Surrounded, Minato's face showed surprise, clearly not expecting Kushina to be so strong.
Their battle had lasted until now, with Minato's stamina depleting more and more, while Kushina still seemed to have energy to spare.
Although Minato was faster than Kushina, he couldn't use this advantage to defeat her, as she focused solely on defense.
On the other hand, Kushina's strength far surpassed Minato's, and since she spent most of the time defending, Minato struggled to find openings, let alone secure a quick victory.
From the start, Kushina had planned to drag the fight out, as Ryun had told her that if she remained calm, avoided mistakes, and didn't give Minato any opportunities, she had a chance of winning.
Thus, Kushina had waited for Minato to attack first, maintaining a steady and cautious approach.
As time passed, her stamina advantage became more apparent.
Now, with ample chakra reserves, Kushina decided to try ending the battle with shadow clones.
"I didn't expect Kushina to become this strong. She must have trained hard during the summer break, even mastering such a powerful jutsu…"
Minato first praised her sincerely, then took a deep breath and prepared to counter.
"Hehe… You should just surrender, Minato-kun…" The four Kushinas smiled smugly.
"Surrender? No way. Even if you're strong, defeating me won't be that easy." Minato wasn't the type to give up easily.
Moreover, he felt that surrendering carelessly would be disrespectful to Kushina.
"In that case…" Before Kushina could finish speaking, the four figures launched a decisive attack.
Minato took a white pill from his ninja pouch and threw it forcefully onto the ground.
Boom!!!
A thick cloud of white smoke instantly enveloped the two, along with the charging shadow clones.
As everyone strained to see the battle's progress, Minato's figure suddenly shot out of the smoke.
He quickly formed hand seals. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A gust of wind burst from his mouth, blowing Kushina and her clones away in one breath.
"Ah…" Kushina let out an involuntary cry.
"Damn it…"
Ryun rubbed his forehead, smiling helplessly.
Seeing Kushina remain on the ground for more than five seconds, Instructor Koda announced the result of the match.
"Namikaze Minato—victory!"
"W-wait… I can still fight…"
Kushina hurriedly struggled to her feet, insisting she still had strength left, which was true. However, Instructor Koda shook his head with a smile.
"You've done very well, but ranking battles have their rules… This match goes to Minato."
"How can this be…" Kushina was unconvinced. She had only been momentarily dazed—how could she lose just from getting up a bit late?
"Kushina…" Ryun called out to her, then shook his head lightly.
"I… I let you down!" Kushina walked over, hanging her head dejectedly.
"Why would I be disappointed? You did great. Go seal the reconciliation seal with Minato. He's still waiting…" Ryun patted her head and reminded her with a smile.
"Ah… I forgot…"
Soon, Kushina politely formed the reconciliation seal with Minato.
"Next time, I'll definitely beat you." Kushina raised her fist at him with a grin.
"Haha, I'll be waiting for your challenge!" Minato laughed heartily, sounding quite heroic.
Returning to the crowd, Kushina placed her hands on her hips and glared sharply at the girls.
"Who was the bastard insulting Ryun earlier? Tired of living? Just because you're girls doesn't mean you can badmouth people. Ryun doesn't hit girls, but I do."
During her fight with Minato, she had clearly heard Ryun arguing with some girls on her behalf…
For a moment, the surrounding students fell silent. None of the girls dared to speak up, and many even lowered their heads, too afraid to meet her gaze…
When the Red Hot Habanero [血紅辣椒 - Red Hot Habanero] said she'd hit someone, she meant it. Unlike Ryun, who only talked, she didn't care if you were male or female…
"Hey hey hey, Nana [奈奈 - Nana], calm down. Let's not stoop to the level of some ugly freaks, okay…"
Ryun played the peacemaker, but his words only made several girls grit their teeth in anger.
The ranking battles continued, and Ryun was lucky enough to be matched against that little brother Satō [佐藤 - Satō]. Unfortunately, the latter didn't even think before surrendering.
"Come on… I'll give you one hand. Let's have a proper spar…" Ryun immediately pestered him, refusing to let him leave.
Hearing Ryun offer to give him a hand, Satō's face darkened.
"No way. Give it up!"
"I'll give you one hand and one leg. Fight or not?" Ryun pressed, even stopping Instructor Koda from drawing the next match, determined to teach Satō a lesson.
"Get lost! I'm not dealing with you!"
Satō wasn't falling for it. His brother had been instantly defeated in the cherry blossom forest, and he hadn't forgotten that…
"Fine… I won't use my hands or legs against you. Happy now?"
Ryun grew impatient and declared he would fight Satō with both hands and feet tied.
"What? Ryun's gone crazy! How can you fight without hands or legs? Use your head?"
Many students began murmuring, thinking Ryun was joking.
"Hey, seriously? You're not just bluffing, are you? If you really tie your hands and feet, I'll fight!" Satō, sensing an opportunity, spoke urgently.
"Stop fooling around. Don't waste time. Both of you, step down…" Instructor Koda sighed helplessly.
"I'm dead serious. Even without using my hands or legs, I can still beat a little trash like you…" Ryun grinned confidently.
"Bastard, who are you calling little trash? If you're looking for a beating, I'll oblige!"
Satō had never seen someone so arrogant. Fighting with hands and feet tied? This was outright disrespect!
If he didn't fight today, he'd be the laughingstock of the class for the entire semester.
Besides, he didn't think he could lose. If he couldn't even win against someone with hands and feet tied, he'd never live it down…
"Instructor Koda, be the witness. Today, I'll make this cocky guy suffer!"
Satō declared loudly, feeling his moment of triumph approaching.
"You can't possibly be serious about tying your hands and feet. How would you even fight?" Instructor Koda looked at Ryun in disbelief.
"A promise is a promise. I said I'd do it, and I mean it." Ryun spoke earnestly.
"Good, good! Instructor Koda, you heard him! The ranking battle continues. I take back my surrender." Satō was overjoyed and quickly spoke up.
"Ryun… What are you thinking? How can you fight without hands or legs? Use your head…?"
Kushina quickly pulled him aside, urgently trying to dissuade him.
"You got it…"
Ryun smiled confidently, then gently pushed her aside.
"???"
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