The Flying Thunder God Technique allows instantaneous spatial transference making its speed is unparalleled.
But the speed of lightning is no less impressive, especially when controlled under specific conditions.
By tracking Minato's position, Ye Zi could suppress him with relentless attacks, seamlessly chaining his strikes.
Ye Zi slashed toward Minato with his long blade, while his other hand was already prepared, holding several shurikens between his fingers.
Minato suppressed his shock and once again used the Flying Thunder God Technique to evade the strike, reappearing 200 meters to Ye Zi's right.
As his blade swung through empty air, Ye Zi showed no surprise. With a flick of his right hand, several shurikens infused with lightning chakra shot toward Minato at blinding speed. Ye Zi remained in place, biding his time.
Minato frowned, teleporting 100 meters to the left to dodge the lightning-charged shurikens.
Minato's teleportation relied on the coordinates marked by his Flying Thunder God kunai, a limitation Ye Zi did not have. With his mastery of lightning speed, Ye Zi could move wherever he willed.
The shurikens were merely a ploy to force Minato into repeatedly using the Flying Thunder God Technique in efforts to set up the perfect opportunity.
Hidden within the dazzling lightning chakra was a subtle trace of black lightning threads, jumping erratically.
This would be an attack faster than the Flying Thunder God!
The radiant lightning storm invaded Minato's vision once more, bearing down on him like a relentless serpent, suffocating him with its pressure.
With a grim expression, Minato was forced to teleport again. But as he materialized, Ye Zi was already there, his long blade slashing with lethal precision.
"Completely suppressed…" Minato thought grimly, vanishing just in time to evade another strike.
The barren expanse of the Eastern District became a stage for a battle the ninja world had never seen before.
A streak of lightning weaved through the battlefield, endlessly chasing the fleeting figure of Minato. Both fighters pushed their speed to the absolute limit, yet neither managed to land a decisive blow.
Any observer would have been left stunned.
This was no ordinary battle, it was a contest of pure speed!
Compared to Minato's minimal exertion using the Flying Thunder God, Ye Zi bore a significant physical toll. Without Sage Mode, he wouldn't have lasted this long.
While Ye Zi successfully suppressed Minato, he couldn't land a hit.
If Ye Zi was a serpent, tightening its coils to deliver a lethal strike, Minato was a slippery eel, always managing to escape at the last moment.
If this continued, the greater burden on Ye Zi would eventually tip the scales in Minato's favor.
But Ye Zi wasn't one to give up. He clung to the belief that amidst his relentless storm of attacks, he could seize a fleeting opportunity to land a fatal blow.
Unaware that Minato's Sage Mode could only last five minutes, Ye Zi relied solely on his instincts and determination to edge closer to victory.
However, reinforcements were approaching: Kushina Uzumaki, Shisui Uchiha, and Itachi Uchiha. Among them, Kushina was the closest.
They were Minato's allies, but Ye Zi dismissed Itachi as a negligible threat. His real concern was Kushina and Shisui.
To succeed, he had to defeat Minato before reinforcements arrived!
The high-speed chase continued across the desolate battlefield.
Both combatants were fully committed, Ye Zi couldn't spare a moment to form seals for jutsu, and Minato was completely focused on evasion.
As Ye Zi maintained his aggressive pursuit, his mind worked just as furiously.
He began memorizing the patterns in Minato's teleportation, calculating the distances and directions between each movement.
Even the most skilled ninja are creatures of habit. These habits, ingrained over years of training, become second nature. They're often subconscious, unnoticed even by the one performing them.
For Minato, his habit lay in the placement and use of his kunai. As he shifted between the spatial coordinates, Ye Zi noticed a faint rhythm emerging.
For instance, Minato favored teleporting to his right. When attacking, he kept his movements within a 100-meter range. In defensive scenarios, he extended that range to 200 meters or more.
Like a seasoned hunter, Ye Zi detected these subtle patterns. He remained silent, refining his observations while continuing his relentless assault.
His superior memory allowed him to track the positions of Minato's kunai without needing to look directly. Every time the battlefield shifted, Ye Zi's brief glimpses burned the kunai's locations into his mind.
Gradually, a virtual map of Minato's teleportation coordinates formed in Ye Zi's head.
A black plane with white dots appeared in his mental image, each dot representing a kunai. A white line connected these points, moving as Minato shifted between them.
The map became clearer, revealing a pattern.
It formed a rough circle.
Ye Zi's thoughts raced:
"Right, 210 meters… Right, 200 meters… Right, 205 meters… He tends to favor the right side, though occasionally shifts left."
The circle in his mind became more defined, and Ye Zi began preparing to preempt Minato's next move.
He just needed one fleeting moment.
As Minato refrained from attacking, the interconnected images forming in Ye Zi's mind eventually revealed a skewed, hollow circle. The hollow center represented the domain Ye Zi had created, forcing Minato into drawing a circular path while being unable to enter its middle.
"It's about time…" Ye Zi's gaze sharpened in an instant. He had not forgotten the scene from more than half a month ago.
Minato, unable to launch an offensive and under constant suppression, began to feel the pressure. He was unsure how much longer Ye Zi could maintain this relentless assault, but he knew his own Sage Mode had less than three minutes left.
"How do I break through?" Minato frowned in thought, unaware that Ye Zi was already preparing to seize the opportunity.
The streak of lightning continued darting around…
Suddenly, the two figures confronted each other momentarily once more.
Ye Zi's blade slashed toward Minato, who calmly evaded, disappearing from his original position.
"Right, 200 meters, the closest marked kunai!" In Ye Zi's mental map, the white line connecting the black dots reached the next point... It was going to stop there.
Before the slash could even reach where Minato had been, Ye Zi halted his movement, his figure vanishing in a flash.
Using calculated anticipation, Ye Zi appeared directly in front of a Flying Thunder God kunai. His movement and Minato's arrival overlapped perfectly, but Ye Zi was already thrusting his blade forward!
A direct thrust, the fastest possible attack!
Minato, materializing from his teleportation, had no time to react before a sharp pain pierced his abdomen.
A strike to the abdomen… Because this was a predictive attack, Ye Zi couldn't perfectly aim for a vital spot. He had estimated Minato's position based on his physique and thrust forward. Though it only hit his abdomen, it was an acceptable result.
Once Minato was injured, the battle's outcome was practically decided.
"Checkmate."
In Minato's disbelieving eyes, Ye Zi maintained his posture, blade still lodged in his abdomen, his expression cold and emotionless.
"You… predicted where I would teleport next," Minato said, his brows furrowing in pain.
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Currently on Chapter 475 - The Dark Night