Naruto: The Senju Patriarch

The Raikage was caught offguard, unaware of the Flying Raijin his army had now learned of. The force of the Rasengan sent him flying some distance, as Orochimaru was wide eyed seeing Minato aid him and also seem to deal a heavy blow. But as the dust settled, the Raikage was still standing, and a look at him confirmed that whatever damage was dealt was minimal at best.

The two grimaced realising that even an A rank Jutsu like the Rasengan barely had an effect. But the two weren't some of the most prominent geniuses in the past few generations for nothing. Without just a few words, they made and decided on a plan based on their strengths.

Minato's flying raijin was a game changer. It allowed him to harass the Raikage even if they struggled to land a meaningful blow. But more importantly it let Minato teleport Orochimaru away to much more easily avoid the Raikage's blows.

The game of cat and mouse continued, as the Raikage chased the duo down as they worked together to land blows with Jutsu. But the culmination of their plan boiled down to the Raikage being trapped in an area of mud after being lured in. Orochimaru's addition of snake hands with shadow clones alongside Minato's seals being set up momentarily trapped the Raikage after what seemed to be hours of setting it up. As Orochimaru put his utmost effort into ensuring the Raikage remained rooted in place as Minato used the time to rapidly form hand seals.

Soon he was done and he breathed in a huge amount of air as he spat out a massive torrent of flames that soon formed into 9 distinct dragons as he used the Fire Style: Nine Dragons Hell Flame Bullets Jutsu. The trap had done its job even if Orochimaru's shadow clones were quickly being destroyed as the seals struggled against the Raikage who was desperately trying to escape the attack even he felt threatened by.

Minato moved, teleporting both him and Orochimaru away from the vicinity, but no matter how fast the Raikage was - being forced to stop for so long and only being allowed to move last minute when the Dragons from Hell were right upon him meant he was forced to shoulder the brunt of the attack.

The explosion rang across the battlefield causing heads to turn in a momentary respite. The setup had drained significantly what Orochimaru and Minato had left. And for their efforts they were rewarded.

The sight of the Raikage who seemed invincible with several deep wounds and burn marks shook the heart of Kumo. He moved trying to reactivate his signature Jutsu to fight again with the fire he had suffered burning in his eyes, but his Shinobi stopped him desperately, pleading for him to consider his health and to see the overall picture.

Reluctantly the Raikage agreed as he turned away, but Orochimaru and Minato knew that such a chance only came once. He would not underestimate them again, and now he knew about Minato.

—

Night had fallen and both sides had a silent agreement to back off for now, taking the opportunity to rest and recuperate. Both armies' forces were exhausted and the loss on both sides forced them to temporarily stop for now. The impact was felt slightly heavier towards Konoha with an overall smaller army on the front and losing several Jonin. A meeting was called later in the Leaf camp.

"I don't seem to have the skill set to hold down the Raikage well enough," Orochimaru stated simply, "My speed and strength cannot match his own, but I have been able to survive so far."

"Respectfully, I agree, Lord Orochimaru's fighting style is not suited to the Raikage's, allowing him to continue to thin out our numbers." the representative of the Sarutobi clan at the Kumo front nodded grimly.

"I believe mine and Minato's roles should be reversed- his extremely fast paced movements make him the only one able to fight the Raikage effectively. My fighting style would also be much more useful in the rest of the battle," Orochimaru declared, turning to Minato, "do you accept the role, Minato?"

"Of course," he nodded, smiling, "I look forward to it."

Over the next few days, the plans discussed went forward, and proved to be fruitful. Minato's sheer speed, agility, precision and battle IQ meant he was a more than worthy opponent for the Third Raikage, which reduced the overall death toll of the Konoha Shinobi on the Kumo front. Using Flying Raijin also forced the Raikage on his toes, not allowing a single mistake. While Minato's kill count had been exceeding at least 500 since the start of the battles, Orochimaru was also able to fight much more fluidly and take more Kumo Shinobi lives with less effort than he had before.

"What is your name, young Shinobi?" the Raikage asked, during their first exchange.

"I am Minato, Minato Namikaze!" Minato replied, dashing backwards, briefly adjusting himself to the Raikage's Hellstab, which could easily kill him.

"Minato Namikaze…you seem to be a strong opponent for me. Your future is bright, that is if you somehow manage to defeat me," the Raikage proclaimed, "Your name, I'll remember it! Come!"

The Raikage quickly noticed how he had been tied up by a mere teenager but wasn't surprised, knowing the Leaf consistently produced geniuses and prodigies, and at the top of them stood the Stormbreaker. Even Kakashi had been performing exceptionally, using all that he had been taught such as Chidori and Lightning Shunpo, tearing through the Kumo Shinobi, at his very young age, becoming Chunin at just 6 years old, the youngest Chunin at the time. Other young Shinobi such as Guy, along with Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin, also showcased their determination. However, while a sense of pride for the young Leaf Shinobi emerged in Minato, he couldn't help but feel sad seeing so many young people, not just from the Leaf, involved in an adults' war.

Soon, a silent mutual agreement between the Raikage and Minato soon formed, which essentially came down to neither of them interfering with the rest of the battle, and keeping the fight between themselves. A drawn out traditional one versus one. Both Shinobi enjoyed the thrill of their fights, but were fuelled by the honour, pride and joy of their own villages. It was also mutually beneficial, neither would be able to stop the other from wreaking havoc on their respective forces due to their teleportation and defensive ability. But they still sought to end each other, by whatever means necessary - hence their solo fights which had rapidly boosted Minato's reputation to the status of legends.

While Minato's blinding speed was undeniable, the Raikage's speed was just as impressive, as well as having a so far impenetrable defence. Any attack Minato lands had to be light, as to not leave him open to the Raikage with the time it would take to 'charge up'. A rank and above Jutsu took too much time to perform, leaving Minato to use his B rank jutsus, and was unable to do any significant damage, other than when he occasionally used the Rasengan, which required no handsigns, and was at least able to bruise the Raikage of force him to take a very brief rest or moment of defence. However, Minato had to be selective, as the Third Raikage was known for his stamina and chakra, meaning no jutsu could be wasted.

Although, the Raikage also seemed to have met his match, unable to to have landed a single hit on Minato, who had the superior speed and agility. They had been trapped in a stalemate.

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