[Naruto : Yellow Flash] Chapter 671 - 675

Chapter 671: Naruto's Training

A few months later, in the Uchiha clan compound.

Chiharu had just been born, so Kushina put her missions on hold for the time being, focusing wholeheartedly on taking care of Naruto and his sister at home.

However, the life of a housewife was quite boring, so during the day when Minato was working, Kushina would often take the two children to Mikoto's house. There, the two mothers could chat about old times.

"Aunt Mikoto, where is Sasuke?" asked Naruto after arriving at Fugaku's house, looking around but not finding his friend.

"Sasuke is practicing in the backyard," Mikoto replied.

In truth, she didn't want her child to start such strict daily training from such a young age. But since it was Sasuke's own initiative, she felt she had to support him.

"Mom, sis, I'll be gone for a bit," Naruto said with a nod. He stretched out his finger and gently tapped Chiharu's delicate little face.

After Chiharu smiled at him, he turned around and walked toward the backyard.

"Those two really get along well," Mikoto chuckled, looking at Kushina.

"Yeah," Kushina responded, but as she watched the direction Naruto had gone, her eyes flickered slightly with concern.

"Bang! Bang!"

In the backyard, Sasuke kept hitting a wooden post that was much taller than him.

Naruto walked out of the house and approached Sasuke.

Just as he got close, Sasuke suddenly turned his eyes to the side. The fist that was just hitting the wooden post suddenly changed direction and struck at Naruto.

Naruto was slightly shocked, but he immediately reacted, stepping back a few steps to avoid Sasuke's punch.

"What are you doing?!" Anger flashed across Naruto's face.

Sasuke ignored him completely and spat softly, "My level is far worse than my brother! Even this guy can avoid my attack."

He spoke without caring if Naruto heard, but standing so close, Naruto could of course hear every word.

"What do you mean by 'this guy'?" Naruto questioned, but Sasuke didn't bother to answer.

Sasuke turned around and continued punching the wooden post.

"What's the point of punching a piece of wood? It's so boring," Naruto's teasing voice came just as Sasuke was about to throw another punch.

Sasuke glanced back and said, "If you say that again, I'll stop punching the wooden post and hit you instead."

"Go ahead. I'm not afraid of you."

As soon as Naruto finished speaking, Sasuke spun around and launched a whip kick at him.

"Bang!"

Naruto stretched out his arm to block the position where Sasuke's kick was aimed, successfully stopping the attack.

He had inherited the physique of Kushina's Uzumaki clan. Even though Sasuke had been training for some time, he was still slightly weaker than Naruto in terms of raw strength.

After blocking Sasuke's kick, Naruto swung a straight punch in return.

The two immediately began sparring together, but this was no ordinary children's fight.

Although they were only a little over three years old, their movements incorporated ninja physical techniques.

Like Mikoto, Sasuke had begun receiving training from the Uchiha clan since early childhood.

Naruto often played with him. After being soundly beaten by Sasuke several times, he had also learned some taijutsu from Kushina.

Although Kushina wasn't especially skilled in taijutsu, she was still a jonin of Konoha.

When the two fought, although Sasuke had the upper hand, it wasn't so easy for him to win.

Kushina and Mikoto heard the noise and naturally came to the backyard to watch.

However, neither mother stopped them, because they could see from the boys' eyes that they were competing with each other, not fighting out of anger.

"Huff."

At the end of the fight, the two collapsed on the ground facing each other, staring at one another.

Sasuke had landed more hits on Naruto, but with Naruto's physical stamina, he had managed to exhaust Sasuke's strength.

Sasuke had a look of surprise in his eyes, because Naruto hadn't been a match for him in their last fight.

"Tsk."

Naruto was unwilling to admit defeat, and he wasn't satisfied with the result of a draw.

The two rested for a while. Then, in front of Naruto, Sasuke put his hands together and made an unfamiliar movement.

"He's actually making hand signs," Naruto thought.

Naruto knew a little about the basics of being a ninja, so he was surprised to see that Sasuke had already learned to make hand signs.

