Yellow Flash

In late spring and early summer of the 47th year of the Leaf, the air was thick with the oppressive tension of an impending storm. In the hilly region bordering the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire, the Hidden Leaf's border defense forces had already constructed simple yet effective fortifications. A heavy weight pressed upon everyone's heart—a large-scale offensive from the Hidden Cloud Village could erupt at any moment.

Inside the command tent, Namikaze Minato was discussing tactics with several jonin. His azure eyes remained clear and gentle, yet they held a hint of gravity. Having just seen off his fiancée, Uzumaki Kushina, Minato knew full well that this mission was exceptionally perilous. Their opponents were the most notorious duo of the Hidden Cloud's younger generation—A and Killer B, known as the "AB Combo."

"According to intelligence, A has mastered Lightning Style to perfection; both his speed and power are terrifying. As for Killer B, though young, he can already exert preliminary control over the Eight-Tails' power, making him unpredictable." Minato pointed at the map, his voice steady. "Our mission is to delay, not to annihilate. Utilize the terrain, layer our defenses, and stall for time as long as possible while we wait for reinforcements."

"Lord Minato, if the AB Combo attacks simultaneously, we..." one jonin expressed his concern.

Minato offered a reassuring smile. "Leave A and B to me. You all just need to follow the plan and hold off the Hidden Cloud's vanguard." His tone carried confidence, a confidence born from his absolute mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away at the Hidden Cloud camp.

"Fool, you fool! This time, I'll make those Leaf guys see the power of the rap master! Yeah~!" Killer B danced about, improvising a clumsy rap.

"B! Quiet!" A growled, lightning flickering over his body as he radiated a heart-stopping aura. "At dawn tomorrow, we strike as planned. I will deal with Namikaze Minato, and you are responsible for tearing through their defensive line."

"Understood! Don't worry, Brother!" Killer B reined in his playfulness, a flicker of seriousness crossing his eyes. He knew the importance of this battle; it was the key fight to prove the strength of the AB Combo to the entire ninja world.

As night deepened, the scent of a decisive battle quietly permeated the air.

At dawn, just as the horizon turned a pale white, dull thunder rolled from afar, breaking the morning silence.

"Enemy attack—!"

The moment the ninja on the Leaf watchtower sounded the alarm, a thick bolt of blue lightning, like a sword of divine retribution, tore through the mist and slammed into the tower! Boom! The stone and wood structure was instantly pulverized!

"Attack!" A took the lead, his entire body shrouded in violent blue lightning chakra. Like a humanoid beast, he charged toward the Leaf positions with overwhelming force. Wherever he passed, the ground cracked and the air distorted; he moved so fast that ordinary ninja could only see a blur.

"Lightning Style: Lariat!" A roared, transforming into a Z-shaped bolt of lightning. He darted rapidly along the front of the Leaf defensive line, his fists striking like heavy hammers. In an instant, several Leaf chunin attempting to weave hand signs were sent flying, the sound of snapping bones clearly audible.

Almost simultaneously, Killer B's figure appeared on the flank like a phantom.

"Yo! Eight-Tails Killer B, reporting for duty! Fool, you fool! Tremble! Acrobat!" He wielded seven short blades wrapped in lightning, dancing through a dazzling sword style. Like a giant lightning top, he instantly shattered the defensive formation on one side of the Leaf. A dark red tailed beast chakra cloak flickered into view, granting him superhuman strength and speed.

The main Hidden Cloud force followed closely behind, their war cries shaking the heavens. The front of the Leaf defensive line fell into a desperate struggle.

Just as the Leaf line was about to be torn apart, a golden light, like the morning sun piercing through dark clouds, appeared without warning at the very center of the battlefield, directly in the path of A's charge!

As the golden light faded, Namikaze Minato appeared. He held a special three-pronged kunai, watching A, who was charging with the force of a landslide, with a calm expression.

"Namikaze Minato!" A's pupils constricted, but his momentum only increased, lightning exploding from his right fist. "Perfect! Lightning Style: Heavy Hammer!"

This punch, condensed with extreme Lightning Style chakra, was enough to split mountains and shatter rocks.

