Another Victory for Minato

Minato Namikaze stopped hesitating and attacked first, pulling shuriken from his ninja tool pouch and hurling them at A.

A made no attempt to dodge the shuriken Minato Namikaze threw at him. The Lightning Release Armor around his body merely deepened in color as he charged at Minato.

Every shuriken Minato Namikaze threw struck A and bounced off his Lightning Release Armor.

"Minato Namikaze, stop embarrassing yourself with those little tricks!" A shouted. "Lightning Release: Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"

A accelerated again, swinging a lightning-charged knife-hand strike at Minato Namikaze.

Watching the furious A, Minato formed a hand seal and vanished from right in front of him.

A's Ninjutsu missed again, blasting a huge crater into the spot where Minato had just stood.

Minato had only just picked up a kunai from the ground when A burst through the dust and appeared before him. This time, however, A used no Ninjutsu. He simply threw a punch.

Even a simple punch, backed by his terrifying speed, carried more force than Minato could withstand with physical strength alone.

Minato was naturally not foolish enough to block A's fist. He used Flying Thunder God to dodge rapidly. A chased him all over the place but failed to land a single hit.

"Minato Namikaze, don't tell me you earned the name Yellow Flash just by running for your life!" After chasing him for so long, A was getting tired too. He stopped and called out to Minato.

Minato Namikaze ignored the taunt and told A, "Catch me, and you'll find out whether that's how I earned my reputation!"

"Yo, yo, yo, big bro, you fool..." Killer B suddenly spoke up, about to say something in his clumsy rap.

But a single look from A stopped Killer B from saying anything more.

"Minato Namikaze, you're using those strange shuriken to perform that Body Flicker Technique of yours, aren't you?" A asked Minato after glancing at Killer B.

Minato gave A a wary look and said, "You're the first person to figure out how my Body Flicker Technique works so quickly. But what good does knowing do you? You still can't catch me."

"Hahaha! Straightforward-I like that! Since you're using those shuriken as coordinates, will you still be able to use your Body Flicker Technique if I smash them all?" A asked, staring intently at Minato.

"You can try!" Minato still wore the same cheerful smile, without a trace of panic.

That expression left A uncertain. He could not tell whether Minato truly had no fear of him destroying the kunai he used as coordinates.

A did not want to drag this out any longer. The battle could not afford the delay. He would destroy them first and worry about the rest later.

"Lightning Release: Liger Bomb!"

A leaped high into the air, gathering an enormous amount of chakra in his leg before slamming it into the ground.

A tremendous boom rang out, raising a thick cloud of dust. When it cleared, the ground for nearly a hundred meters around A had sunk several meters, while the spot where he stood had sunk dozens of meters.

A massive crater had formed with A at its center. Every kunai Minato Namikaze had thrown earlier had been shattered by that single blow.

By the time the dust cleared, Minato Namikaze had vanished from A's sight as well. A looked around and found him locked in a standoff with Killer B.

"Minato Namikaze, let's both strike. That'll end this!" Killer B held his blade against Minato Namikaze's abdomen, while Minato's kunai rested against Killer B's neck.

A bead of cold sweat formed on Minato Namikaze's forehead. Ignoring Killer B in front of him, he vanished again.

A was growing impatient. He told Killer B, "I'm leaving him to you. I'm going back to check on the battle!"

"Go ahead, big bro!" For once, Killer B was serious.

A sprinted toward the battlefield, but he had only gone a few dozen meters when Minato appeared right beside him and drove the Rasengan in his hand toward A's head.

A's eyes flashed. His Lightning Release Armor thickened further, and his speed rose yet again, allowing him to dodge Minato's Rasengan.

Minato's Rasengan struck the ground, blasting out a huge crater.

Just as Minato stood up, A and Killer B attacked him together from the front and back.

"Lightning Release: Double Lariat!"

Both men shouted as they unleashed their Ninjutsu in unison.

Watching the two men charge at him from either side, Minato formed hand seals with one hand. "Substitution Technique!"

Their arms crossed as they struck the wooden log Minato had substituted for himself, instantly pulverizing it.

Having escaped to one side, Minato looked at the pulverized log, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

Seeing that his plan had failed to kill Minato Namikaze, A wasted no more time and ran straight toward the battlefield.

Just as Minato Namikaze was about to pursue him, several tentacles attacked, leaving him no chance to form hand seals.

After dodging several tentacle strikes in succession, Minato Namikaze seized an opening, quickly formed hand seals, and threw several shuriken in the direction A had fled, preparing to activate his Ninjutsu.

But before Minato activated his Ninjutsu, he stopped of his own accord.

He had spotted someone standing in A's path. It was Orochimaru, who had gone back to oversee the battle.

"Orochimaru?" A said, looking at the man before him.

"A, there's no need for you to go to the battlefield. You've already lost!" Orochimaru said, licking his lips.

"Impossible! Even without the two of us, how could our Hidden Cloud Village army of several thousand ninja lose so quickly?" A said in disbelief.

"Go back and ask, and you'll find out! But for now, will you fight or make peace?" Orochimaru asked.

A glanced back at Minato Namikaze, then looked at Orochimaru before him. Neither man could be dealt with quickly. Orochimaru had fought them over the past few days, and A was a difficult opponent too. After weighing his options, A decided to retreat and rescue the Hidden Cloud Village ninja, bringing back as many as he could.

"Killer B, we're leaving!" A shouted to Killer B, who was facing off against Minato. Then he turned to Orochimaru and said, "Orochimaru, you won't be so lucky next time!"

"Until we meet again, A," Orochimaru said with a smile.

A dispelled his Lightning Release Armor and quickly left with Killer B, running toward the battlefield.

"Minato, thank you for your hard work!" Orochimaru said as Minato walked over to him.

"I was only doing my duty!" Minato replied.

Orochimaru led Minato toward the main camp at an unhurried pace, saying as they walked, "The old man sent the Anbu over with a message. I suspect he's calling you back to the village!"

Minato did not look surprised when he heard that. Instead, he reached into his ninja tool pouch and took out a brocade pouch. He opened it and pulled out a slip of paper.