A prolonged grapple was highly unfavorable for Tatsuma. He knew his stamina would run out long before Minato's, so he needed a way to break the stalemate quickly—even better if he could turn it into a counterattack.
Taking a risk, Tatsuma released Minato's left hand. With both of his own hands free, he violently yanked Minato's right wrist to the side, the kunai slicing precariously close to his own cheek.
Seizing the opening, Tatsuma drove both hands toward Minato's ribs. Minato sensed the danger and rolled to the side, but Tatsuma's palm strike still connected solidly with his left ribcage.
The blow to his ribs made it difficult for Minato to straighten up as he rolled to his feet. Tatsuma, having already stood up, saw Minato in a half-crouch and immediately launched a straight left front kick aimed directly at Minato's face.
Minato slapped the kick away with his left hand while tilting his head to dodge. Gritting his teeth, he powered through the pain to stand, intending to catch Tatsuma's leg and execute a takedown.
Seeing this, Tatsuma quickly chambered his leg for an axe kick. Minato, realizing he couldn't afford to tank the hit like Tatsuma might, chose to step back and evade. Unlike his opponent, he wasn't in a rush.
Minato wanted to create distance, but Tatsuma clung to him, unleashing a relentless barrage of left punches and kunai strikes. Minato continuously parried and blocked with his outer forearms. The two of them, who trained together almost daily, moved with such synchronized fluidity that it looked like a choreographed routine.
Up in the classroom, Jiraiya gripped the windowsill tightly, his eyes serious.
"The white-haired brat is getting desperate."
Orochimaru had started watching at some point and offered his commentary. Jiraiya instinctively nodded in agreement, but then realized the implication and turned to glare at his teammate. "Orochimaru, are you making a veiled insult at me?"
Orochimaru shook his head slowly. "When I insult you, I never veil it, Dead-Last."
"Damn you!"
"Enough! Keep watching!"
Hiruzen cut them off, his eyes fixed on the playground below. Minato, leveraging his superior stamina, had finally managed to open up some distance and was now unleashing a constant stream of shuriken and kunai.
Tatsuma was barely managing to deflect the incoming projectiles. On the sidelines, Chinto Hyuga watched with a sour expression—this was exactly how he had lost to Minato earlier.
But Tatsuma wasn't Chinto. He was intimately familiar with Minato's throwing habits. Even exhausted and dodging clumsily, he managed to scrape through several waves of Minato's projectile attacks.
Opposite him, Minato frowned. He hadn't expected a truly serious Tatsuma to be this formidable. He tapped his ninja pouch, doing a quick mental inventory of his remaining tools.
Two kunai, six shuriken, and eight senbon?
Decision made, Minato grabbed all six shuriken and threw them in a wide arc toward Tatsuma. The senbon followed immediately after. He didn't throw the final two kunai; instead, he gripped them tightly and charged.
Tatsuma focused intensely, rapidly dodging the tools. He knocked the shuriken aside, but as he prepared to deflect the senbon, he saw Minato's flying kick arriving at the exact same moment.
Senbon it is... I should be fine.
Tatsuma made a split-second decision to ignore the needles. He locked onto the trajectory of Minato's kick and stepped forward. The Tai Chi techniques he'd learned as an elective in his previous life's university days finally came in handy.
Using a "Brush Knee and Twist Step" maneuver, Tatsuma caught the heel of Minato's kicking right leg on his left shoulder. His left arm wrapped around Minato's right knee, pressing down, while his right hand—still gripping his kunai—formed a fist and delivered a brutal punch to Minato's abdomen.
The blow instantly scattered the core strength Minato had gathered in his midsection. His body went limp and fell backward, slamming onto the ground. Tatsuma immediately followed up, dropping his knee onto Minato's stomach to prevent him from generating any power.
Simultaneously, the kunai in his right hand came to rest against Minato's collarbone. Only then did the grim look on Tatsuma's face finally dissolve into a smile.
"As expected of you, Minato. But looks like I got lucky this time."
Minato didn't seem to care that he had lost. His eyes were fixed on the senbon sticking out of Tatsuma's shoulder and thigh. "Are you okay?" he asked anxiously.
"Huh? I wouldn't have felt the pain if you hadn't mentioned it."
Now that Minato pointed it out, the deep ache in his muscles and the sharp sting of the needles rushed into Tatsuma's awareness. The hand holding the kunai against Minato's throat went limp.
"Goppu-sensei! Please take a look at Tatsuma!"
Seeing Tatsuma stiffly fall to the side, Minato yelled urgently to the approaching teacher. Goppu nodded reassuringly. "Just some minor wounds. Mostly, his body is just exhausted."
Up in the classroom, Tsunade squinted through the window at the scene below. "Are those two actually friends? How can friends hit each other so hard?"
One second they were trading brutal blows, the next they were fretting over each other's injuries. It was highly unusual.
Hiruzen explained, "Those two have been training together for months. Aside from that final exchange, they were likely very familiar with each other's moves, so it wasn't as dangerous as it looked."
"They're still just first-years, right?" Tsunade mused. "That kind of decisiveness is rare, even for some active shinobi. Don't you think, Jiraiya?"
Jiraiya's face turned green. If Orochimaru's earlier comment might have been unintentional, Tsunade was definitely pointing a finger right at his nose.
But... while he dared to lose his temper with Orochimaru, he wouldn't dare cross Tsunade. He silently swallowed the grievance.
Hiruzen smiled. "Tsunade, I thought you weren't interested? How about now?"
Tsunade paused for a moment, then shook her head. "Those two kids are certainly impressive for first-years. They'd probably rank well against any grade level in the Academy.
"But I still don't want to play house with children. I don't have time to waste on students."
"No rush," Hiruzen waved a hand. "This was just to let you have a look. Even if you wanted to take them on, you'd have to wait until they graduate."
He was satisfied enough with Tsunade's shift in attitude. Pushing her too hard might backfire and make her stubbornly refuse to take a disciple forever.
Seeing that Hiruzen wasn't going to force the issue, Tsunade nodded. She wasn't even twenty yet and had just become a Jonin; she didn't want to waste her golden training years babysitting.
"I'd like to go meet those two kids," Jiraiya said suddenly.
Ever since receiving the prophecy from the Great Toad Sage a few years ago, Jiraiya had considered taking a student. It would be better if they were the Child of Prophecy, but it didn't matter if they weren't.
After all... someone destined to teach the Savior of the World must be good at teaching. Even a student who wasn't the chosen one would surely become a better ninja under his guidance.
Hiruzen nodded at Jiraiya's request. "You're all on break right now; do as you like. You've seen what you needed to see today. Those of you with other matters to attend to may leave."
"Hmph."
Tsunade turned and walked out. Orochimaru thought for a moment, decided there was no crucial intelligence he'd missed, and said, "Then, Sarutobi-sensei, I will take my leave as well."
Hiruzen waved him off and then turned to Jiraiya, who remained behind. "Is there something else?"
"Cough... Well, you see..."
A look of embarrassment crossed Jiraiya's face. "Sensei, about the mission bounty..."
"You're short over a million ryo?! The village's finances are tight right now, can't you wait a bit to collect?" Hiruzen snapped, annoyed.
Jiraiya looked helpless. "Tsunade 'borrowed' all my money. I can't even afford ramen right now."
Hearing the heavy emphasis on "borrowed," Hiruzen understood perfectly. He sighed. "Alright, come to the Hokage Building and collect it.
"By the way, Jiraiya... sometimes, you really need to keep a tighter grip on your money. Forget it, telling you won't make a difference. I'll give you a hundred thousand ryo now; I'll hold onto the rest for you."
"Uh... okay."