(T/N: Thanks so much for 500 Power Stones, a bonus chapter here.)
It all happened in less than ten seconds.
The moment Uzumaki Honoka's voice echoed in everyone's hearts for the second time—
A golden flash burst forth like the moon emerging from behind the clouds, a fleeting brilliance that, in an instant, appeared right in front of Uzumaki Honoka.
Her Adamantine Sealing Chains had already reached their limit.
The golden chakra chains fractured inch by inch, dissipating into specks of golden light.
And within that shimmering light, Namikaze Minato's steady figure stood tall, radiating an unshakable sense of security for Honoka.
That warm, sunlit chakra aura washed over her, pulling her from the brink of despair and darkness, giving her a glimmer of hope and salvation.
"Rasengan!"
A rapidly rotating sphere of chakra formed in Minato's palm.
The monstrous Ultimate Summon Beast lunged with a ferocious snarl, only to be sent flying backward as the Rasengan struck it dead-on, slamming it against the research lab's reinforced walls.
The steel-plated walls buckled under the impact, cracks spreading outward as the ground trembled violently.
From the shattered doorway of the lab, waves of scorching heat from the volcanic crater outside swept in, carrying the acrid stench of molten lava.
A pained roar echoed through the air.
The Ultimate Summon Beast struggled to its feet. The spiraling wound on its abdomen, where flesh had been torn asunder, began regenerating at an alarming speed.
Pale pink flesh writhed as new muscle fibers stitched together seamlessly.
But the worst part—
Another grotesque, fan-like organ sprouted from its head.
The bizarre appendage tilted slightly backward, gathering momentum before whipping forward violently!
Blades of wind chakra shot toward Minato and Honoka with deadly precision.
Shu! Shu! Shu! Shu!
Swish!
More than a dozen Flying Thunder God kunai scattered in all directions.
Minato swiftly lifted the dazed Honoka into his arms and vanished, using the Flying Thunder God Technique to effortlessly evade the incoming wind blades.
"Gnnnaaaah—!"
The Ultimate Summon Beast let out a furious roar.
Earlier, under the attacks of the Kirigakure shinobi, another grotesque flower-like organ had sprouted from its body. It swelled and contracted, then unleashed a powerful water cannon infused with water chakra.
The combined assault of wind blades and water jets pursued Minato and Honoka relentlessly as they dodged through the battlefield.
...
Meanwhile—
A Kirigakure jōnin, who had been reduced to a puddle of water upon being struck by the Ultimate Summon Beast, reformed his upper body, his eyes flashing with malice as he spotted Minato.
He had barely completed his regeneration when he prepared to launch a sneak attack, hoping to kill Minato in the chaos and escape unnoticed.
But then—
A hand patted him lightly on the shoulder.
Pa~
"Oi, brother from the Hōzuki Clan, interrupting someone when they're picking up a girl—kinda rude, don't you think?"
Yamanaka Shinno crouched beside the half-formed Kirigakure ninja.
Though his voice was casual, the fact that he had approached so silently sent shivers down the Kirigakure shinobi's spine.
The Hōzuki Clan's Hydrification Technique was infamous across the shinobi world.
It made their bodies immune to most physical and even some ninjutsu-based attacks.
But its weakness was just as well-known—
A single hit from a Lightning Release technique would paralyze their liquefied bodies, making it impossible to reform properly.
"The Konoha shinobi barging in here and destroying Kirigakure's research facility... aren't you afraid this will lead to war between our nations?"
The Hōzuki jōnin slowly turned his head toward Shinno, carefully considering his next move.
Could he gamble on using Hydrification to escape?
After all, this guy clearly recognized his clan's ability.
Which meant he also knew its weakness.
Would it be worth betting that the enemy didn't have Lightning Release?
"You're just a nameless side character. What the hell are you stalling for?"
Shinno rolled his eyes, clearly uninterested in playing along. With a quick one-handed seal, he cast a genjutsu.
Demonic Illusion.
At such close range—barely a meter apart—the Hōzuki jōnin had no time to react.
The moment he saw Shinno weave the hand seal, his mind wavered, unsure whether to counter or flee—
And then—
His consciousness sank.
He was instantly dragged into an endless illusion.
His tense body relaxed, his liquefied form stabilizing into a normal state.
Whatever he was seeing in the genjutsu, it was enough to make his expression turn... disturbingly perverse.
His eyes glazed over as he sauntered toward a nearby support pillar, swaying his hips as if seducing a lover.
Then, with a lustful grin, he wrapped his arms around the cold, unyielding structure and began moving suggestively against it.
Low, depraved chuckles escaped his lips.
The illusion Shinno had cast—Demonic Illusion: Nirvana's Bliss—was an A-rank genjutsu modified from D-rank Temple of Nirvana, C-rank Fox's Deception, and C-rank False Surroundings.
Difficult to execute, but devastatingly effective.
It latched onto the victim's inner desires, amplifying them to an absurd degree.
With its hyper-realistic sensory distortions—sight, sound, and touch—it was nearly impossible to break free unless the victim had either immense spiritual fortitude or an overwhelming will that could resist the lure of their own fantasies.
For anyone else? It was practically a death sentence.
"Damn, that's disgusting."
Shinno cringed in revulsion as he controlled five small puppets—each barely a meter tall—using Mind Puppet Switch Cursed Seal Technique to drag the Hōzuki jōnin away.
Then, he had the puppets quietly remove the remaining researchers—some paralyzed with fear, others having fainted outright.
He was quite pleased with how the story was progressing.
Those annoying side characters? Gone.
Now, nothing stood in the way of Minato's love story!
"Tsk tsk, it's all coming together!"
Shinno carefully closed the door behind him as he left, leaving the research lab to the heroic pair still locked in battle against the Ultimate Summon Beast.
This was perfect.
The heroine, facing an insurmountable crisis.
The hero, descending from the heavens at her moment of despair to rescue her.
Next, all Minato had to do was unleash his full power, defeat the monster—
And then the heroine would be completely smitten, ready to follow him to the ends of the earth!
Flawless.
But just as Shinno was about to leave—
A chorus of enraged roars, accompanied by the thunderous stomping of countless wild beasts, grew louder.
Shinno frowned slightly.
Closing his eyes, he focused on the Flying Thunder God kunai he had left at the entrance.
Then, using Minato's space-time mark inscribed on it, he activated the technique.
Swish—
Shinno's figure vanished from the research lab.
Minato, still holding Honoka as he dodged the Ultimate Summon Beast's attacks, sensed a faint spatial fluctuation.
He turned his gaze toward the corridor where Shinno had been moments ago.
If his senses weren't mistaken, someone had just used a space-time jutsu.
Was it Shinno using a summoning technique?
But this fluctuation...
"The Ultimate Summon Beast has the ability to devour and absorb living beings, assimilating their strengths. It can even consume chakra of various natures, generating mutated organs that allow it to wield corresponding elemental jutsu..."
Still cradled in Minato's arms, Honoka quickly relayed crucial intel about their monstrous enemy.
Minato put his suspicions aside and refocused—
He had a grotesque behemoth to take down.
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