At the same time—
On another battlefield.
Namikaze Minato stood steadily on a tree branch. Though it looked thin enough to snap under a light tug, under his feet it didn't move at all.
His eyes locked onto the enemy he had just kicked away.
A skinny man rapidly forming hand seals on the ground.
Without a forehead protector, it was impossible to tell which village he belonged to.
"Wind Style! Wind Cutter!"
Invisible blades of wind materialized out of nowhere and shot toward him at high speed.
Minato vanished from his spot with a swift Body Flicker, and the tree he had been standing on was instantly sliced in two.
The broken trunk fell against another tree.
But the enemy's attack wasn't over.
"Wind Style! Chaotic Wind Cut!"
Even more invisible blades took form, transforming the area into a storm of sharp wind. Trees around them were cut down one after another, crashing down messily.
Minato's agile figure danced atop the falling trunks, always moving ahead of the approaching blades.
Up until now, he hadn't sustained a single injury.
"You brat! All you can do is run?!"
The man roared in frustration. Throughout the fight, he had set up traps and even deliberately exposed weak points.
But this brat only knew how to dodge, never taking the bait.
And whenever he tried to close the distance, the kid would instantly pull away.
It left him with no choice but to act like an artillery platform, continuously launching ninjutsu.
He pulled out a handful of shuriken and lightly tossed them upward, then slammed his hands together.
"Wind Style! Gale Palm!"
Countless shuriken shot toward Minato at frightening speed, filling the air with the thunk thunk thunk of shuriken hitting trees.
Minato casually flicked a few shuriken of his own.
The man hastily formed another Gale Palm, blowing Minato's projectiles away with a strong gust.
Minato wasn't frustrated; instead, he paused atop a tree branch.
"If I go by my current strength alone, I'm not your match."
The man didn't bother listening, hands continuing to weave seals nonstop.
More and more Wind Cutters flew at Minato like transparent blades.
Yet Minato weaved through them perfectly, not a single blade touching him.
"Damn brat!"
With a furious curse, the man charged at Minato with a kunai.
As he approached, Minato flipped upside down under a branch, starting his own hand seals.
"That's why…I need to boost my strength."
"This is my first time creating a new jutsu. Let's see if it can defeat you!"
"Dancing Gale, Rapid Wind Howl! Four Forms!"
The wind started swirling around his body.
The enemy instinctively raised his kunai to guard his throat.
Clang!
Sparks flew as their kunai clashed.
In the next instant, Minato's figure vanished again, and the man desperately kicked backward.
Minato reappeared behind him, his entire body seemingly floating—almost as if he could fly.
Their kunai clashed repeatedly.
Eventually, the enemy was forced to plant himself firmly on the ground.
His eyes darted rapidly, kunai flashing in all directions to block.
It looked like he was battling ghosts; the only sound was clang clang clang of metal on metal, yet Minato's figure was nowhere to be seen.
"What the hell are you?!"
The man howled. His kunai swiped through the air, and whenever Minato reappeared, he seemed to float away, just out of reach.
He couldn't fly—he was sure of it—but somehow Minato was always hovering just a body's width out of range.
And that strange, high-speed taijutsu…
It was a nightmare to deal with.
"It's the wind."
Minato's quiet voice explained.
If you looked closely, you could see a thin layer of swirling air surrounding him.
Whenever an opponent's punch, jutsu, or even kunai and shuriken disturbed the air more strongly than the wind surrounding Minato, it would lift his body slightly.
Dancing Gale, Rapid Wind Howl: Four Forms was his own invention, a fusion of taijutsu and wind-style chakra control.
It was one of his proud creations.
Basically a nin-taijutsu hybrid, it maxed out his evasion ability—though it sadly lacked offensive power.
Minato's figure danced like a ghost around his opponent, constantly attacking.
The man could only defend, completely unable to counterattack.
Every strike missed. Every wasted move cost him chakra and stamina.
Using Body Flicker for movement, Paper Drawing to control air currents, Tekkai for internal chakra adjustment, and even Finger Gun—although the latter was nearly useless for offense—
These techniques combined into his Dancing Gale, Rapid Wind Howl: Four Forms!
Finger Gun was supposed to be his main attack move, but sadly, a kunai was more effective.
For a ten-year-old to create such a jutsu was impressive, owing a lot to Jiraiya's teachings and Minato's internal chakra foundation.
Still, the jutsu had a major weakness.
Another kunai clash, another deflection.
Minato reappeared on a tree branch not far away, panting heavily.
The swirling airflow around his body dispersed.
The technique drained far too much stamina. For a normal ten-year-old ninja, the chakra consumption would've been devastating.
