Time flowed like a river, days and months slipping away like sand through the fingers. Years sharpened by the knife of time were smoothed into memory.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
In the land of the Panda Clan, Yuki Seisui sat cross-legged, eyes tightly shut, maintaining Sage Mode. In the next instant, his golden eyes snapped open, a stream of shimmering light swirling within.
Beside him, the Panda Sage stood with his hands clasped behind his back, expression unreadable as he calmly observed.
"Sage Art: Flow – Draw-Blade Consecutive Slash!"
With the moment his words fell, Yuki's figure vanished without a sound. The bamboo not far away suddenly split cleanly into several sections.
But Yuki himself was nowhere to be seen.
A while later, his form reappeared—this time at the Panda Sage's side.
"Hmph!" The Panda Sage sensed his presence and gave a cold snort.
"I knew you were trying to trick me with a sneak attack."
Without turning, the Panda Sage's elbow lashed out.
"Sage Elbow Strike!"
Yuki slid aside to avoid it, but the Panda Sage's strikes were not so easily evaded.
No matter how far he moved, a sharp sense of danger clung to him.
Gritting his teeth, he formed hand seals. "Summoning: Clay!"
The Panda Sage's expression changed dramatically. "You little—are you trying to destroy my bamboo grove?!"
He had spent the past three years watching Yuki test that clay bomb technique. If the brat successfully summoned it here, the entire grove would be obliterated.
"Alright, stop! I'm done!"
The Panda Sage quickly raised his hands in surrender. Growing bamboo was no easy feat—it took early mornings and late nights to nurture them to this height.
But Yuki didn't stop his movements. The jutsu wasn't a clay bomb—it was something entirely different.
"Sage Art: Rasenshuriken!"
This move didn't actually require hand seals, but he performed them anyway, just to bluff the old panda.
The moment the giant Rasenshuriken formed over his head, the Panda Sage froze—then realized he'd been fooled.
"You rotten brat!"
Regardless of the curses, Yuki's jutsu was complete. He smiled faintly.
"This is my farewell gift."
The Rasenshuriken shot forward toward the Panda Sage.
Because of his past-life memories, Yuki already knew how the Rasengan was developed. Infuse wind-nature chakra into it, and it became Wind Style: Rasengan.
The advancement of that technique was the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.
Every day after training Sage Mode, Yuki had worked on developing this jutsu.
Three years had finally brought success.
The only difference between Sage Art: Rasenshuriken and Wind Style: Rasenshuriken was simple—
It could be thrown.
The normal Rasenshuriken, once formed, transformed the wind chakra into countless microscopic needles. But because it couldn't be thrown, the user's own cells would be torn apart by the attack.
In the original story, Naruto's right hand had multiple fractures after using it once. Even Tsunade had said that repeated use would make him unable to mold chakra in that arm—and even she couldn't heal the damage.
It was a fearsome jutsu.
But for Yuki, it posed no danger—his indomitable body rendered the recoil meaningless.
And, honestly, the Sage Art version just looked cool. More importantly, it was a ranged attack, filling the gap in his arsenal for large-scale, long-distance jutsu.
Once I develop the Sage Art: Giant Rasenshuriken, I'll have no weaknesses at all.
These three years weren't only for learning Sage Arts—they were to patch every shortcoming in his skill set.
"To bring change to this world—that is my ninja way."
He looked at the massive crater the Rasenshuriken had left as he spoke.
"Change, huh?"
The Panda Sage's darkened face appeared behind him. "Your ninja way?"
Yuki stiffened. Uh-oh.
"My gas is still on at home—gotta go!" He began forming seals to escape.
But the Panda Sage grabbed both his wrists.
"Stay. Let's play a bit longer."
=======
By the time Yuki staggered back to his room, Uchiha Haru blinked at his disheveled clothes and messy hair.
"You… what happened to you?"
Yuki coughed lightly. "I, uh… lost control while testing a jutsu."
