As a ninja with a cheat-like golden finger that had never been deactivated, Yuki Seisui finally acknowledged Minato.
"I, Yuki Seisui, admit it, your talent is second only to mine!"
On the battlefield, Pakura stared at Minato, dumbfounded. She had never seen anyone evade her Scorch Release Fireball like that.
By the time she reacted, Minato was already upon her, kunai in hand, slashing forward.
"Damn it!" Pakura gritted her teeth and quickly pulled out her own kunai, engaging Minato in close combat.
Seeing this, Minato's lips curled into a faint smile. The main problem with Pakura wasn't her physical skill, it was the blazing orbs of fire orbiting around her like small suns.
But Minato's kunai had a little trick of its own.
The blade shimmered with blue light, elongating and forming a pair of three-pronged short blades.
Pakura's eyes widened as she leapt backward, but Minato was faster. He seized the opening and drove a kick straight into her abdomen.
BAM!
Caught off guard, Pakura was sent flying. She twisted midair, barely managing to land on her feet, sliding backward several meters.
"You didn't use your full strength last time?!" she snapped, glaring at him in disbelief.
Minato smiled, a bright, sunny grin that only made her angrier.
"Last time, all I needed was to stall you."
Pakura froze. What?
All this time, she'd believed she alone had held off Minato and Uchiha Sei. Because of that, the others had mocked Rasa mercilessly.
And now he was telling her… he hadn't even gone all out?!
"You've got to be kidding me!!"
Pakura's fury boiled over. She began forming hand signs.
"Scorch Release: Detonation!"
Her Scorch Release was a hybrid of Fire Release and another element. Anything caught by it would have its moisture vaporized, leaving behind a shriveled corpse.
She spat out a deep-red fireball, hotter and denser than any normal flame, straight toward Minato.
Minato responded instantly, swinging his arm. Two Wind Blades shot forth, cutting into the fireball as he leapt aside.
Pakura's lips curved into a smirk.
"Explode."
BOOM!
The fireball burst apart, erupting into a sea of flames.
Minato reacted instantly, his hands flashing through signs.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
Two small cyclones roared from his mouth, sweeping up the flames and hurling them back toward Pakura.
While the windstorm surged forward, Minato flicked one of his kunai onto the ground, and in the next heartbeat, vanished.
Pakura barely had time to move when Minato suddenly appeared right beside her.
"It's over."
His blade swung toward her neck.
Up in the stands, the Third Kazekage shot to his feet, eyes narrowing dangerously.
If Pakura died here, he would make sure Konoha's genius died with her!
Consequences be damned, he was the strongest Kazekage!
But before the blade could reach, Hatake Sakumo appeared behind Minato, grabbing his wrist. He shook his head gently.
"The winner, Minato Namikaze!"
Stopping mid-strike, Minato withdrew his weapon, picked up his marked kunai, and smiled at Pakura, spinning the ring with his finger.
"You're a strong opponent," he said cheerfully.
To her, though, that smile was pure mockery.
"Damn it! Next time, I will surpass you!"
Pakura stormed off toward Chiyo's position.
Minato scratched his cheek sheepishly. "So rude… Kushina's way cuter."
With that, he smiled and walked off the stage.
The audience, silent until now, erupted.
"This guy's a Genin?!"
"He's a monster!"
"I'm giving all my missions to Konoha from now on!"
"Right?! The other villages don't stand a chance!"
Even Danzo's men were subtly fanning the excitement.
==========
Yuki Seisui crossed his arms, watching Minato return.
"So you secretly learned the Flying Raijin, huh?"
Minato rubbed the back of his neck. "Not exactly… I still need a second of prep time before using it. And I have to place a mark first."
He showed Seisui his kunai, pointing to the seal engraved on it.
"This is the Flying Raijin mark. But every time I use it, the mark disappears. I have to rewrite it again, it takes at least half an hour."
Seisui nodded. "I knew it. There's no way you could've mastered it already. You're still far from my level, Minato."
Uchiha Sei gave him a strange look, weren't you the one praising him earlier?
Ignoring her, Seisui grinned. "Anyway, congrats on becoming a Chunin."
"By the way, Kushina's still at the academy, right? Maybe you should beg the Third Hokage to let you be a teacher there."
"Teacher? Why would I—?"
"Think about it," Seisui smirked. "Wouldn't it be nice to have Kushina call you 'Minato-sensei' in front of everyone?"
He was mid-laugh when he suddenly froze, sensing a murderous aura. He immediately shut his mouth.
