"So, Natsuhiko-kun means… a sparring match?"
After hearing this, Minato Namikaze was momentarily stunned. He then raised his head and looked at the full moon in the sky.
"So late at night?"
"My apologies for disturbing Hokage-sama's rest," Natsuhiko quickly said, showing an awkward expression while also looking somewhat worried.
He looked just like a student who had just finished an important exam—full of hope for the future but also anxious about the results.
The expression suited Natsuhiko's current situation perfectly.
After all, he had indeed just taken an extremely important exam and was waiting nervously for the results.
Minato himself didn't really know how to comfort him.
But at the same time, he was quite curious about Natsuhiko's true strength.
He had heard Kakashi mention more than once that Natsuhiko was extremely strong—especially his speed, which Kakashi described as astonishing.
And now Natsuhiko had even learned the Flying Thunder God Technique.
If Minato said he wasn't curious about Natsuhiko's abilities, that would definitely be a lie.
After all, in the entire Hidden Leaf Village, only he and Natsuhiko knew the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Alright, I understand," Minato said after thinking for a moment, nodding.
"I'm also curious to see what Natsuhiko-kun is capable of."
"Then I hope Hokage-sama will give me plenty of guidance."
Natsuhiko smiled, and his expression had completely recovered by now.
He had to admit that he had been somewhat affected earlier.
But the impact wasn't too great—he had already regained his composure.
Minato nodded slightly.
The next moment, his figure disappeared instantly.
When he reappeared, he was already right in front of Natsuhiko.
Seeing this, Natsuhiko immediately drew his ninja sword.
The blade traced a slight arc in the air before precisely blocking the kunai that Minato thrust toward him.
Earlier, Natsuhiko had expressed that he wanted to see how his full strength compared to Minato's, and Minato had agreed.
That meant their battle would involve all aspects of combat, but they naturally wouldn't start with techniques that were impossible to handle.
Especially the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Once that technique was used, a single moment of delayed reaction could mean instant defeat.
Since Natsuhiko wasn't using Flying Thunder God, Minato naturally wouldn't start with it either.
Instead, he used the Body Flicker Technique.
Even so, Minato's Body Flicker was so fast it made one's scalp tingle.
Natsuhiko had long heard stories about how outrageous the Fourth Hokage's Body Flicker speed was.
But hearing about it was one thing.
Only by experiencing it personally could he truly judge it.
With this kind of speed… even without Flying Thunder God, he probably could've earned the title 'Yellow Flash' anyway. Natsuhiko thought silently.
He increased the strength in his sword, but Minato's hand holding the kunai remained perfectly steady, without retreating even slightly.
Seeing this, Natsuhiko didn't hesitate.
He kicked forward.
Minato immediately raised his own leg and blocked the kick instantly.
Then Minato leaned his body slightly backward.
This sudden movement caused Natsuhiko's sword, which had been increasing in pressure, to lose its target, making his body tilt forward.
Combined with the fact that one of his legs was still caught by Minato's block, Natsuhiko nearly lost his balance entirely in that instant.
Minato showed no hesitation.
He clenched his left fist and swung it toward Natsuhiko's stomach.
Bang!
However, the moment Minato's punch landed, smoke spread out in front of him.
He could clearly sense that his punch had not hit a human body.
"A Substitution Technique, huh? That was pretty fast."
Minato Namikaze murmured, then immediately stepped back as several kunai flew toward him in that instant.
Natsuhiko's Substitution Technique was incredibly fast—so fast that Minato hadn't even fully realized what had happened before it was completed.
This clearly showed that Natsuthiko had extremely precise control over this technique.
Though the technique itself wasn't destructive, its ability to protect and mislead an opponent made it extremely practical and valuable.
Having easily dodged the kunai, Minato then made a smooth turn, just as Natsuhiko rushed forward.
This time, a brilliant blue chakra had appeared on Natsuhiko's ninja sword. The chakra shimmered and flowed, radiating a sharp and cutting aura.
"Whoosh!"
With a slicing sound through the air, the sword moved directly toward Minato without any fancy flourishes. Minato reacted just as quickly—raising his kunai, he blocked Natsuhiko's strike instantly.
But only for a moment—Minato's expression changed slightly as he realized something strange about the chakra of this "Natsuhiko" before him.
Sure enough, the next moment, a much stronger chakra suddenly erupted not far from him.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Water Release, huh?"
Minato remained extremely calm in the face of Natsuhiko's attack.
In his ninja career, he had faced countless opponents and countless battlefield techniques. He had seen every kind of attack imaginable.
So, facing Natsuhiko's strike, he only silently appreciated Natsuhiko's tactical sense, with no other thoughts crossing his mind.
As the roaring water dragon approached, Minato slid his kunai downward, then kicked toward Natsuhiko's shadow clone.
He followed up with a simple roll, his movements flowing and effortless.
The massive water dragon became nothing more than a prop in his performance, and Minato easily avoided the technique.
Dodging similar techniques wasn't new to Natsuhiko—he had done it himself before.
But to execute it as gracefully and fluidly as Minato? That was far beyond what Natsuhiko could manage.
The most terrifying part? After evading everything, Minato immediately thrust a kunai toward Natsuhiko's shadow clone.
Shadow clones were just that—clones. While they carried half of the original's chakra and retained some memory, and could deceive opponents in many ways, their combat effectiveness was limited.
Even Naruto's massive army of shadow clones often shattered at a single touch.
Though they could deal damage, they couldn't match the strength of the original.
Poof!
The clone vanished in a cloud of smoke that momentarily engulfed Minato. Natsuhiko didn't let it bother him.
