Konoha Headquarters, near Kushina's home.
The night was ink-black, so thick it seemed impossible to dissolve.
Minato Namikaze stood on a rooftop, his blond hair stirring gently in the night breeze. The Flying Thunder God Kunai clenched in his hand gleamed with a chilling light.
His gaze was fixed on the aged figure opposite him.
Madara Uchiha.
That name was a mountain etched into every Konoha ninja's heart, weighing on them until they could barely breathe.
Yet Minato did not retreat a single step.
"Take him down!"
His voice was cold as ice, his face as grim as an asura emerging from hell. The killing intent in his eyes was almost palpable. In an instant, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to Madara Uchiha's side.
Space trembled faintly.
Minato vanished from his original position and appeared beside Madara a moment later. The kunai in his hand struck like a snake bursting from its den, moving too fast to track as it stabbed straight at Madara's neck!
The strike was blindingly fast.
With Flying Thunder God's teleportation combined with his far-superior reflexes, the thrust exceeded what the naked eye could follow.
"Tsk, tsk!"
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Madara Uchiha's eyes lit up, instantly changing into the Mangekyō. His body moved with an agility utterly unlike an old man's, reacting like a cheetah. One hand, hard as steel, blocked the attack while the other clenched into a fist and smashed toward Minato's stomach with a rush of wind.
"No wonder you became Konoha's Fifth Hokage. You do have some ability."
Madara's voice was low, carrying undisguised praise. "Those reflexes of yours-speaking purely of reaction speed, you've already surpassed the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju."
His fist hurtled toward Minato's abdomen, wrapped in a fierce wind.
But just then-
Whoosh!
Another