"Bang~~!" Summoning smoke billowed high into the air~~. The giant toad Bunta descended amid clouds of smoke, a massive pipe clenched in his mouth. His enormous bulk made the forest clearing seem incredibly cramped, even crushing the small house where the Scroll of Seals had been stored.
Bunta said gruffly, "Guwahaha~! Jiraiya, you old fool, summoning me in such a cramped place again! Believe it or not, I'll shake you right off my head!"
"Mr. Bunta." A polite voice came from atop his head.
"Guh?" Bunta's laughter stopped as he looked up. "Ah... so it's you, Minato!"
His expression immediately grew serious. "You summoned me in an emergency. Did something happen to the village?"
Minato looked into the distance at the Yata Crow speeding toward the edge of Konoha and said concisely, "The village has been attacked. One of the enemies specializes in fighting with summons and is about to leave with the Scroll of Seals!"
"Huh? Strange... isn't the Scroll of Seals strapped to your back?"
"Ah, I didn't explain clearly. This is the Scroll of Seals that I recovered. During the struggle, part of it was taken by the enemy. Most importantly, the stolen portion contains the final section of the Scroll of Seals. The techniques recorded there are extremely dangerous. If they are lost, the consequences will be unthinkable!"
"I see..." Bunta took a deep drag from his pipe, his toad eyes narrowing. "Even you couldn't keep a complete watch on it. Looks like the opponent is quite formidable."
Minato said respectfully, "That's exactly why I'm asking for your help, Mr. Bunta. The enemy is in the air. Without your assistance, I fear I won't be able to reach them!"
"Easy. Leave it to me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Bunta's enormous body shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow. He stomped through Konoha's forest, leaping repeatedly, and after only a few bounds, he had closed the distance to the Yata Crow!
On the Yata Crow's back... Pain Rin looked back at the colossal creature rapidly approaching from below and murmured, "The Preta Path and Asura Path are still tied up with the Third Hokage."
"If I summon them over here, the Uchiha side will lose its outer support."
"Should I summon the main body over?"
"No... it's still too early to meet now."
Pain Rin formed hand seals with her small hands.
"I'll handle this with the Animal Path alone!"
—Summoning Technique: Hellhound!
Bang!
Amid the white smoke, a Hellhound descended from the sky, baring its fangs as it lunged at the speeding Bunta!
Minato exclaimed in surprise, "Does she have more than one summon?"
"Hmph!" Bunta blew out a puff of smoke from his pipe, treating the opponent as insignificant. "Boom!" He leaped high into the air, and his heavyweight body came crashing directly down on the Hellhound, stomping it out amid the smoke.
Pain Rin sighed. "The Legendary Sannin really are powerful. Too bad I still can't summon an Amplified Hellhound. Otherwise, that would have given him quite a fight!"
Her small hands formed seals once more!
—Summoning Technique: Hell Crab!
Bang!
Watching the huge crab descend from the smoke, Minato blurted out in amazement, "Flying in the sky, running on land, swimming in water... can she fight using amphibious summons across sea, land, and air?!"
"Crash!!"
The Hell Crab spewed out a wave-like mass of foam from midair...!!
"Mr. Bunta, the enemy is trying to use those bubbles to stop us from pursuing them!!"
"Hmph!! Mere tricks!!" Bunta formed a seal with his webbed hands, his cheeks contracting as he fired a condensed water bullet packed with Mount Myoboku Senjutsu Chakra!
—Water Release: Water Gun!!
It was a technique comparable to Sand Shukaku's Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!!
Rumble...!!!
The Water Gun pierced through the foam and blasted into the Hell Crab's abdomen. Even with its shell protecting it, the attack's power was impossible to withstand...
With a boom, it vanished into white smoke!
"Hmph." Pain Rin lowered her small hands with a soft snort. The Yata Crow spun through the air, aiming at Bunta as it continuously fired bird eggs from its mouth!
"Guwahaha~~, how ridiculous... this idiot is actually using egg-laying to mock me! Watch me split your eggs with one slash!!!"
Bunta laughed three times, drew his blade, and slashed at the eggs falling toward him...
He sliced them apart with ease...
"Guwahaha... just as I thought, utterly worthless!!"
Suddenly... a blinding light filled Bunta's vision!!!
"What... the hell is this?!"
At the critical moment... Minato crouched and pressed his palm against Bunta's head. At the same time... a kunai landed in distant bushes!!!
—Flying Thunder God Technique!!!
Boom...!!
Bunta's huge body appeared out of thin air, crushing swaths of trees!
Countless wild beasts fled in terror, while birds took flight amid startled cries...
Rumble rumble rumble...!!!
Behind them... the flames of explosions merged into one blazing stretch!!
Bunta's face flushed red. "Those eggs it fired were all bombs?! Damn it, I almost made a fool of myself!!"
"Whew... indeed. If you don't know in advance, they're impossible to guard against." Minato had expended quite a bit of stamina using Flying Thunder God to move Bunta in such haste. Sweat had appeared on his face, though it was indistinguishable from the rain...
Bunta glared at the Yata Crow circling overhead, fury burning in his eyes. "You damned bastard, I'll kill you right now!!"
The offensive and defensive chase began once more!!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bunta dodged left and right, nimbly evading the bombardment of bombs!!
"Now that I know they're bombs, don't think the same trick will work again!!!"
Seeing the Yata Crow about to leave Konoha's airspace, Minato urgently said, "Mr. Bunta... it's approaching Konoha's barrier. Once it leaves Konoha, pursuing it will become very difficult!"
"Yeah, I know. I'll finish it now!!!"
"Crack!!!" Bunta clenched his pipe between his teeth, gathering strength in his legs before launching into the air, his great blade slashing down!
"You're pretty capable~" Pain Rin controlled the Yata Crow to pull upward, narrowly dodging Bunta's blade!!!
"Whoosh!" Bunta's body began to fall. The next moment, he somehow exerted force in midair and hurled the great blade in his hand!!
"What!?" This move truly caught Pain Rin off guard!!!
Bang!!!
The Yata Crow was pierced through by the blade and vanished into white smoke!!
Pain Rin lost her footing and fell through the turbulent wind. She stretched out with all her strength, grabbing the floating fragment of the Scroll of Seals... before crashing heavily down beside Konoha's wall...
"Thud!" Bunta landed heavily. "Minato, this is as far as I can help you!!"
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Bunta."
Bang!!
Bunta vanished into white smoke...
Beneath Konoha's wall, Pain Rin clutched the Fragment of the Scroll of Seals, covering the hole in her left shoulder that Kakashi's Chidori had pierced through.
"You have nowhere left to run." Minato spoke calmly. "The wound on your left shoulder was caused by Kakashi's Chidori, wasn't it?"
"I heard... Kakashi was seriously injured and has already been taken away by the medical team."
"And yet, with such a severe injury, you never treated the wound. You kept tangling with me all the way here and endured until now."
"That is simply unbelievable."
"Regardless of who you truly are, or whether the person before me is merely a 'puppet'..."
"Whoosh!" A Rasengan gathered in Minato's palm as he charged toward Pain Rin, standing alone beneath the wall!
—At the very least, let me see your true face beneath that mask!
The Rasengan... closed in on the cat-faced mask!!
Boom!!
"What...!?" Minato's pupils suddenly contracted.
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