In the center of a dark, stone hall stood a massive statue.
The figure wore a demonic mask, its pose twisted and eerie. Its hollow eyes seemed to gleam with a ghostly light as if silently watching over the kneeling worshippers below.
"Oh great Lord Jashin, hear our prayers!"
"Your faithful servants offer you this sacrifice!" cried the cult leader.
Behind him came the rustle of movement—dozens of black-robed followers grinning madly, each holding a short blade.
"The ritual begins!"
As soon as the words fell, the sound of blades cutting through flesh echoed through the hall—shk, shk!—followed by the rip of tearing cloth.
"Do you see, Lord Jashin!" the cult leader shouted, spreading his arms wide as he turned to face the bodies collapsing behind him.
Moments later—
Deep in a forest in the Land of Hot Water, a middle-aged man stepped out from a cave.
The instant he emerged, another man appeared beside him, bowing respectfully.
"High Priest, did it succeed?" he asked, his eyes burning with fanaticism.
"It failed," the priest said coldly. "Lord Jashin was not pleased with the offerings."
"We need higher-quality sacrifices—shinobi if possible."
"Only by offering ninja can we earn Lord Jashin's favor… and attain eternal life!"
"Only Lord Jashin can grant us immortality!" the priest continued, his own tone equally crazed.
"To dedicate our flesh to Lord Jashin is our salvation!"
"Send word to capture shinobi. Offer them up, and our god will reward us with eternal life!"
"Yes!"
"Minato, how about a thrilling, heart-pounding battle to satisfy your fighting spirit?"
Minato, who had just finished touring Seisui's new house, froze mid-step when he heard that. His face twitched, and he quietly shuffled a few steps toward the door—just in case.
Uchiha Haru's gaze toward him turned sharp and dangerous, as if she might slice him into a thousand pieces.
But… but it was supposed to be me…!
"Come on, Minato, let's duel!" Seisui's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Today was the last day.
If he beat Minato one more time, he would complete his daily challenge and earn a ten-pull reward.
He already had thirty-nine Uchiha Itachi fragments and four prismatic stones.
Which meant—today he could finally unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan!
The Mangekyo…!
For anyone who transmigrated into the Naruto world, it was the ultimate dream.
And with it, he could finally summon a mecha-like Susanoo.
Once he convinced Kurama, a Susanoo-armored Nine-Tails would become the ultimate nightmare of the ninja world.
Hearing Seisui's words, Minato sighed in relief, while Haru's eyes softened slightly.
Minato wanted to refuse—he had planned to meet Kushina—but seeing Seisui's eager expression, he nodded.
He wasn't stupid. He'd already figured out that Seisui benefited from these duels somehow.
But since Seisui never explained and he never asked, it became an unspoken understanding between them.
Both knew. Neither said it.
As soon as Minato agreed, Seisui clenched his hand—and the two instantly appeared inside the dueling arena.
"Minato, before my eyes, you stand no chance."
Seisui's 2.5-tomoe Sharingan spun to life, his body glowing faintly with sage energy.
Minato sighed inwardly. He already knew Seisui had the Sharingan, but every time they fought, the man took it way too seriously.
"I'll use my newest power this time!" Seisui declared. "It must be frustrating losing in new ways every day, huh?"
Minato stayed silent—but two tri-pronged kunai appeared in his hands.
"Then it's my turn to show off a little," he said, infusing chakra into the weapons.
This time, the chakra wasn't elemental—it rotated, forming a spinning sheath.
"Rasengan Kunai!"
With a sharp shout, he threw both weapons. They tore through the air with a thunderous boom, leaving behind mushroom-like shockwaves.
Even before impact, Seisui could tell that his Sage Light armor alone wouldn't stop that.
"Nine-Tails' Claw!"
A crimson chakra cloak exploded around him. Even from a distance, Minato felt the bloodlust radiating from it.
"This…" Minato's pupils shrank.
It was the first time he had seen this form.
A gigantic fox claw materialized behind Seisui and swatted the kunai from the air, slamming into the ground and leaving a deep crater.
When Seisui had first unlocked the skill, he hadn't thought much of it—until he realized it forcibly drew on Kurama's chakra.