Normally, a cloud of smoke would help an opponent hide their movements, but Natsuhiko's sensory perception was locked onto Minato's signature. He wasn't going to let the Hokage slip away so easily.
As Natsuhiko's figure approached the white mist, he suddenly paused slightly.
He swung his ninja sword toward the side, and at the same instant, Minato's kunai appeared in front of him.
"Clang!"
The crisp clash of metal rang out, and the smoke slowly dissipated.
Once again, Natsuhiko and Minato collided in the midst of the fading mist.
The weapons in their hands pressed tightly together, and sparks kept falling from the friction between the two blades.
Suddenly, their figures paused briefly, then quickly separated—only to cross paths again the very instant they moved apart.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The metallic clash grew increasingly intense and piercing, and at that moment, their figures began to blur.
Their speed was on full display, making them seem like two flickering, interweaving phantoms.
As these phantom-like figures grew more indistinct, the surroundings began to suffer the consequences of their battle.
"Bang!"
As the phantoms streaked past a massive boulder, a sharp, resounding crash rang out. The boulder instantly shattered into pieces.
Yet the debris hadn't even touched their shadows before they moved again, disappearing from the spot.
The brilliant blue chakra flowed across the two phantoms, and trees began to suffer.
Some were sliced clean in half, others collapsed suddenly without a trace.
Fortunately, no one witnessed this battle—yet that was a blessing, for neither of them had even fought at full strength.
Strange… is this Natsuhiko's limit? Minato thought as he parried another strike and prepared to counter.
He realized that Natsuhiko's actual strength didn't seem to match the level Kakashi had described—the supposedly overwhelming power he had heard about.
Although Natsuhiko's speed was incredible—and Minato had witnessed it firsthand during the Chunin exam—he had to admit, the velocity alone was extraordinary.
But somehow, this speed didn't appear to reach the level Kakashi had claimed.
According to Kakashi, Natsuhiko's speed might not even lag behind his own.
Minato's speed was difficult to quantify, and after using Flying Thunder God Technique, very few could truly comprehend it.
Kakashi certainly knew the reality—his own speed, even without Flying Thunder God, was already devastatingly fast.
Has he not gone all out, or did Kakashi misjudge him?
Minato wondered, slightly puzzled. He didn't think Kakashi, being so meticulous, would make such a large mistake.
Perhaps the real reason was that Natsuhiko hadn't yet felt enough pressure.
Thinking this, Minato let out a wry smile—he realized he needed to push Natsuhiko harder.
Natsuhiko wanted to test his own strength and relieve stress through sparring, while Minato also wanted to evaluate his abilities.
Minato couldn't afford to hold back, and he certainly couldn't let Natsuhiko feel no pressure.
Without hesitation, Minato suddenly increased his speed, and his phantom figure became as fast and elusive as lightning, nearly impossible to track.
"Hm? What's happening?"
At that moment, Natsuhiko felt the pressure skyrocket. The speed that had seemed manageable moments ago now felt drastically different.
He hadn't expected the Fourth Hokage to reveal his full speed during sparring.
Is this him going all out?
Facing this incredible pace, Natsuhiko realized he was struggling more and more to keep up—and grew increasingly curious about just how powerful Minato really was.
If Minato was going all out, that would be one thing—but if he was holding back even slightly, Natsuhiko would truly be frustrated.
Against the current Minato, Natsuhiko would barely dodge a punch only for a kunai to be inches from his throat an instant later.
By the time Natsuhiko spun to block, he realized Minato had already used a Substitution mid-attack. His body couldn't keep up with the transitions. Minato was a hurricane of strikes that left no room for breath.
Thud!
Finally, after Minato fully unleashed his speed for about a minute, Natsuhiko was caught by a solid kick and sent skidding backward.
He could no longer keep up with Minato, and even though he reacted, his body couldn't continue to follow.
This feeling made Natsuhiko feel somewhat trapped and frustrated. Even his previous fight against Lone Wolf hadn't been this humiliating—but this time, he truly couldn't manage.
It seems my base physical abilities have reached their limit… though I can kind of understand how Sasuke felt against Lee.
Watching Minato not attack further, Natsuhiko slowly stood up and shook his head with a wry smile.
He didn't have the Sharingan, yet his body coordination and reaction speed were enough to match the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Coupled with his keen sensory perception, he could coordinate well in battle—but even so, Minato's speed had pushed him to this extreme.
He couldn't help but admire: this is truly the guy who could control the Nine-Tails and use the "not fully mastered" Sage Mode right after being resurrected during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
If he hadn't died by the Nine-Tails, it's hard to say whether he might have been stronger than Naruto.
That thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly shook it off.
Minato was a freak of nature. If he had been given another ten years to develop, there was no telling where his ceiling would have been.
Of course, Naruto was a literal god-tier "cheater" by birth, but Minato was the pinnacle of natural talent.
"Natsuhiko, are you alright?" Minato asked curiously as he saw Natsuhiko standing motionless. "Sorry—I heard from Kakashi about your speed."
"I'm fine, Hokage-sama." Natsuhiko shook his head lightly and smiled. "But next, I'm going to use something… interesting."
"Oh?" Minato raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Something interesting?"
Natsuhiko nodded but didn't answer.
He didn't like this situation—though he had been prepared mentally, being passively hit was not his style.
Besides, his personal bias leaned toward Minato. Since that was the case, being a bit more open and honest wouldn't hurt—it might even be better.
Thinking this, Natsuhiko smiled, and his chakra began to boil and surge.
Minato watched, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
Along with that familiarity came a sense of danger.
In just a moment, he realized exactly what was happening.
At that moment, Natsuhiko's face showed a streak of red around his eyes—a red eyeshadow.