The result was nothing short of shocking. The massive chakra-laced wind ball unleashed by Shukaku was effortlessly swatted away by the golden statue of the Thousand-Armed Kannon, as if it were a mere toy. It crashed into a desolate rocky mountain in the distance, resulting in a thunderous explosion that shook the battlefield.
Several shinobi who witnessed the scene were left speechless, their mouths agape in disbelief.
Every Konoha ninja had at least heard the legends of the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi. Especially infamous was his colossal Wooden Avatar, capable of subduing tailed beasts with overwhelming might.
Now, on Mount Kikyo, those legends seemed to come alive again. The golden Guanyin that towered above them reminded many of the tales they had grown up hearing—of giant hands capable of suppressing even bijuu.
On this day, the tailed beasts—beings feared as living natural disasters—once again remembered what it meant to be dominated by sheer power.
Rewinding the clock slightly—
On the main battlefield, a large force of Konoha shinobi led by Minato Namikaze had already clashed with the main army of Sunagakure.
Aiming to minimize casualties and bring a swift end to the battle, Minato summoned Gamabunta, the Chief Toad of Mount Myōboku. Against regular troops, a summon of Gamabunta's caliber posed a threat almost on par with a tailed beast.
Sunagakure had no choice but to send Elder Ebizō to restrain the massive toad, further depleting their small number of high-ranking combatants. This left only Chiyo, with her legendary White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Ten Puppets, to contend with Orochimaru.
Meanwhile, Rasa, the future Fourth Kazekage and wielder of Magnet Release, clashed with Minato.
On paper, a duel between two future Kage should have been a highlight of the war. But those familiar with Minato knew one thing: trying to pin down the Yellow Flash was wishful thinking.
Although Rasa's Magnet Release and control over gold dust were formidable, he was utterly outmatched against Minato's mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Minato constantly blinked across the battlefield, using marked kunai distributed among his troops to appear wherever he was needed. Time and again, he struck down elite Sunagakure jōnin before vanishing just as quickly.
Rasa attempted to counter. He tried to anticipate Minato's movements and even targeted his marked kunai.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Great Funeral!"
Rasa activated his most lethal trap at the precise moment Minato teleported in. A sea of gold dust surged upward, swallowing the terrain whole.
But it wasn't enough.
Before a single grain could touch him, Minato had already vanished, reappearing in a distant skirmish, dispatching enemies, and returning just as casually.
This rhythm—instantaneous movement, assassination, withdrawal—was second nature to Minato. Compared to his infamous encounters with Kumogakure's A and Killer B, Rasa posed far less of a threat.
That was Minato Namikaze: unless his opponent could kill him instantly or pin him down, it didn't matter whether he faced one enemy or ten.
Compared to the often-joked-about "50-50" luck of Kakashi Hatake, Minato was the real embodiment of balanced death for his enemies—if he showed up, your odds were already cut in half.
And so, Rasa found himself helpless, forced to defend with all his strength each time Minato appeared and launched a Rasengan his way. One slip, and he would be marked, sealed, or dead.
He seethed with frustration—played like a fool before the enemy army.
"I wonder how Pakura is faring?" he thought bitterly.
He was torn. Part of him wanted Pakura to succeed in unleashing Shukaku to shift the tide of battle. Yet another part didn't want her to outshine him.
Then, a deep, thunderous roar rang across the battlefield.
All shinobi—whether allies or foes—froze.
It was unmistakably the roar of a tailed beast.
Lower-ranking ninjas shivered in fear, while veterans immediately understood the implications.
Orochimaru, locked in combat with Chiyo's puppets, paused. His serpentine tongue flicked out, and his golden eyes glinted with curiosity and hunger.
"So… that's where Pakura has been," he murmured, licking his lips. "And she brought the One-Tail's Jinchūriki."
Sunagakure's intelligence network had clearly caught wind of Konoha's plans.
"Shukaku's been released," Orochimaru deduced. "Seems Pakura couldn't handle the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki on her own."
Ironically, even Rasa—despite his jealousy—felt a strange sense of relief. If Pakura failed, it wasn't just his fault.
Minato, meanwhile, had already turned toward the distant roar. His face darkened.
That direction—where the ambush had been set up—was where Kawaki Aoba was meant to flank Sunagakure.
"Pakura of the Scorch Style… and Sunagakure's Jinchūriki. Both sent to intercept Aoba."
Minato's fists clenched.
He believed in Aoba's strength—but against both Pakura and Shukaku?
Seeing the Hokage's reaction, Rasa's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't allow Minato to intervene—not now.
He stepped forward and declared coldly, "Minato Namikaze. Let our Jinchūriki settle the score. If you abandon this battlefield, I won't hold back against your men."
It was a bluff—he couldn't catch Minato even if he tried. But he understood this: if Minato left, Sunagakure's forces would be annihilated.
The best he could do… was stall.
Seeing that Minato Namikaze remained silent, Rasa said again, "What? Don't tell me you lack confidence in Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?"
