Just how much chakra did Uchiha Madara possess?
The Wood Dragon Technique had absorbed its fill of chakra, yet the Susano'o, to the naked eye, showed almost no change.
Truly a shinobi second only to Senju Hashirama. Even in his seventies or eighties, his chakra reserves were this immense.
Yōkō didn't know why the Third Hokage had suddenly retracted the Adamantine Staff, so he had no choice but to use the Wood Dragon Technique alone to continue dragging the Complete Body Susano'o out of the village.
Uchiha Madara didn't seem hurried, suspended within the head of the Susano'o, as if waiting for something.
Yōkō thought of Uzumaki Kushina. Could it be that Uchiha Madara has some other method to kill Kushina?
Just then, Black Ant Body flickered into view.
"Lord Fox! Tobi ambushed the Hokage! Advisor Utatane Koharu has been assassinated!"
Yōkō's heart tightened. Tobi is here too!
Pretending to be Sarutobi Kanenosuke was fine because there never was a Sarutobi Kanenosuke. But after pretending to be Tobi for so long, I almost forgot there's a real Tobi.
In his previous life, Uchiha Madara's tactic was to head straight for the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, kill her, let the Nine-Tails revive years later, making it easier for Nagato to capture it.
For this reason, he had used the system to reset time once, but Uchiha Madara immediately changed his strategy.
With several Wood Clone Susano'o attacking the periphery and Madara himself occupying the Third Hokage and the others, wouldn't that allow Tobi to kill freely?
No wonder Uchiha Madara was so calm, using his Susano'o to stalemate the Third and the others.
A Tobi possessing Wood Release, the Ephemeral Technique, Ameno Mihashira, and Yono Shima, moving unchecked within Konoha... wasn't he essentially another Yōkō? Calling him 'Little Fox' wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Utatane Koharu was dead... This advisor could be said to be the most diligent and long-suffering of Konoha's advisors.
If anyone among the Konoha F4 deserved to die last, it should have been Utatane Koharu.
Those who shouldn't die are dead, while those who should die still live.
Black Ant said urgently: "The Hokage says to leave Uchiha Madara to him. He requests Lord Fox to pursue Tobi and prevent him from ambushing anyone else in the village!"
"I understand!"
Uchiha Madara was strong, but his strength lay in direct confrontation. Tobi's potential harm to the village was likely greater.
Yōkō still couldn't reveal that he also knew the Ephemeral Technique.
If he exposed his use of the Ephemeral Technique, the similarities between him, Sarutobi Kanenosuke, and Tobi would be too high.
Giving one final effort, he made the two Wood Dragons pull the Complete Body Susano'o half a step backward before Yōkō Body flickered away.
Tobi's primary target was likely still Uzumaki Kushina.
Taking advantage of the moment the Susano'o staggered back half a step, the Adamantine Staff reappeared.
This time, Sarutobi Hiruzen struck with furious force, immensely powerful.
Yōkō disengaged from the Complete Body Susano'o battlefield. From the air, he immediately spotted Namikaze Minato, moving at extreme speed with Uzumaki Kushina on his back.
Namikaze Minato's Body Flicker was formidable, covering a city block with each step.
While in mid-air, Namikaze Minato suddenly turned his head.
Condensed Wind Release chakra appeared on his shoulders. The chakra erupted, propelling him sideways.
He had strained his utmost to move laterally, but he was still sealed in by a brownish chakra pillar.
Seeing that Namikaze Minato was just a centimeter away from the surface of the Ameno Mihashira, Tobi said in surprise:
"This blond kid is so skilled? He almost dodged an instant-cast Ameno Mihashira?"
Inside the mask, White Zetsu said: "Lucky the Ameno Mihashira is thick, or we would have failed again. Kill the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and let the Nine-Tails revive in a few years."
Namikaze Minato, looking through the semi-transparent giant chakra pillar, saw the enemy emerging from a tree by the roadside.
It was a person wearing a wooden, spiral-patterned mask, with Mangekyō Sharingan in both eyes!
Namikaze Minato ran through everything he had learned and knew.
There was only one method that might break this situation!