However, in Minato's calm blue eyes, A's lightning-fast movements seemed to slow down. The moment the fist wind was about to touch his face—

"Flying Thunder God Technique!"

Minato's figure vanished into thin air.

A's sure-fire punch slammed heavily into the ground, creating a crater several meters wide as dirt sprayed everywhere. He spun around abruptly, but Minato had already appeared ten meters behind him, next to a special kunai.

"Such fast space-time ninjutsu!" A felt a chill, but his fighting spirit burned even brighter. "Let's see how long you can hide! Lightning Style: Lightning Body Flicker!"

A's speed surged once more, turning him into a true bolt of blue lightning as he launched a storm of attacks on Minato from every angle. Fists, feet, elbows, and knees—every part of his body became a weapon, wreathed in lethal electricity.

Minato's figure flickered across the battlefield like a ghost. He did not merely dodge; the special kunai in his hand were thrown continuously, precisely embedding themselves at key nodes on the battlefield. These kunai were all coordinates for his Flying Thunder God.

"Flying Thunder God: Second Step!"

After one flicker, Minato did not stop. Instead, he used the trajectory of the kunai to perform a second and third refraction with almost no interval! His movement path became completely unpredictable; at times he appeared above A's head, kunai stabbing toward his crown, and at others, he appeared behind him to attack his lower stance.

Every one of A's attacks hit empty air, while Minato's counterattacks always came from the most devious angles, forcing A to defend. Their battle had already transcended the realm of what ordinary ninja could comprehend. One could only see golden light and blue lightning colliding, chasing, and separating across the battlefield. The speed was so fast it was dizzying, with only the violent sounds of impact and the scattering energy shocks proving the intensity of the clash.

"Brother! I'll help you! Fool, you fool!" Seeing A unable to land a hit, Killer B shook off the nearby Leaf ninja and covered his body in a thicker dark red tailed beast cloak, even sprouting a tail made of chakra from his back. He opened his mouth wide:

"Tailed Beast Bomb: Mini Version!"

A highly compressed purple-black chakra sphere rapidly formed in front of his mouth. Although small in size, the destructive energy it radiated made everyone's heart tremble. Whoosh! The mini Tailed Beast Bomb shot toward Minato at extreme speed, sealing off all his escape routes.

"Lord Minato, look out!" the Leaf ninja cried out.

Minato's eyes narrowed. Facing an attack capable of destroying a small hill, he did not panic. His hands wove through hand signs so fast they left afterimages.

"Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder!"

Just a moment before the Tailed Beast Bomb was about to hit him, another special kunai he had thrown arrived first, precisely piercing the edge of the bomb's energy core. At the same time, a kunai coordinate he had previously placed in a deserted valley far away was activated.

Hum! Space distorted, and the destructive Tailed Beast Bomb, along with Minato's figure, vanished instantly. A moment later, a heaven-shaking explosion erupted in the valley several kilometers away, and a mushroom cloud rose into the sky.

"What?! He transferred the Tailed Beast Bomb?!" Killer B was dumbfounded; it was the first time he had ever seen someone neutralize a Tailed Beast Bomb in such a way.

"B! Don't get distracted!" A roared, seizing the opportunity to close in on Minato again. "Lightning Style: Lariat!" A massive lightning axe descended from the sky.

Minato had just finished the Guiding Thunder and appeared to be caught between old and new momentum. Yet, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he threw a kunai without looking back.

"Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder Rotation!"

The kunai shot behind A, and Minato's position instantly swapped with the kunai. Not only did he dodge the lightning axe, but he also appeared in A's blind spot!

"Rasengan!"

The highly rotating chakra sphere pressed toward A's back.

"Hmph! Lightning Release Armor!" A concentrated his Lightning Style chakra on his back, taking the hit head-on.

Bang! The violent energy shock separated the two. A's Lightning Release Armor fluctuated violently but did not shatter. He used the force to charge forward, closing the distance once more. Minato's Rasengan had failed to achieve a decisive result.

The battle reached a stalemate. Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique was elusive, leaving him in an invincible position, but A's Lightning Release Armor had astonishing defense and his speed was not a bit slower. Combined with Killer B's unpredictable tailed beast chakra attacks, they caused Minato great trouble. Minato's goal was to delay, not to kill, so he utilized his speed advantage to contain and divide them.

