Why Are You So Talented?

"I understand."

Minato gave Shadow Clone Qingshui a long, searching look, slung the Fuma Shuriken over his back, then left with the other two.

Shadow Clone Qingshui then turned to face the pursuing Rain Ninja and formed hand seals, creating another Shadow Clone.

With his current Chakra reserves, doing something like this wasn't too difficult.

After all, even one of his Shadow Clones had more Chakra than an average Jonin.

"Now, I can't let you catch up with them."

Qingshui's overwhelming strength had left a deep impression on the Rain Ninja. After all, he was an enemy capable of killing nearly half their comrades with a single Combination Ninjutsu.

So even now, facing Shadow Clone Qingshui, they couldn't help feeling afraid.

"Don't be scared, everyone! He's just a Shadow Clone!"

A Jonin spoke up, finally dispelling the Rain Ninja's fear.

"That's right, he's just a Shadow Clone, and we've got plenty of men!"

The Rain Ninja rallied and charged toward him again.

Shadow Clone Qingshui didn't hesitate. He immediately formed hand seals and unleashed a Ninjutsu.

They were going to use the Combination Ninjutsu they'd used when challenging Jiraiya earlier.

Fire Release: Great Fireball!

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

Once again, the wind fed the flames.

Boosted by Wind Release, the Great Fireball grew even more ferocious, its power rising to another level.

As the massive fireball surged toward them, a Rain Village Jonin spoke up again.

"Everyone, use Water Release together! They're just Shadow Clones, so they can't keep their Chakra up for long."

The Rain Ninja didn't hesitate. They immediately formed hand seals and used Water Release.

Working together, they really did manage to block Shadow Clone Qingshui's Fire Release.

Shadow Clone Qingshui snorted and spoke coldly.

"So what if you blocked one? Let's see how many you can stop."

It wasn't that he truly had more Chakra than he could use.

Rather, the Rain Ninja had them outnumbered, so the Shadow Clones had to avoid close combat.

After all, Shadow Clones had one weakness: they couldn't take much punishment.

Even a slightly serious injury would make them burst and vanish.

Not even the original's Six Paths Level strength could change that.

So in this situation, Shadow Clone Qingshui had no choice but to fight like a spellcaster, bombarding the enemy from a distance.

When another enormous fireball appeared, the Rain Ninja began to crack.

"Does he have infinite Chakra or something?"

One of the Rain Ninja couldn't help complaining.

They'd never seen a Ninja use Ninjutsu on such a scale without worrying about the cost.

Ninja might have powerful Ninjutsu at their disposal, but in a normal fight, they relied mainly on Taijutsu and saved Ninjutsu for crucial moments.

"Don't give up! He must be running low on Chakra!"

The same Jonin stepped forward to rally them.

The other Rain Ninja thought it over and realized he was right. No one had infinite Chakra.

So they rallied again and worked together to block the second enormous fireball.

"Charge! There's no way he can use Fire Release like that again!"

But when a third enormous fireball appeared before them, the Rain Ninja went completely numb.

That wasn't human!

They were all Ninja, so why was he so talented?

Was this guy actually a Tailed Beast in disguise?

Although Shadow Clone Qingshui had successfully held the Rain Ninja back, one of them still managed to catch up with the Minato Trio.

There was no avoiding it.

Qingshui's side was truly outnumbered.

"Die!"

A cruel smile spread across the pursuing Rain Ninja's face as he launched a sneak attack on Minato.

As a Special Jonin, he figured ambushing a young Konoha Genin would be a piece of cake.

But just as he was about to land the hit, Minato suddenly turned and kicked.

The move came so unexpectedly that the Rain Ninja couldn't react. Minato's kick sent him flying.

Then Minato threw a Kunai with a lit Explosive Tag tied to it.

Boom!

An explosion rang out.

The Rain Ninja had no time to defend himself. The Explosive Tag blew him to pieces.

Mukai Yuki and Sasaki Ayami were amazed at how easily Minato had taken down a Rain Ninja.

They were all Genin, so why was he so talented?

What? Big Brother Qingshui was a Genin too?

Oh. Never mind, then.

"Come on! Our mission is to find Teacher Jiraiya and get him to save Big Brother Qingshui and Big Sister Mikoto."

After taking care of the Rain Ninja, Minato didn't let the admiration on Mukai Yuki and Sasaki Ayami's faces go to his head.

Fortunately, they hadn't gone very far from Jiraiya, and they soon made it back on foot.

"Teacher Jiraiya, please go save Big Brother Qingshui and Big Sister Mikoto right away!"

Jiraiya was training Konan and the other two when he heard Minato's words. He immediately asked what had happened.

"It's Hanzo of the Salamander!"

"Big Brother Qingshui and Big Sister Mikoto are fighting Hanzo right now!"

Jiraiya's expression changed at once.

He had fought Hanzo of the Salamander and lost to him. Jiraiya knew exactly how powerful he was.

Hanzo was an enemy even he, Orochimaru, and Tsunade couldn't handle together.

Qingshui and Mikoto were strong, but they were nowhere near as powerful as the three of them had been back then.

They were sure to lose.

"Minato, stay here and don't wander off. I'll go save them right away."

After giving the order, Jiraiya created a Shadow Clone, which sat down cross-legged on the spot, motionless. His original body had already Body Flickered away.

"I hope I make it in time."

"You two managed to last this long? Not bad."

Hanzo looked at Qingshui and Mikoto, both panting for breath, and spoke with a note of admiration.

Under ordinary circumstances, he would have let such promising young people go.

But unfortunately, they had killed his subordinates.

He couldn't show mercy if he wanted to answer to everyone in Amegakure.

"Just as you'd expect from the 'Demigod' of the Ninja World, Hanzo of the Salamander. Your reputation is well deserved."

Supporting Mikoto, Qingshui faced Hanzo without backing down.

During the fight, Mikoto had run out of Chakra. She could no longer maintain her Sharingan, and her eyes had returned to their normal black color.

In truth, Mikoto's Sharingan had played a major role in helping them last this long.

Even Hanzo couldn't simply ignore the Genjutsu cast by the Three Tomoe Sharingan.

But he had faced Uchiha enemies before, so he was very practiced at dealing with them. Mikoto never found an opening to use Genjutsu.

After all, not every Uchiha was Uchiha Itachi.

As for Qingshui, the enormous boost to his Chakra from awakening the Rinnegan meant that he still had enough strength to fight.

"Hahaha! You've got guts. You're the first person in years to speak to me like that."

Hearing Qingshui's words, Hanzo wasn't angry. Instead, he laughed heartily.

In his eyes, anyone that young with such strength had to be a genius.

And geniuses were always proud.

He could understand.

Who hadn't been a genius when they were young?

"It's just a shame you're not a Ninja of my Amegakure!"

After a sigh, a murderous glint flashed in Hanzo's eyes. He blurred forward and charged at Qingshui.