White Moonlight

The wooden sword swept toward Minato Namikaze's chest with a sharp whoosh.

At that moment, Kakashi Hatake had eyes only for him.

Though he had only just learned the Hatake Style Sword Technique, inherited from the White Fang of the Leaf, it still greatly boosted his combat ability.

As Minato kicked Yuki Yuichi away, Kakashi seized the opportunity to press forward. If Minato tried to dodge, he would surely be forced into an awkward position.

That was Kakashi's honest assessment. But the gap in their strength was simply too great.

What he imagined was one thing; what actually happened was another.

When Minato saw him swing, he didn't dodge. Instead, he smiled, and the instant the wooden sword made contact, he vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Kakashi's wooden sword struck a wooden post with a loud thud.

"When did—?" Kakashi cried in shock. He turned to look around.

"When did he form the hand seals?!"

As Kakashi searched, Minato reappeared. Seeing his expression, he smiled and said, "If you've mastered a technique well enough, you can perform it without hand seals."

Minato's words were direct, and they also told the two boys that he didn't need hand seals to perform the Substitution Technique.

But just then, Yuki picked up the wooden sword he had dropped earlier.

Minato had controlled the force of that kick well. It had sent Yuki flying, but hadn't injured him.

So he was only a little uncomfortable. For an ordinary person, that discomfort would affect their fighting ability.

But Yuki was different. He had the Uzumaki Clan's regenerative abilities, and even in such a short time, they quickly dispelled his discomfort.

Holding the sword in his right hand, Yuki looked at Minato and charged again.

A sword was better than no sword!

The sword was easy to learn but hard to master.

Its primary use was chopping. A sword's strength lay in its cutting power!

There were also upward sweeps, thrusts, intercepts, parries, deflections, slashes, wipes, draws, and wraps.

The key to swordsmanship was ferocity.

As long as you were strong enough and knew how to chop, you knew how to use a sword.

That was what made the sword easy to learn. Anyone could pick one up and swing it a few times.

Yuki was no exception.

Having a sword and not having one were two entirely different things.

When Minato saw Yuki charge him again, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. But when he noticed Yuki's red hair, he understood.

If anyone outside the Uzumaki Clan knew the most about them, it was undoubtedly Minato.

After all, he had been intimately involved with a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan.

He also knew the clan very well.

By then, Yuki had closed in and swung at Minato's shoulder and neck.

Minato didn't dodge, nor did he plan to use the Substitution Technique.

Compared with Kakashi, Yuki's swordsmanship was so poor that Minato could dodge it with ease.

So when Yuki swung, Minato simply reached out to grab his hand and take the wooden sword from him.

Seeing Minato's move, a look of triumph appeared in Yuki's eyes.

"Now!"

Yuki suddenly shouted. A Tomoe appeared in his eye, and his pupil turned crimson.

The wooden sword slipped from his hand. He quickly pulled back his sword-wielding hand and formed hand seals at lightning speed.

"Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique!"

Whether the Sharingan had just awakened or possessed more Tomoe, it enhanced genjutsu.

Its Hypnotic Eye was especially effective.

Even though the Hypnotic Eye of a One-Tomoe Sharingan wasn't very powerful, combined with genjutsu, it still produced impressive results.

Even Minato, an elite Jonin, was momentarily stunned when Yuki caught him off guard.

At that moment, Kakashi charged in. Seizing the instant Minato was dazed, he swung his sword at him.

Minato truly deserved to be called an elite Jonin and a prodigy from childhood.

He broke free of the genjutsu, and the first thing he saw was Kakashi's wooden sword. Minato suddenly caught the sword in his hand as it swung toward him, then smiled at the two boys.

"All right. I've seen enough to assess your abilities."

As Minato spoke, a bright, sunny smile spread across his face. He was like a little sun.

Feeling the warmth of his smile, Yuki and Kakashi both froze for a moment.

Yuki in particular couldn't help thinking, No wonder they call Minato the Little Sun.

He'd never really understood how someone's smile could be so infectious.

But now that he had felt the emotions Minato radiated, he knew that such people really did exist.

Minato's smile made people feel warm and at ease.

Yuki took a deep breath, then looked at him seriously and said, "Sorry for the trouble, Big Brother Minato!"

Kakashi was a little slower to react, but he thanked Minato along with Yuki.

"No need to thank me." Minato smiled warmly as ever. "I don't have anything else to do right now, anyway."

"Lord Hokage once said that wherever the leaves dance, the fire burns on. The flames light up the village and help new trees sprout."

"And right now, I'm the fire, and you're the new leaves."

Minato was a shinobi who had truly inherited the Will of Fire.

Though Yuki couldn't remember everything clearly, he did remember how Minato sacrificed himself during the Nine-Tails' attack, sealing the Nine-Tails once more to protect everyone else.

Many people said he'd died for love, but there wasn't much evidence for that.

And even if he had, so what? He had protected the village and the people in it. That was what mattered.

Whatever the reason or the outcome, he had sacrificed himself.

A gentleman is judged by his actions, not his thoughts; if judged by thoughts, no one is without fault.

Compared to Minato, everyone else seemed lacking.

That wasn't an exaggeration. A powerful, kindhearted, helpful shinobi who had perfectly inherited the Will of Fire was a truly luminous presence in this world.

As Yuki reflected on this, Minato spoke again. "I've assessed your abilities."

Kakashi looked at him expectantly.

Yuki gathered his thoughts and looked at him with curiosity as well.

Seeing their reactions, Minato chuckled softly. Then, unbothered by the mess and grime on the ground, he sat down and gestured for them to join him.

"Let's start with you." Minato looked at Kakashi and smiled.

"You're very skilled for someone your age."

"Your swordsmanship in particular is better than that of many Genin."