Haru nodded thoughtfully. "Just make sure you take care of your body while training."
She pulled out a bento box. "I made your favorite."
He peeked inside. "Green pepper stir-fried pork."
"Haru, thank you."
"No need to thank me." She gave him a gentle smile.
"Mm!" He began eating immediately.
Haru watched him for a moment, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh right—Minato says he's definitely going to beat you this time. He told me to tell you to prepare yourself tonight."
"Oh?" Yuki raised his head. "Where does he get that confidence? I can beat him with one hand."
He raised his right hand. "This hand alone could drop him flat."
Her expression shifted strangely. Following her gaze, Yuki turned—and found Minato standing at the door with Kushina.
"Bastard Yuki!" Minato's face flushed. "Saying that in front of Kushina—you're asking for it!"
"Ah, Minato, what brings you here?" Yuki greeted him without a shred of embarrassment. "Kushina, how come you two didn't make a sound?"
Kushina sighed. "Minato wanted to sneak up and catch you bad-mouthing him."
"And you two call yourselves ninja," she added.
Yuki smirked. "What should a ninja look like? We're among friends—why not just be ourselves?"
Minato actually nodded at that. "Just watch—I'll make you taste defeat."
He's learned a new jutsu, Yuki guessed immediately.
After he finished his bento, Minato couldn't wait any longer. "Let's have a match—something intense!"
"Sure." Yuki wiped his mouth. "If you want a beating, I'll oblige—as your older brother."
"When the hell did you become my brother?!"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm taller and stronger."
"Damn you!"
Kushina suddenly raised her hand. "I want to join too! I want to see how far I am from Haru."
"Me?" Haru pointed at herself.
"Yes!" Kushina clenched her fist. "I have my own reasons to get stronger!"
Yuki nodded. Though her personality seemed unchanged, the destruction of the Uzumaki Clan had clearly left its mark.
"Alright then—let's start."
With a sly grin, Yuki reached toward the three of them—still keeping up his long-practiced fake-out gesture to catch people off guard.
…
The battlefield was the same endless plain.
Yuki and Haru stood together, while Minato and Kushina took the opposite side.
They stared each other down until Minato spoke first.
"Want me to show you the true meaning of speed?"
"Your Flying Raijin is already mastered?" Yuki asked.
"That's right!" Minato nodded. "I'm terrifyingly strong now."
"Hopefully you're not 'fast' in everything." Yuki shot Kushina a glance. "Then… take this farewell gift!"
The countdown ended. Both he and Minato formed Rasengan.
"Yuki—this time you lose!"
"Minato—keep dreaming!"
Haru and Kushina exchanged a concerned glance. Are these two… too close?
Kushina suddenly recalled Mito's advice: Keep an eye on your man. Guard against all possible rivals—including other men.
Yuki's Rasengan swelled into a massive Rasenshuriken, white light radiating from his body.
Minato froze. "Y-You… what is that—?"
He knew how powerful a Rasengan was—this was on an entirely different level.
"Hahahahaha! Minato, do you want to dance too?!"
"Damn it!" Minato scattered over a dozen kunai around the field, gripping his three-pronged kunai in reverse. "I'll show you true speed!"
"Hmph. You're not even half my match. Sage Art: Rasenshuriken!"
The giant shuriken spun through the air, pulling in nearby objects—and Minato's scattered kunai.
He vanished, reappearing near an untouched kunai, but then felt the air thicken with moisture.
Not good!
Yuki appeared beside him like a phantom. "Sage Art: Flow – Water Guillotine!"
Water coiled around Minato's body, locking his legs together—only for him to vanish again, reappearing farther away.
Flying Raijin really is annoying.
With enough marked kunai, Minato could evade even a Kage. Whether he stayed or ran was entirely his choice.
Smiling confidently, Minato called out, "Looks like I'll have to use that move to beat you."
Yuki smirked, pulling a storage scroll from nowhere. "Then I'll go big. If I can't hit you directly, I'll use a wide-range attack."
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