Chapter 100: Secret Message
Night had fallen on the Land of Fire border.
Konoha Camp.
Namikaze Minato was resting in his tent.
A bat with an antenna sticking out of its head squeezed through the tent flaps and fluttered in. It landed beside Minato, tilting its head and staring at him quietly.
Minato had noticed the bat when it was still outside, but sensing absolutely no chakra fluctuations from the little creature, he had paid it no mind.
"What are you doing in here, little guy?"
Minato found the strange-looking bat rather cute as it stood there dumbly.
Just then, the bat began to emit a faint red light. Minato started, instantly on guard.
But the next moment, a somewhat familiar voice echoed in the tent.
"Namikaze Minato, this is Kael Cross, Leader of the Hidden Hot Water Village. There are currently one thousand Cloud shinobi in my country, led by the Third Raikage's son and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. They are preparing to launch a surprise attack on your camp at any moment. Please prepare your defenses early. When the time comes... I will make my move!"
As soon as the voice faded, the bat squeezed back through the tent flap and flew off into the night.
Inside the tent, Minato's expression turned grave. This was undoubtedly shocking intelligence.
The Hidden Cloud had mobilized so many shinobi to destroy this border camp. Although their ultimate goal was unknown, Minato knew this was bad news.
He also recognized the owner of the voice—the young Hidden Hot Water ninja he had fought once before!
"'When the time comes, I will make my move'..."
Minato muttered the phrase slowly. He seemed to understand the implication, but understanding Kael's meaning only made it seem more incredible.
"That's the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the future Fourth Raikage. Where does that guy get his confidence?"
Early the next morning.
Before dawn.
A massive force was moving rapidly toward the Land of Fire border.
The group appeared to number over a thousand, all moving at high speed—clearly not ordinary people.
However, the group was visibly divided into two sections. through the dim light of dawn, one could see the vanguard was led by a young man wearing a forehead protector with three vertical slashes. It was Kael.
A few minutes later, he arrived at the perimeter of the Konoha camp. Normally, there would be Konoha patrols here, but now, strangely, there wasn't a soul in sight.
The corner of Kael's mouth curled up slightly.
"It seems Minato has already alerted the entire camp. His status in Konoha really is extraordinary if he can make the commander here listen to him..."
Knowing that Minato was prepared for the Cloud, Kael felt a bit more confident about this trip.
"Brother, something's wrong! We're less than a kilometer away, and we haven't seen a single Konoha ninja. Even though it's before dawn, Konoha ninja are never this lax!"
Killer B turned to the Raikage's son, his expression grave.
"...It doesn't matter! We have the Hidden Hot Water ninja as our vanguard. Even if there's an ambush, we have nothing to fear!"
Killer B could only nod slightly.
The distance closed rapidly. The hazy outline of the massive Konoha camp appeared in Kael's vision.
Killing intent flashed in his eyes, and Kael silently drew his kunai.
The next moment, a golden figure flashed like lightning, piercing through the darkness from the distant camp, heading straight for Kael.
Kael raised his kunai swiftly, as if by instinct, blocking a strange, three-pronged kunai. The collision of two formidable forces sent both Kael and the newcomer flying backward.
Kael took four or five steps back to dissipate the force and steady himself. Then, pushing off the ground heavily, he charged forward instead of retreating, clashing instantly with the golden figure.
The ground beneath their feet cracked under the impact. The incredibly fast tempo of the battle produced a continuous ringing of taijutsu collisions.
Kael's black cloak snapped fiercely in the wind, his elusive figure like an emissary of the night.
Clang!
Their kunai clashed again. Almost simultaneously, both kicked out with their right legs, their feet meeting squarely in mid-air with a thud. They brushed past each other and leaped back.
They didn't continue the fight, standing sideways to each other—a stance that allowed for both offense and defense.
The previous taijutsu exchange had been probing; neither intended a fight to the death just yet.
After clashing again, Kael had a rough idea of Minato's strength. With the Tabby Cat possessing him, Kael's strength and speed were comparable to Minato's, but his neural reaction speed was clearly half a beat slower.
In a taijutsu battle, this meant he couldn't keep up with the opponent's rhythm.
One shouldn't underestimate that half-beat; this seemingly insignificant advantage accumulated. Kael concluded that if they fought purely with taijutsu, he wouldn't last fifty rounds against Minato!
Unbeknownst to him, this exchange had shocked the golden-haired youth profoundly.
The once-weak boy could now face him head-on!
"I didn't expect you to grow to this level in just a few years!"
Minato looked at Kael with a complicated expression, but he also felt more confident about dealing with the Cloud brothers.
If he has this level of strength plus those summons, we might actually be able to keep the Third Raikage's son and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki here! Whether we defeat or capture them, it would be great news for the village. I just wonder... have his summons grown stronger too?
"Likewise..."
Kael's gaze swept over the strange kunai in Minato's hand, and he felt reassured.
If he wasn't mistaken, the markings carved on that three-pronged kunai were the Flying Thunder God formula!
The two stood facing each other in silence, the atmosphere turning strangely quiet.
Over the years, both had improved immensely.
Strictly speaking, this was Kael's first true confrontation with Minato.
Three years ago, he had relied entirely on the power of his summons. But this time, although he borrowed the Tabby Cat's strength, he was fighting with his own hands—and only slightly at a disadvantage.
To be able to fight to this extent against a Konoha genius like Minato, who possessed top-tier physical stats and combat skills, Kael was already very satisfied.
Moreover, just as Nagato's Rinnegan countered him heavily, Kael's abilities were actually a strong counter to Minato. Tabby's Repulsion Aura alone could completely shut down a speed-type ninja like Minato!
It was purely a matter of rock-paper-scissors!