Chapter 18: Rain
He looked down at the brand new phone Stark had given him.
It was suspicious. Minato suspected some kind of hidden tracking technology. That's why he would only bring it to work, leaving it at home during his free time. Stark already knew where he lived, there was no need to give the man even more access to his life.
The phone was meant for emergencies, to discuss the robot or for general assistance.
He sighed, glancing around his dark, cold room. Closing his eyes, he embraced the comforting flow of natural chakra, pulling the energy in from the world around him.
He'd never been a perfect sage. But he was getting closer by the day. Closer…until he was transported here. Now, in this strange new world, when he wasn't working, transcribing seals, or chasing elusive leads, he devoted himself to his Senjutsu training.
He could feel it.
He was close to perfecting it.
---
Lightning split the sky, followed by a booming crack of thunder that shook the city.
Rain fell in heavy sheets, hammering the streets as Minato rode his rickety bike, navigating the slick roads with ease. The bike bucked beneath him like a wild animal, but he swerved fluidly through the traffic. His mind wasn't fully engaged with the ride, yet his instincts guided him. He wouldn't crash. He never did.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket before ringing sharply. The unexpected noise startled him, neither of his phones had ever actually rung before.
Reaching for it, he quickly placed the phone to his ear as he continued weaving through the rain-slicked streets.
"It's Stark. We've got a problem." The voice came over the line, urgent and sharp, the rain and wind adding to the urgency in Minato's ear.
"What's going on?" Minato asked, dodging a car that veered into his lane without warning. Water sprayed off the tires, soaking his clothes further.
"It's the bot. I need you at Stark Tower now!" Stark's voice held a tense edge, ratcheting up Minato's nerves.
"Why?" Minato asked, tightening his grip on the handlebars, his eyes darting across the street, scanning for anything unusual.
"You're a target. The creator… he wants to assimilate you. I don't… I don't even know how this is possible! It shouldn't-"
The call abruptly cut off with a beep. Minato frowned, pulling the phone back to check the screen even as he smoothly swerved around a truck.
And then he felt it, a sudden, subtle charge in the air, like static electricity. His senses flared.
Something was coming.
In an instant, he flicked a kunai, sending it hurtling through the air. Landing with a sharp crack against a nearby stop sign just before he vanished.
Behind him, his bike was crushed under the weight of a massive metal fist. A fist the size of Minato's torso.
Minato reappeared by the stop sign, kunai in hand, eyes narrowed. Before him, a 15-foot-tall chrome giant crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact that shook the street.
Its eyes glowed a menacing red as it rose to its full height. Broad, heavy, and radiating heat in waves, the robot emanating a constant, unnerving hiss with every movement.
Civilians screamed and ran as cars screeched away from the impending battle, their headlights casting fleeting flashes of light on the robot's gleaming body.
Minato clenched his fists around his kunai, what on earth was this?
But the robot didn't attack. Not immediately. It just stood there, its glowing red eyes fixed on Minato, almost as if it were studying him.
The heat it emitted was intense, almost suffocating. Beads of sweat began to form on Minato's brow. No time to hesitate.
With practised precision, Minato hurled his kunai, this one aimed just above the robot's head, sailing through the air faster than a bullet.
In an instant, his hand formed a glowing, swirling sphere of chakra, Rasengan. The energy crackled with power as he watched the kunai sail through the air, every second stretching out, his senses hyper-focused.
Wait for it...
Now.
He vanished again, reappearing directly above the robot, Rasengan in hand, the whirling sphere of chakra rushing towards the robot's head like a meteor descending from the heavens.
KRAK-oom…
The Rasengan hit, but instead of shattering metal, the chakra was absorbed. The energy simply vanishing into the robot's flawless chrome plating.
Minato's eyes widened in shock as he landed lightly on the ground a few feet away, staring up at the robot, which was completely unharmed.
How...? The robot's surface showed no sign of damage. It had absorbed the chakra like it was nothing….
The robot's head slowly turned toward him, its eyes glowing menacingly. Steam hissed from its joints, filling the air with a sound that rattled through Minato's core.
Then, before he could react, the robot's fist came crashing down. Minato sidestepped at the last moment, his kunai slicing against the metal with a spark and screech, the blade only leavin a scratch.
Gritting his teeth, Minato dodged another blinding blow. The robot closed in, towering over him, its presence suffocating.
He felt its heat searing through his soaked clothes as he launched himself upward, using the robot's own body as a springboard.
Leaping high into the rain-soaked sky, Minato twisted midair, releasing nearly two dozen kunai in one fluid motion. Each blade found its mark in a precise thought out location.
Then he blinked from existence, his plan already forming. Quickly he moulded chakra, did six blurring hand signs and the earth beneath the Robots right leg opened with a rumble.
He blinked from his position, his form blurring as he brought a kunai across the metallic robot's now trapped leg, sparks reflecting in the chrome.
Then he blinked away again, the Robot, with a singular movement pulling his foot free from the grounds embrace.
By the time the robot was done, Minato had left another dozen thin scratches in its other leg. Then he blinked again, avoiding a large, earthshaking stomp.
Quickly he weaved signs, and then with a large exhale a sphere of fire, the size of a home shot towards the robot.
Minato though wasn't done as he weaved a singular sign and held out his palm, a tornado of roaring screeching wind bursting towards the racing fire.
Minato watched the massive fireball as it hurtled towards the robot, burning brighter as the wind jutsu he had unleashed fed it.
The combined force of the two techniques expanded into a spiralling inferno, the heat rolling off in waves so intense that the air seemed to shimmer around it.
Civilians who hadn't fled were now scrambling for cover, cars screeching away from the impending explosion.
The fireball hit the robot head-on.
KRA-BOOM!
The impact was deafening. The shockwave reverberated through the streets, shaking buildings and sending debris flying in every direction. Flames consumed the area, casting a deep orange glow that made the night seem almost like day.
The rain met the fire with short hisses that filled Minato's ears, his breath coming in short, sharp bursts as he stood a distance away, eyes locked on the firestorm.
For a moment, everything was obscured by thick smoke and the roar of flames. He squinted, waiting for a sign, any sign of what remained.
Glowing red eyes made themselves known through the smoke.
Minato almost growled as the fire flickered out, the chakra tore from the technique into this…void…this vacuum of life energy.
He eyed the robot, its metallic body looking perfectly undamaged. Minato thought to himself, heat wasn't an option, neither were direct chakra attacks.
He had to find something, fast.
—-
I am extremely tired as of writing & editing, if this chapter sucks….blame it on the lack of sleep!
ALSO WE ARE TOP 56 ON NEW FICS WITH 75 POWERSTONES!!!! SUIIIIIIIIIII!
THANK YOU!
— New chapter is coming soon — Write a review
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone