Just as Kei found himself facing an unexpected dilemma, Minato Namikaze encountered one of his own outside the Uchiha encirclement.
Earlier that day, Minato had been visiting the Uzumaki Clan compound, chatting amicably with Uchiha Fugaku. The atmosphere had been relaxed and pleasant.
Then an urgent report arrived.
Uchiha Kei had clashed with Danzō Shimura outside Konoha.
No one knew what had happened.
Fearing that Kei might cause an irreparable disaster, Fugaku personally asked Minato to rush to the scene.
More importantly, he made Minato promise one thing:
No matter what happened...
Bring Kei back alive.
It was clear just how highly Fugaku regarded him.
Since Minato was renowned throughout the shinobi world for his speed, there was naturally no one better suited for the task.
Entrusted with a mission that might determine the fate of the Uchiha Clan, Minato departed without a moment’s delay.
Throwing Flying Thunder God Technique-marked kunai one after another, he repeatedly used the Flying Thunder God Technique, racing toward the battlefield at incredible speed.
Yet when he was only a single throw away from his destination...
The technique suddenly failed.
It had never happened before.
Minato immediately stopped and tested the technique nearby.
The result quickly became clear.
There was nothing wrong with the Flying Thunder God Technique itself.
Someone was interfering with—or outright suppressing—his Space-Time Ninjutsu.
His expression grew serious.
If someone capable of disrupting the Flying Thunder God Technique was present...
Then the battle ahead was undoubtedly far more dangerous than he had imagined.
Fortunately, he wasn’t far from the battlefield anymore.
At this distance, a few uses of the Body Flicker Technique would be enough.
Just as he prepared to continue...
Someone struck from the forest.
A man with the Sharingan appeared without warning.
There was no hesitation.
No wasted movement.
A single sword slash flashed through the air with chilling precision, displaying ruthless efficiency.
Had Minato’s reflexes not greatly surpassed those of ordinary shinobi...
That strike alone might have killed him.
Dodging backward, Minato showed no anger.
Seeing the man’s Sharingan, he hurriedly explained,
"Wait! I’m here at Clan Head Fugaku’s request to assist you. Please, don’t misunderstand!"
Minato assumed a fierce battle was raging just beyond the trees.
Naturally, the Uchiha guarding the perimeter would be on edge.
Once he explained his purpose, the misunderstanding should disappear.
Instead, the man answered coldly,
"No one passes."
Minato finally took a careful look at him.
He appeared young, yet his face carried an air of maturity.
His right earlobe bore an unusual protrusion resembling an earring.
His features were handsome and stern...
Yet strangely unsettling.
It almost looked as though two different expressions coexisted on the same face.
One face...
Two shadows.
The man radiated menace.
No wonder people called them the "cursed Uchiha."
Just one glance made him seem utterly untrustworthy.
Minato disliked judging others by appearance...
Yet even he found the man’s face instinctively unsettling.
Seeing that words accomplished nothing, Minato sighed inwardly.
Negotiation was no longer an option.
He quickly assessed the situation.
He had come at the Uchiha Clan’s request.
But the conflict itself involved two of Konoha’s most influential figures—
One from the Hokage’s Faction.
One from the Uchiha Clan.
Since the Uchiha were confident enough to blockade the road...
It likely meant they currently held the advantage.
Which implied the losing side was probably Danzō.
Even so...
Minato couldn’t simply return and report to Fugaku.
He still had no idea what had happened to Danzō.
And if the Third Hokage questioned him afterward, he would have no answers.
No matter how much he disliked Danzō and the dirty work he carried out from the shadows...
He couldn’t simply ignore the situation.
Besides...
Since Fugaku himself had authorized Minato’s intervention, Minato possessed every right to involve himself.
Even if he forced his way through...
No one could reasonably blame him afterward.
Since this stubborn Uchiha refused to step aside...
Then there was only one option.
Sorry...
But for the sake of preventing greater bloodshed...
You’ll just have to stay down.
Several Flying Thunder God-marked kunai scattered through the forest.
The next instant—
A brilliant flash erupted.
"Flying Thunder God: Spiral Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Three!"
When the light faded...
The cold-faced Uchiha collapsed.
Minato scratched his head awkwardly.
"...Oops."
"I used a little too much force."
"I didn’t kill him... did I?"
"Well, that’s dealt with."
He immediately prepared to continue toward the battlefield.
Then—
As he activated the Body Flicker Technique...
A familiar blade once again slashed toward his back.
Minato’s pupils contracted.
The very same man...
The one who had just taken seven or eight Rasengan head-on...
Was standing behind him completely unharmed.
Without hesitation, Minato bit his tongue, using the pain to dispel any possible illusion.
"...What?"
"I’m not under a genjutsu."
Impossible.
Anyone else who had taken that many Rasengan would have been reduced to little more than mangled flesh.
So why...
Was this man completely uninjured?
What Minato could never know...
Was that Kei had deliberately arranged things this way.
He understood one simple truth.
Numbers meant nothing against Minato Namikaze.
Swarming him would only create more Flying Thunder God markers for Minato to exploit.
So only one person had been sent to stop him.
His name...
Uchiha Tenzen.
The deputy leader of the Iga Group.
A man possessing leadership and authority rivaling even Uchiha Gen.
Cold.
Merciless.
Willing to sacrifice anything for the Iga Group’s victory.
Most importantly...
He possessed the secret art of eternal youth and immortality.
Physical attacks were almost meaningless against him.
Although he looked young...
He was actually even older than Uchiha Gen herself.
Uchiha Tenzen
Ninjutsu: BTaijutsu: A+Genjutsu: B
In his original world, even after dying, he could eventually regenerate and return to life.
Now, empowered by chakra...
As long as his chakra remained, he was effectively immortal.
Ordinary chakra was created by extracting energy from the body’s cells.
Yet Tenzen’s endless cellular regeneration, granted by his immortality, continuously replenished that energy.
In effect...
He possessed almost inexhaustible chakra.
Strictly speaking, however...
That wasn’t entirely accurate.
Take the Tailed Beasts as an example.
Every Tailed Beast possessed effectively limitless chakra.
Yet the Nine-Tails was still vastly stronger than the One-Tail.
The difference lay in output.
"Limitless" simply meant that recovery exceeded consumption.
The Nine-Tails recovered—and expended—chakra at a far greater rate than the One-Tail.
Tenzen functioned much the same way.
He was essentially a humanoid Tailed Beast.
The chakra required to regenerate his body was far less than the chakra restored through his immortal physiology.
To truly kill him...
One would need a technique so overwhelmingly destructive that nothing remained.
Not flesh.
Not bone.
Not even ashes.
That was precisely why Tenzen dared stand alone before Minato.
He knew Minato lacked wide-area destructive ninjutsu.
The future Fourth Hokage was never an all-around shinobi.
He was a specialist.
The only technique Minato possessed that could truly kill Tenzen...
Was the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
A one-for-one sacrifice.
But this wasn’t Konoha’s final battle.
Would Minato really throw away his own life...
For one Uchiha...
And one deeply unpopular Danzō?
Of course not.
The moment Minato arrived...
The outcome had already been decided.
This would be a battle without end.
One man couldn’t catch his opponent.
The other couldn’t be killed.
As long as Uchiha Tenzen stood in his way...
Minato could accomplish nothing.
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