Decisive Battle Against Shendu (4)

"No serious injuries? That's good..."

"Now, we must focus our attention on Shendu!"

Buying as much time as possible for Uncle is the only thing they can do right now...

On the other side, Yellow Sponge was constantly intersecting with Shendu, who was wielding the Rabbit Talisman in mid-air. Due to the massive disparity in power, he could not engage in a direct confrontation. All he could do was harass Shendu from time to time.

"Enough! You are truly as annoying as a mosquito!"

Yellow Sponge's constant scratching annoyed Shendu. The pattern of the Rooster Talisman flashed in his eyes, and immediately, Yellow Sponge felt a pair of invisible, massive hands grab him firmly, leaving him unable to break free.

"Feel my wrath!"

Flames and electricity ignited in Shendu's eyes. Just as he was about to crush Yellow Sponge's sponge body, an inconspicuous Flying Thunder God Kunai suddenly appeared behind Shendu. Immediately after, Minato, his handsome face illuminated by a brilliant blue light, flashed in, gripped the kunai, and pushed out a miniature typhoon gathered in his palm--

"Rasengan!"

The Rasengan emitted a sharp, explosive roar, hitting Shendu's back with precision and continuously churning his flesh. The pain forced Shendu to release Yellow Sponge instantly, and he turned around to throw a punch at Minato.

"You did hit me, but unfortunately... such damage can be instantly repaired by the divine power of the Horse Talisman!"

The moment Minato dodged the punch, which was powerful enough to crush an entire forest, the wound on Shendu's back had already healed as if it were brand new.

"The healing ability of the Horse Talisman...?"

According to Uncle, Shendu possesses the divine power of twelve talismans. Even excluding the Monkey Talisman taken by the Hidden Organization, Shendu is still an almost invincible existence. He is immortal and invulnerable, possesses super strength and super speed, and can breathe fire and shoot lasers from his eyes.

"This is truly troublesome..."

"Brother Minato! Don't forget our original goal!"

Just as Minato was sweating and pondering a countermeasure, Yellow Sponge, who was also a speed-type, flashed to Minato's side to remind him.

That's right, stalling for time was their original goal... but... how were they supposed to stall for time against a monster as strong as Shendu?

"The games end here. Next, you shall witness my, Shendu's, true power!"

With the Dragon Talisman in his possession, Shendu could finally show everyone in the Ninja World his true power. His body was enveloped by the energy of the Dragon Talisman, appearing like a cloak of flames. He then raised his hands high, slowly gathering fire.

Dozens of massive fireballs appeared behind him, obscuring the entire sky. With the real sun blocked, those ten giant fireballs, blooming with dazzling light, were like "suns."

"This is bad!"

These ten burning fireballs could be clearly seen throughout Konoha, and Minato couldn't help but feel that the situation was dire.

If Shendu wasn't stopped, there was no doubt that Konoha would be swallowed by flames and ultimately destroyed. However, blocking such an attack was almost impossible.

"Is the only way to find a way to interrupt Shendu...?"

--Flying Thunder God!

The special kunai marked with the "Sword of Ninja Love" flew forward rapidly with a piercing sound. However, the moment it approached Shendu and the ten fireballs, Minato noticed the sharp tip of the kunai beginning to melt. A few drops of scorching molten iron fell from the sharp edges, and it lost any possibility of continuing forward.

"Such high temperatures... this is not something a human can withstand..."

Minato's face was flushed red by the flames; he gave up on this attack after spending less than a second near the fireballs. By the time he retreated, he was drenched in sweat, his clothes and Jonin vest had been burned with several charred holes, and sticky sweat clung to his skin, making him extremely uncomfortable. Some of his exposed skin even showed clear symptoms of burns.

"...Is there really such great damage from less than a second of contact...?"

"Shendu's flames are too scorching; there must be a way to cool them down..."

Minato did not possess Water Release chakra, so he was somewhat stretched thin when facing fire-attribute attacks.

"Is there really no other way...?"

The fireballs controlled by Shendu continued to expand, and the heat waves had already spread, distorting the surrounding scenery into a blur.

"Ice Age!"

Just then, a wave of coldness sufficient to freeze bone and flesh swept over, clashing with the scorching heat waves and forming a delicate balance, cooling the surrounding temperature.

Immediately after, bricks, soil, and even the wreckage of houses were covered in an instant by a layer of smooth, mirror-like solid ice several meters thick. Even Shendu was briefly frozen for a few seconds.

"Squidward! Uh... I mean, Admiral Blue Octopus!"

Yellow Sponge's eyes instantly transformed into SpongeBob's surprised face, but after thinking of the "teachings of the Marshal of Crab Kingdom," he immediately reverted to his lecherous face in serious combat mode.

"Blue Octopus? Is he the last of the Three Admirals of Bikini Bottom?"

Minato looked curiously in the direction from which the coldness came. He saw a somewhat tall figure wearing a white suit vest and a dark blue shirt, with a green eye mask over his forehead, "draped in a coat of justice," and a blue octopus whose half-face and half-body were covered in ice, standing on a slope in a somewhat lazy posture.

"Alright, Yellow Sponge, I just want to finish the Marshal of Crab Kingdom's mission quickly and go back to practice my clarinet solo..."

Blue Octopus walked slowly to Yellow Sponge's side and asked, "Where is Chixing?"

"Helping Uncle prepare the materials for the spell."

"Um... you two? I know meeting an old friend makes you happy, but this doesn't seem like the time for chatting, does it?"

Minato watched Yellow Sponge, who had become very lively and tireless while chatting with Blue Octopus, and felt that this sponge monster must have a split personality.

To Minato's weak question, Blue Octopus nodded and said to him, "First of all, I am not Yellow Sponge's friend..."

"Secondly, you are right."

In just an instant, Shendu broke free from the shackles of the ice. At the same time, those ten dazzling "suns" began to fall.

It was as if ten suns were falling together. The ice previously created by Blue Octopus was completely melted. After the ice turned into water, it was subjected to evaporation again, and a large amount of water vapor permeated the air, emitting a "hissing" sound. The earth cracked, and the rising steam acted like a steamer, wantonly plundering the moisture from Minato and all living creatures nearby. The heat wave alone caused the surrounding ruins to suffer heavy damage once more, completely turning them into ashes.

"No...! If this continues, Konoha will truly be destroyed!"

"I have no choice but to use that technique!"

"Mr. Yellow Sponge, Mr. Blue Octopus! Please, I need your cooperation!"

Minato utilized the cold air from Blue Octopus to envelop his body, cooling himself down enough to approach the fireball as it neared the ground. He then leveraged the speed of Yellow Sponge to dash within close range of the fireball. The cold air coated his ninja tool pouch, allowing Minato to briefly hold the Flying Thunder God Kunai without it melting. He held the Kunai horizontally, and a massive array of incantations manifested before it.

The Flying Thunder God formula unfolded before Minato, and in the next instant, the ten fireballs poised to swallow the horizon suddenly behaved like matter from another world, embedding themselves into the black hole-like Flying Thunder God formula.

--"Flying Thunder God Guiding Thunder!"