Haotian vs. Minato

Midnight, outside Can't Go Back Tavern.

The four of them were red-faced. Even Orochimaru's paper-pale face had taken on a faint flush. Minato had been practically propped up against Jiraiya. He said he would not drink, but Beichen Haotian found all sorts of excuses and still made him drink a little.

Beichen Haotian stood crookedly outside the tavern, his eyes glazed with drunkenness.

"Little bro, slo... slow down! Didn't you say... say you were going to walk in a straight line... to prove to us you weren't drunk? You can st... start now. Big bro's watching," Jiraiya shouted through bleary eyes.

"Hic... what nonsense are you talking about? I... I'm the big sis. Let... let big sis see!"

Tsunade gave Jiraiya a hard smack on the head, then shouted haltingly at Beichen Haotian.

"Alright, little bro will... will prove it to you... you all. Watch... watch carefully."

Beichen Haotian waved his hand and staggered off toward home. The farther he went, the more crooked his path became, until he could only make his way along by holding onto the wall.

A burst of uproarious laughter rang out behind him.

When Beichen Haotian woke on the morning of the third day and opened his eyes, the light immediately felt blinding. He sat up and looked around, then gave a bitter smile. "Damn, I drank way too much last night. I actually slept in the courtyard. No wonder my pillow felt so hard."

Beichen Haotian had an excellent physique, so he did not have a headache after waking from his hangover. He was merely thirsty. He hurried back inside, grabbed the water jug, and drank deeply. After resting for a while, he was making breakfast when someone knocked on the door again.

He lightly rubbed his forehead, went over, and opened the door. Seeing Minato and Jiraiya standing outside, Beichen Haotian asked in surprise, "How did you know where I live?"

"Hahaha, looks like you were really drunk last night. Didn't you tell us yourself? You said you were going to spar with Minato today. You said it was annoying that you two could never decide a winner," Jiraiya laughed heartily.

"Is that so?" Beichen Haotian scratched his head awkwardly. "Come in. I'm making breakfast. Want some?"

"You made it yourself? Where are your parents?" Jiraiya asked as he led Minato inside and looked around.

"Them? They died during a mission when I was five," Beichen Haotian said flatly.

"Ah, sorry. I brought up something painful," Jiraiya said awkwardly.

"It's fine. It's been so many years already." Beichen Haotian waved it off without concern. He had not been an orphan in his previous life; he had known both fatherly and motherly love. Though he had feelings for his adoptive parents in this life, he was not devastated by their deaths. He had long since become an adult.

Minato Namikaze also looked at Beichen Haotian in surprise. He had not known about this. Back at the Ninja Academy, Beichen Haotian had always handled everything in perfect order. Even his lunchbox was no worse than anyone else's, so Minato had assumed his parents made it. Now that he knew the truth, a trace of admiration rose in his heart.

Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze had already eaten breakfast before coming, but seeing how enthusiastically Beichen Haotian ate, they could not help having a little more as well.

"Alright, where should we spar? We've graduated for so long now, and I'm curious about Minato's strength too," Beichen Haotian said.

In truth, Minato Namikaze could never have been Beichen Haotian's match at the Ninja Academy. A Great Swordmaster was a Great Swordmaster; even at five years old, his strength was beyond that of children his age. Beichen Haotian had merely been deliberately hiding his abilities, showing enough talent without being too conspicuous.

"The forest behind the mountain. The terrain is much better than the training ground," Jiraiya suggested.

"Alright." Both agreed.

Behind Konoha, at the edge of the forest.

Minato and Haotian stood facing each other, while three people watched from the side: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade.

After forming the Seal of Confrontation, the two began their battle. Minato Namikaze made the first move, sending three shuriken flying toward Beichen Haotian along three strange arcs.

Beichen Haotian drew the Tang Saber in his hand. A flash of blade light swept out, and the three shuriken fell limply to the ground.

"Careful, Minato," Beichen Haotian warned.

Shave.

Beichen Haotian's figure flickered and vanished from where he stood, appearing before Minato in an instant. His Tang Saber traced a strange arc toward Minato's neck.

Clang! Sparks flew as metal struck metal. Minato felt a powerful force crash into him and immediately took a step back to dissipate it.

"Hehe, Minato, you don't stand a chance against me in close combat!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Beichen Haotian's Tang Saber moved again. A sheet of snow-white blade light merged into one and swept toward Minato, forcing him to remain on constant guard. He was exhausted from defending and could not find even the slightest opportunity to counterattack. He was completely suppressed. If this continued, Minato would surely lose within five minutes.

The three spectators were immediately astonished.

"This is a Taijutsu-type Body Flicker Technique, right? This kid is really something," Tsunade said.

"Yes. By stomping the ground dozens of times in rapid succession, he generates enormous rebound force to achieve the effect of Body Flicker, perfectly bringing out his body's strength."

Orochimaru's hoarse voice rang out. Rarely did he speak so much. His pale yellow pupils watched the battle between the two, and the admiration in his eyes deepened.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, was in no mood to be pleased. His disciple was losing, and that made him lose face, especially in front of his two teammates. Ahem, although Minato had only been his disciple for one day, and Jiraiya had not taught him anything yet.

Just then, the battle suddenly changed.

After more than two minutes of being suppressed, Minato Namikaze finally managed to steal a moment of focus. He took out a white pill from his Ninja Tools pouch and smashed it upward.

