Do a Good Job, Minato-Our Teamwork Was Simply Perfect

Hiruzen Sarutobi spat out a mouthful of blood and roared furiously with all his strength, heedless of the danger to his life.

"Even if it costs me my life, I will never allow anyone to harm Konoha. This is my ninja way."

"So confident?"

A strange smile appeared on Uchiha Kyu's face.

The next second, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared in astonishment as the Ultra-Great Rasengan, powerful enough to kill Uchiha Kyu, pierced through his body and came straight toward him.

From behind, Minato Namikaze could only see his Sage Art: Super Big Ball Rasengan strike Uchiha Kyu.

"It worked."

Minato Namikaze cheered loudly in the joy of victory.

Boom!!!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's body was sent flying, and his blood danced through the air like a crimson line.

Yet Uchiha Kyu, who had been attacked first, stood unharmed where he was. He slowly turned to look at Minato.

"Not bad, Minato."

"Our teamwork was simply perfect."

Uchiha Kyu gave a mocking smile and raised his thumb at him.

"How is that possible?"

Minato Namikaze's pupils widened in utter shock. I killed Lord Third.

"Wah!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi had been sent skidding more than ten meters after hitting the ground. Blood kept bubbling from his mouth as he stared at the night sky in disbelief, barely clinging to life.

He simply couldn't understand why he was the one who had died.

Could it really be as Uchiha Kyu had just said—that Minato had stabbed him in the back?

"Old man!"

A familiar, tearful cry came from not far away.

Katsuyu after Katsuyu crawled over Hiruzen Sarutobi's body, channeling pale green healing energy into him.

But the inside of Hiruzen Sarutobi's body had already been thoroughly twisted into minced flesh. There was no possibility of recovery.

As death approached, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt an unbearable heat in his chest. His throat was clogged with blood, and the veins on his face bulged from the pain.

"Tsunade..."

With his final strength, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an arm toward Tsunade, then let it fall heavily onto the bloodstained ground.

"No!!!" Tsunade frantically lifted her teacher up.

Minato Namikaze stared at his own hands in disbelief, his entire body trembling as he kept asking himself, "I killed Lord Third."

"Old man..."

The horrifying blood instantly dyed Tsunade's eyes red, bringing back scene after scene of her loved ones dying.

Her younger brother Nawaki, whose internal organs had been blasted away.

Her lover, Dan Katō, who had sacrificed himself in battle.

"Ah!!!"

Her hemophobia, which she had barely managed to suppress, flared up again. Tsunade stared fearfully at her bloodstained hands, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

At the same time, the surrounding ninja saw Tsunade of the Senju Clan sobbing as she held the Third Hokage in a pool of blood.

An Akimichi Clan Jonin shouted through his tears, "Lord Third has fallen!"

The news of the death of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, gradually spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred.

Seeing that even the granddaughter of the renowned Hashirama suffered from hemophobia, Uchiha Kyu scoffed disdainfully. "What a useless piece of trash."

"As the last bloodline of the Senju Clan, she's actually afraid of blood despite being a ninja. What irony."

Uchiha Kyu ignored Tsunade and looked toward the true culprit behind Hiruzen Sarutobi's death.

"I have you to thank this time. Otherwise, it really would have been difficult for me to deal with Hiruzen Sarutobi so quickly."

"But even if you killed Hiruzen Sarutobi to curry favor with me, I still won't go easy on you."

"Let me see just how powerful this Sage Mode really is."

"Kehehehe!!!"

Uchiha Kyu let out a bizarre laugh. While Minato Namikaze was lost in self-doubt, he rushed before him, and his Mangekyō Sharingan instantly planted him under a genjutsu.

A punch as heavy as an iron fist made Minato Namikaze's internal organs tremble and rupture, sending blood spraying out.

But under Sage Mode, Minato Namikaze recovered from his injuries at astonishing speed, and they did not affect his ability to continue fighting.

After regaining consciousness, Minato Namikaze was still thinking about what had just happened. He gritted his teeth, desperate to know the reason.

"Your hands had already been restrained by Lord Third just now. Besides, that was fundamentally not something the Flying Thunder God could accomplish."

"Want to know? Then I'm certainly not going to tell you."

Uchiha Kyu had never been in the habit of casually revealing his information to others.

