No one could be seen in the forest.
All that existed were the sharp, whistling sounds of movement.
Along with the buzzing of tree branches being stepped on and collided with, leaves floated down only to be swept away like they were caught inside a storm.
An invisible battle was unfolding.
Finally—
Kirito stood panting in place.
Minato Namikaze stood on a branch opposite him.
After several exchanges, Minato seemed to have the advantage, but at this moment, Kirito looked at Minato with a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"Yellow Flash, your Flying Thunder God Technique is impressive, but did you ever think that one day someone might counter it?"
Encountering a powerhouse like Minato Namikaze in his first real fight, Kirito naturally fought with everything he had.
Combining the experience he gained from watching the anime in his past life with the luck of narrowly evading two rounds of Flying Thunder God attacks, Kirito arrived at a conclusion.
Flying Thunder God was incredibly fast—normally, once a kunai was thrown, most people couldn't react in time.
But with the enhancement of the Five Elements Release Techniques, Kirito's reaction speed was already beyond ordinary humans.
He could clearly predict the trajectory of the Flying Thunder God kunai—and most importantly, Flying Thunder God had a flaw.
Whenever a Flying Thunder God kunai was thrown, the kunai always traveled in a straight line through the air.
Kirito's current Earth Release might not be as fast as Flying Thunder God, but while facing Minato, he could choose to stand at Minato's side.
More precisely—Kirito kept himself at a constant 90-degree angle from the direction Minato threw his kunai.
As long as Kirito used Earth Release early enough to move three to five meters to the side, the chances of getting hit became very low.
Kirito repeatedly used this method to evade the Flying Thunder God attacks.
He didn't even give Minato the chance to get close and place a Flying Thunder God marker on him.
Although constantly running around seemed cowardly—
When your first opponent is Minato Namikaze, surviving is already a victory.
Of course, Minato had ways to counter this method.
But only if his sensory perception was sharp enough.
Minato was already Kage-level, with reaction speed far beyond normal shinobi. If it were anyone else, they would never be able to react the instant the kunai was thrown.
But Kirito's senses had also been enhanced by the Five Elements Release Techniques.
So if Minato wanted to hit him now, he would need to sharpen his senses even further.
At this point, even the Yellow Flash couldn't achieve that instantly.
There was another method to counter it—
Minato could try to alter the kunai's path mid-air.
But that required environmental help, such as rocks or surfaces to ricochet the kunai.
Otherwise, he would need something like Madara's Limbo: Border Jail to deflect the kunai with invisible force.
But as far as Kirito knew, Minato didn't possess anything like that.
What surprised Kirito even more was that his Earth Release was improving rapidly with every exchange.
Much faster than training Ninjutsu normally did.
What had originally been under 25% progress was now approaching 30%.
This proved that fighting against strong opponents was also an excellent way to advance the Five Elements Release Techniques.
Kirito then used a bit of psychological warfare, pretending he had fully countered Flying Thunder God to shake Minato's morale.
Minato stood on the tree branch, but his expression didn't change. Instead, he calmly nodded.
"You haven't countered my Flying Thunder God. You simply found a way to deal with it. But discovering and executing such a method… you're already remarkable."
Someone destined to become the Fourth Hokage would never be rattled by mere bravado.
Minato not only acknowledged Kirito's abilities, he also noticed something else.
"Originally, I thought you were using Body Flicker. But after several exchanges, I'm certain what you're using is not Body Flicker."
"Every time you use that technique, the ground trembles slightly beneath your feet. It must be Earth Release, but definitely not ordinary Earth Release."
"To master such a secret technique at your age… I underestimated you. You are certainly not just a Genin from Kumogakure."
Minato's observation was razor sharp. He immediately grasped the essence of Kirito's Earth Release.
He couldn't name the technique, but he knew it was entirely movement-based—a speed surpassing even Body Flicker.
The distance traveled wasn't great, but the speed was dangerous.
Kirito rubbed his nose helplessly.
"Yellow Flash, I'm not interested in your mission, nor will I report your position to the Cloud Village."
"Let's just forget this happened. You go your way, I go mine."
Honestly, Kirito had no interest in fighting Minato.
His Five Elements Release Techniques were still immature. If it weren't for the knowledge from his past life and the strange nature of his Earth Release, he wouldn't have lasted even one minute against Minato.
Before his power grew, survival was the priority.
"No."
Minato shook his head firmly.
His gaze toward Kirito turned even more serious.
"I originally thought you were just a child forced onto the battlefield. But now that you possess such a remarkable secret technique, you're no ordinary Genin."
"You're hiding something important. I'm sorry—but I cannot keep my earlier promise. I must capture you."
Kirito scratched his head in frustration.
Why is Minato so stubborn?
Wouldn't it be better if everyone just left peacefully?
Why must he chase me?! Did I wrong him in a past life?!
Kirito's mind raced to find a solution.
"Minato Namikaze, you must be here alone because of an urgent mission."
"If you refuse to leave, then don't blame me for being ruthless. I'll stall you here with my secret technique."
"If I keep delaying you, you won't be able to complete your mission. What will you do then?"
But Minato calmly shook his head.
"Your secret technique is indeed troublesome. Even Flying Thunder God may struggle to catch you under normal circumstances."
"But I can sense it—you're running low. How many more times can you use that technique?"
Kirito's heart sank.
He was right. Even if he wasn't using Chakra directly, he was still only thirteen—and drenched in sweat.
If he kept dragging this out, his Earth Release would eventually slow, and then he would die.
Minato instantly caught Kirito's hesitation.
Without hesitation, Minato activated Flying Thunder God again.
Kirito immediately used Earth Release to dodge.
Shadows flickered throughout the forest once more.
Only the sound of slicing air and swaying branches filled the woods.
After evading another attack, Kirito wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Minato was right. He was essentially a Kage-level shinobi with enormous Chakra reserves.
If Kirito kept running like this, he would be the one to collapse first.
Kirito had to think of something.
Looking at Minato, he began fumbling inside his backpack.
Finally—his hand grasped something.
Kirito smirked subtly and pulled out two Ninja Tools.
Applying Chakra to them, the tools rapidly enlarged.
One was the Seven Star Sword.
The other was the Bashōsen.
The moment Kirito brought out the two treasures, Minato didn't even blink—
He threw another Flying Thunder God kunai.
End of the chapter.