Kakashi stirred slightly, but Naraku immediately reached out to stop him, his eyes signaling him not to rush into danger himself. He patted Kakashi's arm to reassure him.
Matsukata Seigou watched their small interaction, narrowing his eyes and smiling, a glint of inscrutable meaning in his gaze.
He impatiently fanned himself, feigning annoyance. "Gentlemen, isn't it about time we began?"
"Yes," Naraku replied.
Ishikawa was less formal, simply agreeing casually. "Alright, but you'll have to explain to the Master later that this wasn't my idea."
"Alright, alright, off you go."
Naraku subtly rolled his eyes as he watched them chat so casually.
It seemed Matsukata Seigou wasn't as difficult as he appeared; otherwise, he wouldn't have such a good relationship with the Matsukata Family's ninja, joking around and looking unconcerned even when complained to.
Or perhaps he was too cunning, and no one knew his true nature—not even this ninja named Ishikawa had been fooled.
Naraku blinked, pushing these thoughts aside. The most important thing now was to put on a brilliant performance in front of the other party.
Ishikawa stood ready in the center of the courtyard and said, "You attack first."
Naraku quickly formed a few hand signs, and a man-sized fireball shot out from his mouth, hurtling towards Ishikawa.
Ishikawa sneered. "Is that all? Get serious, little ninja."
Naraku ignored his comment. Instead, he kicked off the ground, and the moment he lunged forward, several shuriken appeared between his fingers. He crossed his forearms and then swung them to his side.
The shuriken spun out like meteors, piercing through the massive fireball, each one catching fire. They arced in different trajectories, surrounding Ishikawa from all directions.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!
"Now that's more like it."
Ishikawa grinned, knocking away two shuriken aimed at his head and using the Body Flicker Technique to dodge the rest.
The fireball crashed to the ground with a roar, scorching the earth. The shuriken he dodged collided with each other, ricocheted, and finally embedded themselves deeply in the ground. The flames gradually died down after several breaths.
While Ishikawa was preparing to use the Body Flicker Technique, Naraku had already begun forming hand signs. When he reappeared in a different location, he was met with a deluge of flames.
Fire Release: Multiple Flame Bullets!
"Whoa, whoa, seriously?"
Ishikawa complained as he channeled his chakra, rapidly forming hand signs. "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
The calm pond nearby immediately became turbulent, sending up large waves of water that flowed like a curtain, covering Ishikawa and extinguishing nearly ten flame bullets.
Water Release, huh? I'll shock you!
Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!
Naraku's hands moved in a blur, and a dozen large lightning balls appeared around him, floating up and down in the air. When Naraku completed his hand signs, they seemed to gain sentience, all smashing themselves towards Ishikawa.
"As expected of an Uchiha. Very proficient in Fire Release and Lightning Release, and a large amount of chakra."
Ishikawa continuously used the Body Flicker Technique and Substitution Jutsu, finally dodging all the lightning balls, but he also expended a significant amount of his chakra.
His Water Release and Earth Release were both very disadvantageous against Naraku's Lightning Release. Continuing to clash with ninjutsu was an unwise idea, so he drew the broad ninja sword from his back and angled it to the ground.
Naraku also stopped using ninjutsu that favored him, choosing to draw his ninja sword to fight.
This battle was originally an exhibition match; winning or losing didn't matter.
What was important was to fully demonstrate his abilities.
The two combatants swung their ninja swords and clashed. Ishikawa realized that this little monster wasn't even as tall as his chest, yet his strength was nearly equal to his own.
This kid is an Uchiha, not a Senju, right?
Ishikawa parried Naraku's sword, then swung his arm for a horizontal slash. Naraku ducked to dodge, the blade passing over his head. Seizing the moment before his opponent could retract his sword, Naraku thrust upwards at his throat.
Clang—
The tip of the ninja sword struck a kunai.
It turned out that while performing the horizontal slash, Ishikawa had also smoothly pulled out a kunai to prevent Naraku from exploiting his open guard.
Unable to gain an advantage, Naraku quickly adjusted his tactics, using the Body Flicker Technique to reappear behind Ishikawa's left side and attack again.
The two fought for a while, unable to determine a victor, until Ishikawa finally spoke up.
"That's enough, Fourth Young Master? This kid is very troublesome. If this continues, I might get into trouble."
"Alright, let's stop here."
As Matsukata Seigou spoke, Naraku also ceased his offensive and exhaled.
While fighting, he appeared to be on the offensive, but Ishikawa had always defended with ease, his breathing steady, his movements precise, and his chakra signature very clear.
He most likely had the skill level of a Konoha Jonin.
If Ishikawa had chosen to attack proactively just now, he would have had a very difficult time coping.
With such strength, it was no wonder the Matsukata Family respected him so much.
Naraku was about to go retrieve his throwing weapons from the surroundings, but Ishikawa pulled him back, signaling that he didn't need to do it himself, as specialists would collect them for him.
Naraku returned to Kakashi's side, offering a slight smile in response to his inquiring gaze, indicating that he was completely unharmed.
"Hmm, since Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Naraku are fellow disciples, their skill levels should be similar, so there's no need for another match."
Matsukata Seigou took a perfunctory sip of tea, cleared his throat, and added, "Since I was rude first, how about this: these two will be responsible for protecting my safety during this period. Once the mission is complete, I will pay an additional reward."
Minato looked at Naraku and Kakashi, seeing nothing unusual, and agreed on their behalf. "Alright."
Matsukata Seigou instructed a maid nearby, "Prepare a guest room for them, the best one."
"Yes."
The maid quickly retreated after responding to prepare accommodations for Naraku and Kakashi.