Meanwhile.
On another battlefield.
Namikaze Minato stood steadily on a tree branch. Despite how fragile the branch appeared—easily snapped with a light tug—it didn't sway in the slightest under his weight.
His gaze was fixed on the enemy he had just kicked away.
A gaunt man on the ground, his hands rapidly forming hand seals.
Without a forehead protector, it was impossible to tell which village he belonged to.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"
Invisible blades of wind materialized in the air, slicing toward Minato at blinding speed.
With a Shave, Minato vanished from his spot. The tree he had been standing on was cleanly severed in two. The broken trunk toppled onto another tree.
But the enemy's assault wasn't over.
"Wind Release: Chaotic Wind Cutter Technique!"
More invisible wind blades, sharper than swords, raked through the forest. Trees were cleaved apart, collapsing in a chaotic mess.
Minato's agile figure darted across the falling logs, always one step ahead of the deadly wind blades.
So far, he hadn't suffered a single scratch.
"Brat! Are you just going to keep running?!"
The man was furious. Throughout the fight, he had laid numerous traps and even deliberately exposed weaknesses, but this kid refused to take the bait.
Worse, every time he tried to close the distance, Minato would instantly retreat, forcing him into a long-range battle.
Gritting his teeth, the man pulled out a handful of shuriken and tossed them lightly into the air before slamming his palms together.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
The shuriken shot forward like bullets, embedding themselves into trees with a rapid "thunk-thunk-thunk!"
Minato responded by flicking a few shuriken of his own.
The man repeated the technique, slamming his palms together again. A powerful gust deflected the incoming projectiles.
Unfazed, Minato landed on another tree and paused.
"At my current strength, I'm no match for you."
The man ignored him, his hands never stopping their seals.
Another Wind Cutter Technique sent transparent blades hurtling toward Minato.
Weaving effortlessly between the attacks, Minato dodged every single one.
"Damn brat!"
With a snarl, the man charged forward, kunai in hand.
Minato hung upside-down from a branch, his own hands forming seals.
"That's why I need to power up."
"This is my first original jutsu. I wonder if it'll be enough to defeat you?"
"Whirling Gale Swift Wind Chant: Four Styles!"
A whirlwind enveloped Minato's body.
The next moment, the man barely managed to block a kunai aimed at his throat with his own.
"Clang!"
Sparks flew as the two blades collided.
Then Minato vanished again. The man instinctively kicked backward, but Minato had already appeared behind him, his body floating unnaturally as if defying gravity.
Their kunai clashed in a rapid exchange.
Eventually, the man was forced back to the ground.
His pupils darted frantically as he swung his kunai wildly, parrying invisible strikes. The air rang with the sound of metal clashing, yet Minato's form remained elusive.
"What the hell is going on?!"
The man roared in frustration. Every time he attacked, Minato would float just out of reach, always a hair's breadth above his strikes.
And that speed—it was maddening.
"It's the wind," Minato explained softly.
Upon closer inspection, a thin layer of swirling air encased Minato's body.
Any movement—whether a punch, a jutsu, or even the swing of a kunai—created wind. And as long as that wind was stronger than the currents around him, it would push Minato's body away.
Whirling Gale Swift Wind Chant: Four Styles was his original creation, a fusion of the Four Styles and wind-natured chakra.
A taijutsu-ninjutsu hybrid, perfected for evasion but lacking in offensive power.
Like a ghost, Minato darted around the man, striking from all angles.
The man could only defend, unable to counterattack.
Hitting air was pointless. A waste of chakra and stamina.
Shave for movement. Paper Drawing to control the wind currents. Iron Body to adjust chakra flow. And finally, the near-useless Finger Gun—the only offensive component, though kunai worked better.
At just ten years old, Minato had created this technique, aided by Jiraiya's teachings and the chakra control honed through Basic Internal Energy.
But it had one critical flaw.
After another blocked strike, Minato reappeared on a distant tree, panting heavily.
The wind barrier around him dissipated.
The toll on his stamina was immense. For an average ten-year-old, this level of chakra consumption would be unsustainable.
Fortunately, Minato's Basic Internal Energy had stockpiled enough chakra to compensate.
"Out of stamina, brat? Wind Cutter!"
