The Might of the Hanba

A narrow escape from death!

At the critical moment, a world-destroying strike was nonchalantly neutralized by Minato Namikaze.

Whether they knew Minato or not, deep down, everyone felt a sense of gratitude toward him after the joy of surviving such a close call.

"What a terrifying monster. I suppose I should thank you this time, Minato Namikaze."

Kizaru retracted the steps he had been preparing to use for his escape in mid-air.

"We meet again, Minato Namikaze. This time, we are even!"

Red-Haired also cast a look of approval toward Minato.

Hearing their gestures of goodwill, Minato smiled slightly.

"Since you two have also become Reincarnators, I trust you understand my actions back then. My apologies!"

The three looked at one another, a sense of heroes appreciating heroes in the air. Although Minato had previously clashed with both Kizaru and Red-Haired, there was no deep-seated enmity between them. Even though he had once severed Red-Haired's arm, saving his life today balanced the scales.

In truth, none of the three cared for petty schemes or underhanded tactics; many low-level Reincarnators, even under the restrictions of the Main God, would still resort to all sorts of conspiracies.

The battle in the arena continued.

Before those present could exchange further words, Hanba's next wave of attacks arrived.

The Flame Divine Dragon summoned by Hanba spat out another scorching breath, a long torrent of searing fire sweeping across the entire expanse.

Faced with such a fierce, wide-range attack, no one dared to be negligent, and they hurriedly unleashed their own techniques to evade.

The scene transformed into a bizarre spectacle, with the Flame Divine Dragon acting like an oversized flamethrower, scorching the people scattering in all directions.

Hanba seized the opportunity to strike, its claws wreathed in flames as it lunged straight for Deva Path Pain. It held a deep grudge against the one who had interrupted its attacks so many times.

Deva Path Pain lacked speed, but his reactions were sharp, and he immediately unleashed a defensive skill.

"Shinra Tensei!"

However, the usually infallible Shinra Tensei hit a snag this time. When the massive repulsive force collided with the berserk Hanba, it merely stalled its advance for a split second; it did not send the creature flying as it had with Pain's previous opponents! After a momentary pause, Hanba simply and unreasonably pushed through the repulsion to continue its attack.

Just as Hanba's sharp, flame-wreathed strike was about to hit Pain, a kunai inscribed with the words "Sword of Shinobi Love" arrived at Pain's side, having been thrown after the attack began.

A flash of yellow light flickered, and Pain vanished from his spot.

Space distorted, and Minato Namikaze and Pain reappeared a short distance away.

Pain turned his head to look quietly at his junior disciple; the moment Minato appeared, he had understood his identity.

With that iconic space-time ninjutsu, it could only be Minato Namikaze, known throughout the Ninja World as the "Yellow Flash."

Suppressing the complex emotions in his heart, Pain said calmly, "I have a sealing technique that might be able to seal this monster, but I need you all to buy me some time."

Minato's heart stirred at these words. Was it that technique? Recalling what he had seen and heard in Amegakure, Minato nodded earnestly.

"We need everyone to buy some time to attempt to seal this Hanba!" Minato turned to address all the Reincarnators in the arena.

The Reincarnators present, regardless of their origin, were not short-sighted; they understood that cooperation was their only path to survival, so they each unleashed their powers to pin down Hanba. In an instant, various elements of water, fire, light, and electricity intertwined, creating a magnificent and spectacular scene.

Watching this, Minato smiled.

"Kurama, let's go!"

"Hahaha, this lord is going to have another great battle!"

Minato's chakra cloak expanded rapidly before bursting outward, clinging to his body and altering his appearance:

His face took on the features of a fox, his ears grew long and narrow like a fox's, and his hair spiked and lengthened to his waist. Behind him, nine fox tails danced wildly like spirits of fire. Human in form but fox-tailed, he looked like a dancing Nine-Tailed Fox!

"Super Martial Form!"

Feeling the condensed chakra on his skin and the immense power of his body, a surge of intense confidence welled up in Minato!

