As for Minato Namikaze, he threw himself into practicing speed and the jutsu he had learned from the Academy and Ino Yamanaka. The "Yellow Flash," who would later stun the Shinobi World, was already beginning to show his brilliance.
After the polite exchange, it was time for a fight to the death.
Uchiha Matsuri moved first, casually pulling out three kunai and hurling them at Minato Namikaze.
Minato easily dodged the kunai, then quickly threw two of his own with his right hand. They flew straight at Uchiha Matsuri, who leaped aside to avoid the kunai that would otherwise have pierced his throat.
At that moment, Minato dashed toward Uchiha Matsuri.
With a bang, Minato appeared in front of Uchiha Matsuri and kicked him in the chest. Matsuri was sent flying and landed on the ground dozens of meters away.
"What incredible speed. I didn't expect Minato to have improved so much." Though he had been kicked away and knocked down, Uchiha Matsuri remained calm.
"No way! Matsuri's already on the back foot?"
"Minato's amazing! No wonder he's one of the best of the new generation of ninja."
Watching the scene, the students gathered nearby couldn't help whispering among themselves.
Even Ino Yamanaka couldn't help praising him. "Well done, Minato! I had no idea this kid had gotten so fast."
Seeing Uchiha Matsuri kicked away and knocked down, Minato ignored the praise from the people nearby, gripped his short sword, and charged toward Matsuri at incredible speed.
Stab!
The short sword pierced Uchiha Matsuri's body.
"Did I win?" Minato exclaimed excitedly.
Bang!
The Uchiha Matsuri who had been struck by the short sword immediately turned into a section of wood.
"So it was the Substitution Technique." Minato couldn't help sounding disappointed.
At that very moment, Uchiha Matsuri suddenly dashed out from the side with a kunai in hand, then flung it toward Minato's back.
Minato instantly felt a strong sense of danger. He suddenly dodged to the side on instinct, and the kunai grazed his clothes before embedding itself in the tree beside him.
"That was close. It almost hit me," Minato thought. "I can't make that kind of mistake again in the next exchange!"
"Damn, I was so close." Uchiha Matsuri said regretfully. "Looks like I can't just rely on kunai against him."
Over the next dozen or so exchanges, Uchiha Matsuri was continually suppressed by Minato, who was slightly faster. Frustration began to build inside him.
The truth was, Uchiha Matsuri had been struggling with a dilemma. He didn't want to reveal his Single Tomoe Sharingan, but that meant he couldn't benefit from all the advantages it gave him in battle.
First, he couldn't observe Minato's movements. Since Minato specialized in speed, Matsuri was already at a serious disadvantage in their fight, which had been limited to close- and mid-range combat. If he still refused to use the Sharingan to track Minato's movements, he would be completely outmatched.
Second, he had also lost the chance to defeat Minato with genjutsu, even though the genjutsu Matsuri could use wasn't very powerful.
But if he didn't reveal the Sharingan, his trump card, what was he supposed to do with the jutsu he had copied through it?
Thinking about it left Uchiha Matsuri speechless. Damn it, if he didn't use ninjutsu against Minato, was he really going to foolishly try to beat him with Taijutsu?
I can't worry about all that. If it's going to be exposed, it'll happen sooner or later.
After dodging several rounds of Minato's kunai, Uchiha Matsuri made up his mind to use the jutsu he had "learned" through the Sharingan.
With that in mind, Uchiha Matsuri quickly formed Hand Seals in the order of "Snake–Ram–Monkey–Boar–Horse–Tiger."
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Chakra rapidly gathered in Uchiha Matsuri's throat. In an instant, he spat out a ball of fire that shot toward Minato at high speed.
"He's finally using ninjutsu," Minato thought.
Just as the fireball was about to hit him, Minato suddenly leaped to the side. The fireball flew straight into the tree behind him. The tree was instantly severed at the trunk and quickly went up in flames.
"That's incredible. They're nothing like us—they've only just graduated from the Ninja Academy!" Nohara Shin exclaimed from the sidelines.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
After quickly forming Hand Seals, Minato blew a gust of wind from his mouth. It sped toward Uchiha Matsuri, who was only ten meters away.
Since he had used up a lot of chakra in his Taijutsu battle with Uchiha Matsuri, Minato had only forty percent of his chakra left. He decided to risk everything and pour all of it into this technique.
Watching Minato use Wind Release, Uchiha Matsuri quickly formed Hand Seals.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Uchiha Matsuri spat out a series of fireballs. The first few extinguished Minato's gust of wind, while the remaining ones flew toward Minato, who had dropped to one knee.
"Damn, I'm running out of chakra," Minato thought. Just then, Ino Yamanaka noticed something was wrong and hurriedly formed Hand Seals to cast "Earth Release: Earth Flow City Wall." A tall earthen wall rose in front of Minato, shielding him behind it.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
The four fireballs struck the wall and vanished.
"That was close." Minato and Ino Yamanaka both breathed a sigh of relief.
"You win."
Even though he had lost the match, Minato still wore a smile.
"Uchiha Matsuri wins!" Ino Yamanaka announced loudly.
When the students heard their teacher declare Uchiha Matsuri the winner, the crowd erupted.
"See? I told you Uchiha Matsuri-sama was stronger!"
"Matsuri and Minato are both amazing. They can even use C-rank jutsu!"
"Exactly! And they fought with Taijutsu for ages before using ninjutsu!"
"Matsuri has so much chakra! Minato's chakra ran out, but Matsuri could still attack with ninjutsu!"
There was no doubt that, apart from these two, all the students present knew only the kunai and Substitution Technique taught at school. After witnessing their dazzling fight, the onlookers were filled with astonishment and undisguised jealousy.
"That's incredible. They can both use ninjutsu of that caliber already. Looks like I'll have to work hard, too." After watching their duel, Kushina Uzumaki clenched her fists.
Hearing his classmates lavish praise on him, Uchiha Matsuri couldn't help smiling wryly. Fortunately, Minato had run out of chakra too. With only ten percent of his own chakra left, Matsuri really wouldn't have been able to use any more jutsu. Otherwise, he would have been the one getting thrashed.
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