"Ding~ Ding~"
Uzumaki Mito carried Uzumaki Kuming at her waist as they hurried after their fleeing enemies. They had barely made it past Konoha's gates when they heard the clang of metal striking metal.
"Grandma Mito, quick! They're fighting!"
Hearing the commotion ahead, Kuming knew the legendary Minato Namikaze had arrived. To prevent anything unexpected from happening, he urged Mito to hurry.
Mito also paused when she heard the fighting ahead. After concentrating for a moment, a strange smile appeared on her face.
"That boy's impressive. Who is he?"
Mito quickened her pace, carrying Kuming as she darted through the trees. When they reached an open area, she stopped and looked up at the sky.
"Why did you stop?" Kuming asked, turning to her in confusion. Mito had already put him down, her attention fixed on the sky.
Kuming followed her gaze and saw two figures burst from the dense forest. In the moonlight, a blond boy carried Uzumaki Kushina in his arms. He leaped over the thick forest and landed on a branch at the edge of the clearing, a faint smile on his handsome face.
The breeze lifted Minato Namikaze's coat, and his graceful figure left a deep impression on Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kuming.
Uzumaki Kushina held Minato Namikaze gently around the waist, gazing at his face with affection.
Damn! So this was how you were supposed to show off? I have to learn that!
Seeing the golden couple beneath the moonlight, Kuming was momentarily stunned. Then he grumbled to himself, though a nameless anger also rose in his heart.
"You may be handsome, but seducing an underage girl into dating is wrong!"
"Especially when the girl you're dating is my sister!"
Kuming muttered, bent his knees, and gathered his strength. Then he charged at Minato and Kushina at an unbelievable speed.
"Kuming!" Mito had sensed that the Jonin from Kumogakure had already been dealt with, and she was still in shock. She had no time to stop him.
"Who are you?" In an instant, Kuming appeared in front of Minato and Kushina and threw a punch straight at Minato's face. Kuming knew very few ninjutsu that required Hand Seals. Taijutsu, backed by his massive Chakra reserves, was the fighting style he was most accustomed to.
Minato hadn't expected there to be another enemy. When he saw who it was, he froze for a moment, then hurriedly turned his head to dodge Kuming's punch and quickly carried Kushina away from where they had been standing.
After landing, Minato still didn't put Kushina down. He simply took a guarded stance, watching Kuming, who had landed some distance away.
"A child?" Minato was surprised, but his vigilance immediately rose to its peak. In the Shinobi World, you couldn't underestimate anyone standing across from you, no matter who they were. Besides, there was something strange about Kuming, who had just attacked him.
He was clearly a child, yet the speed of his attack had been astonishing. An ordinary child in his early teens would have been subdued in one strike. Fortunately, he, Minato Namikaze, was no ordinary child in his early teens!
"Put her down!" Kuming said coldly when his first strike failed.
This guy clearly had ulterior motives. He'd dodged Kuming's attack and reached the ground, yet he was still holding Kushina. Was it really advantageous to hold a girl while facing an enemy?
Minato studied Kuming's face and noticed that the little boy looked remarkably like Kushina—almost identical. And, as luck would have it, he also had red hair. The sight brought many things to mind, and Minato shot Kushina a questioning look.
Still, Minato made no move to release her.
"Hm?" Kushina had clearly yet to process what was happening. Her attention was entirely focused on Minato, and she hadn't even noticed Kuming's arrival. It wasn't until Kuming spoke and Minato gave her a questioning look that she belatedly turned toward him. Then she exclaimed in surprise:
"Kuming? What are you doing here?"
Seeing that his sister had apparently fallen head over heels, Kuming sighed almost imperceptibly.
"My foolish sister, feel your little brother's fury!"
Though Kuming said that aloud, in his heart he grumbled at Minato: This is a rare opportunity. Let me see what the legendary show-off is made of!
Blue Chakra began to swirl around Kuming. The immense amount of Chakra created a powerful gust that blasted outward from him. Minato, standing right in front of him, felt a crushing pressure. The terrifying Chakra coursing through the air left him shaken.
But Minato had already guessed Kuming's identity from his exchange with Kushina. He had been classmates with Kushina Uzumaki for years, after all, and knew a little about her family. Minato set Kushina down and opened his mouth, wanting to explain.
"Hello, I—" Minato had barely gotten a few words out when Kuming vanished from where he stood. A moment later, the boy's small figure appeared behind him, leaping up and sweeping a kick toward his face.
