"Namikaze Minato, what are you doing?"
Zenkichi looked at Namikaze Minato with a puzzled expression. At this moment, Minato was attacking Zenkichi with a special kunai. The kunai kept phasing through Zenkichi's body without causing any damage. But Minato didn't seem discouraged and continued using the kunai to attack as if nothing was wrong.
Zenkichi observed him quietly. After a moment, he suddenly smiled and said, "I understand what you're doing. Fine—I'll give you your answer." With that, Zenkichi punched Minato without hesitation. Minato's eyes flashed, and he responded in kind, colliding his fist with Zenkichi's.
"He has a physical form!"
Minato was thrilled—Zenkichi had a tangible body when he attacked.
This had only been a theory on Minato's part, so he'd tried different methods to provoke Zenkichi into attacking, just to test his guess. And he was right.
"Next, I'll show you my improvements to the Flying Thunder God."
Minato took a deep breath. It was time to show his real skills.
In the stands, the Third Hokage watched the battle between Minato and Zenkichi with a calm expression, but his heart was far from calm.
He desperately hoped Minato could defeat Zenkichi—if only to give Konoha more leverage in negotiations with Kirigakure.
Of course, he didn't want Zenkichi—someone from an enemy village—to continue being this uncontainable.
In the stands, a red-haired girl shouted loudly.
She was Uzumaki Kushina, the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki of Konoha—and Minato's lover.
Earlier, when Minato had the upper hand against Terumi Mei, Kushina hadn't felt the need to cheer. But now that Minato was clearly at a disadvantage, she didn't hold back.
Zenkichi glanced at her briefly, then looked away.
Just another hothead. He wasn't the least bit interested.
At that moment, Zenkichi noticed Minato's movement—Minato had rushed toward him again with killing intent.
This time, his attack failed deliberately—leaving an opening as bait to provoke Zenkichi.
Zenkichi's lips curled. He instantly realized Minato's ploy and chuckled.
Minato grinned internally, then slashed Zenkichi's arm with his kunai without hesitation.
The kunai met solid resistance—like cutting through real flesh. That sensation made Minato thrilled.
A golden arm with a bright gash flew off in the air.
"He cut off my arm just like that... How ruthless."
"Namikaze Minato... what a terrifying man."
Zenkichi looked at his severed arm and made a joking comment.
But the arm that had been cut off immediately disintegrated into light particles and floated back to him—reforming into a perfect limb.
Minato stared in shock.
"When you struck me earlier, did you think I had a real body?"
"When light particles are condensed enough, they're no different from flesh and blood. Who said I have to be in solid form to attack?"
"Everything was your assumption, Minato."
"You want to know why I did this? Because only when you experience it for yourself... can you understand despair."
Zenkichi spoke calmly, his tone laced with amusement.
His ability to elementalize his body was far beyond Uchiha Obito's Kamui.
Obito's technique had a cooldown. Zenkichi's didn't.
Obito had to activate Kamui, but Zenkichi's elementalization was instant—triggered by thought, even by instinct.
In the original timeline, Obito was overwhelmed by Minato using Flying Thunder God. But if it were Zenkichi, there would've been no such opening.
Obito didn't react in time to Minato's attack. Zenkichi, however, could do so instinctively.
Like a reflex, his body would automatically shift into its elemental form when damaged—avoiding harm like a knee-jerk reaction.
"I don't know if fighting me will help you deal with Obito in the future... Probably not."
"As long as I exist, neither that guy nor Uchiha Madara will ever be as arrogant as they were in the original timeline."
Zenkichi muttered quietly, casting a glance toward Uchiha Obito in the audience.
"Despair? I haven't even started!"
Minato wasn't fazed. He formed a rapid sequence of hand seals, black patterns emerging across his body.
These were sealing techniques—preparations for a powerful fūinjutsu.
"Sealing jutsu? How boring. You really think something like that will work on me?"
There was no doubt—sealing techniques could be a threat to Zenkichi.
But they were just that: a threat. Not something he feared.
Like how in the pirate world, Admiral Zephyr wore a giant Sea Prism Stone arm to counter Devil Fruit users. It could suppress them, but no Devil Fruit user would be defeated just by the Sea Stone.
Minato let out a low growl and charged forward.
He threw a special kunai toward Zenkichi, and in the blink of an eye, teleported to its location. Dark sealing lines erupted from his body like lightning.
These black lines formed a massive net, aiming to trap and seal Zenkichi.
Zenkichi snorted. His body turned to light and instantly slipped through the gaps, escaping the sealing net.
"Your sealing technique is decent. But it's way too slow."
"That kind of clumsy attack won't work on someone who moves at the speed of light."
Zenkichi reappeared some distance away, perfectly calm.
Join my P@treon for 20+ Exclusive Chapters
All fanfic are under my collections. Fresh chapters posted on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