It was a shallow provocation, but one that might've worked in such a tense moment. Unfortunately, Rasa misunderstood two crucial things.
The first was that Minato's silence wasn't hesitation—it was guilt. He knew deep down that Aoba Kawaki had been dragged into this mission to deflect danger away from Kushina Uzumaki.
Despite Kushina's repeated requests to be dispatched to the frontlines, her application was never approved. As the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, her identity had to remain a closely guarded secret. If revealed, she'd be a prime target for enemy villages. To avoid that outcome, the village had instead pushed the risk onto Aoba Kawaki—a decision Minato couldn't help but feel guilty about.
The second thing Rasa misjudged was the idea that he could actually contain Minato Namikaze.
Without a word, Minato's expression hardened. In the blink of an eye, he vanished using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
On a battlefield crowded with ordinary ninja, Minato reappeared beside a marked kunai. With practiced ease, he picked up the weapon, scanned the field, and threw it toward a Sunagakure shinobi.
Though Sunagakure's soldiers had learned to stay away from Flying Thunder God kunai, it was ultimately futile. Every second they bought only postponed the inevitable. Minato's presence meant death was never far behind.
Just like that, one unlucky ninja sensed danger and spun around, preparing to deflect the kunai. But the moment he recognized the unique tri-pronged shape, his eyes widened with panic. He turned and ran.
It wasn't a bad reaction—but it was far too late.
No ordinary shinobi could outrun Minato's thrown kunai. In an instant, the Yellow Flash materialized behind him, a Rasengan already swirling in his hand.
The glowing sphere struck the ninja's back before he could even scream. The body crumpled.
One Sunagakure shinobi—dead.
Minato didn't waste a second. He hurled another marked kunai toward a nearby Konoha ninja engaged in a fierce battle, shouting, "Head to the flank and activate the formula when you arrive!"
The Chūnin, without hesitation, caught the kunai and prepared to disengage. Several Sunagakure shinobi tried to intercept him, but were blocked by Minato's comrades. Thanks to their coordinated defense, the Chūnin slipped away safely.
From Rasa's vantage point, the scene was infuriating.
Minato Namikaze clearly didn't take him seriously. That kind of disregard cut deeper than any wound.
But what angered Rasa more was the simple truth—he was powerless to stop him.
Elsewhere, Chiyo and Ebizō were also observing the battle. When they heard Shukaku's roar in the distance, both realized that only someone with Space-Time Ninjutsu like Minato could reach that battlefield in time.
Seeing him act, they grew anxious. Like Rasa, they were locked in their own fights and unable to break away.
Now, their only hope was that Yekura—an original character, it seems—could hold Minato at bay long enough for the sealing squad to complete its work. As for Shukaku, they didn't expect to control him—just keep him from rampaging.
Everyone had their own thoughts.
Suddenly, a dazzling golden light erupted on the horizon.
All eyes turned to the source. It was the same direction from which Shukaku's roar had come earlier. Both Konoha and Sunagakure troops were momentarily stunned, unsure if this was a weapon unleashed by the enemy.
When the light finally faded, what they saw shook them to their core.
Atop a distant hillside stood a golden statue nearly a hundred meters tall—an Avalokiteśvara with a hundred arms, radiating divine might. Even from behind a mountain, the towering head and halo of arms were clearly visible.
Among the witnesses, Orochimaru was the most affected.
As one of the researchers who had worked on the village's secret Wood Release experiments, he was all too familiar with the First Hokage's legendary technique—True Several Thousand Hands.
And this golden statue... it was unmistakably inspired by that jutsu.
Although smaller, fewer-armed, and made of some unknown chakra rather than wood, the resemblance was undeniable. A hundred-armed Avalokiteśvara—powerful, graceful, and terrifying.
"Aoba Kawaki… I didn't expect you to have such a trump card," Orochimaru murmured. "Let's see how far this new creation can go."
He immediately deduced that this was Kawaki's doing. It bore the signature of someone who'd studied and reimagined Hashirama's jutsu—possibly borrowing inspiration from the Fire Temple's own spiritual techniques as well.
But whatever it was, one thing was certain—Sunagakure could never replicate it.
Even their own shinobi thought so.
"Hundred-Style Heavy Fist!"
Under Aoba Kawaki's control, the colossal Avalokiteśvara moved. A hundred arms rained down on Shukaku in coordinated waves—some fists, some palms, some hammers, some claws.
Each blow pounded the Tailed Beast with relentless precision.
Although not as overwhelming as Hashirama's thousand arms, these golden limbs had an advantage. Unlike the original jutsu, where the arms were essentially single-use, each of Kawaki's limbs functioned more like extensions of a Susanoo—durable, versatile, and capable of sustained combat.
So long as Kawaki had chakra, the statue could continue attacking—or defending.
This was something Aoba Kawaki discovered only after using it for the first time: a defensive formation of arms could form a near-impenetrable wall, shielding him from all sides.
And right now, that wall was hammering a Tailed Beast into submission.
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