"So these are the two guests who have come from afar, then? Welcome to Konoha. I'm Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage of Konoha."
Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen had unusually put away his pipe. He smoothed the wrinkles in his Hokage Cloak and straightened his back.
In front of outsiders, he still had to maintain the Hokage's dignity.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were there as well. After confirming that, just as the letters from Uncle and Minato had said, Uncle showed no signs of chakra refinement and had relaxed muscles, they turned their attention to Chixing.
Hiss...
What a peculiar-looking little thing...
For now, they would classify it as a summon!
After settling Uncle and Chixing in and sending a few Anbu Ninjas to "protect" them, Sarutobi Hiruzen set the pair aside for the time being. There was a pressing matter that needed to be dealt with first...
"Minato, I'm counting on you tonight!"
After hearing everything the "Fog Demon" had been up to lately, even the mild-mannered Minato couldn't sit still.
Had something like this really happened while he was away from the village?!
Whoever this so-called "Fog Demon" was, Minato swore he'd make sure they went down in defeat!
Whoever trespassed on Konoha's territory would be struck down by Minato!
By nightfall, the streets were deserted. A thin fog blanketed the ground, rolling through the streets like thick smoke and spreading in every direction. Holding a kunai, Minato kept his eyes fixed on the figure barely visible in the mist.
"So, you've come..."
The fog crept closer. A pair of eyes glinting with a fierce red light emerged from within it. Minato immediately raised his kunai in front of himself, ready for battle.
"Who are you, and what do you want?!"
He questioned the shadow in the fog, unable even to make out its shape. The reply came in a childish, tender voice:
"You're not the target... Move..."
"That voice... Could it be a child?"
In the Ninja World, even children could become ninja. Hearing that childish voice, Minato instinctively assumed the so-called "Fog Demon" was a spy from another village who had come to kill someone for a reason. But the very next moment, he dismissed that idea—
A terrifying red light blazed from where its eyes should have been. Then an indistinct figure lunged at him. Minato's pupils contracted, and he instinctively raised his kunai to block.
—Clang!
The weapons collided, sending sparks flying. Minato felt his arm shudder violently, and the kunai was knocked from his hand in an instant—
"Such weight!"
The gleaming edge of a sharp blade flashed in Minato's eyes. Just as it was about to pierce his brow, golden light flickered, and Minato used Flying Thunder God to slip past the attack.
"Fast and strong...?"
The attack had been so fast that probably only a handful of people in the entire Ninja World could have dodged it. And it had packed tremendous strength, too. Neither the speed nor the power seemed possible for a child. If the opponent really was a child, they had to be a genius renowned throughout the Ninja World. Minato couldn't imagine any village sending a genius out as a spy.
"So... it's a technique that can disguise someone's voice?"
The figure in the fog didn't stop after its attack missed. It pivoted and came at him again, holding the dagger in a reverse grip.
"If I can't go head-to-head with you... then I'll beat you with speed!"
Minato flicked a kunai from one hand, then sprinted toward the fog in a head-on charge. The instant a red glow appeared in the "Fog Demon's" eyes and the blade burst from the mist, Minato's figure vanished in a flash of gold. The next instant, he appeared beside the kunai he'd thrown ahead of time—
"Flying Thunder God—Second Step!"
A dazzling Rasengan burst through the mist, churning against the Fog Demon's body. When Minato felt resistance under his palm, he poured in more chakra.
—Boom!
The ground caved in, and cracks spread out like a spiderweb. The clear sound of breaking bones reached his ears. Just as Minato was about to press the attack, the fog around him suddenly thickened. "This is... poisonous fog?!"
The gray-black fog closed in, so Minato had to leap away before leaving himself open. The figure in the mist also hopped backward repeatedly, disappearing into the fog once more.
Inside the dense fog, the "Fog Demon," Jack, saw the blood pouring from his arm and immediately used his innate skill, "Surgery."
The dried blood on his knife turned into green particles of light and seeped into his body. The wound crushed by the Rasengan also healed completely.
Jack was in a bit of a bind. Qian Yu had originally set her target as a gambler, but she hadn't expected some blond kid to show up out of nowhere.
Minato was certainly powerful, and he even had a broken technique like Flying Thunder God. If he marked her and tracked her back to her hideout, that would be trouble... So she had to be careful.
Meanwhile, faced with the poisonous fog closing in, Minato couldn't think of a solution right away. He could only try forming Hand Seals and call out, "Wind Style: Typhoon Pass!"
The Wind Release he usually used to disperse the Hidden Mist Technique had little effect on the gray-black poisonous fog before him. Still, this let Minato rule out the possibility that the "Fog Demon" was a Kirigakure ninja.
"This poisonous fog isn't as harmful as I expected. Rather than attacking, it seems more suited to dispersing crowds..."
"So... breathing it in briefly isn't fatal..."
"And... it seems the fog completely blocks my senses..."
"Looks like I have to use that technique..."
Minato pressed his hands together, intending to gather the Natural Energy around him and enter Sage Mode, which would greatly enhance his sensory abilities.
(PS: In the original Naruto manga, Minato really wasn't good at Sage Mode. Not only did it take him a very long time to gather Senjutsu Chakra, but he could only maintain it for an extremely limited time. But the story calls for it, so this book follows the anime's version, where Minato can enter Sage Mode instantly.)
As the markings appeared on his face, Minato's strength, speed, senses, and other abilities increased dramatically. He still couldn't see through the darkness at the center of the fog, but he could sense something darting swiftly through it.
"Now!"
The fog completely concealed Minato. The instant Jack's dagger flashed again, Minato reacted! He turned to dodge the direct attack. Although Jack's dagger grazed his arm, drawing a little blood, the ball of chakra in his palm had already taken shape—
"Sage Art: Rasengan!"
Jack didn't simply let the Rasengan hit him. He crossed his daggers in front of himself to block it.
The pressure of Sage Art far surpassed that of an ordinary Rasengan. Jack's petite body lost its footing and was sent flying out of the dense fog, landing in the open street. At last, Minato saw the "Fog Demon's" true face—
It was an incredibly young, adorable face—the kind that could instantly put anyone at ease. Minato's movements even froze for half a second—
"Transformation Technique?!"
No! There was no sign of chakra being used...
Minato's heightened perception in Sage Mode told him that his opponent wasn't concealing their true form.
Could they be an unknown ability user like Uncle and Chixing?
Minato's mind reeled. He could hardly believe the so-called "Fog Demon" was a child who looked too young to have graduated from the Ninja Academy.
Before you continue