Performance Match (Part 2)

"Bang—"

White waves churned.

In his haste, he used a kunai to block, but Sahara Mizu only managed to brace against the pointed blade of the Three-Pronged Kunai. The sudden burst of force smashed his entire body viciously into the surging current, and he vanished from sight.

Yet Namikaze Minato, standing atop the water, remained cautious as he continually sensed the movements beneath the surface.

He knew very well that the opponent before him was not someone who could be dealt with so easily.

However, the water beneath his feet had fallen into an eerie stillness.

"Splash."

Water rippled, spreading waves beneath his feet.

As if he had suddenly noticed something, Namikaze Minato sharply turned to look elsewhere.

Then he saw Sahara Mizu's figure swim past like a great shark lurking beneath the surface, incredibly fast.

"Boom!"

The explosion from underwater was deafening.

Amid the roiling mist, Sahara Mizu's slender figure shot forward like an arrow loosed from the bow, thrusting straight toward Namikaze Minato at a speed so fast it was nearly a blur.

"Splash—"

After only an instant of clashing, Namikaze Minato immediately realized that with the water current aiding him, Sahara Mizu's explosive strength was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

His strength slipped by only a fraction, yet a slash immediately appeared across the vest at his waist.

Blood could faintly be seen.

"Plop."

Sahara Mizu's body traced an arc through the air before sinking back into the current beneath them and continuing to swim below.

Namikaze Minato immediately recognized the danger of this fighting style.

The intense concentration required in battle already consumed enormous amounts of mental and physical energy.

In an environment where one side was exposed and the other concealed, the disadvantage in a war of attrition for the "hunted" side was far greater than imagined. Meanwhile, Sahara Mizu, the "hunter," only needed to focus entirely on finding the right moment to launch a surprise attack.

He had to change the situation.

Namikaze Minato was not the only one who realized this.

Among Konoha's higher-ups watching from the second floor, all conversation had ceased. Every one of them was fully focused on the battle.

Even for veterans who had survived countless battles, observing this fight was immensely beneficial.

The two young men's tactical strengths, combat wisdom, and grasp of timing all made the observers' eyes light up.

Uchiha Gensai and Hyuga Munenobu had, at some point, already activated their eye techniques. They silently observed each fighter's reactions with complete concentration.

"Boom! Boom!"

Another series of underwater ambushes followed.

Namikaze Minato had already gained three more wounds. Even his breathing had become heavy and sluggish.

However, after enduring three successive rounds of attacks, Namikaze Minato had gradually formed an idea. The fingers hidden at his side formed a hand seal.

Almost at the exact instant he completed the motion—

The figure beneath the water, like a hidden current, abruptly surfaced and shot out from Namikaze Minato's blind spot behind him.

Yet this time, Namikaze Minato seemed to have lost too much stamina to react in time. He was kicked straight into the air.

The moment the blow landed, Sahara Mizu realized something was wrong.

Namikaze Minato had failed to react?

What kind of Konoha joke was that?!

Sure enough.

The figure Sahara Mizu had kicked into the air remained aloft for only an instant before, with a bang, turning into a shattered log amid a cloud of smoke.

Substitution Technique.

At the same time, the real Namikaze Minato had already stepped on the rising log and leapt directly toward the ceiling.

He twisted and planted his feet.

Namikaze Minato stood upside down on the ceiling, his hand seals unbelievably fast.

"Oil Release: Great Torrent."

Everyone present looked up after him.

Then they saw a column of pungent oil gush down from above.

Sahara Mizu narrowed his eyes, instantly understanding Minato's intent. His heart tightened, but he immediately sprinted toward the wall on the other side and charged toward the ceiling.

The massive amount of fuel sprayed onto the water floated on its surface due to its density, spreading at an astonishing speed and staining the water a faint brown.

The next moment, Namikaze Minato formed the final Tiger hand seal, his gaze resolute.

He would ignite the torrent.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

"Boom!"

In an instant, the water that had once been Sahara Mizu's home ground became a floating sea of fire.

