The two boys took their positions in the Survival Training Grounds, Kushina trailing behind them with a bag of chips in hand, ready to spectate.
Hayato hadn't forgotten the mission he'd triggered yesterday.
[As a Pokémon Trainer, how can you not have a rival to compete and grow with? Defeat your opponent as a shinobi.]
[Reward: Rival obtains a Pokémon. Host learns a random move.]
As someone with the Pokémon System, he had to play double duty: Trainer and Professor handing out starters.
"Minato, ready? I can go anytime." Uchiha Hayato grinned with confidence.
"I'm always ready. It's you who shouldn't be underestimating me."
The two formed the Seal of Confrontation and faced each other.
"Kushina, I'll leave the referee duties to you." Hayato shot her a thumbs-up.
"Mm... goo... got it, leave it to me." Kushina swallowed the chips in her mouth. "Begin!"
Waiting around to get hit wasn't Hayato's style. He always preferred to strike first, especially against someone weaker than him.
Namikaze Minato stood opposite, body leaning slightly forward, knees bent, eyes locked onto Hayato. His blond hair lifted in the faint breeze. His breathing was steady, kunai gripped tight, ready to react to anything.
"Here I come!"
Hayato launched the first attack. His toes barely touched the ground before dust kicked up in all directions. His fist drove straight at Minato's chest with force that far exceeded anything from their previous sparring sessions.
A flash of surprise crossed Minato's eyes. He'd never told anyone, but his dynamic vision was exceptional. He could track fast-moving objects with unusual clarity, and the ability only sharpened as he grew.
That was exactly why he'd always been confident about his future as Hokage.
But Hayato's movements nearly outpaced even his eyes. Was this the effect of awakening the Sharingan?
No time to think. Minato twisted sideways, barely dodging the blow. Hayato's fist grazed his shoulder on the way past, and even the air carried the weight of that strike. Minato's blood ran cold. If that punch had connected, it would've sent him flying several meters.
"How is he this strong..." The thought flickered through Minato's mind. He kicked off the ground and leaped back three meters, trying to create space.
But Hayato gave him nothing. One step and he closed the gap at blinding speed. The distance between them shrank to arm's length in an instant. Hayato whipped his leg up, driving a vicious kick toward Minato's midsection.
Can you keep up with this, buddy? Hayato thought.
Minato reacted fast, crossing both arms to absorb the blow. But the sheer impact shoved him back five steps, his feet carving deep tracks into the dirt. His arms tingled with numbness. The shock deepened. Every single hit Hayato threw was enough to crack through a guard.
Minato steadied his breathing, eyes narrowing. Close range wasn't going to work. He needed distance and an opening.
Kushina's eyes were blazing. So this was what Konoha's Academy students could do? Back in her own village, she'd already been genin-level. But she wasn't sure she could beat either of them.
She held her breath. Even the chips in her hand sat forgotten.
Hayato suddenly pulled back. His hands flew through seals, and two identical clones appeared at his flanks. Three Uchiha boys closed in on Minato from the front and both sides, forming a pincer.
Minato's pupils contracted. He recognized the danger. He hurled a shuriken to dispel one clone, then sprang backward to create distance. Hayato pressed forward instantly, kunai aimed at the gap in Minato's defense.
"I win." Hayato smiled. The kunai hovered five centimeters from Minato's throat. But Minato's body burst apart with a poof, replaced by a wooden log that clattered to the ground.
"Substitution?" Hayato blinked, then scanned his surroundings.
"Right here!" Minato's voice came from behind.
"You think I'd fall for that?" Hayato's lips curled upward. The tomoe in his crimson eyes spun without stopping. "Minato, since when did you think your Transformation Jutsu could fool the Sharingan?"
Hayato leaped into the air. "Minato, you were way too obvious. You created distance, transformed into a shuriken, and tried to hit me from behind."
"Let's end it with this!"
Rat. Tiger. Dog. Ox. Hare. Tiger.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique."
Thanks to Uchiha Setsuna's training notes, he'd learned it the moment he activated his Sharingan.
A volley of fireballs rained down from above, trailing scorching heat as they plummeted toward Minato.
"Stop, stop, stop! I give up, I give up!"
Minato scrambled into a desperate backward roll and threw both hands up in surrender.
"I declare this duel won by Hayato!"
Kushina cheered, so excited that chips went scattering everywhere.
"Hayato, were you trying to kill me? Using Fire Release like that!"
Hayato grabbed Minato's hand and pulled him off the ground, dusting off his clothes with a grin. "You're the one who told me to go all out."
"Besides, I don't think something like that would actually kill you. You're the guy who said he'd become the Fourth Hokage, right?"
Something softened in Minato's expression. "Of course. There's no way I'm dying this early."
[Mission complete: Birth of a Rival]
[Reward: Host has learned Fake Out. Drawing Rival's Pokémon...]
A flood of knowledge poured into Hayato's mind, leaving him momentarily dizzy.
Fake Out. In the Pokémon world, it was a priority move that could make an opponent flinch for one turn.
The version implanted in his brain worked differently: a palm strike that used internal energy to disrupt the flow of energy inside the target's body. While their energy stalled, you got to move first.
Wasn't this basically a different flavor of the Hyuuga clan's Gentle Fist?
Hayato was more than satisfied. He turned to Minato with a smile. "Minato, I told you I'd share Pokémon with you. So you're going to be the first."
"Kushina, don't worry, you'll get one too."
The sting of being left out faded a little for Kushina, but her silent grudge against Minato grew considerably. She'd heard of girls fighting over boys, but a guy muscling in? If Minato hadn't been around, she would've been the first person to share a Pokémon with Hayato.
"Hayato, why are you so good to me?"
Minato opened his mouth. He'd been wanting to ask this for a long time. Hayato had always treated him with a strange, inexplicable warmth, right from the very first time they met. As if Hayato had known him long before they'd ever spoken.
"Because we're friends." Hayato deployed the Friendship Jutsu.
"Friends, huh... Yeah. We are." Minato smiled. "But I'm not taking back what I said. You'd better keep pushing yourself, Hayato, or I'll be passing you before you know it."
"Enough talk. It's time to meet your Pokémon." Hayato's grin was infectious.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
He formed the seals. The system's selection wheel stopped spinning at that exact moment. When the smoke cleared, a small round creature of yellow and black sat in front of all three of them.
"Pika..."