"Kappei! Are you alright?!" Suzuki Saori cried from the sideline, her usual calm composure breaking.
Yoshida Kappei, half-submerged in the consuming mire, clenched his fists in defiance. "I… can still fight!" he roared, body trembling as the swamp threatened to drag him under. His clothing and skin were plastered with mud, his face twisted with unwillingness.
Shigure narrowed his eyes, impressed despite himself. Stubborn. He's more tenacious than I thought. Most would have fainted from fear by now.
But as if sheer will alone wasn't enough, Kappei's chakra spiked sharply. "Raiton: Ground Current!"
Blue sparks crackled across the swamp with dangerous hiss, electricity zapping through waterlogged earth. Using his Lightning Release, Kappei attempted to break free by vibrating the muck into looser soil.
But the law of nature was not in his favor. The mire only bubbled cruelly, swallowing deeper despite the lightning lashing against its surface. Shigure shook his head.
"Interesting. Lightning Release… and paired with Water Release? That is rare in Konoha. Two polar elements in one Genin. You've got talent." His voice carried both recognition and dismissal. "But talent alone won't save you here."
His hands blurred into seals again, faster than most eyes could catch. Shigure leapt atop the massive earthen wall he had conjured earlier. His chest filled, his voice rang through the training ground.
"Fūton: Wind Dragon Bullet!"
The sky itself seemed to split as a massive wind dragon roared alive, chakra molding air into violent serpentine form. Its gaping maw howled with compressed force, spiraling forward with tearing gales that carved the ground in its wake.
Suzuki Saori's composure collapsed as she recognized it. Her elegant face twisted in raw alarm. "That—! That's the Third Hokage's ninjutsu! A B-rank Wind Dragon Bullet? From a Genin!?"
Her calculation instincts cracked, and her voice rose in panic. "Stop! Stop now, Shigure! You'll kill him!"
But ninjutsu was not a thing to be called off like a stray kunai. The dragon was loosed, and nothing would stop its wrath.
The Flash Arrives
The gale ripped across the swamp, tearing chunks of tree and earth to dust. Kappei, eyes wide, screamed and struggled against the sucking mire. He tried to muster another jutsu, lightning clashing against wind, but the difference in scale was overwhelming.
"Too late!!!"
Suzuki shouted hopelessly. Desperation filled her voice as she screamed, "We surrender! I forfeit on behalf of my students! Please, stop—"
But Shigure, clenching his jaw, twisted the jutsu as best he could, angling it to shear across the swamp without fully striking Kappei. The dragon's edges still pressed into him with terrifying force—enough to break bones, enough to tear flesh.
"Danger!"
The call came from behind, strong, clear.
And then the golden flash split space.
Kunai clattered with a ring, spinning through air with its strange three-pronged edge. The symbol carved into its handle glowed faintly.
"Hiraishin no Jutsu! Flying Thunder God Technique!"
In a yellow blur, Namikaze Minato burst through the gale. In one instant, Kappei was gone from the swamp, whisked into a safe zone. The swamp collapsed as the wind dragon shredded the area to rubble, obliterating everything in its path. It carved a crater where Kappei had been moments prior.
The dust settled.
Standing tall, framed by chaos, was a jonin with golden hair and brilliant blue eyes, vest crisp over his slim but strong frame. Minato lowered Kappei gently to the ground, putting himself between the boy and Shigure.
Shigure and Saori both turned at once, each feeling the shift in the air.
Suzuki Saori bowed her head quickly. "Teacher Namikaze Minato… thank you." Her relief bubbled out in heavy breaths. She added quickly, "And Uchiha Shigure! Thank you for trying to redirect. Without either of you, Kappei would be dead."
Shigure only narrowed his eyes, crimson tomoe spinning as he spoke coldly. "Then remember this. Next time—don't provoke us. Or else, what happens won't stop at 'sparring.'"
His warning cracked sharp across the training ground. Saori swallowed, cheeks hot with frustrated embarrassment.
Confrontation
Minato turned toward Shigure calmly, but his gaze flickered sharp with curiosity. "Are the two of you sparring, or is this a real battle?"