The massive volume of water rapidly evaporated under the intense heat. The air throughout the training ground warped and blurred, as though it had become a gigantic steamer, soaring from below twenty degrees to nearly fifty in barely a dozen seconds.

Yet in this extreme environment, the two men who had charged onto the ceiling seemed entirely unaffected. Their fierce Taijutsu exchange became even faster and more ruthless than before.

Sparks erupted as kunai collided with kunai, scattering down from the air in great showers.

In the instant their figures darted across the room, even many of these higher-ups could only catch fleeting afterimages. Sweat continuously beaded on their foreheads.

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at these old companions who had long been away from the battlefield and sighed inwardly.

Still, he gave an order in Hatake Sakumo's direction.

"Sakumo."

Only after receiving the order did Hatake Sakumo begin forming hand seals.

"Earth Release: Drain Valve."

The torrent and flames raging through the entire field were swiftly drawn underground under the guidance of the Earth Release, leaving behind only a little water and lingering fire before the ground sealed itself again.

However, Namikaze Minato had no mind to pay attention to that.

Looking at the boy his own age before him, he pushed Wind Release: Body Flicker Technique beneath his feet to its limit. His body circled Sahara Mizu, becoming a series of continuous zigzagging lines across the ceiling.

"Clangclangclangclangclang—!!"

Everything around him except the target at the center of his vision had stretched into fine, linear trails of light.

Yet even at such speed, regardless of the angle from which he attacked, all he heard in the end was a crisp collision ringing beside his ears.

By the end, even the sounds had become unclear.

But Namikaze Minato's mind was filled with the image from that night, when Sahara Mizu had torn Ash Soil apart with incomparably violent methods.

Violence taken to the extreme!

Speed taken to the extreme!

That strike had even shaken the pride buried deep within his heart.

It had made him truly realize that there were always greater people beyond oneself and greater heights beyond the sky.

It was as if the image had left a deep mark in his mind.

No matter what, Namikaze Minato wanted to witness that strike head-on, and then—

Break through it!

Keep moving forward!

"Clang!"

Another heavy thrust.

Carried by tremendous momentum, Namikaze Minato slammed Sahara Mizu, who stood in place, backward several meters, his feet scraping across the ceiling.

Yet behind his solid defensive stance, Sahara Mizu's movements remained unchanged as he steadily received the attack.

The two wrestled for dominance.

Under the immense force exerted by both of them, tiny sparks continuously burst from their kunai.

Namikaze Minato's expression was more serious than ever, his voice firm.

"Sahara-kun."

"Are you looking down on me?"

"..."

"Ha."

Sahara Mizu's expression froze at first, then he suddenly laughed.

So that was it.

No, it should have been... of course it was.

Minato-kun, who was so gentle and considerate before everyone, was also a genius standing at Konoha's pinnacle, proud to the very marrow of his bones.

"Minato."

Sahara Mizu maintained their stalemate, but suddenly changed the way he addressed him.

"Don't blink."

Almost at the exact moment those words fell—

In Namikaze Minato's vision, Sahara Mizu's eyes abruptly turned into an even clearer, brighter azure. His aura changed completely.

A nearly instinctive sense of danger suddenly erupted deep within Minato's heart.

Like an antelope being watched by a tiger.

In but an instant—

Sahara Mizu vanished from his sight. The force pressing against his kunai disappeared with shocking abruptness, and even Minato's forward-leaning motion caused by inertia seemed unbearably slow.

But in his perception, Sahara Mizu had already arrived at his side.

Such extreme speed...!?

Even the speed of his thoughts could not keep up with Sahara Mizu's movements. Relying entirely on his extraordinary reflexes and instinctive sense of danger, Namikaze Minato barely moved his kunai and arm to his side.

He spun and swung his arm.

Sahara Mizu's body swept through most of a circle like a spinning top. The reverse-gripped kunai in his hand became a black arc of light at extreme speed.

The gleam deep within his azure pupils flashed as swiftly as a shooting star.

"Clang—!"

The kunai and one prong of the Three-Pronged Kunai shattered at the same time.

In an instant, a black figure shot from the ceiling toward the ground, which had yet to dry.

In the spectator seats, the few strongest people present all widened their eyes at that sight.