"Everyone, just attack with all your might! Leave the defense to me!"

Minato's figure flickered repeatedly, rapidly delivering Flying Thunder God kunai into everyone's hands.

"I never expected the famous 'Yellow Flash' to be alive, let alone a Reincarnator."

With Minato's resurrection, the last thing any faction hostile to Konoha wanted to see was his return.

The one who voiced this sentiment was Kitsuchi of Iwagakure. He shook his head with a wry smile; although they were on the same side in this battle, one could not forget that during the Third Ninja War, Iwagakure had led a massive army to invade Konoha while they were already at war with Kumogakure.

It was none other than the Minato Namikaze standing before them who had resolved that crisis for Konoha! In that battle, Minato had infiltrated the rear of the Iwagakure forces and killed 50 of their jonin in an instant.

From then on, the title "Yellow Flash" echoed throughout the Ninja World, and he became famous in a single battle! Within the major ninja villages, an unspoken rule had even emerged: "If you encounter the 'Yellow Flash' during a mission, you may abandon the mission immediately."

"Minato Namikaze! Very good, you aren't dead! The score between us has yet to be settled!"

Raikage A was being stubborn as usual. A few years ago, during the Third Ninja War, he and his brother, the Eight-Tails jinchuriki Killer Bee, had encountered Minato Namikaze.

At that time, neither Minato nor A had become the Kage of their respective villages, but they were undoubtedly active in the war with Kage-level strength.

In that battle, Minato had fought the two of them alone, facing the AB combination head-on, and ultimately fought to a draw.

Deep down, the Raikage actually respected Minato, but he was too stubborn to admit defeat.

Minato, however, did not engage in small talk with A or Kitsuchi, ignoring the burning fighting spirit in the Raikage's eyes, which only served to make the Raikage want to punch him.

In truth, Minato only had eyes for this battle; he wanted to end this mission as quickly as possible so he could return to the Ninja World and resurrect his beloved.

Returning to the battlefield.

Orochimaru licked his lips and said to Kisame, Pakura, and the others, "You all remember that barrier technique we discussed in our intelligence exchange, right? You should have all mastered it by now?"

Kisame bared his sharp teeth in a grin. "You mean that technique that requires four Kage-level fighters to cast? Such a powerful and interesting technique—how could I not have mastered it?"

"Hehehe, good. Pakura and Ay, you join in as well. Kitsuchi, you go ahead and keep Hanba occupied," Orochimaru quickly formulated his strategy.

The four Tier 3 powerhouses—Orochimaru, Kisame, Ay, and Pakura—quickly separated. Orochimaru and Ay were approaching the mid-Tier 3 level, while Kisame and Pakura had just broken through from Tier 2 High (Elite Jonin) to Tier 3.

The four Kage-level fighters surrounded the Flame Divine Dragon summoned by Hanba, standing in a square formation with the dragon in the center. As they finished their rapid hand seals, the barrier technique was successfully activated.

"Four Red Yang Formation!"

Four pillars of red chakra energy shot into the sky, converging above to form a sealed, square barrier. Each side felt as sturdy as a defensive barrier erected by the full power of four Kage-level experts!

The Flame Divine Dragon, which had been toying with everyone, felt deeply humiliated the moment it was encased in the red barrier.

The fire dragon roared, gathering terrifying flame energy in its maw. A powerful torrent of fire erupted from its mouth, sweeping across the four sides of the barrier like a laser.

However, once the Four Red Yang Formation was set, it could not be broken unless one's strength was several times greater than the combined power of the four casters—and this applied to both the inside and the outside!

Furthermore, the Four Red Yang Formation was a fire-style barrier; even though the dragon's breath was incredibly powerful, its effectiveness was greatly diminished when striking the barrier.

Seeing that its attack failed to break the seal, the fire dragon flew into a rage and slammed into the barrier, only to be scorched and repelled by the barrier's own flames. Since the dragon was essentially a construct of fire, the barrier's flames caused it minimal damage, yet it could not break through the barrier's power for the time being.

