Instant-Kill Style: Minato Namikaze

"Earth Release Barrier! Earth Prison Dome!"

Earthen walls rose from the ground, swiftly forming an airtight prison.

A B-rank restraining ninjutsu. Anyone trapped by it would be unable to escape, and these earthen walls would absorb the trapped person's Chakra.

Only then did three figures slowly emerge from the ground.

The lean young man at the lead had his hand pressed against the earth prison. He frowned slightly, then moved his hand away.

Without Chakra sustaining it, the earth prison collapsed into soft mud.

Yet there was not a single person inside.

"What fast reactions. They must be Konoha's promising genin."

They had launched their ninjutsu the instant they were discovered, yet the three still escaped in that brief moment.

Ordinary genin could not possess such speed, and judging by their ages, they did not seem to be chunin or jonin.

That was precisely why they had the confidence to attack.

"Teacher Chudo, they split up."

A girl with black scorpion-like markings on her face pointed into the distance.

Chudo trusted the girl's scouting abilities greatly.

Through her senses, she could tell that the three had divided into three routes and were fleeing at high speed.

Their speed shocked her. It had even reached the escape speed of jonin.

"Let me tear them all apart!"

The crew-cut boy beside her wore a bloodthirsty expression, utterly unconcerned with how strong the enemy might be.

"Split up and pursue them!"

After a brief thought, Chudo immediately gave the order. If Konoha's promising genin could be eliminated, it would bring nothing but benefits to Iwagakure's future.

As for the possibility of failure—

The two he had brought with him were also ninja hailed as geniuses.

With the difference in age, he did not believe failure was possible.

The three swiftly turned into dark shadows and gave chase.

Minato Namikaze raced through the forest.

His brow was tightly furrowed.

The instant the underground ninja had launched their attack, an intense sense of danger had alerted them.

There was a jonin among the attackers.

The three had immediately split up. As long as one person escaped and delivered the news, the others would have a chance to survive.

Anyone caught by a jonin midway could only pray for their own luck.

Their strength was still some distance from that of a jonin.

This cold decision had naturally been conveyed by Jin through hand signals at the first opportunity.

In that fleeting moment, Minato Namikaze had not even had time to refuse before the enemy's ninjutsu was unleashed.

They could only act according to Jin's instructions.

Because it was the only proposal for action.

He understood what Jin meant.

If the three stayed together, the enemy jonin had the ability to keep all three of them there.

Rather than all three facing danger, it was better for at least one to escape.

Splitting up had been the best choice at the time.

"Kushina, Jin, survive!"

Minato Namikaze wore a grave expression as he sped through the trees.

His ears twitched as the sound of pursuit came from behind him.

Footsteps scraped against branches, the sounds steadily drawing closer.

Judging from the rhythm, there was only one pursuer.

The heightened senses granted by Basic Inner Cultivation made him extremely sensitive to sound. It was difficult for the other person to conceal themselves, though they did not seem to have any intention of doing so.

Minato Namikaze immediately stopped on a branch and waited for his pursuer.

No matter who was chasing him, he needed to stall them.

If it was a jonin, then he could only use his life to buy time.

He tightened the cord of his forehead protector at the back of his head.

He had already prepared himself to die in battle.

Soon, the figure of a young man gradually came into view, stopping on a branch opposite him.

It was not that jonin.

Minato Namikaze's heart sank to the bottom.

He had hoped most that the jonin would pursue him. Of the three, he was the one most worth sacrificing.

"Are you unhappy to see me?"

The boy held a Kunai and lightly licked its blade, cutting a streak of blood across his tongue. An exaggerated grin hung on his face.

Like a madman.

"A little."

Minato Namikaze drew his Kunai and swiftly began assessing his opponent's strength.

The other party looked around fifteen or sixteen, considerably older than him, but a ninja's strength had never been determined by age.

Minato Namikaze never underestimated anyone.

"You really piss me off."

The boy bared his sharp teeth in a grin.

"My name is Sansho. Tell me your name, Konoha genius."

Someone Teacher Chudo called one of Konoha's promising candidates had to be a Konoha genius.

"Konoha geniuses are my favorite prey."

Sansho grew more excited, and his brown hair faintly glowed red.

"Minato Namikaze."

Minato Namikaze turned, leaped, and crouched halfway down the tree trunk, aiming at Sansho in a launching stance.

"I'm not a genius."

At least, compared with Jin, he was far inferior.

"Genius or not, you'll die here."

Sansho's body began to change. His hair turned blood-red, while earth and sand began falling from his face.

"Secret Technique! Earth Beast Technique!"

The moment Sansho transformed, Minato Namikaze had already finished his hand seals.

He took a deep breath.

"Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!"

He blasted a fierce whirlwind at Sansho.

Faced with the violent gale, Sansho promptly leaped from the tree. The earth and sand on his body turned into tentacles that gripped the surrounding trees, steadying him.

