The Power of Talk no Jutsu

"From one perspective, my Body Flicker has no physical form. From another, every one of them is real."

Uchiha Chen's voice rang out from the fighting platform.

Yet it was impossible to tell where the voice had come from.

"A... amazing."

"Is this Uchiha Chen's true strength?" Discussions broke out below the platform.

"Nawaki, did you understand the principle behind Chen's Ninjutsu?" Minato asked softly.

"Huh? Me?... Of course I understood it. I saw through the principle behind this Ninjutsu at a glance. What, Minato? Do you need me to explain it to you?"

After giving Nawaki a long look, Minato said, "Ahaha, no need to explain. I think I understand too."

"..."

"This is the final strike, Hyuga Himeji." Uchiha Chen's voice suddenly rang out.

Hyuga Himeji's expression turned grave. A Shadow Clone? Or merely an Afterimage Clone? They had no mass when attacking, yet their blows carried force. How was that possible?

Uchiha Chen spun rapidly through the air, then viciously kicked out with his right leg once more!

Unable to block it, Hyuga Himeji was struck again and sent flying into the air.

Four Uchiha Chens charged at her simultaneously.

"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven..." Hyuga Himeji tried to use Revolving Heaven, but she lacked the Chakra for it, and the technique failed to activate.

"Uchiha Lion Combo."

Boom!

Hyuga Himeji was smashed into the ground like a meteor!

The surroundings fell utterly silent.

"Himeji, I don't know what you're trying to prove. But for us ninja, defeating others doesn't mean you'll gain their recognition. If you want to earn others' recognition, the first step is to recognize your own existence."

"If you care too much about what others think, you'll always be the one who ends up hurt. Ninja are ninja because they are often forced to make cruel choices."

"As for the Ninja Way, a thousand ordinary people may arrive at one answer, while one person may give a thousand answers. If you want to change everything, then grow stronger. Don't keep going on like this, girl."

Uchiha Chen slowly walked over to Hyuga Himeji and helped her to her feet.

Then, Uchiha Chen reached out and gently formed a reconciliation seal with Himeji's hand.

After that, he shook out his Uchiha Brand Windbreaker and slowly walked off the platform.

"Wow, Chen, you were so cool..." Mikoto ran over.

Uchiha Chen smiled faintly. His Talk no Jutsu level might still be a little below Naruto's, but he wasn't targeting anyone in particular. Everyone present was trash.

"This match goes to Uchiha Chen." Orochimaru's deep voice carried over.

"The Ninja Way? How interesting. Uchiha Kagami's orphan." Orochimaru looked at him with interest.

Hizashi Hyuga swiftly entered the Training Ground. After checking her over, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Himeji had merely run out of strength; her life was not in danger.

It seemed Uchiha Chen had held back in that final strike.

"Chen, wasn't that a little too heavy-handed against a girl?!" Nawaki popped up from who knew where again, wearing a self-righteous expression as he condemned Uchiha Chen from the moral high ground.

"Giving it your all is also a form of respect for your opponent. Right, Nawaki?"

Uchiha Chen replied airily.

"Otherwise, when I fight you in the future, I can just say I hadn't even used my full strength before you went down. How about it?"

"Uh, no. It'd be better if you said you went all out." Nawaki answered immediately.

What a joke. If that happened, where would he put the face of Konoha's second greatest genius?

"Chen, your Taijutsu is so powerful. How come I've never seen you use it before?"

"That speed and strength just now should already be beyond what a Ninja Academy student is supposed to have, right?"

The blond Little Sun, Minato, asked him.

Uchiha Chen draped an arm over Minato's shoulder. "Being outstanding comes with its own troubles, Minato. Once you have power, people isolate you, and you become arrogant. Even if you started out with the highest expectations placed upon you. So, you understand."

"..." I don't understand anything at all.

Uchiha Chen silently gave himself full marks for that act. It seemed his posing skills would surpass even Sasuke's sooner or later.

"That's right, I understand, I understand. I often have the same troubles too. I'm always wondering how I should get along with all of you. So being too outstanding really isn't a good thing?" Nawaki nodded with a look of complete agreement.

Why were you everywhere?! In a sense, Nawaki's posing skills were first-rate too.

"Second match, both contestants, take the stage." Orochimaru's hoarse voice rang out.

"Minato, good luck."

"Mhm, I will." Little Sun revealed a foolish grin.

Only after Minato Namikaze and Shimura Miya had stepped onto the arena did Orochimaru speak in his hoarse voice.

"Then, let the battle begin!"

Uchiha Chen knew Minato's combat ability at this stage. Besides the Three Basic Jutsu taught at the academy, he also knew several Wind Release Ninjutsu that Uchiha Chen had taught him during their sparring sessions.

None of them were particularly high-level, all roughly C-rank Ninjutsu.

Meanwhile, Shimura Miya was from the Shimura Clan. The Shimura Clan's strongest specialty was undoubtedly Wind Release, so most of Shimura Miya's techniques were Wind Release as well.

Between two Wind Release ninja, the advantage either could gain over the other was undoubtedly limited.

Thus, it came down to experience and adaptability in battle.

"Shimura Miya, please guide me."

"Minato Namikaze, please guide me as well, Senior."

Minato swiftly threw several shuriken at Shimura Miya from extremely tricky angles.

Then, he charged toward his opponent as well.

These were all conventional probing tactics.

Thud! Thud!

To Minato's surprise, before Shimura Miya could do anything, the shuriken had already struck him.

Bang!

Shimura Miya, who had been pierced by the shuriken, instantly turned into a log.

"What a fast Substitution Jutsu!" Minato frowned.

The moment he saw Shimura Miya turn into the log used for the Substitution Jutsu, Minato immediately reacted and turned toward his rear.

Sure enough, Shimura Miya's attack had already reached him.

With a slight twist of his wrist, the kunai in Shimura Miya's hand appeared at Minato's throat in the blink of an eye.

Minato flipped backward to avoid the attack, then hurled the kunai in his hand at Shimura Miya, forcing him back.

After opening up some distance, Minato and Shimura Miya stared at each other with grave expressions. They had clearly become completely serious.

Shimura Miya had not expected that facing a Civilian Ninja would prove somewhat troublesome.

"Hah!"

Only a moment later, Shimura Miya and Minato clashed once more. A fierce battle erupted between them.

The sound of kunai colliding rang out continuously through the air. Their flashing figures were so rapid that they dazzled the eye.

"Minato, keep it up!"

"Shimura Miya, defeat him!"