Luckily, Minato had built up a substantial chakra reserve thanks to his internal energy practice, so the drain wasn't fatal.
"You're out of steam, brat! Wind Cutter!"
Facing the incoming Wind Cutter, Minato stood motionless, seemingly out of strength.
The next instant—
"Spirit Bullet!"
A thin, blue beam of energy pierced straight through the enemy's head from behind, exiting through his forehead and continuing on, shredding through multiple trees before finally stopping.
The man crumpled to the ground as the transparent wind blades dispersed.
"Gin, you're just in time," Minato called out, waving at Uchiha Gin perched in the distance.
"You gave me quite a surprise, Minato," Gin said as he crossed the distance in a flash, standing next to Minato.
He hadn't expected Minato to develop a brand-new jutsu based on the Four Forms.
Though rough and unrefined in Gin's eyes, having a first creation meant others would surely follow.
It was all thanks to Gin's upgraded "golden finger"—previously, it had been like instantly downloading others' creations into his head.
Now, it was more like a search engine paired with an idiot AI assistant.
"Still not as good as you," Minato replied bitterly.
Though he was the top prodigy of the academy, he couldn't keep up with Gin, and the frustration weighed on him.
After all, he was still just a kid—not yet the legendary Yellow Flash of the future.
A normal person might offer some comforting words.
But this was Uchiha Gin.
"If you want to catch up to me, you'll need at least another hundred years!" Gin declared proudly, hands on his hips, completely shameless.
Even though his advantage came from a little "golden finger" boost—well, it was still his own talent, right?
"Hope Kushina's doing okay…" Minato changed the subject, realizing that trying to get comfort from Gin was hopeless.
If he ever turned evil someday, it would definitely be Gin's fault!!!
"She'll be fine," Gin shrugged. "That silly girl really thinks she's hiding her strength."
Minato forced a wry smile.
Gin was the kind of genius people compared to the Second Hokage.
Minato might accept being inferior to him…
But Kushina's strength had turned out to be shockingly high too.
Though Kushina thought she was hiding it well, both Gin and Minato were fully aware.
Among the three of them—
Kushina was actually the strongest.
BOOM!! A deafening explosion echoed in the distance.
A massive energy shield rose up like the apocalypse itself.
A powerful gust followed, forcing Gin and Minato to cling to the tree trunk to avoid being blown away.
When the blast finally ended—
The two exchanged glances.
Unlike Minato's and Gin's intense battle…
Kushina's fight was more like a pure chase.
"Don't you dare run!!"
Kushina roared, three chains lashing out and wrapping around nearby trees, letting her swing through the forest like Spider-Man.
Her enemy had one foot blazing with fire, rocketing forward like a jet.
The fleeing man glanced back over his shoulder.
His face twisted in horror.
"A perfect Jinchuriki?! What the hell is the village up to?!"
Kushina was completely cloaked in golden energy, looking like a goddess descending to earth.
She swiped at the enemy with a giant golden fox claw.
The man blasted flames from his feet, leaping into the air to narrowly dodge.
A whole tree was obliterated into dust by the claw.
With that kind of power, staying to fight was suicide.
Luckily, he had mastered Fire Style: Flame Jet for maximum escape speed.
As for why he didn't use a clone—
Konoha's Jinchuriki could somehow tell the real one apart.
The Uzumaki clan must have had some kind of sensory ninjutsu.
Yeah, no chance.
Time to run!!
"Damn it, everyone else is gone. This mission is a total failure."
Gritting his teeth, the fleeing man charged toward a weak spot in Konoha's barrier, his only hope of escape.
"I'm not letting you get away!!"
Fueled by rage, Kushina raised her hands, gathering a black-and-red energy ball above them.
Tailed Beast Bomb!
"Die!!"
She hurled the Tailed Beast Bomb at the enemy.
It was her full-power strike.
The chakra drain was so massive it sucked her almost completely dry, even forcing her to steal some from the grumpy fox inside.
(Kurama: Someone please control this crazy girl! She's robbing me blind!!)
As the sphere fell, it expanded into a massive energy dome, sweeping outward with hurricane-force winds.
When the dust cleared, a gigantic crater scarred the earth.
Kushina, pale as a ghost and barely standing, collapsed out of her transformation—but her face was filled with uncontrollable excitement.
"So I'm this strong, huh? Hahahaha..."
Her laughter faded.
Because a group of figures wearing green flak jackets appeared before her.
And leading them was an elderly man in a wide-brimmed hat.
"Haha... Fancy seeing you here, Old Man Third…"
Truly, Naruto got his wild side from his mother.
(End of Chapter)