"Hmm... I can't do that. I have to report the mission's contents and details to the village exactly as they happened." After hearing Yue's request, Minato Namikaze was not surprised at all. Stroking his chin, he gave an apologetic smile and gently declined.
"Besides, I'm not very good at lying."
Yue wanted him to transfer the credit for facing the enemy head-on to his father, Fuma Ryoma.
In other words, Minato and Ryoma had joined forces to repel or kill the enemy from the front.
Yue wanted to remove himself from the matter.
After all, in the eyes of the three Takahashis, the three of them had been on the front-line battlefield. As for who had contributed more or less, they had no way of knowing.
"I'm not asking you to lie. Just be vague and gloss over the parts involving me, or simply record only what concerns you. Don't involve my father and me. As for Kusagakure, we'll figure something out ourselves," Yue said calmly.
"This is a village-level commission... afterward, both sides will still need to communicate," Minato reminded him.
"That's why I hope you can help."
Yue answered.
"For Konoha, even if it involves the village, this kind of mission isn't difficult or important to you... I'm not asking you to alter the mission records. Just leave out some unnecessary parts and emphasize the important while downplaying the trivial. That should be fine, right?"
Yue restated his request.
Seeing Minato still considering it, he frowned slightly. "You're not going to be that rigid about it, are you?"
"..."
Hearing that, Minato seemed to think of something and suddenly smiled. "All right, I'll reluctantly agree... But I'm doing you a favor, so you'll have to do me one later. How about it?"
"I help you?"
Yue froze for a moment.
"That's right."
Minato nodded.
Yue caught the scent of a conspiracy.
"What favor?" he asked directly.
"I won't tell you yet. You'll find out later."
Minato spoke mysteriously.
"..."
He suddenly felt that negotiating with someone like Minato Namikaze—or other plot characters with sharp minds—was troublesome... Mainly because it was hard to get any advantage out of them.
A short while later, the two hid in the trees and quietly waited for the enemy to arrive.
Under the mountain night, aside from the chirping of insects and birds, everything was exceptionally still.
"How nice... When I was ten, I was still in the Ninja Academy." Minato had a somewhat familiar personality, and he showed no tension at all before the coming battle. He chatted idly with Yue. After all, their opponents were merely local forces from the Land of Rain, not village shinobi. Although they had gathered some rogue ninja and armed fighters, their overall threat in war could not compare to a village's regular troops.
The difference between the two was actually quite great.
Their combat qualities were different, affecting everything from battlefield command to squad execution and even individual combat ability.
Minato had only become a Genin at eleven, but that did not affect the halo of genius around him.
Some people were like that. They might shine early, or perhaps later, but they would always display signs of standing above the crowd. A true genius became unstoppable once he emerged, rather than being like some people who only flashed briefly during a certain stage before fading into obscurity.
"Why are you on the front lines? Where's your teacher?"
Minato continued asking.
"..."
This time, Yue did not answer him.
Clearly, Yue found him a little too talkative.
He drew his long blade and began coating its edge in Chakra, preparing for battle.
Minato did not mind Yue's attitude. Seeing what the boy was doing, he raised a brow. "That sword of yours isn't a specially made Chakra blade or weapon. Strengthening it with Chakra will have some effect, but the improvement is limited. It's mostly a waste... Though I'm guessing you're using this method to train your Chakra control, right?"
"It really is a good method, but it requires a great deal of Chakra. Most people can't afford to waste Chakra so casually... Did you come up with this yourself?"
"No."
Yue spat out the two words sparingly.
Nagato had taught him this method.
Even if it was not a Chakra weapon, once Yue could make the Chakra directed onto the blade remain condensed without dispersing, he would have completed Nagato's lesson.
Ordinary weapons and ninja tools found it extremely difficult to hold Chakra. Even when wrapped in Chakra, the increase in power was not obvious. Besides Chakra control, it required exceptionally strong Chakra perception... These were the areas Yue was training.
Put simply, it was somewhat similar to the method puppet masters used to release Chakra threads.
There were some differences, but the principles were roughly the same.
"Your teacher must be a very impressive person."
Minato praised him sincerely.
