Just You Wait, A

Bang!

Crack!

A fist wreathed in lightning struck Homura, but fortunately, True Immersion Substitution Technique activated instantly.

The dark-skinned young man, A, stared in shock at the wooden stake his punch had shattered.

While A was still stunned, Homura appeared behind him, turned, and ran without hesitation.

No way. At full strength, I might give him a fight, but how am I supposed to do that when I'm out of Chakra?

"Bastard! Don't run!"

Hearing movement behind him, A roared. Lightning flashed across his body as he drove his foot into the ground, crushing the earth beneath him, and shot after Homura like a streak of blue light.

His father, the Third Raikage, had recalled him from the Land of Wind. He had barely stepped off the boat when he learned that Konoha had already pushed to the Land of Lightning's border.

Without waiting for Killer B, A had rushed over to rally the defeated troops. Instead, he saw Homura cut off the head of Jinpei, one of Kumogakure's Jonin.

Recognizing Homura Uchiha, the Red Blade whose fame had recently soared, A went all out. Eager to snuff out Konoha's prodigy and furious over his comrade's death, he caught up with Homura in less than two breaths.

"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"

Chakra surged along A's right hand, and he chopped at Homura with a knife-hand strike. That blow would have turned Homura into Louis XVI.

Bang!

Homura substituted himself behind A again, flung his last few Explosive Tags, and ran.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The tags exploded, but A emerged from the smoke unharmed in Lightning Release Chakra Mode and charged straight back toward Homura.

Homura spun around and glared at A with his Sharingan, ready to trap him in Genjutsu.

But the instant A burst through the smoke, he closed his eyes and drove an elbow at Homura.

"Take this!"

A's elbow slammed toward Homura's face. Trusting that True Immersion Substitution Technique had no cooldown, Homura raised a hand to block and substituted himself behind A again.

This time, A reacted without hesitation. He changed his move midway, turned, and spread his arms to grab Homura.

"Liger Bomb!"

Homura had barely completed the substitution when he saw A's huge hands closing around him!

Hum!

Homura could only activate his aura to slow A down. A felt something like a gust pass through him. Relying on the Three-Tomoe Sharingan's dynamic vision, Homura spotted an opening and leaped back, leaving A grabbing empty air.

Homura steadied himself and studied A gravely. He was certain A had figured out True Immersion Substitution Technique and could react to it instantly.

A stared at Homura, who stood nearly a head shorter than him. It was hard to believe this seven-year-old child had dodged three of his attacks in a row.

And that strange slowing effect was a perfect counter to a Taijutsu fighter like him.

Wariness flickered in A's eyes. The thought of recruiting Homura occurred to him, and he said, "Hey, kid. Why not join Kumogakure? Your master infiltrated our village and released the Eight-Tails back then, but you weren't even born. We can't hold that against you."

"Join us, or you'll die here today."

Homura's eye twitched. Does this asshole know how to persuade anyone? Where's the incentive? All he's offered is a threat.

Speechless, Homura said, "I don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of black guys every day."

A took the jab without getting angry. He grinned fiercely and kept trying to win Homura over.

"We've got plenty of fair-skinned people in our village too. Surrender, and you can have as many as you want."

"So you want me to be a damn stud."

A's face stiffened at Homura's retort. Can't this brat show a little decency? He snorted.

"Enough, kid. I've said my piece. Stop trying to stall and give me an answer."

His ploy exposed and his Chakra barely recovered, Homura tightened his grip on Crimson Sky and let his actions answer.

"What a shame, kid. Soon everyone will know that the prodigy Homura Uchiha died by my hand today!"

The moment he finished speaking, A vanished. Homura had only just felt the rush of air when A's fist filled his vision.

Aura, on!

A slowed again, and Homura dodged the punch by a hair. But A raised a leg and brought it down hard.

"Liger Bomb!"

The ground caved in across a wide area. The impact sent Homura stumbling back several steps.

Before he could regain his footing, A launched his next attack.

Homura swung Crimson Sky to block from either side, looking for a chance to counter. But A relied on the toughness of his Lightning Armor, neither dodging nor retreating as he battered Homura.