The moment Beichen Haotian saw it, he jumped back. With a muffled pop, a large amount of white smoke erupted from the pill and spread in all directions. Beichen Haotian recognized it. It was a Tear Gas Pill, similar in effect to a tear gas grenade, and quite rare.

Wind Style: Wind Blade Technique.

Beichen Haotian had activated Observation Haki while jumping back. At that moment, he easily sensed an invisible, transparent wind blade hurtling toward him. It was incredibly fast and carried powerful cutting force. In terms of speed, Wind Style was second only to Lightning Style.

But since Observation Haki had detected it in advance, evading it was easy. With Shave, Beichen Haotian's figure flashed, leaving the wind blade's attack range. Taijutsu-style Body Flicker did not consume Chakra, only physical stamina. An ordinary Body Flicker Technique would consume too much Chakra for the current Genin-level Beichen Haotian, and it also required Hand Seals.

As the white smoke dispersed, Minato Namikaze stood across from him, breathing a little heavily. He held a brand-new Kunai in his hand; the first one was already nicked and battered beyond use.

"Haotian, your swordsmanship is really sharp. You nearly crushed me so hard I couldn't breathe. With your speed, ordinary methods probably can't defeat you. This next Ninjutsu is the highest-level Ninjutsu I can currently use. If you block it, you win. But be careful. Don't force yourself if you can't stop it," Minato Namikaze said gravely.

Sharp? Not really. Beichen Haotian had not come close to bringing out the full power of his swordsmanship at this stage, because he had no killing intent. Swordsmanship with killing intent and swordsmanship without it were entirely different things, with a vast gap in power.

Moreover, Beichen Haotian's swordsmanship was based on his family's Blood Battle General Saber. Just from the name alone, one could tell it was swordsmanship meant for battlefield slaughter. It emphasized overwhelming killing intent, relentless advance, and risking one's life. It even included moves that traded injury for injury. In a spar, it was impossible to bring out its full power.

"I understand. Come on!"

Beichen Haotian crooked a finger, holding his Tang Saber at an angle. Intense lightning flared across its silver-white blade.

Hearing the two of them, the three spectators also became serious. To prevent any accidents, with their current strength close to Kage-level, they could fully save either of them.

Wind Style: Vacuum Great Ball.

Minato Namikaze took a deep breath, then expelled it all in one breath. Dozens of transparent air columns shot toward Beichen Haotian, densely packed, covering a wide area and moving at astonishing speed. Even using Shave would not let him escape every attack range; at this stage, Beichen Haotian's Shave did not cover much distance.

Even if he could dodge, Beichen Haotian would not. Minato Namikaze had said that if he blocked it, he would win. He had not said dodging it counted as victory. This time, Beichen Haotian would make Minato Namikaze accept his defeat wholeheartedly, even if this was only a spar.

Facing a Genin-level Minato who could use B-rank Ninjutsu normally reserved for Special Jonin and above, Beichen Haotian did not dare be careless. His entire bearing changed, becoming suffused with killing intent. Ninety-nine percent of the Chakra in his body poured out. The silver-white Tang Saber was wrapped in countless pale-blue arcs of electricity, forming a Chakra Long Saber. Rather than retreat, he charged straight at the densely packed air columns, each no weaker than a rifle bullet. This strike held nothing back.

Relentless Advance.

The long blade slashed diagonally from upper right to lower left. A pale-blue blade light streaked with blood-red flew from the saber. The air was torn apart with a sound like ripping cloth. This was Beichen Haotian's strongest slash since coming to this new world, incomparably sharp. When dealing with the Chunin from Amegakure, he had caught him off guard, so there had been no need to go all out.

The blade light collided with the twenty-odd air columns that would have struck Beichen Haotian and shredded them outright. It flew another few meters before dissipating into the air. As for the remaining air columns, under the perception of Observation Haki, they posed no threat to him at all. Thus, after Beichen Haotian swung his blade, he simply stood where he was and let the remaining air columns pass by his body. The closest one came within two centimeters of his ear.

"You win," Minato Namikaze said somewhat unwillingly. No matter how open-minded he was, losing at such a competitive, hot-blooded age did not feel good.

"Haha, Minato, don't lose heart. It was only a spar. There will be plenty of chances in the future. You've become Lord Jiraiya's disciple, so your chances of beating me are great. Besides, being able to use B-rank Ninjutsu as a Genin makes you exceptionally gifted. I don't have that kind of talent; I'm only somewhat gifted in swordsmanship," Beichen Haotian comforted him.

Minato Namikaze was naturally open-minded. Hearing Beichen Haotian say this, that little bit of unwillingness vanished without a trace.

At that point, Jiraiya and the others came over and praised both of them. Even the cold-natured Orochimaru said, "Not bad."

"Kid, interested in becoming my disciple?" Tsunade suddenly darted to Beichen Haotian's side and hooked an arm around his neck.

Caught off guard, Beichen Haotian fell against Tsunade's chest. Mm, soft and springy, with a faint fragrance.

"Become her disciple?" Beichen Haotian thought about it, but decided against it. After all, Tsunade had been one of his favorite female characters in Naruto back on Earth. If he claimed he had no improper thoughts after coming here, he would be lying.

Once he became her disciple, it would be harder to make a move. Of course, if he shamelessly threw away all dignity, he still could, but that seemed a little too beastly.

Thanks again to that brother for the recommendation vote. I still can't recognize those two characters. I'll have to look them up later.