Veins bulged around Hyuga Munenobu's temples. His Byakugan had been activated to its utmost limit, but he still could not make out what had just happened. His expression was stunned.

"Was that... Space-Time Ninjutsu?"

"No, probably not."

The Hyuga clan head was not the only one shocked. Uchiha Gensai beside him had likewise pushed his Three-Tomoe Sharingan to the limit, its three tomoe spinning like fish.

Even so, there remained a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Although it was only for an instant, I could still see his trajectory."

"It's just..."

He did not continue.

For the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, one of the Ninja World's finest perception eyes, being able to see through something to this extent was no different from being unable to see through it at all.

Because even if they could see it, most Jonin's bodies would never be able to keep up. It was practically no different from standing there and waiting to die.

If he went a step further...

Uchiha Gensai thought for a moment and looked toward the Third Hokage at the other end, but ultimately dismissed the thought of activating that dangerous eye technique in this setting.

It would be too easily misunderstood.

But this young man...

He was practically like that Konoha's White Fang.

At the edge of the field, Hatake Sakumo seemed to have drawn a similar connection.

As he looked at Sahara Mizu, he could not help narrowing his eyes.

On the elevated platform, Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned slightly. Although he had already heard of Sahara Mizu's secret technique from Anbu reports, seeing it in person still left him somewhat surprised.

Shimura Danzō's gaze grew especially profound.

He could not block that move.

"Boom!"

Dust and smoke rose.

Namikaze Minato flipped over and climbed up from the chakra-softened earth, gasping for breath as his ribs went numb.

Yet he could not stop the smile spreading across his face as he looked at the Three-Pronged Kunai broken in half in his hand.

He had blocked it.

Though only barely.

But if he could take it once, then he could take it a second time!

Most importantly, that had not been Sahara-kun's own speed, but a very special Hand Seal-less Ninjutsu.

To protect himself at such high speed, his movements would pause briefly for an instant.

Namikaze Minato's exceptional combat wisdom allowed him to see through the essence of the technique the second time he witnessed it.

As long as he could seize that instant—

Almost at the same moment that thought arose—

A massive hole was suddenly punched through the dust and smoke.

Namikaze Minato had only just managed to raise his arm when he felt his wrist seized by a tremendous force and pulled forward, dragging his upper body into a lean.

"Bang!"

A heavy knee slammed into his abdomen.

His body flew away.

Yet in the brief moment he was airborne, he had already quickly regained his composure and spun as he landed.

At the same time, he could not help feeling fortunate that this was only an exhibition match.

Sahara-kun still had far more formidable trump cards he had yet to reveal.

Otherwise, judging by the miserable state Ash Soil had been in when he died, those two blows just now would have been more than enough to kill him.

But how could he be content with playing a supporting role?

"Wind Release: Body Flicker Technique!"

In an instant, the blond youth was swept up in a raging hurricane, turning into a flashing afterimage. He grew faster and faster, until even piercing sounds tore through the air.

Yet the greater his speed, the clearer Namikaze Minato's thoughts became.

Not fast enough.

Still not fast enough!

If he wanted to catch that instant of weakness amid Sahara-kun's absurdly high speed, he had to push their relative speeds to the limit.

The smaller the gap in their relative speed, the longer he would have to react during that momentary pause!

It seemed Sahara Mizu had noticed Minato's intentions.

He turned to look at him.

Just as expected of you. You came up with a countermeasure in such a short time?

But—

Sahara Mizu slowly raised his hand.

At the center of his palm, an azure sphere of chakra spun violently, rapidly taking shape.

The dancing tornado continuously compressed inward, sweeping away even the dust rising around them and clearing an open stretch of ground.

He lifted his head and looked toward the figure engulfed by the gale.

"Sorry, Minato."

In an instant, waves of air surged and spread outward.

Once again, Sahara Mizu charged straight toward Namikaze Minato at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.

At that moment, the world in the blond youth's eyes seemed to freeze.

Wind.

The sound of wind filled his ears.

The Chakra Sensing spreading out from his entire body clearly perceived that impossibly swift figure closing in at a speed far beyond the Body Flicker Technique.

