The moment Aizen Sōsuke's voice fell, Minato Namikaze felt a faint sound of glass shattering in his ears, though he wasn't sure if it was an illusion.
Even his vision seemed to subtly crack open in a spiderweb pattern.
It was as if, in that instant, something had suddenly become different.
In just that brief moment of distraction, the blade Aizen drew from his hand had unknowingly transformed from one to two, a long and a short katana separating from his pressed three-pronged Kunai, suddenly breaking the subtle hum in front of him.
"Whoosh!"
Despite being momentarily stunned by the movement just now, Minato Namikaze was, after all, a battle-hardened, veteran Ninja.
Almost the instant the wind sound arose, the Chakra beneath his feet erupted, propelling his body backward a large step, his eyes remaining fixed on the man in front of him.
What exactly happened in that instant?
Despite his extraordinary sensory abilities, Minato Namikaze was completely certain he hadn't been affected in any way, yet he was inexplicably concerned, unable to articulate why; perhaps it was just instinctive apprehension.
"Don't get distracted!"
Just as Minato Namikaze was frowning, he heard Tobirama Senju's cold voice from behind him.
The white-haired, red-eyed middle-aged man stood shoulder to shoulder with Minato Namikaze, holding a short blade horizontally in one hand and a Kunai with a marked hilt in the other, his tone serious: "Since you are the Fourth Hokage of the future, you should act more appropriately."
Hearing this, Minato Namikaze was startled for a moment, then immediately responded with a serious: "Yes!"
Behind them, Danzo Shimura had already rescued Hiruzen Sarutobi from the ceiling during the interval when Minato Namikaze and Aizen were clashing.
The members of Minato's squad from the distant high platform had also gathered there, leaving only Anrokuzan staring blankly at the sudden change in the situation, at a loss.
After Tobirama Senju finished speaking, he didn't look at him again, instead narrowing his eyes as he stared at the seemingly gentle young man in front of him.
Despite not having particularly developed muscles, he could easily block Hiruzen's adamantine staff, and his reactions were also quite excellent.
That earlier Ninjutsu-less Wind Release also had some skill; it should be a self-created Ninjutsu, with a combat style leaning towards high-speed.
Furthermore, when he fought that puppet boy before, he also demonstrated a process of position changes combining Body Flicker and Genjutsu.
Proficient in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu.
He's a rather troublesome fellow.
If he had any weakness...
"Chakra reserves?"
Tobirama Senju looked at the man opposite him, his already activated Chakra sensing having confirmed through echoes that the opponent's total Chakra reserves should only be two to three times that of a regular Jonin.
Among ordinary people, this would already be a capable fighter.
But in front of their lineup, it was an extremely fatal weakness.
Small Chakra reserves meant that the opponent's Ninjutsu usage was limited, requiring them to rely more on Taijutsu and Genjutsu against enemies.
In that case... "Blond boy!"
Tobirama Senju suddenly spoke, his gaze still fixed on the man in front, his tone serious: "Cooperate with me."
Although Minato Namikaze was meeting Tobirama Senju for the first time today, the moment he heard his words, he seemed to immediately understand something and nodded deeply.
The next moment, he stomped hard on the ground, and the stone floor immediately erupted with large, torn spiderweb-like cracks.
The extraordinary superhuman strength unique to the Senju Clan immediately propelled his body forward with a sudden surge, moving so fast it was almost a blur, like an arrow released from a bow, he shot across the ground towards Aizen.
"Boom—!"
The short blade and Kunai in his hands were swung out simultaneously, aimed directly at Aizen's neck.
"Clang!"
A piercing metallic clang suddenly resounded in everyone's ears, as the two blades, one long and one short, were wielded by Aizen as if they were extensions of his arms, intertwining and easily parrying Tobirama's simultaneous slashes, scraping out large golden sparks in mid-air.
The white-haired figure shooting forward also seemed to hit a mountain, his steps easily halted in front of Aizen.
"Second Hokage-sama, you shouldn't only be at this level, should you?"
