"Heh." Shin chuckled and tossed aside the branch in his hand. "You're pretty good with the Flying Thunder God Technique, but simply moving through space won't let you touch me. I hope you've improved by the next time we meet. Until then."
As Shin spoke, a breeze stirred, and his figure vanished without a sound. The whole thing happened so naturally that Minato Namikaze didn't react until several seconds later.
Whoosh!
Minato let out a long breath and wearily sat down. The pressure had finally lifted. He glanced at the kunai in his hand, his expression complicated, and said nothing.
"Uchiha Shin... What a terrifying enemy."
Boom!
A tremendous roar came from the village in the distance, snapping him back to reality. The Nine-Tails' mountain-sized form was still rampaging through the village, flames spreading everywhere.
He stood and slapped his cheeks, forcing himself to calm down. "Whatever happens, the top priority now is sealing the Nine-Tails. As for Uchiha Shin... I'll deal with that later. He didn't kill me just now. Perhaps he isn't necessarily an enemy."
With that thought, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and disappeared in an instant.
In Konoha, the Third Hokage and the others continued attacking the Nine-Tails. The battle had grown even more intense, and the shock waves of destruction spread farther and farther. Countless ninja and villagers had already perished in the disaster.
"This won't work. We can't take down the Nine-Tails anytime soon, and the village can't withstand much more. We have to drive it outside the village."
Hiruzen Sarutobi flipped nimbly in midair, dodging a sweep from one of the Nine-Tails' tails before landing on a distant rooftop.
"Step up your attacks. Do everything you can to draw the Nine-Tails' attention and buy me time to use my jutsu." The