The signs that Sasuke formed were the ones used to focus chakra.

As he completed the sequence, Sasuke gradually closed his eyes.

"Hey," Naruto called out to Sasuke, but the latter was completely immersed in his training and paid no attention.

Seeing that Sasuke was no longer paying attention to him, Naruto decided not to disturb his training and walked away.

...

After dinner, Naruto suddenly approached Minato and said, "Dad, I want you to guide my training."

Minato was startled and immediately replied, "Training is very hard, and you're still too young..."

"It's okay, I can handle it!" Naruto insisted, his eyes filled with determination.

Minato had learned from Kushina that Sasuke had now started full-day training.

He also knew that Naruto and Sasuke had fought during the day.

Naruto must have been motivated by Sasuke.

Looking at the child in front of him, Minato chuckled and said, "Okay, but I heard that Mom has already taught you some taijutsu. What do you want to learn?"

Naruto seemed a little confused when he heard this.

He only knew that Sasuke had been making hand signs earlier, but he didn't know exactly what he was doing.

With great effort, Naruto explained to Minato what Sasuke had been doing during the day.

"Sasuke is trying to focus his chakra," Minato smiled. At Sasuke's age, the only thing he could be doing with hand signs would be chakra focusing exercises.

"Then I want to learn it too!" Naruto said immediately.

"No problem."

Minato smiled at Naruto. With the child's natural physique, he could certainly start practicing chakra focusing right away.

However, before starting to practice, Naruto first needed to learn how to form hand signs.

The hand signs required to focus chakra weren't very complicated, but for Naruto...

"Ahhh, it's so difficult!"

Naruto fumbled with the hand signs clumsily. When he finally got the first sign right, he'd forgotten the second one.

"When making hand signs, you must keep your mind calm to ensure both speed and accuracy," Minato advised.

He had expected this result from the beginning.

Naruto had completely inherited Kushina's personality. Although his talent as a ninja hadn't stood out so far, it wasn't bad.

It's just that memorization tasks like this were a little difficult for Naruto...

But although the practice was challenging, Naruto had no intention of giving up.

In front of Minato, he failed again and again, but kept correcting himself.

"Don't worry," Minato said, watching Naruto from the side as a smile gradually appeared on his face.

For a ninja, talent was certainly important, but it wasn't everything.

The most important thing was the courage and will to never give up in the face of any setbacks!

Chapter 672: Obstacles to Practice

A few days later.

"How was it today?" Minato looked at Naruto in front of him, who had been practicing the hand signs to focus chakra for a few days.

After repeated failures, Naruto finally managed to memorize those signs.

"No problem," Naruto said, puffing out his chest slightly, but from the lack of confidence in his tone, Minato could tell he was still uncertain.

This was indeed not something Naruto was good at.

"Come on! Let your sister see the results of your practice these days," Kushina encouraged, holding Chiharu in her arms.

Chiharu smiled at Naruto.

"Alright!" Naruto was immediately filled with energy. He raised his hands and brought them together.

He began making the hand signs. His speed wasn't fast, but the accuracy of the signs was quite high.

This showed how much effort he had put into mastering these seemingly simple signs over the past few days.

After finishing the last sign, Naruto's expression became very solemn.

"Hnngh!" he grunted, trying to focus his chakra.

Minato and Kushina exchanged glances. There was no chakra fluctuation in Naruto's body.

In other words, his attempt at focusing chakra had failed.

"I don't feel anything," Naruto said, looking confused as he relaxed his hands and stared at them.

"Of course. Although you've learned the hand signs, it doesn't mean you can master the skill of focusing chakra immediately," Minato explained. At his side, Kushina's eyes showed slight concern.

Hearing this, Naruto nodded vigorously. Looking at his parents and sister, he declared with determination, "Mom, Dad, Chiharu, just watch! I'll focus my chakra soon!"

"Yeah!" Minato responded supportively.

Then, Naruto immediately ran back to his room to continue practicing.

In the living room, Kushina looked at Minato and said in a deep voice, "Because of that incident, it's much more difficult for Naruto to focus chakra than others."

