Naruto : Minato back to the past

Chiyo's eyes burned with intense killing intent. The last time she was defeated, this yellow-haired kid from Konoha was the main reason, and now, once again, he was ruining her plans. Despite her anger and shock, Chiyo couldn't fathom where this Konoha kid got the strength to systematically eliminate the elite puppeteers she had personally selected.

Could this kid's strength and chakra be infinite?

"Bang!"

Another Sand Ninja puppeteer fell before Minato, bloodied and broken. Minato didn't even glance at the body; instead, he activated his sensory abilities, scanning the battlefield for his next target. To control their puppets, puppeteers had to condense their chakra into chakra threads, and this external chakra allowed Minato to lock onto them instantly.

However, after killing four Sand Ninja puppeteers in a row, the chakra given by the Nine-Tails was also nearly depleted. But Minato didn't plan to stop. He closed his eyes again and silently commanded:

"Give me more chakra!"

The next moment, his eyes snapped open, and his pupils turned vertical once more.

"If you keep this up, your body will collapse," the voice within him warned. The Nine-Tails' chakra was immense, and replenishing Minato's energy ten or even a hundred times wouldn't be difficult. But his body could only withstand so much chakra before it began to break down. The human body isn't just a container; even if the physical form can bear it, the mental strain from battle can't be restored by the Nine-Tails' chakra alone.

"Don't worry, I know my limits," Minato replied silently in his heart. His gaze shifted to Chiyo, who was engaged in combat with Tsunade and Orochimaru. The malevolent glint in her eyes didn't faze him—he had long grown accustomed to such murderous looks.

Seeing Minato charge out again, Chiyo felt a sudden tremor in her heart.

"Puff!"

A minute later, another Sand Ninja puppeteer and his puppet were destroyed by Minato. His relentless assault had taken him across most of the battlefield, leaving both Konoha and Sand Ninja forces in shock. Minato's former companions, Mikoto, Suki, and Hyuga Hiashi, were all stunned by his prowess. They had never been the target of the Sand Ninja puppeteers, but now they witnessed the devastation Minato was causing.

Chiyo's expression grew darker with each passing moment. When Minato's eyes met hers again, she was stunned by the emotion she saw in those blue eyes.

That murderous intensity was something even Chiyo, with all her ninja experience, couldn't fully understand.

Why would a kid have such an expression?

After their brief eye contact, Minato flashed away and locked onto another Sand Ninja puppeteer. The man, having seen the fate of his previous companions, was terrified and quickly joined forces with a nearby Sand Ninja to confront Minato.

Due to the large-scale casualties inflicted on Konoha by the Sand Ninja Puppet Unit, the personnel ratio between the two sides had shifted, leaving no Konoha ninja able to assist Minato. Even so, Minato showed no fear.

The three clashed fiercely, and despite the combined efforts of the Sand Ninja, Minato found himself at a disadvantage. The battle raged for dozens of rounds, with both opponents simultaneously aiming their poisoned kunai at Minato. A single stab would mean victory for them.

Buzz!

Minato spread his hands, each palm holding a condensed Rasengan.

"Bang! Bang!"

Both kunai were shattered by the Rasengan. Minato then turned his hands and slammed the Rasengan into his opponents, sending them flying.

After killing his sixth puppeteer, Minato suddenly felt a sharp pain surge through his body, and sweat dripped from his forehead. But he couldn't afford to fall now. His actions were a psychological game aimed at Chiyo.

Minato wasn't killing puppeteers out of revenge, nor did he believe he could single-handedly turn the tide of the battle. His goal was to force Chiyo into retreat.

As the Fourth Hokage, Minato had interacted with Kage and high-ranking officials from other ninja nations, and he knew that Chiyo was someone who valued her own interests deeply. These puppeteers were the elites under her command. Every high-ranking official in a ninja village had a force to command, and for Chiyo, that force included her son and daughter-in-law, Saburo and Sunae, along with the puppeteer team that solidified her power in the Sand Village.

Losing a puppeteer was far more painful for Chiyo than losing several ordinary Sand Ninjas.

"Give me more power!" Minato demanded, for the third time today, calling on the power of the Nine-Tails.

Chakra surged through his body once again.

"Be careful," the voice warned, but this time it didn't try to dissuade him. The two were one, or more accurately, they were completely united. Minato knew his own character well—he couldn't just stand by and watch the Konoha troops fall under the assault of the Sand Ninja Puppet Unit.

Even if it meant risking his life today, he had to do everything he could!

Swish!

Minato's golden figure, like a god of death, appeared once more in front of a Sand Village puppeteer. His actions didn't go unnoticed by the four high-ranking Konoha ninjas who were observing the battlefield.

Under normal circumstances, they would have been questioning where Minato got this power, just as Chiyo was doing. But now, all four of them were more concerned about the dangers Minato was facing.

Tsunade's attacks grew more ferocious, her offense becoming increasingly reckless as she charged toward Chiyo with little regard for her own defense.

"Thousand Snake Formation!"

Orochimaru opened his mouth wide, unleashing a torrent of thin snakes that surged forward like a formation of countless serpents. The snakes slithered underfoot, coiling around Tsunade and Chiyo, but they didn't attack the latter.

"Swoosh!"

As Chiyo fought with Tsunade, her puppets fired hidden weapons, only for the thin snakes to rush up like a water curtain, blocking the assault and forming a temporary defense.

"Puff!"

At that moment, another column of blood sprayed up from the Sand Ninja camp. A Sand Ninja puppeteer was cut in half by Minato, blood gushing from the wound.

Seeing this, Chiyo's eyes turned red with fury. She glanced at Tsunade and Orochimaru, who were attacking her with increasing ferocity. Then, she looked at the dwindling number of Sand Ninja puppeteers. Gritting her teeth, she finally spat out a few words:

"Let them go!"

Chiyo's command echoed through the ears of the Sand Ninjas, and Minato, who was in the midst of the battle, felt a sharp pain from the strain of the Nine-Tails' chakra. The pain caused his facial muscles to twitch uncontrollably.

But then, a smile gradually spread across his already stiff face.

"I won this game!"

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