"I understand."
Minato gave the shadow clone of Aosui one final, steady look.
He did not hesitate.
He did not argue.
Slipping the Fūma Shuriken across his back, Minato turned and sprinted away with Mukai Tomoki and Sasaki Ayame, vanishing into the curtain of rain.
The shadow clone watched them go, expression calm and unmoving.
Only after they were gone did he turn back toward the Rain Ninja who were rapidly closing in from all directions.
Without a word, the shadow clone formed hand seals.
Poof.
Another shadow clone appeared beside him.
With Aosui's current chakra reserves, this level of division was effortless.
In fact, each individual shadow clone now possessed more chakra than an average jōnin.
"I won't let any of you chase after them," Shadow Clone Aosui said calmly.
The Rain Ninja halted instinctively.
Fear flickered across their faces.
They still remembered what had happened earlier—how nearly half their number had been wiped out in a single, overwhelming combination ninjutsu.
This man—
No, even just his shadow clone—
Was a nightmare.
"Don't panic!"
A Rain jōnin stepped forward, shouting loudly.
"This is only a shadow clone!"
His words were firm, forceful, cutting through the unease.
"A shadow clone can't fight forever! We have the numbers—he'll run out of chakra!"
"That's right!"
Another Rain Ninja echoed him.
"It's just a clone—charge!"
Morale surged.
The Rain Ninja roared and rushed forward.
Shadow Clone Aosui did not retreat.
Instead, he calmly formed seals.
The exact same combination technique he had tested earlier against Jiraiya.
Fire Release – Great Flame Bullet!
Wind Release – Great Breakthrough!
Wind howled.
Flames surged.
The already massive fireball was instantly amplified, its size and temperature skyrocketing as wind fed the inferno.
The rain evaporated before it could touch the flames.
The battlefield was bathed in blinding orange light.
"Water Release—everyone together!"
The Rain jōnin shouted desperately.
"Shadow clones can't maintain this level of chakra output for long!"
Dozens of Rain Ninja formed seals in unison.
A wall of surging water rose to meet the fireball.
BOOM!
Steam exploded outward.
The combined Water Release barely managed to block the attack.
Many Rain Ninja staggered backward, gasping for breath, arms trembling.
Shadow Clone Aosui snorted coldly.
"You blocked it once," he said calmly.
"Let's see how many more times you can do that."
Another fireball began to form.
Then another.
And another.
The Rain Ninja's faces drained of color.
"Is this guy… a monster?"
One of them muttered, voice shaking.
"Does he have infinite chakra or something?!"
They had never seen anything like this.
Ninjutsu of this scale was supposed to be a trump card—used sparingly, saved for decisive moments.
Yet Aosui was firing them off like ordinary attacks.
"Don't lose heart!"
The same jōnin roared again.
"He has to be running out—no one has endless chakra!"
The Rain Ninja gritted their teeth and launched another combined Water Release, barely stopping the second massive fireball.
"Charge!"
The jōnin shouted.
"There's no way he can—"
The words died in his throat.
A third colossal fireball was already forming.
The Rain Ninja froze.
Their minds went blank.
He's not human.
We're all ninja… so why are you so outstanding?
You're a Tailed Beast wearing human skin, aren't you?!
Despite their terror, Shadow Clone Aosui had accomplished his goal.
The Rain Ninja were completely pinned down.
Still—
Numbers were numbers.
One Rain Ninja managed to slip past the chaos.
He burst through the smoke and rain, grinning cruelly as he spotted Minato's group ahead.
"A genin?"
His eyes gleamed with delight.
To a special jōnin, ambushing a Konoha genin was effortless.
The Rain Ninja lunged.
Too late.
Minato spun.
His foot slammed into the Rain Ninja's chest with precise timing.
The attacker was sent flying, eyes wide with shock.
Before he could recover, Minato hurled a kunai already wrapped in an explosive tag.
BOOM!
The explosion ripped through the rain.
The Rain Ninja didn't even have time to scream.
Silence fell.
Mukai Tomoki and Sasaki Ayame stared in disbelief.
They were shaking—not from fear, but from awe.
We're all genin…
So why are you so outstanding?
Then Tomoki hesitated.
"…Wait. Big Brother Aosui is also a genin, right?"
Ayame went quiet.
"…Never mind."
Minato didn't pause.
"Let's go," he said firmly.
"Our mission is to find Master Jiraiya—and save Big Brother Aosui and Sister Mikoto."
They sprinted onward.
Not long after, they reached Jiraiya's location.
"Master Jiraiya!"
Minato shouted as he ran forward.
"Please—go save Big Brother Aosui and Sister Mikoto right now!"
Jiraiya's expression changed instantly.
"What happened?"
Minato explained everything in rapid succession.
"Hanzo of the Salamander!"
"They're fighting Hanzo right now!"
Jiraiya froze.
His blood ran cold.
Hanzo.
The man who had defeated him, Orochimaru, and Tsunade together.
A true monster.
Aosui and Mikoto were strong—but against that man?
They had no chance.
"Stay here," Jiraiya said sharply.
"Don't move."
He left behind a shadow clone and vanished in a blur.
"I hope I'm not too late…"
---
Meanwhile.
Rain fell relentlessly.
Steam rose from scorched ground.
Aosui supported Mikoto as both struggled to remain standing.
Hanzo watched them calmly.
"You've lasted this long," he said, genuine admiration in his voice.
"That alone is impressive."
Under normal circumstances, he would have let such talented young ninja go.
But they had killed his subordinates.
Amegakure demanded an answer.
"As expected of Hanzo the Salamander," Aosui said steadily.
"The Demigod feared throughout the ninja world."
Mikoto leaned against him, exhausted.
Her chakra was completely depleted.
Even her Sharingan had reverted to its normal black pupils.
The only reason they had survived this long was because of that Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Even Hanzo could not ignore it.
But Hanzo had faced Uchiha before.
And Mikoto was not Itachi.
"Hahaha!"
Hanzo laughed loudly.
"You've got guts, kid."
"You're the first person in years to speak to me like that."
Killing intent flared.
"It's a pity," Hanzo said softly, flickering forward.
"You weren't born in the Hidden Rain."
And then—
He struck.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)