As the invisible blades surged toward him, Minato didn't move, as if he truly had no strength left.
Then—
"Spirit Gun!"
A thin blue beam pierced the back of the man's skull, exiting through his forehead and continuing until it vanished into the forest.
The man collapsed. The wind blades dissolved into nothingness.
"Kin, perfect timing." Minato waved from his perch, greeting Uchiha Kin in the distance.
"Minato, you really surprised me."
In an instant, Kin crossed the distance between them, landing beside Minato.
He hadn't expected Minato to develop a new jutsu based on the Four Styles.
Crude as it was, it was a start. With time, Minato might create something even greater.
Damn upgraded Golden Finger, Kin grumbled internally. Before, it would just implant the results directly into my head. Now it's like a search engine with artificial stupidity.
"I'm still nowhere near you," Minato admitted, a hint of defeat in his voice.
As the top student at the academy, being overshadowed by Kin stung. He wasn't yet the future Yellow Flash who would dominate the shinobi world—just a boy with pride.
A normal person might have offered comfort.
But this was Uchiha Kin.
"Catch up to me? You're a hundred years too early!"
Kin struck a pose, oozing shameless pride. Sure, his Golden Finger helped, but that was his advantage—so it might as well count as his talent.
"I wonder how Kushina's doing…"
Minato changed the subject. Seeking sympathy from Kin was exhausting.
If I ever turn evil, he thought wryly, Kin's definitely to blame.
"Why worry about her?" Kin scoffed. "That idiot thinks she's hiding it well, but she's not."
Minato's expression turned bitter.
Kin was a genius on par with the Second Hokage. Falling short of him was one thing.
But Kushina's strength…
Though she believed she was keeping it hidden, both of them knew the truth.
Kushina was the strongest of the three.
"BOOM!!"
A deafening explosion rocked the forest.
A massive energy dome erupted in the distance, followed by a shockwave so powerful that both Minato and Kin had to cling to the tree to avoid being blown away.
When the dust settled, they exchanged stunned glances.
Meanwhile, Kushina's battle was a chase.
"STOP RUNNING, YOU COWARD!"
Kushina roared, three chains whipping out from her back to latch onto trees, swinging her forward like a certain web-slinging hero.
Her enemy, meanwhile, kicked off trees with bursts of flame from his feet, rocketing forward like a human missile.
The fleeing man glanced back, his face pale with terror.
"A perfect Jinchūriki?! What the hell is the village thinking?!"
Kushina's body was wreathed in golden light, her aura almost divine.
With a swipe of her hand, a massive golden fox claw materialized, slamming into the ground where the man had just been.
The tree beneath it was reduced to splinters.
Why the hell would I stop?! the man thought frantically, pouring more chakra into his Fire Release: Jet Flame Technique to boost his speed.
This wasn't something a mere chūnin could handle!
At least his escape jutsu was reliable.
As for clones?
This damn Jinchūriki could somehow tell the real from the fake.
Wait, isn't the Uzumaki clan known for sensory techniques?
…Oh.
Yeah, I'm screwed.
"DAMMIT! Where did everyone else go?! This mission is a total failure!"
The man gritted his teeth.
Ahead lay a weak point in Konoha's barrier. If he could reach it, he might escape.
"NO WAY I'M LETTING YOU GET AWAY!"
Kushina's rage boiled over. She raised both hands, a swirling orb of black and red energy forming above her palms.
A Tailed Beast Bomb.
"DIE!!"
She hurled it forward with all her might.
This was her full power.
Her chakra was drained in an instant—even the fox's reserves were tapped to complete the technique.
(Kurama: SOMEONE CONTROL THIS CRAZY GIRL!! SHE'S ROBBING ME!!)
The orb struck the ground and expanded into a colossal dome of energy. The resulting shockwave flattened everything in its path.
When the dust cleared, Kushina's golden form faded. Her face was deathly pale, but her grin was triumphant.
"I'm… so strong! HAHAHAHA—"
Her laughter died abruptly.
Before her stood rows of green-clad figures.
At their head was an old man wearing a conical hat.
"H-Hey, Third Hokage… Fancy meeting you here… haha…"
Yep, Kin would later remark. Naruto definitely takes after his mom.
(End of Chapter)