He kept flashing across the battlefield, at times using Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere to disrupt the condensation of Killer B's Tailed Beast Bomb, and at other times using Shadow Clones to confuse his opponents, while his main body focused on attacking the Cloud's ordinary troops to disrupt their formation. A and Killer B were forced to run across the field following Minato's rhythm, unable to effectively command or break through the Leaf's defensive line.

"Damn it! Stop running if you have the guts!" A, unable to land a hit, grew increasingly irritable, his Lightning Style chakra becoming even more violent.

"Brother, calm down! His technique is too troublesome!" Killer B also dropped his hip-hop act, his expression grave. He tried to use more chakra tails to boost his power, but Minato always managed to interrupt his charging at the critical moment.

Minato was like the most exquisite dancer, dancing on the edge of a blade, pinning the AB Combo firmly to the main battlefield. His chakra reserves, tactical mind, and application of space-time ninjutsu were displayed to the fullest in this battle.

While the main battlefield was in the heat of combat, the battle in the side valley was equally tragic. The interception force led by Uchiha Fugaku faced immense pressure from the Hidden Cloud elites led by Dodai.

Dodai's Lava Release was both offensive and defensive; he could use "Rubber Wall" to defend and "Adhesive Chain" to restrict, making him extremely difficult to deal with. Relying on their numerical advantage and Dodai's command, the Cloud forces repeatedly attempted to force a breakthrough.

Fugaku's Three-Tomoe Sharingan operated at full capacity, observing every detail of the battlefield. He did not rush in blindly but sat in the center like a rock.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

When the Cloud forces gathered for a charge, he unleashed a massive sea of fire, forcing them back.

"Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"

When the enemy jonin attempted to organize an assault, a powerful genjutsu instantly immobilized them, followed by precision kills from the Uchiha elites.

Fugaku's tactics were simple yet effective: utilize the Sharingan's insight and genjutsu, combined with the Uchiha clan's exquisite Fire Style and shurikenjutsu, to fight a precise defensive counterattack. He personally kept a close watch on Dodai; whenever Dodai tried to use large-scale Lava Release to change the terrain or suppress them, Fugaku always managed to interrupt him with perfectly timed Fire Style or genjutsu.

"Uchiha Fugaku... truly lives up to his reputation." Dodai's expression was grave. The opponent's Sharingan seemed to see through all his intentions, making him feel restricted. The Cloud forces on the flank were firmly blocked outside the valley by Fugaku, unable to advance a single step.

The battle lasted from dawn until the afternoon, with both the main and side battlefields falling into a deadlock. Thanks to the outstanding performance of Minato and Fugaku, the Leaf's defensive line, despite suffering significant casualties, remained solid. The Hidden Cloud's momentum gradually wore down as they failed to break through.

Dodai surveyed the overall situation and realized that continuing the assault was meaningless, as Leaf reinforcements could arrive at any moment. He decisively signaled the main battlefield.

A received the signal. Looking at Minato, whose breathing remained steady and eyes clear, he felt filled with unwillingness, but he understood that their tactical objectives could no longer be achieved.

"Namikaze Minato... next time, I will definitely smash your Flying Thunder God!" A left a harsh threat.

"I'll be ready anytime." Minato smiled slightly.

Under Dodai's command and the rear-guard action of the AB Combo, the Cloud forces withdrew from the battlefield in an orderly fashion. The first large-scale offensive ended with a successful defense by the Leaf.

The name of the "Yellow Flash," Namikaze Minato, resounded throughout the ninja world after this battle. Having contained the Cloud's AB Combo single-handedly and holding a slight upper hand, his strength was universally recognized. Meanwhile, Uchiha Fugaku, relying on his powerful Sharingan and Fire Style to hold the flank, saw the fame of the "Wicked Eye" spread once more.

However, the Hidden Leaf leadership had no time to celebrate. After this battle, the threat from the Cloud was beyond doubt, and even more worrying was that the main force of the Hidden Stone had yet to appear. The shadow of the Third Shinobi World War had already shrouded the entire Land of Fire.