Duel (1)

"What?"

Yueshu was stunned for a moment, not understanding what Minato Namikaze had just said.

"I told you, I'm planning to graduate early."

Minato was completely serious, determination firm on his gentle face.

"What got into you all of a sudden?"

Yueshu scratched his head, completely baffled.

A month had passed since Yueshu and Tsunade had chatted over dinner that day. Everything was still much the same: Yueshu, Minato, and Kushina remained a close-knit group. Mikoto Uchiha had been drawn into their circle by Kushina, turning the trio into a slightly larger group of four.

Given Konoha's current situation, it seemed there would be a fairly long stretch of peace ahead. But Minato had suddenly come to Yueshu and told him he wanted to graduate early.

"It's nothing in particular. I just feel like I've learned everything the Academy can teach me. If I keep going like this, I'll never beat you, so I've decided to graduate early and get stronger."

Minato looked at Yueshu with such earnestness that Yueshu felt a little uncomfortable.

Is this because of me? Yueshu grumbled inwardly.

In the original story, Minato had graduated early too, but he'd been ten years old. Now he was only a little over eight—at least a year ahead of schedule.

"Have you really made up your mind?"

Yueshu sighed. He didn't like interfering with other people's decisions. He'd always felt that people made their own choices, and it wasn't his place to judge them as right or wrong.

"Yeah. I'm going to talk to the teacher in a bit."

Minato nodded.

"All right. I respect your decision. Good luck."

Yueshu gently patted Minato on the shoulder.

"Before that, there's one more favor I need to ask you."

"Oh? What is it?"

Yueshu was curious, but the next second his face fell.

"One last duel with me before I leave school!"

"Huh?"

Yueshu looked at Minato's serious face and felt like covering his forehead and thinking things over.

What a pain!

"Are you that sure you can pass the early graduation exam?"

"Yeah!"

"That was a pretty confident answer."

Yueshu looked at Minato, his own gaze growing a little more serious.

"Fine. I'll duel you one more time!"

And so, with Yueshu's agreement, the duel between him and Minato was settled.

It would be tomorrow, since the school just happened to have a practical lesson scheduled. As usual, the two of them would probably be paired together.

That wasn't what concerned Yueshu most, though. It was the butterfly effect.

With one more person getting involved, the future of Naruto would certainly no longer follow its original course. And now, the effects were already showing: Minato would graduate more than a year earlier than he had in the original story. There was no doubt this was a major change.

Minato, who would be hailed as the Yellow Flash, was the purest kind of genius in the Ninja World. He had no "cheats"; no one could match his sheer natural talent. With a genius like him graduating early, his strength would undoubtedly grow faster. A Fourth Hokage even stronger than the one in the original story would be born. When the Nine-Tails Incident or the Third Ninja War came, would Team Kakashi avoid its fate of death thanks to the Fourth Hokage's greater strength?

If so, Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu's plans would go awry. Would the story of Naruto still play out?

After thinking for a while, Yueshu shook his head and put all those thoughts behind him.

He wasn't trying to conquer the world or save it, so why think so much? It was enough to just live his life.

Having worked it out, Yueshu went on with his usual routine.

After class, Kushina and Mikoto, the two best friends, ran over to find Yueshu. They'd heard the news that Minato was graduating early, too.

In fact, word of Minato's early graduation had already spread. It had probably reached the entire Ninja Academy by now.

"What's Minato thinking? He's only been at school for a little over a year! He's graduating already?"

Kushina was also rather surprised. She couldn't understand why Minato had suddenly decided to graduate early.

"Who knows? He's a genius, after all."

Yueshu said this, and Kushina suddenly fell silent.

"A genius?"

Kushina murmured to herself, so quietly that Yueshu didn't hear her. Only Mikoto, standing beside her, caught it.

Kushina and Mikoto didn't talk much more with Yueshu after that. The next class soon began, and they both returned to their seats. Kushina seemed a little distracted, and Mikoto was too, glancing at Kushina and Yueshu several times.

Yueshu found it a little strange, but didn't think much of it.

Time passed quickly, and the day was soon over. Kushina and Mikoto headed home together. Minato came over and said to Yueshu,

"Tomorrow, I'm definitely going to beat you!"

Minato threw down the challenge, and for once, Yueshu felt his own blood stir.

"I won't lose either."

With that, Yueshu and Minato exchanged smiles before heading off toward their respective homes.

The butterfly flapped its wings, again and again. Perhaps it would stir up a typhoon somewhere.

The next day, Konoha was bustling. The two most famous geniuses in the village, Minato Namikaze and Himeshima Tsuki, were going to duel.

On top of that, Minato planned to graduate early.

The venue was the Ninja Academy's training ground. Quite a crowd had already gathered—shinobi and civilians alike, all there to watch Minato and Yueshu's duel.

Now that the Second Ninja War was over, Konoha had two astonishing geniuses. People called them the Twin Stars of Konoha: Minato Namikaze and Yueshu.

And now, the Twin Stars of Konoha were about to duel, testing whose brilliance shone brighter.

"Minato Namikaze, Himeshima Tsuki, step forward."

At the teacher's call, the crowd grew lively.

"Form the Seal of Confrontation."

Yueshu and Minato looked each other in the eye, both filled with fighting spirit.

To Yueshu, Minato was his only male friend, and he was also a formidable fighter. Aside from Yueshu himself, there was probably no other student at the Ninja Academy who could beat him.

"Don't hold back."

Minato formed the Seal of Confrontation with Yueshu and spoke.

"Don't worry."

Yueshu's reply made Minato smile.

"Both sides, get ready."

After forming the Seal of Confrontation, Yueshu and Minato each retreated some distance. Their duel was about to begin.

A gentle breeze swept past. The crowd, which had been making quite a bit of noise, suddenly fell silent.

This wasn't some casual sparring match. It was a genuine duel, with both sides giving it everything they had!

The air was still. Yueshu and Minato could both hear each other's rapid heartbeats.

"Begin!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"