"Ah." Minato nodded. Generally speaking, as long as one's physical condition met the requirements and they mastered the hand signs, chakra could be focused quickly.

Naruto had inherited the physique of the Uzumaki clan, and his physical abilities far surpassed those of his peers.

Sasuke, who was about the same age as Naruto, had already learned to focus chakra.

But Naruto was different from ordinary people. Minato had used the Eight Trigrams Seal to seal the Nine-Tails into his body. Through the seal, the Nine-Tails' chakra would leak out little by little.

This leaking Nine-Tails chakra disrupted Naruto's own chakra control.

In fact, Naruto's talent for ninja arts wasn't bad at all. He had inherited the bloodlines of both Minato and Kushina. It was just that because of the Nine-Tails sealed within him, Naruto faced much greater difficulties than others on his path to becoming a ninja.

From Naruto's room, the sound of a boy's determined efforts could be heard from time to time.

From the moment Minato sealed the Nine-Tails into Naruto, his training path was destined to be full of thorns.

But Minato and his wife believed that Naruto could definitely overcome these obstacles.

After nearly half a month, Naruto finally felt the chakra flowing in his body.

The energy that flowed through him, filling him with warmth, made Naruto feel comfortable both physically and mentally.

"I did it! I did it!" Naruto cheered in ecstasy.

Kushina, who was preparing food in the kitchen, heard the sound and looked over. She extended her perception and confirmed that Naruto's body did indeed have traces of chakra fluctuation.

"Chiharu, your brother finally did it!" Naruto ran excitedly to the cradle, holding onto its edge as he spoke to the baby girl inside.

"Brother." At that moment, Chiharu in the cradle smiled at Naruto and seemed to call him brother.

Naruto froze when he heard it, and then his face lit up with joy even greater than when he'd succeeded in his training.

"Mom, did you hear that? Chiharu just called me brother!"

With her keen hearing, it wasn't difficult for Kushina to hear it from that distance. She immediately ran to the cradle with a look of surprise in her eyes.

"Mom," Chiharu turned her eyes toward Kushina, saying the word indistinctly.

"Mom, Chiharu just called you too!" Naruto said happily.

"Yeah!" Kushina nodded, emotion welling up in her beautiful eyes.

Chiharu was only five months old now, and she had already started to speak!

In the evening, Minato returned home, and the excited Naruto and Kushina told him that Chiharu had started speaking.

Minato was also amazed.

As usual, he went to the cradle and gently stroked Chiharu's face.

Chiharu smiled softly and murmured, "Dad."

Minato's eyes widened in surprise.

"Also, today I finally succeeded in focusing my chakra!" Naruto reported his training progress to Minato.

"That's great," Minato nodded in acknowledgment.

For an ordinary person, reaching Naruto's current level would take a week at most to focus chakra.

It was only because of the Nine-Tails' chakra that the difficulty of Naruto's training increased almost exponentially.

Even considering his Uzumaki clan physique, which was naturally stronger than ordinary people at chakra control, it had still taken half a month to achieve this step.

In Minato's eyes, Naruto was undoubtedly a genius.

"Brother, you're finally back!" At Fugaku's house, Sasuke ran excitedly toward Itachi who had just appeared at the door.

Upon seeing Sasuke, Itachi suppressed the fatigue in his eyes and smiled at him.

"I've almost mastered what you taught me," Sasuke said eagerly. "Brother, can you continue to guide my practice later?"

At that moment, Itachi stretched out his right hand and poked Sasuke's forehead lightly with his finger.

"Forgive me, Sasuke. Brother is very tired today. Next time."

Before Sasuke could react, Itachi hurried into the inner room.

In Fugaku and Mikoto's room, Fugaku stood with folded arms, looking solemnly at Itachi.

"Why that expression? As a ninja, you will have to face these things sooner or later."

Itachi's eyes were filled with sadness.

In an instant, a smile appeared on Fugaku's stern face.

