"Kappei! Are you alright?!" Suzuki Saori rushed forward, her voice filled with worry.
"I can still fight!" Kappei roared defiantly, his face twisted with unwillingness.
Lucien narrowed his eyes. Such willpower... even trapped in my swamp, he still refuses to yield. That's surprising.
"Lightning Release: Ground Current!"
Kappei's body crackled with sparks, lightning surging through the mire as he tried to blast himself free of the swamp's grip. Yet the muck only bubbled and pulled tighter, barely stirred by the jutsu.
"Oh? You actually know Lightning Release? In Konoha, very few shinobi possess both Water and Lightning chakra. Impressive." Lucien's voice was calm, almost bored. "But if you insist on struggling... let me give you something else."
His hands blurred through a new sequence of seals. Leaping into the air above his earthen wall, his voice rang clear:
"Wind Style: Wind Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Suzuki's eyes widened in horror. "That...! That's the Third Hokage's B-rank ninjutsu! Stop! If that hits, it'll kill him!"
But there was no stopping an unleashed dragon.
The roaring beast of wind formed above Lucien's head, its maw opening with a shrill cry as it dove downward. The gale-force chakra hurled Kappei from the swamp, sending his body crashing hard into the ground even before the dragon landed.
"Enough! We surrender!" Suzuki screamed, her face pale. But the winds had already been set loose—far too late to cancel.
Lucien twisted the jutsu, trying desperately to veer its trajectory. But the sheer size and raw force of the technique made it impossible to fully control. Even suppressed, its howling blast could still crush the helpless Genin.
"Danger!"
The shout cut through the air. In the same moment, yellow light flickered into being beside Kappei.
"Flying Thunder God!"
In a single flash, space itself warped. When the light faded, Kappei stood shaken—but alive—in a safe spot far from the attack.
The swamp where he had just been moments ago was obliterated, gouged apart by the dragon's devastating strike.
And there, standing tall with comforting calm, was a blond man in a Jonin uniform—sharp sapphire eyes, wearing Konoha's green vest.
Namikaze Minato.
"Teacher Minato! Thank you!" Suzuki Saori cried in relief. "And Shigure—thank you for diverting the jutsu. Without that, he wouldn't have survived."
Lucien simply exhaled and spoke coldly. "Then allow me to give you a warning. Next time, don't provoke me. Competitions can too easily turn into funerals."
His words sent uncomfortable silence through the field.
Minato raised a hand gently. "Are you two sparring? Forgive me for interfering, but as Konoha shinobi, I couldn't allow a comrade to be killed." His voice was steady but probing as his clear gaze fell on Lucien. "You... who are you exactly? A newly promoted Jonin? Why would you be fighting a Genin?"
Suzuki found her words caught, embarrassment filling her as she stood by her breathless students.
Lucien crossed his arms arrogantly. "Shouldn't you introduce yourself first, before questioning me?"
There was no malice in his tone, but Minato sensed instinctively that this boy's intent wasn't hostile. With a small, apologetic smile, he tucked away his special kunai.
"You're right. Forgive me. My name is Namikaze Minato, Jonin of Konoha, leader of my squad."
Lucien's eyes softened slightly at the sincerity. He gave a proper answer in return. "I'm not a Jonin. I'm Uchiha Shigure. Member of Team 7 under Hyuga Hizashi. Captain of our Genin squad."
"What?!" Minato froze, as though he had misheard.
"You're... a Genin?!"
Lucien chuckled knowingly. "Yeah. Is that a problem?"
Minato laughed softly, shaking his head in disbelief. "No, just... forgive me. I've been tailing you since earlier. With that speed, that level of jutsu, I was convinced you were a Jonin. Honestly, even if you told me so right now, I'd believe it."
He gestured toward the ruined battlefield. "These traces... all your work? That swamp... that's my teacher's jutsu, the Swamp of the Underworld." He swallowed. "To see the training ground leveled like this... Are you truly just a Genin?"
A sly smile tugged at Lucien's lips. "Ah, that reminds me, Minato. About our... relationship."
"Relationship?"
"By seniority... you should be calling me Uncle Master."
Minato's eyes widened. "Uncle master? My teacher is Lord Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, and his teacher is the Third Hokage... Don't tell me—you're Sandaime's newest disciple? The one Jiraiya mentioned in his letter?"
The revelation clicked into place. Few even knew Sarutobi Hiruzen had taken another student—especially one from the Uchiha clan, whom the Hokage often kept at arm's length.
Lucien's sly grin deepened. "Hehe. So Senior Jiraiya already told you. Well then—go on. Call me uncle."
A bead of sweat rolled down Minato's cheek. For a man in his twenties, calling a Genin "uncle master" felt absurd... and yet, the truth was undeniable.
In the end, Minato was wise enough to smile wryly and say, "Junior Master."
"Smart man," Lucien replied, amused. The satisfaction of having the future Fourth Hokage address him in respect was... strangely comfortable.
Just then, the clamor of voices echoed from behind.
"Minato-sensei! You ran too fast!"
"I'm—ugh—I'm gonna throw up from all that running!"
"Obito! If you hadn't slowed us down, we'd have kept up ages ago!"
"Don't blame him, Kakashi! He was trying to help that old granny cross the street, remember?"
The three Genin of Team Minato arrived—Obito, Rin, and Kakashi—panting, but bright-eyed.
"Sensei... did you fight someone here...? Wait—this is the Fourth Training Ground! What happened?!"
They froze as their eyes fell upon the shattered earth, the swampy craters, and Lucien standing coolly in their midst.
P.S. This chapter delivered the long-awaited meeting between Lucien and Minato, flipping the hierarchy on its head with the "Uncle Master" reveal. It also expanded the presence of Team Minato, foreshadowing their connection to Lucien while letting his overwhelming display of ninjutsu shake even the Yellow Flash.
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