His entire body's chakra surged. Wind Release chakra covered his whole body, condensed and then erupted in successive waves, yet it couldn't break through the strange chakra pillar no matter what!
In his boundless terror, Namikaze Minato's pupils abruptly constricted.
He saw a black dot appear beneath the chakra pillar!
After his teacher, Sakumo, became the External Affairs Advisor, Minato had learned much intelligence about rogue-nin.
This was the Mangekyō Dōjutsu: Yono Shima!
The ocular technique that killed Advisor Mitokado Homura!
If the Yono Black Island touched the chakra pillar, both he and Kushina would collapse into pulp along with the pillar!
No!
Driven by the threat of death, Minato mobilized all his chakra, every last bit!
The Wind Release chakra was tightly compressed against the surface of his body, unable to break the restraint of the Ameno Mihashira.
There was too much chakra; Minato's skin turned bluish-white!
It still wasn't enough!
Namikaze Minato's whole body trembled as he wrenched out the last of his mental and physical energy.
Uzumaki Kushina on his back couldn't speak. Sensing Minato's lack of chakra, she quickly channeled her Nine-Tails chakra into his body.
Minato's chakra reserves increased dramatically. More and more Wind Release chakra gathered and compressed on his skin.
However, the black dot rapidly expanded, about to touch the Ameno Mihashira.
Tobi relaxed noticeably.
Victory.
The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and this peculiar blond kid would both die.
This way, when Nagato grew up, he wouldn't have to face a powerful Konoha and could seal the Nine-Tails in the wild.
Konoha was too strong now.
Tobi was somewhat puzzled. Konoha had lost quite a few people, like the Guardian Ninja of the Land of Grass Daimyō, for instance. But why did it feel like the more people Konoha lost, the stronger it became?
Among the top brass, only the insignificant Mitokado Homura had died. After Konoha's White Fang became an advisor, Konoha seemed even stronger.
And then there was Fox, that Anbu member who was like a stick stirring up trouble, present everywhere.
A powerful Konoha did not align with Lord Madara's expectations.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
A large tree suddenly grew from beneath the Ameno Mihashira, lifting the pillar and sending it flying!
The Yono Black Island, failing to touch the Ameno Mihashira, first made contact with the maple tree.
The tree trunk rapidly collapsed, but the Ameno Mihashira in mid-air was caught by the claw of a Wood Dragon.
The Ameno Mihashira's chakra was absorbed, causing it to quickly disintegrate.
The Wood Dragon Technique was particularly effective against these chakra constructs.
After the Wood Dragon absorbed all the chakra from the Ameno Mihashira, its claw gently grasped Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina.
Namikaze Minato was drenched in sweat. His blond hair was soaked, but through the strands, his gaze shifted from relief to ice-cold.
He had almost died, and he had almost gotten Kushina killed.
Tobi looked up at the Konoha Anbu member standing atop the Wood Dragon's head.
"Copper Fox! It's you again! You're such a nuisance. You were in the Land of Rain, and now you're here in Konoha too."
"How vicious. You can call me a nuisance, but I can't call you one in return," Yōkō said. "If you're the nuisance, then what does that make Konoha?"
The Wood Dragon suddenly dove down, its head crashing towards Tobi.
Tobi took half a step back and merged into the trunk of a roadside tree.
Failing to catch Tobi, Yōkō had the Wood Dragon set down Namikaze Minato and Kushina.
Creating a Wood Clone, Yōkō said: "Stay here, next to my Wood Clone. Don't run off."
Namikaze Minato quickly nodded.
He had heard about the Konoha Anbu from seniors like Yamashiro-dera and others, but this was his first time facing a powerful Anbu member directly.
Yōkō manipulated the Wood Dragon to raise its upper body, looking down over Konoha from a high vantage point.
On the eastern side of Konoha's wall, the Third Hokage, Tsunade, and Hatake Sakumo were locked in a bitter battle with Uchiha Madara.
On the other fronts, Orochimaru, Danzo, and the Ino–Shika–Chō clans had not yet dealt with the Wood Clone Susano'o.
Not everyone possessed a sharp weapon like the Wood Dragon Technique to counter the Susano'o.
