Bang!
The moment Kakashi's voice faded, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke "Uzumaki" both raised their arms and clashed. Their high-speed movements kicked up a powerful gust of wind.
The two stared at each other, gauging the other's progress, before they flashed apart, each retreating to one side.
"Not bad speed, Naruto!"
"Your strength has gotten stronger too, Sasuke!"
They paused for only a second before rushing at each other again, their punches and kicks stirring the air currents. They were just thirteen-year-old boys, yet while their peers were still busy with low-level missions, these two were locked in a heart-pounding battle that felt like life or death.
Sasuke used the force of Naruto's kick to his abdomen to create distance, then suddenly unleashed a blazing fireball from his mouth. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Spiral Shield!"
Naruto's expression was strange. He quickly formed a spiral shield in his hand to block the flames, a look of surprised uncertainty on his face. "Hey, Sasuke, you didn't use hand signs just now, did you?"
"Hmph, Naruto..." A hint of pride showed on Sasuke's face as he sneered, "Besides using hands for seals, a ninja can also use their feet or even their eyes!"
A while ago, Sasuke had asked for advice on how to deal with Naruto easily countering his one-handed seals. Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake happened to know other ways of forming seals. Since they didn't need to use these tricks themselves, they taught them to Sasuke.
The method of using feet for seals was invented by Jiraiya, and as Jiraiya's student, Minato was familiar with it. Since the Great Fireball Technique is a simple ninjutsu, forming its seals with his feet wasn't too difficult for Sasuke.
"Naruto, we haven't even warmed up yet!"
Sasuke flicked his hand, pulling a shuriken from his ninja tool pouch and throwing it toward Naruto. "Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Countless shuriken, like a field of starlight, were reflected in Naruto's eyes. Beneath the beauty of the glittering stars was pure killing intent. The sheer quantity could only be called a rain of shuriken. The most troublesome part was that hidden among the swarm were surely kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God formula, which would be very difficult to deal with.
"Spiral Shockwave!"
Naruto condensed a chakra cyclone in his palm and pushed it fiercely towards the sky full of shuriken. A beam of azure chakra light pierced through the air. The sky full of shuriken all dissipated into smoke, and the hidden Flying Thunder God kunai were blown away by the force of the forbidden jutsu.
However, this couldn't stop Sasuke's attack. Even if he couldn't use the Flying Thunder God Technique at that moment, he had other ways to launch a surprise attack. Sasuke suddenly raised his head, his eyes transforming into the pinwheel pattern of the Mangekyo Sharingan. In an instant, the distance between them closed.
Sasuke's arm landed abruptly on Naruto's shoulder, and a fan-shaped Flying Thunder God seal appeared on Naruto's body.
Seeing the seal land, a smile appeared on the corner of Sasuke's mouth. "Naruto, the Flying Thunder God seal has been placed. You're going to lose..."
"What?"
Just as Naruto turned to grab Sasuke, he saw only a flash of light. Sasuke's figure had already disappeared.
Relying on the Flying Thunder God and his Mangekyo dōjutsu, Sasuke's movements were like a phantom, making it impossible to guess his position. Even if Naruto wanted to attack, he couldn't catch his real body.
Naruto's palm quickly condensed a pitch-black projectile, which he threw at the ground. "Since I can't catch you, I'll just blow this place to bits!"
The black sphere of the Great Spiral Wheel slowly fell. A scorching light blinded everyone watching. The ground was torn apart by the explosion, and one shockwave after another swept out in all directions.
As the onlookers were hit by the shockwave, several people flew out and took up positions at each corner, quickly forming hand seals together. "Ninja Art: Four Red Yang Formation!"
Red light barriers rose up one after another, blocking the impact of the Great Spiral Wheel.
It was the first time Sakura Haruno had seen Naruto release such a powerful ninjutsu. She covered her mouth in surprise and whispered, "That kind of jutsu... Sasuke... he won't be hurt, will he?"
"Don't worry," Kakashi said, patting her head gently. "With Sasuke's strength, as long as his luck isn't too bad, he should be fine against that."
Hiashi Hyuga sighed deeply. "I never thought that in the blink of an eye, our young Hokage has already grown to this extent..."
"..." Choza Akimichi shook his head, a look of certainty on his face. "A Hokage is someone who creates miracles. It's normal for them to be able to do anything."
"That's right!" Shikaku Nara patted his old partner's shoulder and stroked his goatee. "We should really let that guy Shikamaru see what level his peers have grown to. Then hopefully he'll have more motivation!"
Inoichi Yamanaka nodded and said in a low voice, "After Ino came back from the Land of Water, she's become a lot more hardworking."
"Forget it, forget it. The next generation will grow up sooner or later..."
After the group discussed for a moment, they focused their attention back on the battle within the Four Red Yang Formation. They saw one Spiral Wheel after another falling continuously, the dazzling light of the explosions almost never stopping.
The scene was heart-stopping. Each jutsu had the power to destroy a small half of Konoha. The ninjutsu Naruto had just released was enough to flip the land of Konoha over several times.
Fortunately, they were holding the battle outside the village. Otherwise, this commotion, which was even greater than the Nine-Tails' rampage over a decade ago, would have scared many people.
"Naruto..."
A relaxed voice appeared behind Naruto. Sasuke calmly looked at the black projectile in Naruto's hand and chuckled. "Your speed is too slow. Your movements can't escape my Sharingan... Chidori!"
The sound of a thousand birds chirping echoed in their ears.
The light of lightning appeared in Sasuke's palm almost instantly, but his figure once again disappeared from Naruto's sight. The next moment, he suddenly appeared on the other side, the Chidori in his hand like a sharp blade, stabbing towards Naruto.
Even if I can sense Sasuke's chakra, I can't see his movements...
Naruto's heart sank. He could only quickly close his hands together and shout, "Wood Style: Great Shield Technique!"
Huge shields made of wood appeared one after another around him.
However, this couldn't stop Sasuke's attack at all. He reappeared by Naruto's side in an instant and chuckled, "Naruto, if you just passively defend, you'll never see the direction of my attack. You can't block a Flying Thunder God user!"
"...Your Flying Thunder God Technique has improved too fast, hasn't it?"
Naruto silently cursed his fair and impartial father. Minato Namikaze had taught Sasuke how to make his Flying Thunder God faster but had forgotten to teach his own son how to deal with a Flying Thunder God user. This jutsu had always been a big problem. Unless his own reaction speed could surpass Sasuke's, he would have no way to fight back.
I must see Sasuke's movements clearly!
Naruto closed his eyes, sensing Sasuke's Chidori chakra moving back and forth around him. His eyes suddenly snapped open. "Tenseigan Chakra Mode, Open!"
An emerald green chakra cloak instantly enveloped his entire body.
-----
Bonus:
Naruto: Where'd you go?
Minato: I went to teach Sasuke.
Naruto: Do you remember your son's name?
Minato: Naruto! What's wrong?
Naruto: You taught him so many Flying Thunder God tricks... Did you forget his opponent is your son?!
Minato: Hahahaha...
Naruto: Is there a way to counter it?
Minato: Yes. Just be faster than the Flying Thunder God, and you can counter it!
Naruto: ???