"You killed the Third Hokage with your own hands. I'd like to ask how you feel right now."

Minato Namikaze's eyes were filled with sorrow. In a low voice, he said, "Shut up. Lord Third died protecting Konoha."

As a ninja, he had to remain calm.

The most important thing now was to deal with Uchiha Kyu. Otherwise, Lord Third's sacrifice would have been in vain.

Seeing Minato Namikaze create Shadow Clones, Uchiha Kyu lowered his eyes slightly and looked at his own chest.

"That trick won't work on me."

A fist emerged from Uchiha Kyu's body. Tsunade passed straight through him with a look of astonishment, staggering and nearly falling.

Tsunade hurriedly stopped herself, then stood beside Minato Namikaze with killing intent in her eyes.

"I still couldn't do it." Minato Namikaze sounded somewhat regretful.

He had clearly drawn Uchiha Kyu's attention enough just now, but he had never expected the sneak attack to fail anyway.

"Minato, my teacher died protecting the village. Don't blame yourself."

Minato Namikaze did not answer her. Instead, he calmly analyzed Uchiha Kyu's ability from moments earlier.

"Lord Tsunade, when you touched Uchiha Kyu just now, did you feel no sensation at all?"

"It was as if you had struck air, without encountering the slightest resistance."

"That's right." Tsunade nodded firmly.

Minato Namikaze nodded seriously as he analyzed the situation. "It was definitely a space ninjutsu, but it wasn't the Flying Thunder God Technique. It should be Uchiha Kyu's ocular technique."

"Clap, clap, clap!!!"

Uchiha Kyu applauded and laughed. "Everyone says Minato Namikaze is most formidable because of the Flying Thunder God Technique."

"On the contrary, the most formidable thing about you is your brain."

Uchiha Kyu couldn't help glancing at Tsunade, a trace of confusion flashing through his eyes.

What happened to this woman's hemophobia?

How did it suddenly disappear?

Could Hiruzen Sarutobi's death have stimulated her? Did that power called bonds allow her to suppress her hemophobia?

Minato Namikaze asked worriedly, "Lord Tsunade, your hemophobia..."

Tsunade waved her hand directly, her expression solemn. "It's fine for now. What matters is dealing with Uchiha Kyu."

Her intense grief and hatred allowed Tsunade to suppress her hemophobia for a short time.

"I'll keep him occupied. You look for an opening."

With that, Tsunade stepped forward. The terrifying force made the ground instantly heave upward.

"Heaven Kick!"

Seeing this, Uchiha Kyu immediately retreated. The terrifying force of her kick caused the spot where he had stood to explode.

Tsunade's Superhuman Strength was truly frightening.

"Sage Art: Super Big Ball Rasengan."

The Rasengan Minato Namikaze had formed came rushing in again.

In the blink of an eye, one of Minato Namikaze's Shadow Clones silently appeared behind Uchiha Kyu and wrapped its arms around him.

"Parlor tricks."

A strange red light flashed through Uchiha Kyu's Mangekyō Sharingan as his ocular power erupted.

"Explode!!!"

Minato Namikaze's Shadow Clone was covered in Explosive Tags.

Boom!!!

Boom!!!

Boom!!!

The Explosive Tags detonated at different times, continuing to explode for more than ten seconds.

When the explosions cleared, a gigantic skeletal giant appeared before the two of them.

Uchiha Kyu gained a little more understanding of Minato Namikaze's ability to gather intelligence.

If he had used his ocular technique, Kamui, to teleport away just now, the explosions would have followed him into Kamui's alternate dimension.

He still would have taken the full damage from the Explosive Tags.

However, his knowledge of ninja intelligence was far beyond everyone else's.

"Superhuman Strength."

Tsunade slammed a fist into Susanoo.

With a crack, a tiny fissure appeared in Susanoo's defenses.

Seeing this, Tsunade snorted. "Looks like your turtle shell isn't invincible after all."

Uchiha Kyu glanced at the crack in Susanoo. His eyes were deep and utterly unruffled as he spoke calmly.

"We've had enough fun. Now I'll let you see my true power."

Uchiha Kyu formed a one-handed seal, and the Nine-Tails, which should have been fighting elsewhere, suddenly appeared here.

Standing atop the Nine-Tails' head, Uchiha Kyu's Mangekyō Sharingan spun furiously.

"Armored Susanoo."