Chapter 216: Kikyō Mountain Fortress
"The Invisible Blade Is the Deadliest!"
At the same time, on the battlefield of Kikyō Mountain Fortress—
"Horn Break!!"
Han transformed into the complete form of the Five-Tails. His massive body, as large as a small mountain, charged forward like a roaring locomotive, crashing straight toward the fortress walls with unstoppable momentum.
If that collision landed solidly, the entire Kikyō Mountain Fortress would likely be smashed to pieces.
"Minato!"
Shikaku Nara shouted instinctively, his expression grave.
If the fortress walls were destroyed, the five hundred Konoha defenders would lose their defensive position. There was no way they could withstand the charge of the 3,000-strong Allied Shinobi Forces of the Three Villages below.
Although he wasn't certain whether Namikaze Minato could stop Han's assault, Shikaku held an inexplicable trust in him—almost as if Minato could solve any problem.
"Understood. Though it's still just a preliminary concept… I'll test the feasibility of this technique here."
"Flying Thunder God Barrier — Second Stage…"
A flash of cold resolve crossed Minato's eyes as his hands rapidly formed seals.
Large black sealing formulas suddenly appeared across the walls of Kikyō Mountain Fortress.
Han slammed his horn into the black symbols on the fortress wall. However, the expected impact never came.
Instead, Han's head sank straight into the wall.
At the same moment, identical black formulas appeared in the sky above the Three-Village Allied Assault Force.
Han's enormous head suddenly emerged from within them.
His eyes widened, momentarily clearing with confusion.
Before he could even process what had happened, a dreadful sense of danger surged in his heart.
"Flying Thunder God Barrier — Second Stage: Hyper-Dimensional Flash — Flying Thunder God: Cicada Severance!"
Minato's voice rang out, cold yet oddly dramatic.
The sealing array on the fortress wall rotated and snapped shut before Han could either pull his head back or push his body through.
Slash—
Han's enormous head fell from the sky into the ranks of the Three-Village Allied Shinobi, while his mountain-like body remained beneath the walls of Kikyō Mountain Fortress.
Blood erupted like a crimson tide.
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Everyone who witnessed the scene froze—mouths open, eyes wide, hands stopping mid-motion.
A Perfect jinchūriki, one capable of fully controlling a Tailed Beast's power…
Had just been instantly killed.
"Gulp…"
Shikaku swallowed unconsciously, staring at Minato in disbelief.
Minato met his gaze with a bright smile.
"'Utsusemi' is a double meaning of 'illusion' and 'present reality.' It symbolizes the fleeting feeling of a slash cutting through space… while also implying that even invisible things can be severed by an invisible blade."
"As the saying goes, the invisible blade is the deadliest. If a cicada's wing cuts your throat, you'll die before you even feel pain."
"...???"
Shikaku looked utterly confused.
"W-What does that mean?"
Minato scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"That's the idea behind naming the technique Flying Thunder God: Cicada Severance."
"…Then what about the 'Hyper-Dimensional Flash' part?"
Shikaku asked reflexively.
Minato replied seriously:
"Well, that's just to emphasize the modifier for Flying Thunder God: Cicada Severance."
Shikaku: "..."
Sometimes when a person is speechless, they are truly speechless.
At that moment, Shikaku had absolutely nothing he wanted to say.
The next second, however, the entire battlefield erupted like a boiling pot.
On the Konoha side atop Kikyō Mountain Fortress—
there were cheers, excitement, jubilation, and overwhelming morale.
On the side of the Three-Village Allied Forces—
there was shock, fear, confusion, and disbelief.
That had been a Perfect jinchūriki.
An undisputed Kage-level powerhouse.
Yet such a warrior had been killed instantly by a single move from Namikaze Minato.
Truly terrifying.
"What an idiot. He actually delivered his own head straight to the enemy's blade."
After recovering from his initial shock, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, couldn't help but sneer.
Minato's technique was certainly powerful, but it clearly hadn't been fully developed yet. It required the enemy to charge directly into the trap.
And Han had done exactly that.
Looking through the entire history of the shinobi world—from ancient times to the Warring States era to the age of hidden villages—
Han might have been the only ninja who fought by attacking with his head.
Talk about being thick-headed.
If he had died privately, that would have been one thing.
But dying like this in front of thousands of soldiers dealt a massive blow to the Allied Forces' morale.
"Calm yourselves! Do not panic! Han was simply careless! Continue according to the original plan—victory will still be ours!"
Elder Chiyo stepped forward first, shouting loudly and snapping the confused allied shinobi back to their senses.
"The Yellow Flash will be handled by this old woman. The rest of you—continue the assault!"
With that single declaration, the morale of the Three-Village Alliance began to recover.
The main reason their spirits had collapsed was Minato. Now that someone had stepped forward to deal with him, their fear diminished considerably.
Under the leadership of Chiyo and Rasa, the three thousand allied shinobi launched another assault on Kikyō Mountain Fortress, clashing fiercely with the Konoha defenders.
"Minato…"
Watching the battlefield below, Shikaku began to issue another command.
"I understand. Leave Chiyo of the Sand and the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, to me."
Minato interrupted, already prepared to face the enemy's strongest fighters.
But Shikaku shook his head.
"No. Let Kushina Uzumaki hold off Chiyo and Rasa."
"You'll deal with the ordinary shinobi of the Three-Village Alliance."
"How you do it is up to you. I only have one request—"
"Crush their morale and break their army in the shortest time possible."
Minato paused briefly, then quickly understood.
He nodded seriously.
"Understood."
The next moment, his figure vanished.
Minato appeared within the ranks of the Three-Village Alliance, and with every flash of movement, several lives were taken.
Chiyo and Rasa attempted to pursue him, hoping to intercept him.
But Minato had no intention of engaging them.
They simply could not keep up with his pace.
The two exchanged glances and immediately abandoned the chase, rushing instead toward the Konoha defenders atop the fortress.
Their target was Kushina Uzumaki.
By forcing Kushina into danger, they could lure Minato back.
However—
Before they even began searching for her, Kushina suddenly appeared before them, blocking their path with a single flash.
Standing atop the fortress wall, Shikaku Nara wasn't even watching the battlefield below.
Instead, his gaze was fixed on the distant horizon.
Now…
It all depended on Orochimaru's performance.
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