"You are worthy of being my son. You awakened the Sharingan so early, no worse than Shisui." His voice softened slightly. "Be a real man and raise your head!"

"Yes!"

Itachi raised his eyes, and at that moment his dark pupils suddenly turned scarlet, with a tomoe slowly rotating in them.

At the same time, two lines of clear tears fell from the corners of his eyes.

Chapter 673: The Gap Between Father and Son

In the training ground of the Fugaku family, Itachi covered his eyes with a black cloth.

He stood in the center, holding a few kunai in each hand.

Targets were placed in different directions and positions around the training ground.

At a certain moment, Itachi suddenly jumped up, turned his body in midair, and spun rapidly.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

All the kunai in Itachi's hands flew out at once.

"Thunk, thunk, thunk!"

Every single kunai struck exactly in the center of the targets.

"Amazing!"

At different entrances to the training ground, Sasuke and Naruto hid, watching the display.

They had never seen such throwing technique before.

Since childhood, Sasuke had constantly heard that his brother was a genius of the Uchiha clan.

However, his brother wasn't the only one who received such praise.

There was another person whose name, like his brother's, was respected throughout the clan.

Uchiha Shisui.

In the training ground, Itachi removed the black cloth covering his eyes, then glanced around.

"Haha, not bad. You truly are the genius who's become famous in the clan recently."

A loud laugh echoed across the training ground, but even Itachi couldn't detect where the sound came from.

Itachi was startled, and then he realized that someone was already standing in front of him, smiling. He hadn't sensed the person's arrival at all.

After seeing who it was, Itachi's eyes widened in surprise. "Senior Shisui! Why are you here?"

"Let's not talk about that for now."

Shisui smiled, then glanced toward the places where Sasuke and Naruto were hiding.

He turned his eyes to Itachi and said, "Those two boys—one is your younger brother Sasuke, and the other is Hogake’s son Naruto, right?"

"Yes!"

Itachi nodded. With his perception, of course he knew where Sasuke and Naruto were hiding.

Shisui reached out and patted Itachi on the shoulder.

"I heard you awakened your Sharingan during a mission a few days ago?"

"Yes," Itachi replied.

It was rare in Uchiha history to awaken the Sharingan at his age.

But for Itachi, this wasn't something to be happy about.

Because the awakening of the Sharingan was always accompanied by tragedy and sorrow.

Shisui understood Itachi's feelings perfectly.

The more powerful the Sharingan, the more its owner would lose.

"Is there something you need?" Itachi asked. He knew that Shisui was an Anbu who reported directly to the Hokage, so he wouldn't appear before him in Anbu attire without good reason.

Shisui immediately became serious. "Of course. I'm here to convey orders from the Hokage."

But he didn't continue, because Sasuke and Naruto were still nearby.

Itachi understood. The two exchanged glances, then moved simultaneously and vanished from sight.

"Where did they go?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise, emerging from his hiding place.

"Why are you here?" Hearing Naruto's movement, Sasuke also revealed himself and looked suspiciously at him.

Naruto's expression suddenly changed, and then he smiled awkwardly. "Ah, I was just taking a walk."

As he said this, he backed away toward the house.

Sasuke didn't have time to pay attention to him.

"Was that man Uchiha Shisui?" He looked in the direction where Itachi and Shisui had gone and murmured softly.

Sasuke had once asked his brother who was the greater genius—him or Uchiha Shisui.

Itachi's answer had shocked Sasuke deeply.

"Senior Shisui is a genius second only to the Fourth Hokage among all the people I've met. I am far behind him."

In Sasuke's heart, his brother was the perfect genius.

And yet Uchiha Shisui and the Fourth Hokage were evaluated so highly by his brother.

He didn't know Shisui, but he often saw the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

That man was Naruto's father.

From his appearance, Minato didn't look like a powerful ninja.

But from conversations with other ninjas in the clan, Sasuke had learned that Minato was the biggest contributor to Konoha's victory in the previous war.

In the other four great nations, there was a standing order:

"No matter how many ninjas you have, abandon the mission immediately and flee if you encounter Konoha's Yellow Flash."