On the other side of the battlefield outside the barrier, thanks to Kizaru going all out with his awakened Devil Fruit, he moved like a super-speed light man. Hanba was becoming increasingly annoyed by Kizaru's persistent harassment; every time it managed to strike Kizaru away, Shanks would appear with his Conqueror's Haki fully unleashed, blocking it with his black blade.

Whenever Hanba unleashed a lethal, one-shot kill technique, Minato would instantly teleport the target away, leaving the creature roaring in fury.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Nagato downed two small life potions to replenish his vitality and finally unleashed a super-powerful ninjutsu.

"Everyone, get back!" Pain shouted to everyone with a grim expression.

Everyone on the field immediately unleashed one final wave of attacks before fleeing into the distance, leaving the enraged Hanba behind.

"Chibaku Tensei!"

A black sphere of chakra, so dark it seemed to swallow all light, flew from Pain's hands toward Hanba.

Hanba's expression turned manic. Just as it was about to destroy this strange orb with a single blow, a terrifying gravitational force suddenly pulled it into the air, pinning it to the space near the black sphere.

At the same time, the earth shattered, and countless rocks and gravel were pulled by the massive suction of the black sphere in the sky:

Trees, stones, mountains, and canyons—the entire terrain was being destroyed, and all matter was converging toward the black sphere! This included countless drones that had been observing from the shadows!

The Reincarnators retreated again and again, only managing to resist the suction once they were several kilometers away.

Watching the Chibaku Tensei in the sky, which blotted out the sun like a falling meteorite, the observing Reincarnators had mixed thoughts.

Doflamingo, who had experienced this move before, was filled with resentment and anger. With his current strength, whether it was his fruit ability or his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, he was helpless against this technique. If it happened again, he would likely be suppressed by it once more!

As for the others from the Ninja World, they thought: As expected of an A-rank Rinnegan exchange! Isn't it 100,000 points plus one A-rank side quest from the Main God? It seems like a high-level Sharingan might cost less? Looks like it's worth researching...

Gin Ichimaru, despite being shocked, chatted with Mayuri Kurotsuchi with a smile.

"Captain Mayuri, is this the person from the same world as the intruders from last time?"

"Hee-hah-hah, exactly! But this ninja here is likely one of the top powerhouses in their world. He-he, those eyes... they would make excellent research material!"

Beyond the Reincarnators, human leaders were also watching via satellite.

"Did they get it?" All the humans watching the broadcast felt a mix of tension and anticipation.

Suddenly, a crack appeared on the surface of the massive rock sphere, then rapidly spread. Countless fissures covered the surface.

Blazing flames burst out from within, and a flaming humanoid figure appeared high in the sky—it was Hanba!

As soon as Hanba appeared, countless flames shot from its body, heading straight for the group several kilometers away.

The attack was so wide-ranging that Minato couldn't save everyone; he only managed to teleport Pain, who was closest, to safety.

The remaining Reincarnators, including Doflamingo, Orochimaru, and the two Soul Reaper captains, were all struck by the flames and severely wounded on the spot. Kitsuchi and Pakura, with their frailer bodies, were knocked unconscious and rendered combat-ineffective!

Whoosh. A sound of air being pierced came from behind Kizaru, and a claw struck directly at his back.

"Is ignoring me really such a good idea?"

Shanks was clearly enraged. He swung his Gryphon, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki that felt like the wrath of heaven, toward Hanba's head.

Hanba's claw and Shanks's slash landed simultaneously. Kizaru was pierced through the waist, and a strange corpse poison rapidly spread through his body, forcing him out of his awakened state and causing him to collapse in agony.

Fortunately, Minato arrived in time to teleport him away, saving Kizaru's life for the moment. But the corpse poison was clearly extremely tricky; with everyone injured and no medical support on the field, it was almost unsolvable.

Pain quickly pulled out a life potion and poured it into Kizaru's mouth. Had it not been for Minato, he might not have bothered to intervene.

