[New Fanfic: Master Craftsman In The Pokémon World]
In the vast hollowed-out cavern of the mountain, a colossal figure sat motionless, emitting an eerie orange glow that faintly illuminated the surrounding darkness. The atmosphere was silent and oppressive.
That silence was broken by the sound of two sets of unrestrained footsteps echoing through the space.
Hagoromo Gensou opened his eyes, watching as Deidara and Seimei strode in confidently, carrying the unconscious One-Tails Jinchuriki, Gaara.
"Oh? You've already started?"
Deidara glanced up at the Gedo Statue, surprised to see that the extraction process was underway. He had assumed his team would be the first to return, only to discover someone else had beaten him to it—and not just anyone.
"Oh! It's the boss!" he said with relief.
"Place the One-Tails at the back of the line," Gensou instructed without looking directly at them. "Let's finish this first."
"No problem!"
Deidara cheerfully tossed Gaara onto the ground before teleporting to his usual perch on one of the Gedo Statue's fingers. With a quick set of hand seals, he began contributing his chakra to speed up the tailed beast extraction.
Seimei, who was new to the process, observed the arrangement of the Gedo Statue's fingers before settling on an unoccupied spot. As he approached the massive, menacing statue, awe flickered across his face.
With his chakra-absorbing abilities, Seimei could sense the immense, almost infinite chakra contained within the Gedo Statue. Even if it allowed him to absorb freely, he doubted he could handle the overload—his own body would likely explode.
"No wonder this belongs to such a powerful figure," Seimei muttered, glancing at Gensou with reverence before starting his work.
A short time later, Kakuzu and Hidan arrived, empty-handed but ready to join the effort. They wordlessly took their designated positions and skillfully contributed their chakra to the extraction.
When Sasuke and Kisame finally returned, they found that the extraction of the Yin Nine-Tails chakra from Minato was nearly complete.
As the last trace of the Yin Nine-Tails chakra left Minato's body and flowed into the Gedo Statue, a flicker of consciousness returned to his eyes.
"Where... am I?"
Minato blinked, his once-vacant gaze now filled with confusion. He instinctively scanned his surroundings, taking in the vast cavern and the massive, oppressive Gedo Statue before him.
The sheer scale of the statue left him stunned—it was beyond anything he had ever encountered.
"What... is this?"
A voice suddenly broke his thoughts.
"Looks like there's a little surprise waiting for us."
Minato spun around to see a tall, shark-like man with a sinister grin approaching him.
"A rogue from the Hidden Mist?"
Minato's sharp eyes caught the scratched Mist Village symbol on Kisame's headband. He quickly noted Kisame's unconscious hostage—a Cloud shinobi—and another figure nearby wearing the Uchiha clan's emblem.
"An Uchiha... with a rogue ninja?"
Though Minato recognized the Uchiha features in Sasuke, he couldn't understand why someone from Konoha's most prominent clan would be aligned with traitors.
"Have I been reanimated with Edo Tensei?" Minato muttered, recognizing his current state. His expression grew grim as he realized the Nine-Tails he had sealed was no longer within him.
"What is going on here?"
He glanced up at the others stationed on the Gedo Statue's fingers—rogue shinobi from various villages.
"This must be their stronghold... But who reanimated me?"
Minato turned toward the last person he hadn't scrutinized yet. His eyes narrowed as recognition dawned.
"Hagoromo Gensou!"
Gensou opened his Rinnegan, meeting Minato's intense gaze. "I didn't expect you to regain consciousness."
Minato's eyes fell on Gensou's unsettling purple, whirlpool-patterned eyes, a feature he hadn't seen before.
"You reanimated me to extract the Nine-Tails from my body, didn't you?" Minato said, piecing together the situation.
Though he couldn't discern Gensou's full plan, the presence of a figure so feared and powerful, now collaborating with rogue ninja, set him on edge.
I need to warn Konoha about this immediately.
Without waiting for a response, Minato vanished in a flash, attempting to escape the cavern.
"Hmph. Not bad, Minato," Gensou commented, showing no urgency as Minato fled.
But Gensou's calm demeanor didn't extend to the others.
In an instant, Deidara's clay bombs, Sasori's puppets, Kakuzu's jutsu, and Seimei's steel cannon all launched toward Minato.
Whoosh!
Minato's movements were ghostly, his Flying Thunder God Technique allowing him to evade every attack with ease.
As he neared Kisame and Sasuke, Minato deftly dodged, aiming to escape past them.
Sasuke, his Sharingan activated, intercepted Minato with a swift draw of his blade.
Their weapons clashed, and Minato glanced at Sasuke in confusion. "You're an Uchiha from Konoha. Why are you aiding Gensou?"
"Your information is outdated," Sasuke replied coldly, slashing again.
Minato retreated, hurling several kunai as he moved.
Sasuke was about to deflect the kunai when Minato suddenly appeared next to one of them, seizing it midair and driving it toward Sasuke.
Sasuke turned to counter, but Minato vanished again, reappearing by another kunai further away.
"Flying Thunder God Technique," Sasuke muttered, narrowing his eyes as he tracked Minato's movements.
Minato continued his escape, nearing the cavern's exit—until a torrent of water surged forth, flooding the passage.
From the water, Kisame emerged, his grin as sharp as ever.
"This road is closed," he said, his golden eyes locking onto Minato.
(End of Chapter)
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