"Vmm!"
Xia Yan's blade came down and cut through empty air. Minato Namikaze had long since vanished without a trace from in front of him.
Xia Yan showed no particular expression, however. He slowly put away his Ninja Blade and looked to the side, where Minato Namikaze stood on a large tree, watching him.
There was a little gratification in his eyes, as well as disbelief.
Naturally, he was gratified because Xia Yan's use of Flying Thunder God had already reached an excellent level, and he himself deserved some of the credit for Xia Yan learning the technique.
Watching someone thoroughly assimilate what he had taught and produce good results with it-
Minato Namikaze was naturally delighted by such an achievement, and deeply gratified.
What he found unbelievable, however, was that Xia Yan's proficiency with Flying Thunder God had truly exceeded his expectations.
Minato Namikaze already knew exactly when Xia Yan had left a mark on him.
But it was precisely because he knew that he found it unbelievable.
It had happened after he left his own mark on Xia Yan, in the instant the boy touched him while attacking!
He had indeed dodged that punch, but Xia Yan's fist had also genuinely touched him.
They had fought for quite some time, but after Xia Yan entered Sage Mode, the number of times they had actually touched each other could be counted on one hand.
Both of them reacted far too quickly, and both protected themselves far too well.
Minato Namikaze had seized that opportunity with ease entirely because his use of Flying Thunder God had reached the pinnacle.
In the original story, when Kakashi first used Chidori in actual combat, he had easily accomplished just that-saving Kakashi while instantly leaving a mark on the enemy.
But how long had