Minato didn't follow behind, but instead walked over to Yuki Seisui and nudged his arm with his elbow.
"What is it?" Yuki Seisui asked.
"Set up a duel arena. This time, I'm going to give you a proper lesson!" Minato declared shamelessly.
Yuki Seisui froze for a moment, then stared at him in disbelief.
"Huh?"
"Have you lost your mind?"
"You guess," Minato shot back. "I just want to beat you up."
His words immediately reminded Yuki Seisui of Shukaku.
Some time ago, Shukaku had been just as confident.
And then Kyuubi had beaten him so badly that even the Six Paths Sage wouldn't have recognized him.
At this very moment, it was exactly like that.
Fate is a wheel that keeps turning.
Back then, Shukaku was now Minato.
Yuki Seisui wanted to agree, but sighed instead.
"Maybe tomorrow?"
"I'll give you enough time to prepare."
Seeing Yuki Seisui's expression, Minato thought for a moment and nodded.
He had only spoken in a moment of heat.
He had thought that after defeating so many jonin at once, he might be able to stand against Yuki Seisui.
But after thinking it over, he regretted it a little.
If he could defeat those jonin, then Yuki Seisui surely could as well.
Still, words were already spoken, and backtracking wasn't his style. Tomorrow would do just fine.
"All right, I'll be going first!" Minato said, walking off into the distance.
This time, he would be fully prepared.
This time, he, Namikaze Minato, would give his all!
Watching his retreating figure, Yuki Seisui smiled.
Minato… so amusing, so amusing.
He had given Minato a day to prepare simply because he didn't feel like moving today.
Leaping onto the balcony, Yuki Seisui lay down on a nearby lounge chair.
Minato had told Uzumaki Kushina about his challenge to Yuki Seisui, who then informed Tsunade, who told Jiraiya, who then told Sarutobi Hiruzen.
One told another, and soon the news of their upcoming duel spread throughout the jonin circles of Konoha.
Yuki Seisui remained completely unaware of this, dozing in his lounge chair.
=======
Meanwhile, in the Uchiha compound, things had been stabilizing under Uchiha Hikae and Uchiha Setsuna's leadership following the recent purge.
"Have you heard?" Uchiha Hikae sipped his tea and asked.
"The fight between Yuki Seisui and Namikaze Minato?"
Uchiha Setsuna poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and said,
"I have to go see it for myself."
Hikae glanced at him, thought for a moment, and nodded.
They were putting their bets on Yuki Seisui. Though they had heard a lot, they hadn't seen him fight in person.
Setsuna going to watch would give them a closer look.
But the next moment, Hikae frowned.
"Your grandson-in-law seems to have a special kekkei genkai, right?"
"I remember it allows him to train in a state indifferent to life and death."
Setsuna nodded.
"No need to worry. I'll go take a look."
"Even better. I can see things more clearly."
As Setsuna spoke, he took another sip of tea.
It wasn't just them. When Jiraiya mentioned the duel to Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hiruzen also considered it.
He hadn't witnessed Yuki Seisui's combat either.
But he didn't doubt him. Instead, he recalled Yuki Seisui's recent demonstration of Wood Release.
He wanted to see the might of Wood Release again.
He didn't realize that Yuki Seisui's Wood Release was really just three techniques.
Watching proud Jiraiya, Hiruzen fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"I need to see this battle between young Seisui and young Minato."
Jiraiya blinked in surprise, staring incredulously at his own teacher.
Hiruzen ignored him, glanced at the documents on the table, raised an eyebrow, and said,
"So… I'll leave this in your hands."
As Hiruzen spoke, Jiraiya realized something was wrong and rushed to the door.
But Hiruzen chuckled, pressing a button on the desk.
CRACK! CRACK! The previously locked steel door clicked, sealing the room completely.
No matter how hard Jiraiya tried, he couldn't open the door. Windows, walls, even the ceiling were steel.
This was more secure than Konoha's prison!
Jiraiya gave up and slumped back into the chair.
Hiruzen chuckled, stepping in front of him.
"So, this is yours now."
He spoke casually, knowing he could slack off for two days.
Nothing critical remained; the major crises were already handled. The documents on the desk were trivial matters.
He trusted Jiraiya to handle them.
Even if something major happened during this time, the ANBU would notify him.
Even if they couldn't, he trusted Jiraiya's abilities.
Though he seemed unreliable, Jiraiya was still competent enough, just slightly below Orochimaru in effectiveness.
Thinking of Orochimaru, Hiruzen muttered, "They should be returning soon as well."
After seating Jiraiya, Hiruzen left.
Jiraiya stared at the piles of documents, unsure where to begin.
Then it hit him—he ground his teeth in frustration.
Damn old man!
Yuki Seisui and Minato's duel was tomorrow—why had Hiruzen forced him to stay here today?
Just as Jiraiya ground his teeth, Danzo kicked open the steel door. Before seeing anyone, a voice boomed:
"Hiruzen!"
"You must hand me Onoki!"
Danzo hadn't finished, when he saw Jiraiya sitting in the Hokage's chair.
"Jiraiya?!"
"Elder Danzo?"
"What are you doing sitting there?!" Danzo's eyes blazed with fury.
Seeing Danzo like this, Jiraiya let out a wry smile and explained the situation.
Danzo, after a moment's thought, no longer seemed so infuriated.
He looked at Jiraiya and gave a sly, approving smile.
"If you don't want to handle this, I'll help you."
Danzo's gaze lingered with intensity on Jiraiya's backside.