Aizen's voice was casual and carefree; the dangerously sharp blades rapidly crossing near his skin and clothes seemed to exert no pressure on him whatsoever, as the two danced around each other at zero distance, their movements too fast to follow.
However, Tobirama Senju's movements were not disturbed in the slightest by his words.
After his upward slash at close range was blocked, his wooden clogs immediately scraped forward on the cracked stone floor, his body lowered, and the Kunai held in reverse grip stabbed towards the opponent's heart.
But before his stab could succeed, Aizen's short blade, like a venomous snake, swept horizontally from beneath their still intertwined long blades.
"Rip—!"
With a grating metallic clang, the Chakra-infused Kunai was actually split in two by Aizen's swinging short blade.
Tobirama Senju's pupils constricted, and his lowered body immediately sprang up like a coiled spring, using the intertwined blades as a pivot, his suddenly descending foot stomping hard on the surface of the half-broken Kunai tip spinning in mid-air.
Under this strike, that half-broken blade immediately transformed into a black meteor, shooting downwards at an even faster speed than it had arrived.
"Whoosh!"
Aizen tilted his head slightly, easily dodging the blade that flew past his cheek, a few strands of hair fluttering by his ear.
Just that momentary shift in his vision.
Minato Namikaze's figure, at an incredibly fast speed, almost sticking to the blind spot of his vision as he dodged, swiftly moved to his side.
"Wind Release: Rasengan!"
The rapidly rotating Chakra gathered into a sphere in his palm, and in the blind spot of vision between the two, it was violently slammed towards Aizen Sōsuke, unleashing a sudden, rising hum of light.
Aizen Sōsuke's expression seemed to change slightly the instant he saw this Ninjutsu-less technique, and he urgently shouted: "Bakudo Number Nine: Geki!"
The moment the two were almost at zero distance, the Rasengan Minato Namikaze swung out immediately seemed to hit an invisible wall, pausing for an extremely brief moment just before impact.
Using only that momentary gap, Aizen's body immediately leveraged the immense force, moving horizontally more than ten meters in the opposite direction.
"Well done!"
However, Tobirama Senju did not regret the missed attack.
On the contrary, the fact that a young man from a later generation could create a high-speed Ninjutsu more suited to the Flying Thunder God Technique he developed was already enough to make him proud.
Moreover, the man opposite him had indeed begun to show weaknesses, just as he had expected.
With only that much Chakra, how many times can you use a Ninjutsu-less technique like that?
Tobirama Senju thought, still in mid-air, his hands already reaching for the Ninja tool pouch at his waist.
Immediately after, a dozen Shuriken shot out from his hand towards Aizen.
Not only that, but his hands immediately formed hand seals.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Those spinning Shuriken rapidly flickered under the blurry illusion, one turning into ten, ten into a hundred.
In the blink of an eye, they had transformed from a mere dozen into an overwhelming torrent, roaring as they covered all space around Aizen.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—!"
Facing the overwhelming Shuriken offensive, Aizen's expression was grim, but the long and short blades in his hands were not slow in the slightest, spinning like a windmill, deflecting all Shuriken that could reach him.
However, at the same time, his peripheral vision clearly caught sight of the loose iron sand floating around, and his gaze suddenly changed.
Tobirama Senju's face curled into a smile.
His earlier words, though directed at Minato Namikaze.
But weren't they also for those around him?
Sasori stood far away on the water, the Third Kazekage puppet floating beside him extending its palm towards Aizen, its voice flat: "Magnet Release: Iron Sand Gathering."
Almost the instant the voice fell.
The Shuriken that had been scattered and embedded in the ground immediately began to shake violently, as if pulled by an invisible force.
Immediately after, the large number of Kunai scattered around Aizen suddenly shot out, centering on him.
"Aizen-sama!"
Uchiha Itachi in the distance subconsciously called out.
However, his path was already blocked by Danzo Shimura and Akimichi Choza and others.
"Trying to help him?"
"Get past me first."
Danzo Shimura stared coldly at the young man in front of him, disdainfully spitting: "You naturally evil Uchiha…", the next moment, a group of people immediately engaged in battle.
"Bang—!"
