, descending from the sky. It was a giant red toad, nearly twenty meters tall, with bandages wrapped around its waist and a giant pipe in its mouth.

Gamabunta.

He was the boss of Mount Myoboku, possessing immense Sage chakra. He had contracted with Jiraiya, helping him achieve many feats on the battlefield. Gamabunta was, without question, a summoning beast of Tailed Beast caliber. In the original story, on the night of the Nine-Tails incident, Minato summoned him to sit on the Nine-Tails' head, pinning the beast down and interrupting its Tailed Beast Bomb.

Just as he did now, Gamabunta, with a cold expression and arms crossed, descended like Mount Tai, intending to crush Kisame.

"Another one trying to act cool." Kisame sneered. He had foreseen this the moment Minato began the hand signs.

So, almost the instant Gamabunta appeared, Kisame raised his right claw, transforming his fingertips into long, thin sewing needles, and thrust them viciously into the toad’s backside.

"Bunta, look out!" Minato shouted in alarm, but it was too late.

"Hmm?" Gamabunta glanced down. Before he could even see Kisame clearly, a sharp, searing pain erupted in his rear.

"Croak!" He let out a pained cry, his tongue lolling out. Grievously wounded, he vanished in a puff of white smoke with a loud "poof." Before he disappeared, Kisame had used his chakra threads to snag the toad's right leg and ripped it clean off.

"That is the price for showing off in front of me." Kisame looked at the stunned Minato, flashed a cruel smile, picked up the succulent, meaty frog leg, and took a massive bite.

Hmm, not bad at all. Worthy of a supernatural creature nourished by natural energy for so long.