Naruto: The Primal Hyuga Pierces the Shinobi World

Page 158

"boom!!!!"

As Shinichi Hyuga and Minato Namikaze emerged from the giant hand's reach, the Gedo Mazo's attack slammed heavily into the ground.

The hard concrete ground cracked and broke open in large areas under the golem's attack, and the upturned ground brought up the deep yellow-brown soil.

The wet mud splattered everywhere, and the stones and gravel flying in all directions were even more powerful than the kunai fired by ordinary ninjas. In an instant, the surfaces of the surrounding buildings were riddled with small holes by the flying stones.

Although Shinichi Hyuga successfully escaped the range of the golem's palm, the flying pebbles still posed a great threat to him.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shinichi Hyuga immediately activated the Rejuvenation Technique to defend against the incoming pebbles and sand. The power of the Rejuvenation Technique deflected all the incoming pebbles and sand.

As the gust of wind subsided, Shinichi Hyuga looked up and saw that Minato Namikaze had already grabbed Konan and leaped onto the back of the Gedo Mazo's hand. Under Shinichi's watchful gaze, Minato was rapidly moving along the Mazo's arm toward its shoulder and head.

Minato's speed was very fast. Even with a burden, it did not affect his movement at all. In just a short while, Minato had already covered halfway and was about to reach the upper part of the arm.

Nagato, who was controlling the Gedo Mazo, naturally noticed Minato's actions. Realizing that the other party's target was clearly his location, Nagato also sensed something was wrong.

As the golem stretched out its arm, it swatted at Minato, who was rushing across its right arm, as if swatting a fly.

As the opponent's large hand pressed down, Minato calmly shot a kunai towards the face of the Gedo Mazo. As the other large hand pressed down, the chakra adhering to the surface of the Gedo Mazo on Minato's feet instantly disappeared, and he, along with Konan, fell from the Mazo's arm and began to freefall.

This was not Minato's suicide, but simply the simplest way for him to evade enemy attacks.

"Bang!!!"

The golem slammed its large hand onto its own arm, but unlike humans, the golem could not harm itself by slapping itself.

On the contrary, Minato's swift action made Nagato's expression turn serious.

"Whoosh!!" With a whooshing sound, Minato and Konan appeared at the spot where the Kuru had been shot earlier, less than twenty meters away from the Golem's face.

Minato caught the kunai in mid-air and gently placed it to his lips. As his figure rapidly descended towards the golem's nose, Minato also reached for his ninja tool pouch behind him once more.

Just as Minato was about to use his "ultimate move," Spiral Flash Super Dance Roar 3, to break open the Golem's mouth, the Golem's mouth suddenly opened on its own.

"Um?!"

Seeing this scene, Minato felt no joy at all; instead, he was filled with alarm. Just then, a gray, almost transparent dragon-shaped spirit suddenly shot out from the mouth of the Gedo Mazo and attacked Minato in mid-air.

The dragon-shaped spirit was moving incredibly fast, and Minato was descending towards the golem's nose, the distance between them closing rapidly.

"What is that?!"

The strange dragon-shaped spirit made Minato wonder. The form of this technique was very similar to the spirit transformation technique passed down by the Kato clan of Konoha. Although it was the first time Minato had seen it, he realized that he should not be touched by such a thing.

Faced with such an unknown ninjutsu, avoiding it is obviously the best option.

Minato swiftly pulled a kunai from his ninja tool bag and casually shot it in the direction from which the dragon-shaped spirit was flying.

Just as Minato had predicted, the dragon-shaped spirit had no physical form, and the kunai passed directly through its body and shot into the mouth of the Gedo Mazo.

Just as the gray spirit was about to touch Minato, Minato activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and instantly disappeared into the air.

"despair!!"

The specially made Flying Thunder God kunai was pinned to the ground, and at the same time, the sound of air being torn apart rang out from the mouth of the Gedo Mazo.

"call out--"

Minato Namikaze appeared gracefully inside the golem's mouth, looked up at Nagato deep inside, and gently placed Konan, who was unable to use her chakra, on the ground.

A cool breeze, accompanying Minato's appearance, rushed into the golem's mouth, causing Nagato, who was dressed in thin clothes, to shiver.

After his body reconnected with the Gedo Mazo, although a large amount of chakra was extracted, Nagato's resistance to the environment was also much weaker. Now, even the climate can have a huge impact on him.

Upon noticing an outsider entering the golem's mouth, Nagato's expression changed slightly. He forced himself to raise his head and slowly looked towards Minato Namikaze.

This was the first time he had met the Fourth Hokage of Konoha. Although he didn't recognize him, Minato's superb Flying Thunder God Technique finally allowed Nagato to confirm the identity of the blond man in front of him.

"Flying Thunder God Technique..."

"Are you the Yellow Flash of Konoha—Minato Namikaze?"