The azure chakra sphere traced a brilliant arc through the air.

But—

I can see him! My body can move!

He abandoned all Perception Ability of his surroundings, devoting his entire mind to the Chakra Sensing spreading outward.

Within that chakra vision, Sahara Mizu's movements were as slow as a snail's.

Even so, it was enough.

The ankle of his forward foot suddenly twisted.

Following the sway of his waist, his body scraped and turned halfway around on tiles slicker than ice.

Driven by the inertia of the sweeping hurricane, his upper body lowered with difficulty until he was almost pressed flat against the ground.

His free left hand struck the ground, and his fingertips and palm were scraped bloody over a broad area.

His long-prepared right hand gripped a kunai, pointed directly at the man who had abruptly appeared before him.

Like a colossal thorny plant that had long waited for its prey, it extended sharp thorns toward him from an almost perfectly still posture.

This was a long-planned, desperate counterattack.

Yet at that instant, Sahara Mizu's face was suddenly reflected in Namikaze Minato's vision, bearing the faintest smile.

Abruptly—

His figure vanished once more.

Namikaze Minato's mind went blank.

At that moment, he seemed to hear Sahara Mizu whisper in his ear.

Who said this technique could not be used consecutively?

"Limitless Technique: Second Stage!"

The figure that appeared with extreme suddenness behind Namikaze Minato spun in midair, twisting his arm as the Rasengan cradled in his hand burst with dazzling radiance.

Then it crashed down.

At that moment, Namikaze Minato's eyes flew wide open.

"BOOM—!!!"

The thunderous explosion was deafening.

"Ah."

A wave of startled cries immediately rose from the viewing platform.

During the battle just now, everyone had acknowledged the strength of these two youths and regarded them as pillars of the village. If either one died, it would be a terrible loss.

Sarutobi Hiruzen instinctively leaned forward, both hands gripping the railing.

Hatake Sakumo, serving as referee, had already broken into a sprint the instant their figures crossed, rushing toward the two at the center of the battlefield as quickly as he could.

But he soon stopped.

And relaxed slightly.

At the center of the battlefield—

"Clatter, clatter—"

Fine pebbles blasted into the sky fell like rain, producing a dense series of soft rattles.

Namikaze Minato lay on the ground, while Sahara Mizu straddled him.

Even at the brink of death, the blond youth still held his Three-Pronged Kunai in his right hand, poised to stab upward with a reverse grip.

However, his right wrist was firmly seized by a large hand, pinned against his own neck.

His other hand, which had tried to resist, was pinned beneath Sahara Mizu's knee, unable to move.

At the same time, an enormous spiral-shaped crater spread outward in every direction beside Namikaze Minato's golden sideburns. Flying stones and earth had left tiny cuts across the youth's cheek.

Even now, Namikaze Minato's expression remained taut.

Less than three centimeters separated his head from exploding like the ground beside him.

He had truly brushed past death.

Yet everyone around them let out a long breath of relief at the sight.

When they looked at Sahara Mizu, their gazes could not help carrying a measure of appreciation—or rather, admiration.

Even in such a fierce exchange, he had still held back.

Clearly, this young man still had something in reserve.

Sahara Mizu, however, paid no attention to the reactions around him. He lightly rose from atop Namikaze Minato.

Then he bent down and extended a hand toward the blond youth, wearing a gentle, warm smile.

"You saw the flaw in that move of mine right away."

"That's truly impressive."

"Minato-kun, you are a genuine genius."

Hearing that, Namikaze Minato lay there in a daze for a moment before a faint bitter smile appeared on his face. With some effort, he raised his hand and clasped Sahara Mizu's.

"Sahara-kun, can I call you by your name?"

"Of course."

"Then—"

As he spoke, Namikaze Minato's face broke into a sunny smile, and he said brightly,

"Lord Mizu."

"This time, I lost."

"But—"

"From now on, please teach me more."

Sahara Mizu's expression froze slightly. Then his smile grew even gentler.

"I'd be delighted."

That is all for today.

I combined five thousand words into one chapter; splitting it up would have made it less comfortable to read.