Yahiko's group of three, including the core members of the Akatsuki, were all essentially Yue's teachers.
And Yahiko's group were Jiraiya's disciples, while Minato was Jiraiya's student... Looking at it that way, Yue and Minato were even somewhat like relatives.
"They're here."
A smile had still been on his face a second earlier, but in the next instant, Minato Namikaze's eyes flashed and his emotions vanished.
Yue's ears twitched as he gazed into the darkness ahead. He sensed nothing unusual and heard no movement.
But he trusted Minato's judgment.
The enemy attack had come so quickly?!
They had clearly been prepared... The two waves of attacks had been arranged closely together.
Yue and Minato held their breath, completely blending into the darkness and shade of the trees.
Under their watchful gaze, figures soon landed in the clearing not far away.
"There are no traces here. Could they have already run away?"
"Keep looking... They might be hiding."
"Yes."
The team appearing before Yue and Minato was likely only one unit of the enemy's main force. By then, Yue could already hear movement rushing through the surrounding area from every direction, indicating that more people were searching this stretch of land.
Minato silently mouthed something to Yue. From the shape of his lips, he was clearly telling Yue to charge ahead while Yue merely followed up and assisted.
However, the instant the enemy squad scattered, Yue had already shot forward and vanished.
Minato laughed soundlessly. He had intended to protect Yue and keep the boy from getting hurt... Judging from the number of enemies, the situation was somewhat troublesome, but with his abilities, he could still settle it easily. Yet Yue seemed to have misunderstood him... thinking Minato was looking down on him.
Minato shook his head and immediately flashed away.
Yue had not misunderstood Minato, and he knew the latter's intentions.
He simply wanted to use this battle to see just how great the gap was between himself and a true genius... Yes, a trace of competitiveness had risen within him.
In midair, an enemy was leaping between tree branches when a streak of black, invisible to the naked eye, suddenly swept past him like lightning and vanished in a flash.
After the black shadow darted away, the man fell to the ground at the same time. Without making the slightest sound, his life was harvested.
Because there were many enemies and they were operating within a relatively concentrated area, assassination was the best method. If he used ninjutsu or made too much noise now, he would soon be surrounded. Yue pressed tightly against the back of a tree trunk, carefully listening to the wind and grass around him with his eyes closed.
When he heard another faint sound tearing through the air, his eyes snapped open.
Using sound to determine the target's position, he silently swept forward with his outstanding movement techniques and explosive power.
Where the blade's gleam pointed, blood splashed.
After killing the target, he did not pause at all, vanishing into the darkness again like a ghost.
"Third."
He counted inwardly.
But at that moment, the forest suddenly descended into chaos.
Sounds of fighting came from every direction, as though every enemy racing through the woods had suddenly been ambushed.
Yue's heart jolted. He knew Kusagakure's reinforcements could not have arrived.
That left only one explanation.
It was Minato Namikaze.
The sounds of battle all vanished in an instant... Moreover, the sources came from different locations, creating the illusion for Yue that many allies had arrived at once. But in reality, there had only ever been one ally. At a speed Yue could not comprehend, Minato had covered the entire area in an extremely short time and instantly eliminated every target he found.
Yue stepped out from the shadows. His gaze was low and composed, yet it revealed an excitement he could not hide.
He saw it...
In the dim light, he vaguely saw that dazzling golden blond hair.
An S-rank space-time ninjutsu, the Flying Thunder God.
Minato had long since planted hidden jutsu markers all around the area.
He had prepared thoroughly.
This was the combat preparation and discipline of Konoha's top ninja.
In the trees and on the ground... enemy silhouettes toppled one after another. Some had only just been ambushed by Minato, and while their bodies were still falling, that streak of Yellow Flash had already appeared beside the next victim.
No one could withstand even a single exchange against him.
Every one was an instant kill.
There was no need for time-consuming assassinations like Yue's. This was nothing but a crushing disparity in strength...
Fast... Too fast!
Before absolute strength, any technique was a joke.
Yue unconsciously clenched his sword hilt, and light burst from his eyes.
Even if he already knew the answer, he could not let Minato Namikaze defeat every opponent by himself.
He could lose... but he could not admit defeat.
Before you continue