"..."
Why was Minato Namikaze doing this?
Was he poaching Hiruzen Sarutobi's people?
Given the kind of man Minato Namikaze was, he would never do something like that.
In that case, Hiruzen Sarutobi must have suggested it and sent him to test me.
That old man was far too suspicious!
Having reached that conclusion, Shisui Uchiha lowered his head slightly and spoke with a solemn expression.
"Lord Hokage, I'm already a member of the Anbu. Obeying the Hokage's orders and protecting the village are my duties!"
The meaning behind Shisui Uchiha's words was clear.
The Anbu obeyed the Hokage's orders. Minato was the Hokage now, so Shisui would obey him.
"Very good."
Minato Namikaze was very pleased with his answer, but the smile on his face never faded.
"But Shisui, I'm actually rather curious. Just how strong are you now?"
What?!
At Minato Namikaze's words, Shisui Uchiha's eyes widened, and every muscle in his body instantly tensed.
A moment later, his body began to blur.
Body Flicker Technique!
Just as Shisui's body blurred, a kunai appeared where he had been standing, slicing through the throat of his afterimage.
And a yellow flash closed in on him!
"Nice speed."
After his first strike failed, Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique again, teleporting beside the Hokage Office door, where he had placed a mark beforehand, and appearing in front of Shisui Uchiha.
His eyes remained narrowed, his face filled with a sunny smile.
"Let's take this outside!"
I haven't sparred with Shisui in ages since becoming Hokage. Since the Third asked me to do this, I might as well use the chance to cut loose with him.
"..."
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
As Minato Namikaze finished speaking, both figures instantly appeared beside a tree outside the Hokage Office.
Clang, clang, clang!
They clashed and broke apart, then collided again, repeating the cycle without pause.
Passersby could see only blurred afterimages flashing one after another and hear the constant clash of metal.
They could not even tell who was fighting.
"What's that? They're so fast I can't even see them."
"One of them seems to be... Lord Hokage!"
"What? Lord Hokage is fighting? Then who's the other one? Who could hold his own against Lord Hokage like that? Could it be that man from the Uchiha Clan?"
"Very likely! The Uchiha Clan may be evil, but there's still one exception. Instant Shisui made a name for himself on par with Lord Hokage during the third shinobi world war!"
Tap, tap.
While Konoha's villagers debated whether Minato Namikaze or Shisui Uchiha was stronger, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly appeared at the Hokage Office doorway. Gazing at the two afterimages flickering nearby, he remarked with feeling.
"Shisui really has grown stronger."
"All the better."
With his pipe between his lips, Hiruzen Sarutobi blew a smoke ring toward the sky.
With Minato and Shisui, balancing the forces within the village should not be much of a problem.
As for the Uchiha Clan, the village's greatest source of uncertainty, he would leave Danzo to struggle with them at his leisure.
While Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered, shuriken and kunai littered the forest atop Hokage Rock in Konoha.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
An enormous surge of chakra suddenly burst from Shisui Uchiha's body. As he finished his hand seals and pressed his hands together, a massive fire dragon surged with searing heat toward Minato Namikaze, who had just flashed into view before him.
Faced with the oncoming fire dragon, Minato Namikaze chose not to meet it head-on. His body vanished again, and he appeared behind Shisui Uchiha.
"Flying Thunder God Technique..."
Hiss, hiss, hiss!
At the same instant, a "ball" filled with violent chakra suddenly formed in Minato Namikaze's palm.
After probing him for so long, Minato Namikaze was finally getting serious!
Was that...?
As though he had realized something, Shisui Uchiha's tomoe began spinning rapidly within his scarlet Sharingan.
One tomoe!
Two-Tomoe!
Three-Tomoe...
"Second stage!"
Boom!
A tremendous explosion engulfed the entire area within a ten-meter radius.
A huge crater appeared in the ground, sending dust billowing into the air!
Yet although the strike had successfully hit Shisui Uchiha, there was no joy on Minato Namikaze's face.
Instead, his eyes opened, his gaze turning intensely grave as he stared at the enormous dark silhouette emerging from the dust.
"That's..."
The Uchiha Clan's exclusive ability, Susanoo!
Before you continue