Naruto: Aizen's Shadow in Konoha

Ebizō stared in disbelief. His puppets had been destroyed before, but only by the most elite of the ninja world—individuals like the Third Kazekage or Hatake Sakumo, whose skill was legendary. Even Konoha's renowned Sannin hadn't achieved such a feat. Yet here stood a young man, barely out of his teens, whose actions rivaled those titans of the past.

The sight of Namikaze Minato—blond, poised, and radiating quiet power—filled Ebizō with a sense of weariness he hadn't felt before. The future had arrived, and it was younger, faster, and stronger than he had imagined.

Meanwhile, murmurs rippled through the Sand Shinobi ranks as they tried to make sense of what they had just witnessed.

"Did you see that? Chiyo-sama's ultimate puppets were destroyed by that blond Konoha shinobi!"

"And the guy with glasses—he unleashed those massive water techniques! Those waves and dragons came from him!"

"Who are these two? They're terrifyingly strong!"

"I heard they're the top commanders of Konoha's western front—Namikaze Minato and Aizen. Both were hailed as prodigies in their generation!"

"I remember those names from the Second Ninja World War. Namikaze Minato was called Konoha's brightest genius, and Aizen was known as the Phantom Mist of Konoha because of his illusions."

"The prodigies of Konoha... they've become monsters."

As fear and awe rippled through the Sand Shinobi, the battlefield fell eerily silent. On the Konoha side, the reaction was the opposite. A resounding cheer erupted from the ranks of Konoha's western army as their soldiers celebrated their leaders.

Cries of admiration and relief filled the air. For many of them, the stories of Minato and Aizen had been little more than tales of the past. Seeing the duo in action, turning the tide of battle with their overwhelming strength, solidified their status as living legends.

On the battlefield, Chiyo stood still, her expression conflicted. She gazed at Namikaze Minato, her mind flashing back to the Second Ninja World War.

"So, you're Namikaze Minato, the genius of Konoha I heard about during the war. You've grown into quite the formidable shinobi," Chiyo remarked, her tone tinged with resignation.

Minato smiled politely, his demeanor calm. "I don't dare claim such a title in the presence of a senior like yourself. You are a legend in your own right."

Chiyo gave a bitter laugh. "Modest, are we? It seems the younger generation truly has surpassed us."

With a flick of her fingers, Chiyo summoned the seven remaining puppets of her White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets. The air crackled with tension as the puppets surrounded her protectively.

Minato, however, remained unfazed. He pulled out a handful of trident-shaped kunai from his pouch, their metal gleaming ominously. Without hesitation, he flung them in every direction, their trajectory precise and deliberate. The kunai embedded themselves across the battlefield, forming a wide perimeter.

"What's this?" Chiyo frowned, her eyes narrowing at the peculiar placement of the weapons.

Before she could deduce his intentions, Minato vanished.

Whoosh.

In an instant, he appeared beside one of her puppets, a kunai glinting near its base. With a swift motion, Minato slammed a Rasengan into the puppet, obliterating it into a cascade of wooden shards.

Boom.

Chiyo's eyes widened in shock. She barely had time to process what had happened before Minato disappeared again, reappearing near another puppet. Another flash, another Rasengan, another puppet destroyed.

"The Flying Thunder God Technique," she whispered.

Chiyo, a veteran from the First Ninja World War, had once witnessed the devastating power of the Flying Thunder God Technique, wielded by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. That jutsu had etched an indelible mark on her memory. Yet, since Tobirama's death, the technique seemed to vanish from the ninja world, fading into legend over the years.

Its sudden reappearance caught her off guard. When Namikaze Minato first used the technique, Chiyo didn't immediately recognize it. But the moment she witnessed the iconic teleportation—fast, precise, and deadly—it all came rushing back. She remembered the fear it had once instilled in her. Now, facing Minato at his peak, she found herself locked in a grueling battle, struggling to keep up with the swift and unpredictable movements of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Ebizō regained control of his massive puppet after Aizen's earlier Water Style attack. The giant insect-like contraption shuddered before extending a flamethrower mechanism from its segmented body. Flames shot skyward with a roar, their trajectory aimed directly at Aizen.

In response, Aizen leapt gracefully from the city wall, landing on the vast lake he had created earlier with his Water Style: Water Clear Wave. Standing atop the water's surface, his hands formed a rapid series of seals.

"Water Style: Water Blade!"

Behind him, a massive vortex of water erupted, spinning furiously. It condensed into a sharp, spiraling javelin, its rotation emitting a high-pitched sonic boom. With a swift motion, Aizen unleashed the javelin. It tore through the air like an unstoppable projectile, aimed straight at the massive puppet.

The puppet's size and bulk made evasion impossible. The water javelin struck with pinpoint accuracy, piercing through its head and body in a single, seamless motion. The puppet shattered, its components scattering across the lake in a chaotic spray of water and metal.

Yet, as Aizen anticipated, the disassembled puppet began to reassemble itself almost immediately. Its scattered parts moved with mechanical precision, reattaching as though guided by an unseen hand. The speed of reassembly was extraordinary, and it wouldn't be long before the puppet was fully operational again.

Aizen remained unfazed. He had fought against Ebizō's puppets during the Second Ninja World War and was well-acquainted with their regenerative capabilities. Destroying one outright required more than brute force—it demanded strategy.

He observed the parts floating in the water with a calculated gaze. A small smirk tugged at his lips as he executed another series of hand seals.

"Water Style: Vortex Water Blade!"

The lake beneath the disassembled puppet began to churn violently. A massive whirlpool formed, pulling the scattered pieces into its spiraling current. High-pressure water jets erupted from within the vortex, slicing through the reassembling puppet with relentless precision. Each time the puppet tried to reform, the jets would tear it apart again, leaving it in a perpetual cycle of destruction.

Ebizō frowned as he watched his prized puppet struggle against Aizen's relentless assault. Despite the puppet's advanced design and regenerative capabilities, it was no match for Aizen's expertly controlled Water Style ninjutsu.

As Chiyo and Ebizō faced these formidable opponents, the battle grew increasingly dire. Unbeknownst to them, a massive shadow loomed on the horizon.