The level of skill displayed by Minato and Yan Uchiha was completely beyond what two freshman students at the Ninja Academy should possess. Everyone watching the fight—including the Konoha instructors—was stunned.
Even Jiraiya watching from the shadows had his eyes slightly widened.
It wasn't surprising that Yan Uchiha had reached this level of skill. After all, the Uchiha clan's reputation resounded across the entire Ninja World. As a prodigy among this generation of the Uchiha clan, his progress was naturally different from ordinary people.
But Minato Namikaze? After all, he was just a kid from a regular family with no ninja background whatsoever. He didn't belong to any of the great ninja clans and had been orphaned since he was little. Before he entered the Ninja Academy, he absolutely couldn't have had any contact with anything related to ninjas.
Yet they hadn't even been at the Ninja Academy for a full year yet. Even relatively talented ordinary students would barely be able to extract chakra by now.
Yet here he was, going head-to-head with Yan Uchiha...
Such talent made him inevitably think of another person.
In this world, there really was a gap between ordinary people and geniuses.
Undoubtedly, both himself and the current Minato Namikaze were true geniuses!
[Crash!] [Crash!]
On the training field, Yan Uchiha and Minato Namikaze engaged in taijutsu combat. Their physical strength and limb speed were practically equal. The rapid shifts between offense and defense left the surrounding students completely dazzled.
Yan Uchiha became increasingly alarmed—not because Minato's taijutsu could match his, but because Minato's actual battle experience seemed no less than his own...
After all, since he was three years old, he had almost daily sparred with powerful members of the Uchiha clan. His real battlefield experience was nowhere near what students learned at the Ninja Academy.
But it appeared Minato Namikaze's actual combat experience wasn't inferior to his at all.
This situation surprised not only him, but also Minato himself. At the beginning of the fight, even he had been somewhat startled by Yan Uchiha's expertise.
However, when Yan Uchiha attacked, his body seemed to respond instinctively, as if it were an automatic reflex honed through countless battles.
As the battle went on, he started getting used to how his body moved on its own. His transitions between attack and defense became more fluid and natural. Eventually, he began to suppress Yan Uchiha.
Moto Kouda and several other Konoha instructors couldn't hide their disappointment. Considering the level displayed by Yan Uchiha and Minato, there was clearly no need for them to continue studying at the Ninja Academy.
Their Chunin-level skills couldn't offer these two any further improvement...
[Crash!]
Gradually, Yan Uchiha appeared increasingly flustered. For one moment of inattention, Minato seized the opportunity during his transition between offense and defense. The latter launched a straight punch directly toward the former's chest.
With all his strength behind it, if that punch landed clean, the fight would be over.
However, under such circumstances, Yan Uchiha inevitably would sustain some injuries.
Therefore, Minato changed his fist into an open palm, striking Yan Uchiha's chest and sending him flying backward several meters.
Yan Uchiha staggered back a few steps before finally steadying himself.
"That's enough."
Minato sent him flying and said. This incident had already embarrassed Moto Kouda badly, but when it came to Kushina, he simply couldn't keep his cool.
After all, if he had handled things properly from the start, Yan Uchiha wouldn't have provoked him like this.
When Minato spoke, Moto Kouda's eyes lit up. Earlier, Minato had said he knew how to handle things with discretion, and ending it like this would be ideal.
Mikoto let out a quiet sigh of relief too. If those two kept fighting, they'd probably end up hurting each other. Now Minato had given Yan Uchiha a chance to save face and ended it.
Yet Kouda and Mikoto hadn't considered that even though Minato was willing to stop now, Yan Uchiha wasn't ready to back down so easily.
In his proud eyes, Minato's move seemed more like a provocation.
Besides, he himself had started this whole thing. If he gave up halfway, rumors would reach his clan and he'd definitely get reprimanded.
Failing to defeat even an ordinary person was seen as weakness.
In the Uchiha clan, there's no room for weakness!
Thinking this, his eyes gradually turned reddish. He refused to be seen as weak.
Immediately, under Minato's watchful gaze, his hands slowly formed the "Snake" seal.
"This starting hand seal is..."
Though just a Chunin, Moto Kouda's knowledge had been praised by the Third Hokage. Seeing Yan Uchiha form the Snake seal, his expression instantly changed.
Next, Yan Uchiha fluently formed the "Goat" and "Monkey" seals. By now, Kouda was certain which jutsu was coming next.
The Uchiha clan excels in Fire Release techniques. Among them, the most common one practically every Uchiha mastered was...
"Yan Uchiha, stop right now!"
Moto Kouda shouted. But at that moment, Yan Uchiha had already completed the final seal. His hands came together, fingers upright and clashing, cheeks puffed out.
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!]
Whoosh!
Blazing flames erupted from Yan Uchiha's mouth, instantly swelling into a massive fireball barreling toward Minato Namikaze. Yet near the edge of the fireball stood two stunned students.
Given the temperature of this jutsu, those two students would suffer severe burns on contact.
Whoosh!
Jiraiya, hiding in the shadows, hadn't expected Yan Uchiha to completely ignore his teacher's warning. As he shot forward, he barely managed to pull the two students at the fireball's edge to safety.
Facing a fireball larger than himself, Minato's golden eyebrows furrowed slightly, and anger slowly surfaced in his sapphire-blue eyes.
That idiot actually used such a massive Fire Release technique in such a tight space without thinking about everyone's safety!
After delivering the shocked students to safety, Jiraiya abruptly turned around.
Given how strong Minato had shown himself to be, this injury shouldn't have been anything serious. But it was just so damn ironic—his future student got hurt right before he could even officially take him in.
In an instant, his hands moved like blurred shadows—the speed at forming those seals far surpassed even what Yan Uchiha had ever shown.
With several hand seals formed in near-instantaneous speed, but the moment he was about to unleash the Wind Release technique, Minato—who had been standing right in front of the Great Fireball—disappeared from sight in an instant.
Whoosh!
It was a movement so fast it seemed like teleportation. When Jiraiya saw it, his face turned completely stunned.
If Minato's earlier speed had only been physical, this new level clearly belonged to the realm of jutsu.
That was...[Body Flicker Technique]!
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