If Tobi entered any of those battlefields, it would lead to their collapse.
Yōkō formed hand signs and slapped them onto the Wood Dragon's head.
The next instant, throughout Konoha, a giant red maple tree roughly thirty meters tall sprouted approximately every hundred meters.
The villagers, especially the older ones, felt a particular sense of security upon seeing the Wood Release.
The glory of the First Hokage's era made the elders nostalgic.
The Jonin, aware of some Anbu intelligence, knew that the Red Maple Wood Release meant that Anbu's esteemed figure had arrived.
"Take cover under the maple trees! It's safe there!"
Unable to openly use the Ephemeral Technique, Yōkō had to pretend to create Wood Release maple trees to scout for Tobi.
Soon, Yōkō detected Tobi's trail. Tobi had gone to the southeastern part of the village, where the Ino–Shika–Chō clans were battling a Susano'o.
Seeing the Anbu shinobi's main body vanish with a Body Flicker, Namikaze Minato looked at the Wood Dragon left behind, then at the Anbu's Wood Clone, and asked, "Are you Lord Fox, the one who masters Wood Release?"
The Fox Wood Clone replied, "Yes, I am Anbu Fox. Don't worry. Although I am a Wood Clone, I am sufficient to protect you until the main body arrives."
Namikaze Minato had Kushina stand beside the Fox Wood Clone, while he himself stood quietly in the center of the empty road.
The Wood Clone raised an eyebrow slightly.
Hm?
What is that?
A layer of bluish-white chakra appeared on Namikaze Minato's body...
Crystallized Wind Release chakra? No, not quite, it seemed stronger than mere condensation.
So this is talent.
Yōkō had used the system to master Earth Release Chakra Crystallization. He had been practicing Water Release Chakra Crystallization himself for so long and was still only at the condensation stage.
Namikaze Minato, after just two years following Hatake Sakumo, had actually already mastered Wind Release Chakra Crystallization?
The life-or-death pressure of being trapped by the Ameno Mihashira and facing Yono Shima must have pushed Minato past his limits.
The next moment, the massive amount of chakra on Minato's body collapsed onto his skin.
The chakra glow vanished, transforming into a thin layer of gaseous aura.
This aura layer had a different density from the air, distorting the light and making Minato's figure appear slightly blurred.
Without any visible movement in his feet, his entire body shifted sideways like a ghost, so fast that only afterimages remained.
The high explosive power from the crystallized Wind Release chakra elevated Namikaze Minato's Body Flicker to another level.
Moreover, the crystallized Wind Release caused the light around Minato to distort and become chaotic, giving his entire presence an elusive, hard-to-pin-down feeling.
The Wood Clone felt a slight itch to test him, saying: "Namikaze Minato, after tonight, wait for me to contact you. I also have some insights into the Body Flicker Technique; we can discuss and exchange ideas."
"Yes! Lord Fox!"
Namikaze Minato was excited. When Lord Fox had rescued them earlier, his Body Flicker speed was incredibly fast. Neither he nor the enemy Tobi had noticed Lord Fox Body Flickering to their vicinity.
He drew his Chakra Short Sword and slashed towards the ruins Tobi had left behind.
Looking closely, an invisible blade aura that distorted light instantly sliced through tree trunks and walls.
The Wood Clone's pupils are constricted, immediately assessing Namikaze Minato's level of chakra crystallization mastery.
Hatake Sakumo's Lightning Release Chakra Crystallization used lightning to stimulate muscles for faster Body Flickers, and crystallized lightning chakra for ultimate destructive power.
Namikaze Minato's Wind Release Chakra Crystallization acted directly on his body. His Body Flicker was faster than Hatake Sakumo's, and the speed of his blade aura was also much greater.
However, the destructive power seemed inferior to Lightning Release Chakra Crystallization.
Wind Release Chakra Crystallization focused more on speed and was extremely concealed.
The ultimate tool for overwhelming weaker opponents, a crystallization secret art born specifically for that purpose. An average Kage-level shinobi would absolutely be unable to hit Minato.
***
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(End of Chapter)