Even when Homura landed a slash, A's relentless attacks kept him from putting his weight behind it. He left only shallow wounds.

Homura, meanwhile, was in miserable shape from A's blows. One hit caught him, and pain churned through his insides.

This can't go on!

After narrowly dodging another elbow, Homura stepped into the punch that followed. He reversed his grip on Crimson Sky, and lightning arced across the blade as he thrust straight at A's vital point.

White Fang Swordsmanship!

A sensed the power behind the thrust. He pulled back the fist aimed at Homura's face and moved it to guard his vital point.

Shhk.

Crimson Sky plunged straight into A's blood-swollen hand. Blood sprayed everywhere!

It had pierced his Lightning Armor!

A's pupils contracted. He jerked his hand, trying to pull it free of Crimson Sky before Homura could press his advantage.

But he couldn't pull it free! He couldn't move at all!

Because the thrust restricted his opponent's movement, it had been classified as Grab.

A could not break free until the two-second Grab ended.

Homura seized the chance to twist Crimson Sky, grinding the blade through A's flesh.

But two seconds was still too short. The instant the Grab ended, A wrenched himself free with a pained cry and flung Homura away.

Homura used the chance to put some distance between them.

White Fang Swordsmanship emphasized thrusts and slashes. From a distance, its user relied on speed to slash at an opponent's neck. Up close, he used Chakra to sharpen the blade and footwork to keep fighting, thrusting from different angles.

But to find an angle for a thrust now, Homura had to keep his aura active and A slowed.

Between that and the Chakra needed to strengthen his blade, Homura no longer had enough to keep fighting A.

A realized Homura wasn't pressing his advantage. After a breath, he saw how badly Homura had exhausted himself and attacked again.

As fists and feet clashed, Homura's stamina drained fast. A remained wary of another White Fang Swordsmanship strike, though, and fought much more cautiously than before.

Even so, Homura gradually lost ground as his strength failed.

Bang!

A punched Crimson Sky with enough force to send Homura flying backward. He stamped his right foot and appeared behind Homura in an instant, sweeping a lightning-wreathed knife-hand strike toward his neck.

Bang!

Forced to substitute himself again, Homura appeared behind A, only to find him ready. A followed through with a punch straight at him.

The dark fist grew larger and larger in Homura's eyes.

Fuck it. I'll use a revival coin and take you down with me!

Homura closed his eyes and waited to die. The moment he revived, he would cut this bastard down!

Whoosh!

A Kunai sliced through the air!

"Rasengan!"

Just as Homura waited for death, a blue sphere of Chakra appeared beside A.

Sensing danger, A instinctively pulled back his punch and crossed his arms in front of himself.

Bang!

The rapidly spinning Chakra ground against the surface of A's Lightning Armor. After a brief struggle, the Rasengan burst and knocked him back.

A steadied himself. Ignoring the wounds on his arm, he immediately spotted that unmistakable blond hair.

"The Yellow Flash..."

Minato gripped several specially made Kunai and watched A closely.

Even a direct hit from my Rasengan only left a few wounds? The Lightning Release Armor certainly lives up to its reputation.

Two of the Shinobi World's fastest fighters regarded each other warily. Neither had reached the peak he would attain years later; Homura's interference had brought them face-to-face ahead of time.

"Tch!"

A had wanted to retreat the moment he saw the Yellow Flash. But remembering Homura's Sharingan, he worried the boy had copied his Lightning Armor, and his gaze filled with killing intent.

Then A looked back at Minato and gave up on continuing the fight. Who knew whether more enemies were coming? He cast a regretful glance at Homura, who was barely standing.

"What a shame, Red Blade. I'll let you live this time!"

With that, A withdrew toward the Land of Lightning.

Minato breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't consider himself weaker than A, but Homura was wounded, and they were too close to the Land of Lightning's border. It wasn't safe.

Minato hoisted Homura onto his back and left. As soon as Homura settled there, the tension left him, and his vision gradually went dark.

In the last moment before he passed out, he made up his mind.

Just you wait, you bastard. When I get back, I'll draw a dozen filthy comics about you and make you famous.