Inside his inner space, Kurama hung suspended, glaring resentfully as chakra was ripped from his body.
"Damn human!" the fox roared.
"Awoo?"
A small version of Kurama, lounging on his belly, tilted its head curiously.
Seeing the tiny fox stare at him made the real Kurama's fury waver.
"You… I… Ugh…" He gave up trying to curse.
"Damn human!" he repeated weakly.
Outside, the massive fox claw retracted, remaining faintly visible behind Seisui like a spectral tail.
"Minato, you have no chance!" Seisui smirked, red chakra swirling in his mouth.
"Chakra Cannon!"
Of all his techniques, this was one of his favorites—long-range, powerful, and fast, consuming nothing but chakra.
Not quite a Tailed Beast Bomb, but terrifying nonetheless.
Seeing the red glow in Seisui's mouth, Minato froze for a moment.
Wait—he's not actually going to spit out a fox claw, is he?
Without hesitation, he flung every marked kunai he had—some close, some scattered far away—to prepare for instant teleportation.
"Now the real fight begins!" Minato shouted, forming a Wind Style: Rasengan.
Though not as destructive as the Rasenshuriken, it was far safer to use—and deadly enough when combined with Flying Raijin.
Just as the sphere stabilized, Seisui unleashed his first Chakra Cannon—then a second, a third—one every second, each one detonating with concussive force.
Minato vanished and reappeared in flashes of light as explosions shook the ground behind him.
"Such power…" he muttered, a cold sweat running down his temple.
He flickered again just before another cannon hit, appearing by one of his distant kunai.
Then—seven or eight kunai shot back toward Seisui in perfect sync.
Seeing this, Seisui sighed. "Minato, your Flying Raijin is so unfair."
"You're one to talk," Minato shot back dryly.
Seisui just grinned. "Then let me show you a real disaster-class ability."
Inside his subconscious, Kurama watched helplessly as even more chakra was torn from him.
"Damn human!!!"
Outside, Seisui's form twisted—four tails of chakra erupted as his body crouched, a glowing sphere of compressed energy forming in his mouth.
Minato's eyes widened. The sheer pressure of it made his instincts scream.
"Damn it—what is that power?!"
He teleported again and again, desperately widening the distance.
Seisui, meanwhile, felt relief.
He hadn't meant to charge a full Tailed Beast Bomb—but once it started forming, stopping it would mean detonating it inside his body.
Thankfully, Minato was retreating.
Ah, the power of information disparity…
Minato didn't know what a Tailed Beast Bomb was. Seeing Seisui's movements, he assumed it was another high-level jutsu and ran for his life.
If he had known, he might have stayed to interrupt the charge—or tried to detonate it early for mutual destruction.
Just like Jiraiya had suffered against Pain—lack of intel kills.
This round belongs to Information Seisui!
Minato was a distant speck now, barely visible through Seisui's Sharingan.
That was far enough.
A single Tailed Beast Bomb could wipe out an entire hidden village—its range was monstrous.
"Feel the pain, Minato!"
Seisui roared, launching the glowing sphere.
The recoil blasted him backward through the air, and he quickly adjusted, using the momentum to escape further.
He didn't know how wide the explosion would be—but better safe than sorry.
Far away, Minato felt a chill crawl up his spine. He turned—and his blood ran cold.
A massive orb of chakra was hurtling straight toward him.
He teleported instantly—reappearing behind the blast.
"Whew… good thing I left a marker mid-battle."
He exhaled in relief—
Then BOOOOOOM!
A world-shaking explosion erupted behind him.
"Cra—"
Before he could finish, the shockwave swallowed him whole.
Minato was gone.
Even Seisui, watching from afar, was overtaken by the expanding blast—but strangely, he wasn't harmed.
He was merely carried away by the shockwave until the world around him began to fade.
When he finally stood, the battlefield was gone—and so was Minato.
As he frowned in confusion, the dueling arena shimmered and dissolved into white light.
A notification appeared before him.
[Monthly Daily Mission Complete! Reward: 10 High-Rank Summon Tickets!]
=============
100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
100+ Advance Chapters Available on Patreon.com/Veltoria