"So fast!" Minato had been prepared, but he was still startled when Kuming's attack came. However, he wasn't an ordinary child. Kuming was fast, but not so fast that Minato was helpless against him.
Minato quickly raised his right arm to block Kuming's sweeping kick. Just as he thought the attack was over, something that astonished him happened.
"Shadow Clone Technique!" Kuming's quiet shout sounded in Minato's ear. A cloud of smoke rose, and another Kuming appeared behind him, quickly dropping low and sweeping a kick toward his legs.
"How is this possible? How can a child this young—?"
Minato hadn't turned around, but he had heard Kuming's voice, and the rush of wind was already coming at him. Though stunned, he leaped into the air and spun low, dodging Kuming's attacks from above and below at the same time.
"Hm?" Kuming hadn't expected Minato to move like that. He gave a startled murmur, then saw the sole of Minato's shoe dart toward his face. While dodging Kuming's attacks, Minato had launched a counterattack. In midair, he spread his legs and kicked toward both Kuming's real body and his clone.
"Poof~"
Kuming's Shadow Clone vanished on the spot after taking the hit. As the attack came in, the real Kuming raised both arms to block Minato's counter. The tremendous force sent him flying backward, opening up the distance between him and Minato. Taking advantage of the opening, Minato adjusted his stance and faced Kuming defensively.
"This child is truly astonishing. He actually managed to block Kuming's attack."
"But if he was the one who took down those Jonin, he should be capable of more than this."
Watching the two clash again in the clearing, Uzumaki Mito couldn't help feeling curious about Minato. She knew the Kuming she had trained extremely well. With his current abilities, ordinary Genin were no match for him. A weaker Genin might well be subdued in a single exchange.
But the blond boy who could fight Kuming had clearly surpassed the level of a Genin by a wide margin.
"Is he one of Monkey's elite, secretly trained?"
Watching Minato and Kuming fight, Mito wondered to herself. There was no helping it. Most of the Shinobi World still operated under a clan system, and its elite fighters generally came from shinobi clans. Even outstanding civilian shinobi usually needed a talented mentor to stand out among their peers.
Kuming had only been formally training as a shinobi for about two years, but the training he had done was far beyond what a civilian shinobi could match. Take an advanced ninjutsu like Concealed Shadow Clone: civilians couldn't even dream of learning it. They might not even get to see it until after they became Genin.
At the Ninja Academy, instruction in ninjutsu was very limited, aside from the Three Body Technique and a few basic subjects.
"Thump! Thump!" In the clearing, Kuming stayed close to Minato and unleashed a continuous series of Taijutsu attacks. Perhaps because Minato knew who Kuming was, he rarely attacked first. He mostly blocked and dodged, only striking back when he was about to be hit so that he could break free from Kuming's assault.
After several minutes, Kuming was noticeably tiring. He was still young, and though he had plenty of Chakra, his stamina remained a major weakness.
"Kuming, Minato, stop fighting! You're on the same side!" Kushina finally called out. The two had been fighting for quite a while before she realized she should tell them to stop.
"If I don't use a few tricks, Taijutsu alone won't be enough to embarrass him!"
Hearing Kushina's call, Kuming quickly backed away after one strike. Seeing him withdraw, Minato let out a quiet breath of relief. He thought the boy had given up.
But soon Minato's expression changed to one of astonishment. He could clearly feel Kuming's Chakra surging. Even more terrifying than before, it soon formed a Chakra storm around him.
"Release!"
"????"
Kuming gave a low shout as he formed Hand Seals. The pale blue diamond-shaped mark on his forehead slowly began to disappear.
"That's enough, Kuming." Just as Uzumaki Kuming was about to release the seal completely, Mito suddenly appeared in front of him and placed one hand on his shoulder. The Yin Seal, which had just begun to open, was sealed again in an instant. His massive Chakra began flowing back into the seal.
"You've spent several months working on this. It's not worth it just to vent your anger."
"Your technique isn't fully mature yet, Kuming."
Mito stood between Minato and Kuming. After restraining Kuming with one hand, she turned to Minato and gave him a warm smile. Even an old woman like her couldn't help liking a sunny, handsome little boy~
"Child, what's your name?" Mito asked.
"Minato Namikaze. My name is Minato Namikaze."
Beneath the moonlight, the blond boy gave them a radiant smile. His smile could melt anyone's guard. Even Kuming, who had still been somewhat hostile, was momentarily taken aback when he saw it. This boy in his early teens really did have an exceptionally good temper.
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