A violent metallic collision suddenly erupted from their distance, countless Shuriken crashing together under the pull of Magnet Release, producing a nearly distorted metallic folding sound.
However, Aizen's figure narrowly emerged from underground, just barely avoiding the metal storm.
"Even Earth Release has some skill?"
"It seems that young people living in peaceful times haven't neglected the basic skills of a Ninja."
Tobirama Senju stood on the water curtain platform, which was slightly higher than the surroundings, looking down at the young man coldly, a sarcastic smile inadvertently appearing on his lips: "However."
"You only have this much skill."
Almost the moment his words fell, the hand seals he held suddenly changed.
Water Release: Water Shockwave!
The massive volume of water already summoned by the Great Waterfall Technique suddenly spread out from all directions towards Aizen, following the changed hand seals, forming several highly impactful columnar flows, attempting to encircle him in the center.
Gazing at the unavoidable water flow, Aizen suddenly raised his palm and shouted: "Hado Number Thirty-Three: Sōkatsui!"
The pale blue flames that surged forth collided head-on with the massive water flow at this extreme distance, roaring loudly.
Rising with it was a large amount of water mist.
It seemed he intended to use this concealment as cover.
But Tobirama Senju didn't give him that chance.
Just as he had intended from the beginning.
If they were to relentlessly pursue the weakness of the opponent's insufficient Chakra reserves, they had to apply extreme pressure step by step, never giving the opponent any opportunity to continuously refine Chakra.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
The high-pressure water stream rapidly spewed from his mouth tore through the mist in front of him with ease, like a hot knife through butter, and the large volume of airflow it carried swept away like a gale, revealing the figure constantly fleeing in the center of the blurry mist.
Got you!
Tobirama Senju's lips curved slightly.
The next moment, several Kunai immediately swept out from his hand.
Following closely behind was his figure, traversing space.
"Flying Thunder God Slash—!"
However, the instant the blade swept past the illusion in front of him, Tobirama Senju's eyes narrowed slightly.
What was cut in two in front of him was clearly a tree stump with a clean cut.
Substitution Jutsu?
Almost the instant he realized this, a shining blade light was already reflected in Tobirama Senju's peripheral vision.
The figure hidden deeper in the mist, wielding the two Ninja blades, one long and one short, slashed horizontally from the side towards his floating figure in mid-air.
However, Tobirama Senju's face revealed a triumphant smile.
"Whoosh—!"
Almost the moment the blade was about to strike.
His figure suddenly vanished from its original spot.
In its place was a once again humming, shimmering clear blue light; the rapidly rotating Chakra sphere was pushed forward in the blond youth's hand, perfectly taking the place of Tobirama Senju's stationary figure.
Flying Thunder God: Mutual Instantaneous Displacement Technique!
Minato Namikaze strode forward, his gaze firm, his Rasengan unhesitatingly meeting the two Ninja blades, one long and one short.
As for Tobirama Senju's figure, it had already flashed behind Aizen Sōsuke, his blade still in the motion of a swing.
At this moment, Minato Namikaze looked at the slight change in Aizen's expression, and a hint of relief flashed through his heart.
Earlier, what Second Hokage-sama said, "cooperate with me," was actually a small reminder.
As early as the moment their figures crossed, Minato Namikaze had already secretly left their Flying Thunder God marks on each other.
Thus, this killing blow was possible!
"Boom—!"
The next instant.
The Rasengan broke through the obstruction of the blades, crashing heavily into the chest of the man in front.
A slash from Tobirama Senju, from the opposite direction, cut down into his shoulder.
As they crossed paths, immense forces intertwined and swirled, causing their hands to vibrate violently for a moment.
Until the very end.
The figure before their eyes finally stopped.
The surrounding mist gradually dispersed, and the scene before them gradually became clear.
Minato Namikaze unconsciously let out a long breath as he looked at the scene before him.
With this, it should be over, right?
However, the thought had just flashed through his mind.
"You said..."
"What's over?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in his ears.
Minato Namikaze was startled, subconsciously turning his head in the direction of the voice.
Then, he saw the tall and gentle man standing quietly there, looking down at both of them.
Just as he had been at the very beginning.