Minato gave no answer. Fine beads of sweat seeped from his temples; maintaining this wildly unstable new technique placed an enormous strain on him. The instant Shinji closed to a dangerous distance, he thrust his right palm forward-
"Rasengan!" (Bargain-bin version.)
The blue chakra vortex slammed into Shinji's chakra-infused blade! A piercing hum of energy rang across the arena as blue and red chakra clashed violently, forming a small vortex. Savage gusts exploded outward, scouring every speck of dust from the ground!
When the turbulent energy subsided, everyone saw what had happened: the Rasengan in Minato's palm (bargain-bin version) had collapsed, while the tip of Shinji's blade rested steadily an inch from his throat, utterly motionless.
"An impressive technique," Shinji praised sincerely, drawing his blade back. "The concept is novel, and taking chakra shape transformation this far... if you finish developing it, it might actually give me some trouble someday."
Minato panted softly, but a smile of relief and faint excitement appeared on his face. "But I'm still nowhere close..."
Yet Shinji suddenly leaped back again, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of mischief and fighting spirit. "But did you think this was a turn-based game, and everything ended once you made your move?"
Minato froze.
At some point, Shinji's left hand had quietly finished forming hand seals. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
A blazing dragon roared from his mouth! Though small, its form was solid and distinct, every scale and claw clearly defined. Its heat warped the air, and its speed and precision reached astonishing heights. He was clearly still holding back its power, but its presence was overwhelming!
Minato hurriedly dodged with successive uses of the Body Flicker Technique, but Shinji seemed able to see the future. Like a curse that would not let go, the fire dragon