Although Sasuke couldn't fully understand what this meant yet, it was clear that a man with such strength and reputation seemed nothing like Naruto's father.

Because in Naruto, he couldn't see any talent inherited from his father.

The gap between father and son was too great.

In the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage, I've brought him," Shisui said as he led Itachi into the office. Minato stood up from his seat.

"Have you talked about it?" Minato didn't immediately mention the mission to the two.

He looked into Itachi's eyes and saw that sadness still lingered there.

That look was very similar to Kakashi's back then.

"Yes." Shisui nodded, exchanging a glance with Minato.

During his previous mission, Itachi's team had encountered a ninja squad from the Hidden Cloud Village.

The two sides fought, and the battle ended with one ninja killed on each side.

Although these were relatively peaceful times, the ninja powers still clashed with each other.

This particular conflict had been beyond the expectations of both sides.

Konoha might be strong after the Third Ninja World War, but this was a conflict caused by overlapping missions.

Minato changed the subject. He looked at Itachi and said, "Come to think of it, I haven't trained you in a long time, not since you became a ninja."

"That's right," Itachi nodded.

During his two years as a student at the Ninja Academy, Minato had occasionally given him guidance.

Although he hadn't taught him any ninjutsu, Itachi knew that what Minato had taught him was more valuable than powerful techniques.

"Not just you, but people around you as well. He is my student too," Minato smiled.

Itachi had been mentored by Shisui from a very young age. From Shisui, he had learned that Minato had served as his jonin instructor for a year.

The signature technique that Shisui used most often had been taught to him by Minato.

So, if Minato was a hero in the eyes of the current generation of Konoha ninjas, in the eyes of the next generation like Itachi, the man standing before him was nothing short of a legend!

Chapter 674: Shisui of the Body Flicker

"Hehe."

Minato looked at Shisui with a half-smile.

"I heard that some people in the Anbu have given you a new title recently."

"Shisui of the Body Flicker."

Long ago, Minato had recognized Shisui's talent for the Body Flicker Technique.

During the year when he served as Shisui's instructor, Minato had deliberately guided him in developing a Body Flicker Technique that suited his abilities.

Just as Minato himself had developed the Flying Thunder God technique.

Over the years, with Shisui's natural talent, he obviously hadn't remained stagnant, and his strength had continued to improve.

After several years of growth, Shisui's reputation in the Anbu had even surpassed some squad leaders, and was only beneath that of Uchiha Fugaku.

To have earned such a title and reputation, Shisui naturally possessed the strength to match it.

Although he wasn't yet fifteen years old, Minato knew very well that with Shisui's talent and the advantage of his Uchiha bloodline, his current level should not be underestimated.

"It's just a compliment," Shisui said modestly. His personality was actually similar to Minato's.

Shisui didn't care about these meaningless reputations.

"Itachi, what do you think?" Minato chuckled and looked at the boy beside Shisui.

Itachi hadn't expected Minato to suddenly turn the conversation to him. He raised his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said, "Those who are selected to serve in the Anbu must be elite ninjas."

"And since even these elites have given such a title to Senior Shisui, it's enough to explain his skill."

"That's right," Minato smiled and looked at Shisui.

"I haven't seen you in action for a long time."

"Why don't you let Itachi and me see the abilities of 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' now?"

Shisui's expression became serious as he said, "Lord Hokage, but there is still the mission to discuss."

"There's no rush for the mission," Minato said, waving his hand dismissively.

Seeing that the Hokage himself had said so, Shisui no longer made excuses.

"It's just..." His face changed slightly, and he hesitated to speak.

"Is it difficult to choose an opponent?"

Minato knew what Shisui was thinking. A ninja of his caliber couldn't show his true strength unless he was in actual combat.

With Shisui's current abilities, he couldn't carelessly face off against even ninjas as strong as the Sannin or Hatake Sakumo.

If he went all out, he might cause accidental injuries.

"Don't worry, I've already decided on your opponent," Minato said with a smile, then added, "Let me, as your teacher, see how much you've improved over the years."