However, the small life potion, which provided pure vitality, only temporarily suppressed the toxin in Kizaru's body. Once the effects wore off, Kizaru would likely be in mortal danger.

Turning back to the field, Hanba's severed head flew through the air like a dancing flame, leaving a beautiful trail. Instead of falling to the ground, it strangely began to fly on its own.

"Ke-ke-ke-ke."

Hanba's head let out a bizarre laugh, circled in the air, and then flew straight toward Shanks's neck.

Shanks's Observation Haki had long since anticipated this situation. Just as he was about to dodge, Hanba's limbs stretched and pulled like rubber, binding his own limbs and rendering him unable to move!

"Snap."

Hanba bit down hard on Shanks's shoulder. It had originally aimed for his neck, but Shanks had dodged desperately, resulting in a shoulder wound—though the outcome was much the same.

Hanba's head drifted back onto its torso, revealing a hideous grin. Looking at the agonizing Shanks and the heavily wounded group, it tilted its head back and let out a triumphant roar. The eerie laughter carried a strange sonic attack, dealing secondary damage to everyone present.

The Reincarnators clutched their ears and collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

Despair had taken hold of the group; even the iron-willed Minato was at his wit's end. Facing this Hanba—which could fly, burrow, and manipulate fire, drought, and toxins—their repeated battles seemed to have only delayed it slightly, failing to inflict any real damage!

However, Hanba did not finish them off. Instead, it ignored them, following the instincts of a Calamity Behemoth to continue flying south at a constant speed, moving in the direction the drought was destined to spread.

"Finally... it's finally gone!"

Doflamingo's body felt as if it were being scorched by a ball of fire; the threads within him were being continuously incinerated and regenerated.

The others also breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that this terrifying monster had not chosen to wipe them out completely.

Just as the Reincarnators thought they had escaped disaster, the high-level human emergency meeting watching the satellite feed fell into a deathly silence!

After a long while, a voice spoke up.

"Use the nuclear bomb. No matter what, we cannot leave this monster unchecked!"

"Seconded!"

"Seconded!"

The human leadership passed this grave resolution unanimously.

Soon, an intercontinental cruise missile carrying a high-yield hydrogen bomb was launched from a military base in the Mediterranean, heading toward a point in front of Hanba's flight path in Africa.

At the same time, the human leadership did not forget to notify the Reincarnators to evacuate.

Upon hearing that humanity was deploying its ultimate weapon, the Reincarnators were intrigued and chose to stay behind to observe, as they were already over a hundred kilometers away from Hanba. They unanimously agreed that this distance was safe.

The humans also thoughtfully set up a nearby broadcast feed for them to watch.

When the intercontinental cruise missile reached its designated coordinates on the other side, Hanba stopped in mid-air.

Its intuition told it that a massive threat lay just ahead. However, lacking true sapience, it continued to follow its predetermined path despite sensing the danger!

Just as it resumed its movement, the massive intercontinental cruise missile, trailing a scorching tail of flame, struck the ground a few hundred meters ahead!

In that moment, it felt as if the sky had collapsed and the earth had split asunder:

A thunderclap pierced the firmament, A mushroom cloud rose ten thousand fathoms high. The winds scattered the clouds and swallowed the sun, Sending all demons and monsters fleeing in terror.

The Reincarnators watching from afar were stunned by the terrifying nuclear explosion, each asking themselves: Could I survive that?

Perhaps few could guarantee survival if hit head-on, but many were confident they could escape before the blast detonated.

But what of Hanba, which had been struck directly? Would it scatter and flee like the demons and monsters of legend?

The endless light and heat, mixed with massive clouds of dust, eventually dissipated. As visibility slowly returned, there was no sign of it!

Had the Calamity Behemoth been destroyed?

"The mission hasn't signaled completion, don't get your hopes up," Orochimaru said, pouring cold water on the idea, his eyes filled with excitement.

As the smoke cleared, Hanba was nowhere to be seen; in its place stood a massive, crimson cocoon!