At that moment, Minato Namikaze kicked off with both feet. His entire body shot forward like a released spring, and the Kunai in his hand slashed toward Sansho's chest.

The earthen tentacles behind Sansho wrapped around another tree and yanked hard, pulling his body aside to evade the strike.

The next instant, two more tentacles grew from his body and grabbed at Minato Namikaze.

But Minato Namikaze had already prepared for it.

"Steel Tempest!"

He stepped on the tentacles and rapidly closed in on Sansho. No matter how the other party flailed the tentacles, he ran across them as though walking on level ground.

In an instant, he closed the distance and slashed with his Kunai.

Blood sprayed.

Blood droplets spattered from Sansho's chest. At that moment, his pupils turned scarlet, and he kicked out, forcing Minato Namikaze back.

The tentacles behind him pulled him onto another branch. He lowered his head and stared at the blood seeping from his chest.

He was injured.

Gritting his teeth, he demanded furiously, "You actually dared to hurt me."

He looked up at Minato Namikaze, but there was no one there.

"Soru! Consecutive Slashes!"

Minato Namikaze appeared on the branch behind Sansho and flicked the blood droplets from his Kunai.

He did not have time to waste here.

Wounds appeared all over the Earth Beast's body, and the earthen tentacles on his back were swiftly severed, turning into mud and falling to the ground.

"Sorry, I don't have time to waste my energy here."

Minato Namikaze lowered his Kunai. Gale-force winds swirled around him, stirring the tips of his hair, held back but ready to erupt.

"The battle has only just begun!"

Sansho roared as more blood-red earth and sand grew from his back. This was his strongest state.

Even a Konoha genius could not possibly—

"Steel Cutting Flash!"

A shrieking wind blade appeared before him in the blink of an eye. Before he could react, it sliced through his body and cut down a large swath of trees behind him.

"How... can you be so strong!?"

Sansho could not understand it. He had not even had time to fully unleash his inherited secret technique. Because he enjoyed the thrill of torturing and killing, he had intended to gradually increase his strength and give his prey fear.

But his opponent had gone all out from the very beginning.

It was like he had only used a basic attack, while the other side had unleashed RQWE all at once.

A line of blood emerged from his brow to his abdomen. With unwillingness in his eyes, Sansho's body split in two and toppled in opposite directions.

The battle had been decided.

He had never expected to lose after only a few exchanges.

And leave his life behind.

He was a genius of Iwagakure too!!

Minato Namikaze did not look back at the two halves of the corpse.

He swiftly raced deeper into the forest.

Kushina had not run far before stopping beside a small stream.

Watching her reflection in the water, Kushina bit her lip, her face filled with resentment.

At a time like this, she should have been fleeing as quickly as possible. If something happened to her and the Nine-Tails was lost, it would be a tremendous blow to the village.

Kushina clearly knew which choice was best.

But—

"I can't accept this! How can I just run away like this!"

The light reflected from the stream illuminated her unwilling face.

She had run when the Land of Whirlpools fell. How could she abandon her companions and run away now?

Gripping her Kunai, she turned and headed back the way she had come.

"I will never abandon my companions!!"

That was simply the kind of willful person she was.

She had fled earlier according to Jin's orders, but now she would act according to her own will.

"What a touching speech."

The girl with a scorpion drawn on her face leaned against a tree trunk, looking at Kushina.

"An enemy?"

Kushina assumed an attacking stance. She had not had time to see the enemies' appearances earlier. The only information leaked in that instant of attack had made the three turn and flee.

"Are Iwagakure and Konoha still allies?"

The girl patted the belt around her waist, where Iwagakure's symbol was displayed.

"So skinny!"

Kushina exclaimed, then immediately shook her head. Was this really the time to be thinking about that?

"Oh ho ho, you really have a good eye. I almost don't want to kill you now." The girl let out a strange laugh, her face brimming with delight as she looked at Kushina.

After all, how many of those rough men in the village could recognize her perfect figure?

Kushina continued staring seriously at her enemy.

"If you want to kill me, show me what you've got. Come at me."

With little combat experience, Kushina did not choose to attack first. Instead, she waited for the girl to make a move.

A seductive smile appeared on the girl's face.

"Sweetheart, I've already attacked."

Whoosh.

A bloody cut appeared across Kushina's cheek. Her pupils contracted as she swiftly moved to the left.

Yet the attacks seemed to be everywhere, and wound after wound appeared on her body.

Kushina's eyes darted around as she searched for whatever was attacking her.

But there was only empty air.

No—her pupils widened as extremely fine dust swept across her body.

Leaving a mass of wounds behind.

"You found it." The girl laughed coquettishly, no longer bothering to pretend as she clapped her hands together hard.

"Dust Release! Land of Dust."

Countless specks of dust began to gather, blanketing the entire area.

Though it did not obstruct her vision, Kushina shielded her face with both hands as tiny cuts continuously appeared across her body.

"I'll help you ruin that lovely face of yours."

The young girl's expression turned savage.