As soon as these words left his mouth, both Shisui and Itachi were shocked.

"Hehe, what? Are you afraid you'll lose control and hurt me by mistake?" Minato asked, seeing that Shisui hadn't responded.

"Of course not."

Shisui shook his head. He knew that not only himself, but even the strongest ninjas in the five great nations couldn't hurt the man before him in single combat.

Even the idea that his attack might touch Minato seemed like a fantasy.

He might be called "Shisui of the Body Flicker" by many of his colleagues in the Anbu, but this title, compared to "Konoha's Yellow Flash," was nothing.

"Are you afraid to face me?" Minato pressed.

"No."

Shisui's voice and body trembled at this moment, not from fear, but from excitement—he couldn't suppress the joy in his heart.

Today's Minato stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world, a position established through countless hard-fought battles.

For most people, when facing such an opponent, they would lose their fighting spirit.

But a genius like Shisui, though not particularly fond of fighting, had his own pride.

In his heart, as in the hearts of many young Konoha ninjas, Minato was the goal to aspire to.

"I've wanted to challenge you, Master Minato, for a long time!"

Shisui said with intensity. Back then, the gap between him and his teacher had been like that between an elephant and an ant—they weren't even in the same league.

Even now, he didn't expect to be a true match for Minato.

But at least he was no longer like before, when facing him, completely powerless to resist.

"I accept your challenge."

Minato smiled and nodded. Shisui's current state of mind was similar to his own in the past.

Back then, he had also taken Jiraiya and Sakumo as his targets to surpass.

Because of that goal, he had worked hard and finally exceeded them.

Meanwhile, Itachi's eyes were filled with strong anticipation.

Ninjas of his generation had only heard about the legends of Minato, but had never seen him in action.

Although Itachi was still far from that level, nothing could excite him more than the chance to witness the Yellow Flash in battle.

Minato noticed the emotions in Itachi's eyes.

He formed hand signs, creating a shadow clone to temporarily handle his Hokage duties.

Then he walked over to Shisui and placed his palm on the young man's shoulder.

"Itachi, grab Shisui's arm," Minato said with a glance, and Itachi immediately complied.

Swish!

The moment Minato's palm touched Shisui, the scene before them suddenly changed.

"Let's choose this place," Minato whispered to Itachi as the boy was still getting his bearings.

When Itachi came to his senses, he looked around and realized they were at one of Konoha's training grounds.

"Flying Thunder God Technique?" Itachi thought to himself. Clearly, Minato had transported him and Shisui to this place instantly.

"Yes, this will work!" Shisui looked around and nodded at Minato.

Minato smiled again. In Itachi's eyes, the smile remained unchanged.

But the blond man was already far away from them.

Itachi glanced to his side, and Shisui had vanished without him noticing.

When he looked back, the missing Shisui was already standing a few meters away from Minato.

"Try your best and don't hold back," Minato said to Shisui.

Shisui nodded firmly. He knew very well that even at his best, he had no luxury to hold back.

"Hmph!"

When he raised his eyes again, his originally dark pupils had transformed into three slowly rotating tomoe.

At the same time, he raised his right hand and grabbed the short sword of the Anbu from his back.

His other hand wasn't idle either. Minato couldn't help but chuckle when he saw this.

"One-handed seals?"

Chapter 675: Speed

Shisui formed a seal with one hand at an incredibly fast speed. In the blink of an eye, he completed the ninjutsu sequence.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Raging flames suddenly swept outward, the scorching air waves causing the atmosphere to vibrate.

The huge fireball, several meters in diameter, immediately consumed the grass, trees, and rocks on the ground around it, annihilating everything in its path.

The Great Fireball Technique was only the most basic Fire Style ninjutsu in the Uchiha clan, with a difficulty level of only C-rank.

However, the essence of ninjutsu lies in the ninja using it. The same technique wielded by ninjas of different strength can produce completely different levels of power.

Clearly, Shisui's Great Fireball Technique was more powerful than that of most Uchiha clan members.