Nagato's tone was calm, and he didn't seem intimidated by Minato's reputation. In fact, Minato couldn't detect any surprise in Nagato's tone.

"You must be Nagato, the disciple with the Rinnegan that Jiraiya-sensei mentioned, right?"

"Nice to meet you. I am Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha!"

As Minato spoke, he walked deeper into the mouth, and soon Nagato's figure came into view.

Just as Jiraiya reported, Nagato was not in good condition. At this moment, the black rod on his back was connected to the Gedo Mazo, and he was almost half-suspended in the air, his thin body fully exposed in front of Minato.

Moreover, as he approached Nagato, Minato could even smell a faint scent of blood, although the blood at the corner of Nagato's mouth had dried, leaving only a few traces.

It's almost out of fuel...

This was Nagato's first impression of Minato. Looking at Nagato, a hint of regret flickered in Minato's eyes.

"Jiraiya... is he your teacher?"

Nagato noticed Minato's way of addressing Jiraiya and murmured to himself.

At that moment, Konan cried out and ran to Nagato's side. Looking at Nagato hanging in mid-air, Konan's eyes welled up with tears: "Nagato, how... how could this happen?"

"Hurry up and remove this spell, or your body won't be able to take it!"

Konan called out softly with concern, her brows furrowed with worry for Nagato. However, Nagato merely glanced at Konan, and seeing that she was unharmed, he forced a smile.

"I am okay."

As he spoke, Nagato looked at Minato and said in a deep voice, "You were the one who decided to send Konan back, weren't you?"

"Fourth Hokage, what do you want from me?"

Conversations between intelligent people can sometimes be this simple. Nagato could probably guess Minato's thoughts: sending Konan back meant he needed something from her, and he didn't believe that the Konoha ninjas would be so kind.

Seeing Nagato's condition, Minato Namikaze suddenly sighed softly, shook his head, and said:

Calling me the Fourth Hokage is a bit too formal.

“I am also a disciple of Jiraiya-sensei. I am probably a bit older than you. If you don’t mind, you can call me senior brother.”

"Of course, you can call me by my name, whatever you prefer."

“Nagato, I have no intention of getting anything from you. I’m only here to clear up some misunderstandings.”

When Minato first met Nagato, he adopted a very humble posture, trying his best to appear approachable. He was a kind person by nature, and his words brought a strong sense of warmth and friendliness to both Nagato and Konan.

Nagato possessed powerful sensory abilities, and upon Minato's appearance, he focused his attention on him. The chakra emanating from Minato felt clean and warm to him, like the warm winter sun.

For ninjas, chakra is like an identity card. Warm and gentle chakra often reflects a peaceful personality in its owner. Conversely, cold and malevolent chakra often reflects a cold and sinister personality in its owner.

Nagato's first impression of Minato Namikaze, his senior who tried to get close to him, was quite profound.

"It's a misunderstanding... oh well..."

"There's no misunderstanding. Jiraiya-sensei already knows our Akatsuki's purpose."

"I think he's already told you about Akatsuki's goals, hasn't he?"

"To collect all the Tailed Beasts and make the world feel pain—that is Akatsuki's goal!"

"If you want to stop Akatsuki... then let your strength speak for itself."

"Naruto..."

Nagato did not lose sight of his goals because of Minato's words. His physical weakness actually made his mind clearer, and the pain in his body constantly reminded him not to forget Akatsuki's goals.

He would not forget how Yahiko died, nor would he change his mind because of a few words from the person in front of him.

"..."

Nagato's words plunged Minato into a brief silence.

Suddenly, Minato reached into his robes and, to the watchful eyes of Nagato and Konan, pulled out a book.

Minato tossed the book to Konan, who instinctively caught it and glanced at the title. She discovered it was a novel called "The Tale of Jiraiya," and the author of the novel was none other than Jiraiya.

"This is Jiraiya-sensei's debut work."

"A story with travel as its theme."

"I really like this book and I admire the main character very much."

"I really wish I could have the same qualities as the protagonist in the book."

"I think that if someone is like that, they would definitely be able to change the ninja world."

Minato paused slightly before continuing:

"Jiraiya spent his whole life searching for the prophesied child in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy who could change the ninja world and bring peace to the world."

“You were also a student of Jiraiya, so you should know about this.”

"His life is also reflected in this novel."

"Isn't the portrayal of the protagonist's character also Jiraiya's expectation for the prophesied child?"

"I think... when Jiraiya decided to take you as his disciples, he must have felt that you were the children of prophecy who could change the ninja world."

“It is obvious, Nagato, you who possess the Rinnegan are the prophesied child that Jiraiya has been searching for.”

"However, it seems your path has deviated?"

"When did this offset begin?"

Instead of seeking a quick reconciliation with Nagato and the others, Minato, as a fellow disciple of Jiraiya, began to look for common ground.