He exhaled softly, then cut directly to the matter with a small but firm smile. "Let me ask—what's your identity? With that kind of power, you must be a newly promoted jonin. Why would you strike at Genin with such jutsu?"
Suzuki went pale. Saori hadn't expected that to be the conclusion Minato leapt to, but from an outside perspective… it made sense.
Shigure didn't flinch. Arms crossed, a sardonic smirk curved his lips. "Shouldn't you introduce yourself before questioning someone else?"
For a split second, tension cut the air. Until Minato softly chuckled, scratching his head. With an apologetic smile, he conceded. "You're right. That was rude of me. My name is Namikaze Minato—jonin squad leader of Team Minato." He tucked away his Flying Thunder God kunai politely.
Something in his tone struck honest. There was no edge of suspicion, just humility.
Shigure, at last satisfied, let his grave posture slip into something calmer. "Fair enough. I'm not a jonin. Name's Uchiha Shigure. Genin of Hyūga Hizashi's Team 7… and its squad captain."
Minato blinked. For the first time, his composure cracked.
"You're… a Genin?" His astonishment rippled like a wave. "No—surely you're exaggerating."
"Problem with that?" Shigure tilted his head with a knowing grin.
Minato blinked again, then laughed lightly in disbelief. "I followed you all the way here—I thought you were a jonin." His eyes gleamed with admiration. "Though, seeing the speed and force you displayed… truth be told—had you told me you were a jonin outright, I'd have believed it."
He gestured toward the shattered landscape. "All this ninjutsu—this swamp, those walls, that wind-style? Those belong to my own teacher's arsenal. Did you truly wield them all just now?"
The crater spread wide beyond, still steaming from heated chakra. Minato shook his head. "Incredible. Absolutely incredible."
Shigure smirked knowingly. "Which reminds me, Minato—we may know each other better than you think."
"Oh?" Minato's eyes flickered with interest.
"If we're speaking in terms of seniority… you'd call me Uncle Master."
That stunned him. "Uncle… master?" he echoed.
"Exactly. Your teacher is Jiraiya of the Sannin. His teacher is Lord Third. And me? I'm Lord Third's newest disciple. Which makes me—" Shigure's lips curled—"your elder, by lineage."
Minato blinked rapidly, eyes widening, then softening as realization struck. Jiraiya had, indeed, mentioned in a private letter that Hiruzen had taken a new student quietly. Few knew. Fewer believed the Third would ever accept an Uchiha boy under his wing.
"Then… it's true," Minato murmured.
Shigure crossed his arms, entirely pleased. "So? Come on. You should call me properly."
For a moment, Minato hesitated, lips twitching at the absurdity of it. A man in his twenties calling a Genin 'uncle.' He chuckled awkwardly, but his wisdom overcame pride.
He bowed faintly, smiling. "Junior Master."
"Well done." Shigure grinned, immensely satisfied.
Team Minato Arrives
"Minato-sensei!"
The voices came from behind, accompanied by footsteps pounding across dirt. Three figures arrived together:
Hatake Kakashi, grey hair masking his sharp eye, already pulling down his forehead protector in ready suspicion.
Uchiha Obito, panting heavily, goggles fogged from sweat, irritation and curiosity tangled on his face.
Nohara Rin, kind-eyed despite the fatigue flashing across her soft brown eyes, worry tracing her cheek markings.
Obito doubled over, groaning. "Minato-sensei, you run too fast! I-I thought I was gonna throw up!"
Kakashi rolled his eye with practiced disdain. "You dragged us down yourself—with all that 'helping old ladies cross the street' rubbish."
Rin, ever the peacemaker, smiled and calmed them both. "Obito was trying to help. Don't tease him."
By then, their collective eyes turned outward—toward the scarred, shattered battlefield that had once been the Fourth Training Ground.
Obito froze in place. "Whoa. The hell…? What—what happened here?"
Kakashi's jaw tightened slightly, his single grey eye narrowing on Shigure.
Rin's lips parted, whispering in quiet awe, "All of this… from one fight?"
Minato stood, shoulders relaxed but smile edged with intensity. "Yes. And this," his eyes flicked back to Shigure, "is Uchiha Shigure. Our… Junior Master."
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