"You're seriously perverted," Minato muttered flatly.
Uchiha Sei, arms crossed, gave Seisui a glare. Definitely Minato's bad influence.
Minato, blissfully unaware, just smiled.
The three chatted casually, until Minato pointed at the digital board above.
"Seisui, your name's up."
He looked up. His name had appeared first, and the second name was still spinning, until it stopped.
"Yuki Seisui vs. Rasa."
"What a pity," murmured a young A from the Cloud Village. "I wanted to fight him again."
"Next time, bro. Just get promoted first!"
"Are you doubting me?!"
While they bickered, Seisui stood on the field, eyes on the unmoving Rasa.
"What, too scared to come down?" he teased, pinching his fingers together mockingly. "The great prodigy of the Sand, hiding already?"
"Arrogant brat!"
Fuming, Rasa leapt onto the stage, carrying his golden gourd.
Chiyo sighed. "Still too impulsive."
Sakumo appeared once again between them. "No killing," he ordered.
Seisui blinked. "Huh? Do I really look like a murderer to you?"
Sakumo gave him one look, silent but damning.
Seisui groaned. "Oh, come on…"
"Damn you!" Rasa roared. "I'll tear you to pieces!"
"Begin!"
Sakumo vanished.
Seisui's smile vanished as well, his eyes turning cold and sharp.
Whenever he entered battle, his demeanor changed completely, calm, calculating, lethal.
Rasa released his gold dust, forming a floating platform beneath him, his so-called Absolute Defense.
Seisui merely glanced at him, then split into two shadow clones, drawing his sword.
In an instant, all three Seisuis vanished.
They darted around the field like flickering blades, too fast to track.
Cold sweat rolled down Rasa's back.
He could feel it, death was closing in.
"Iaijutsu: Flowing Strike, Flying Raijin Slash!"
Seisui appeared behind him like a phantom.
Rasa's eyes widened. Impossible! I saw all three of him!
No, there were four!
By the time he realized, Seisui's sword was already stabbing through his hand, then slashing across his thigh.
"Third strike!"
He vanished again, reappearing behind Rasa, and drove the blade straight into his side.
"You like torturing others, don't you?" Seisui grinned coldly. "How's it feeling now?"
==========
Up in the stands, Danzo's eyes gleamed.
"Perfect… Perfect! A natural Root candidate! He truly embodies the Will of Fire!"
Onoki snorted. "A dangerous man."
Danzo sneered. "Funny, since when did Iwagakure rise above Sunagakure?"
The tension between them was immediate until Hiruzen cut in, "Enough, Danzo! The Tsuchikage meant no harm. After all, we all know, ninjas are killers."
His words, though calm, carried a barb, labeling Onoki as naïve.
The Third Kazekage interrupted coldly, "As long as he's not dead."
Raikage A burst out laughing. "That's the spirit! Mercy is for the weak!"
Onoki glared at him, silently vowing revenge.
==========
The battle raged for half an hour.
When it ended, Rasa was carried off by medics, his body shredded, bleeding heavily. Over ten stab wounds pierced through him, with over a hundred slashes marking his skin.
Worst of all, one of his kidneys was gone.
Even Pakura couldn't bear to look.
He was her rival, yes, but this was brutal beyond words.
==========
Meanwhile, in the stands,
Might Duy and his two teammates clutched each other, crying passionately.
"This… this is youth!!"
"True youth will never be betrayed!"
"My successor! The flame of youth burns bright!"
"Ugh…"
Nearby, Nara Shikaku sighed. "Terrifying."
"Pretty normal, honestly," Choza said, munching on snacks. "Duy got injured, his teammate's leg got broken… of course Seisui would avenge them."
Inoichi nodded, scribbling notes. "That's the Lord of Romance I approve of."
"But Seisui's power's really on another level now," Shikaku mused.
"Well, he's got that Duel Arena bloodline," Choza shrugged. "Hard work plus hacks, it's a deadly combo."
Shikaku sighed wistfully. "Man, I miss that place… getting stronger without effort felt amazing."
Up on the platform, Hiruzen silently raised Seisui's evaluation in his heart.
He valued comrades, fought with restraint, and radiated purpose.
A perfect heir to the Will of Fire.
And that very heir, recognized by Hiruzen, admired by Danzo, and cherished by Might Duy, stood proudly on the field, hands on his hips.
"Alright, since we're all Chunin now," he grinned at Minato and Uchiha Haru, "let's celebrate with some yakiniku! My treat!"
=============
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