Seal of Reconciliation

Though Nawaki had been spurred on and inspired by Hyuga Shinichi, he still had the same honest, simple-minded demeanor as in the original story. But his strength had far surpassed his original level—he was practically in a league of his own.

The two were simply incomparable. His tremendous increase in strength was astonishing!

"Phew, what do you think, Shinichi? I won this time, right? Hahahaha!"

But that was exactly when people tended to let their guard down.

"Wind-Riding Sword Technique: Heaven-Spin Sword Wind!"

Like the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin, this technique worked by releasing chakra through the skin, then rapidly spinning to spread it around the body and form a protective layer.

It could repel all physical attacks. Combined with the user's rotation and the Byakugan's observation ability, it formed an unconventional "absolute defense."

Heaven-Spin Sword Wind, however, was different from Rotation. It was made of wind-nature chakra sword energy. If Sword-Counter Wind Barrier was a passive defense, Heaven-Spin Sword Wind was both an attack and a defense. Combined with the Byakugan's observation ability, it made offense the perfect defense.

Centered on Hyuga Shinichi, a blue-green, hemispherical chakra shield with a radius of five meters spun rapidly, formed from sword energy. A powerful whirlwind swept away all the mud hands surrounding him.

Heaven-Spin Sword Wind carved out a circular safe zone ten meters in diameter for Hyuga Shinichi. He stopped spinning and channeled what little chakra he had left into the blade of his Listen-to-Wind Sword.

Then he leaped up and charged toward Nawaki. Nawaki was startled and hurriedly controlled the mud hands to defend himself.

But Hyuga Shinichi was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he cut through the incomplete defense, and the Listen-to-Wind Sword in his hand thrust straight toward Nawaki's throat.

At that moment, Nawaki realized the Mud Swamp Thousand Hands technique wasn't sturdy enough to stop a blade coated in Hyuga Shinichi's wind-nature chakra. He quickly formed Hand Seals and shouted,

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

He puffed out his chest and spewed a massive torrent of water from his mouth, sending a waterfall crashing toward Hyuga Shinichi in an attempt to engulf him.

"Zhenyi-ge won!"

"Minato, what did you say?"

Watching the Great Waterfall Technique surge toward Hyuga Shinichi, Namikaze Minato confidently declared that he had won. Jiraiya, however, couldn't understand how Hyuga Shinichi could possibly have won.

Because Namikaze Minato had seen it before: Hyuga Shinichi cut a waterfall in half with a single sword strike!

"Wind-Riding Sword Technique: Wind-Cutting Slash!"

A blue-green blade of chakra flashed, slicing the Great Waterfall Technique in half horizontally.

Nawaki stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what he was seeing. Through the huge gap cleaved across the waterfall, he could clearly see Hyuga Shinichi glaring at him with his Byakugan activated, gathering his strength for another attack!

"Oh no!"

Nawaki tried to retreat and use another ninjutsu, but it was already too late!

"Wind-Riding Sword Technique: Wind-Stepping Flash!"

A gale swept toward Nawaki! His hair, now long enough to fall over his forehead after months without a haircut, blew back. When the wind died down, it slowly fell into place. He looked at the Listen-to-Wind Sword at his throat and the white-eyed boy in front of him.

Nawaki knew he had lost. He had thought his combination ninjutsu and impressive Water Release techniques would counter Shinichi's Wind-Riding Sword Technique, but he hadn't expected Hyuga Shinichi to be this strong.

"I lost."

When Hyuga Shinichi heard Nawaki admit defeat, he dropped onto his backside and sprawled out on the ground, arms and legs spread wide.

"Phew, Nawaki, you really caught me off guard. If you hadn't let your guard down at that moment, I'd have had to work a lot harder. I might even have had to use the chakra stored in my Yin Seal."

"My combination ninjutsu isn't finished yet. Once it is, you'll be the one who loses!"

"I don't want to fight you again. That was exhausting."

"Hey, no way! I haven't beaten you yet! I—"

Lying on the ground, Hyuga Shinichi suddenly burst into laughter and dramatically covered one eye with his right hand.

"Hahahaha! Against these eyes of mine, you have no chance!"

"You..."

Nawaki opened his mouth, about to say something, but Hyuga Shinichi had already sat up and was smiling at him. Then he slowly raised his left hand and reached out toward Nawaki.

"I acknowledge you, Nawaki! You're my rival!"

Nawaki's body trembled slightly when he heard Hyuga Shinichi's words, and a trace of surprise crossed his face. But he quickly recovered.

Looking at Shinichi's smiling, outstretched hand, the corners of his mouth gradually lifted into a bright grin.

"Hmph! Who needs your acknowledgment? I'll beat you next time!"

Nawaki pulled Hyuga Shinichi to his feet. They let go of each other's hands, then joined their index and middle fingers like a handshake. This was the Seal of Reconciliation, a sign that they were comrades.

At that moment, time seemed to stop, and everything around them fell silent.

Nawaki and Hyuga Shinichi looked into each other's eyes, which shone with friendship. The Seal of Reconciliation conveyed their bond and trust.

A gentle breeze brushed past, stirring their hair and carrying the fresh scent of earth. Golden sunlight filtered through the clouds and fell on them, illuminating their youthful faces.

It was a simple gesture, yet it held boundless emotion and meaning, making the beauty and preciousness of friendship shine through.

"Wow! You two are incredible! One is nine, the other seven, and you're already this strong. You could both qualify as Special Jonin, and if you took on a few more high-level missions, becoming Jonin wouldn't be out of the question!"

Jiraiya said as he brought Namikaze Minato over to them. Minato picked up the Listen-to-Wind Sword from the ground and handed it to Hyuga Shinichi.

The two of them let go of the Seal of Reconciliation. Hyuga Shinichi ruffled Minato's blond hair before taking the Listen-to-Wind Sword and sliding it into the sheath on his back.

"Zhenyi-ge, you're amazing! I want to become a ninja as amazing as you!"

Hearing Minato's words and seeing the admiration shining in his eyes, Hyuga Shinichi rubbed the area beneath his nose with a finger.

"Of course! Just look at whose big brother I am. Hahahaha!"

After resting for a while, it was time to train Namikaze Minato.

"Minato, you've had some dealings with Big Brother Jiraiya, so I'm sure you know a bit about him, right? Well, he has a wish: to find a disciple who suits him perfectly. I think you have a lot of potential, so I introduced you to him."

Hyuga Shinichi thought for a moment, then continued.

"Of course, that's just my opinion. I can train you myself, but if you become Big Brother Jiraiya's disciple, you'll definitely receive better guidance and training. So in the end, it's up to you whether you want to."

"Yes! I want to! Thank you for introducing me, Zhenyi-ge! I've known about Lord Jiraiya's deeds for a long time and have admired him for ages. It would be wonderful if I could train under him."

Jiraiya looked at Namikaze Minato and nodded with satisfaction.

"Excellent, Minato. From today on, you're my disciple. Just call me Sensei from now on."

"Yes, Jiraiya-sensei! I'll work hard and become an excellent ninja!"