The massive fireball swallowed Minato's figure in an instant.

This scene happened too quickly for Itachi to properly react at his current level.

But he didn't panic. As his mind focused, his pupils turned scarlet, and a single tomoe formed in each eye.

Swish!

By this time, Shisui had already rushed forward alongside the fireball.

"Using the Great Fireball to block my vision first?"

Of course, Shisui's strategy wasn't hidden from Minato. When the Great Fireball was released, he had already vacated his previous position.

Shisui's fighting style typically involved using speed to find an opponent's weaknesses and then defeat them.

However, while this method worked wonders against others, against Minato, it was practically suicidal.

Trying to outpace Konoha's Yellow Flash was tantamount to challenging the wind itself.

The fireball blocked Minato's vision, but also blocked Shisui's.

Yet Shisui had an advantage. The Sharingan could directly observe the flow of chakra in the human body.

Therefore, Shisui could still use his visual prowess to track Minato's position.

Of course, Minato could also use his powerful sensory abilities to pinpoint Shisui's location.

But in that case, Shisui would have no chance to attack at all.

"If you're trying to create an opening with this..." Minato thought with a smile. "You're still too inexperienced!"

Minato flipped his palm and grasped one of his Flying Thunder God kunai.

"Shing!"

Facing the huge fireball, Minato slashed downward with the kunai in his hand. Wind-nature chakra condensed around the blade, forming a sharp edge as he cut through the flames.

"Boom!"

The massive fireball was immediately split open by the wind blade, creating a path through the flames.

Minato raised his eyes but didn't immediately spot Shisui.

He was slightly startled, but at that moment his vision was partially obscured by the recently dispersed flames, making it harder to locate his target.

However, in an instant, Minato still detected traces of Shisui—not just one, but multiple.

Behind Minato and on the tree trunks to either side of him stood identical figures.

"Taking advantage of the moment when I broke through the flames to position yourself behind me?" Minato thought with amusement. The nickname "Shisui of the Body Flicker" was well-deserved.

Although Shisui had used the flames to mask his movements, there were only a handful of ninjas in the entire world who could get behind Minato.

Of course, Minato hadn't been using his full strength from the beginning.

The three Shisui clones formed hand signs simultaneously, creating a triangular formation with Minato at the center.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Wind Blade!"

Shisui, who had already mastered one-handed seals, was even more impressive when forming seals with both hands.

He unleashed these three techniques almost instantaneously.

"So fast!"

Itachi, watching from a distance, couldn't follow such high-speed combat even with his single-tomoe Sharingan.

He only vaguely perceived that Minato was caught between three devastating ninjutsu attacks.

In Itachi's assessment, if he were caught in such a situation, he would be finished.

But of course, he wasn't worried about Minato's safety.

During the Third Ninja World War, this man had faced three elite ninja masters on his own and emerged unscathed.

These three ninjutsu presented no real challenge to him.

For Minato, master of the Flying Thunder God Technique, there was no trap from which he couldn't escape.

Yet in Itachi's eyes, as the three ninjutsu converged, Minato, caught in the center, showed no signs of movement.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The three ninjutsu collided, wind and fire mingling. The terrible flames swept outward, radiating in all directions.

Itachi knew that even at this distance, he would be affected.

So he retreated quickly, but he had underestimated the combined power of Shisui's three ninjutsu.

Not only were the flames exploding and spreading, but the powerful winds moved even faster.

The strong gusts caused Itachi to momentarily lose control of his body.

In the blink of an eye, the flames were rushing toward him, the scorching heat immediately causing sweat to pour from his skin.

But even in this situation, Itachi didn't lose his rational judgment.

He crossed his arms to protect his face and curled his body to minimize the area exposed to the attack.

Swish!

Just as the flames were about to engulf Itachi's small form, a golden flash passed by.

"Are you alright, young one?" a gentle voice asked in Itachi's ear.

He lowered his arms, looked up, and saw Minato's face.

"I'm fine. Thank you," Itachi responded quickly.

But before he could finish speaking, Minato had vanished again.

At that moment, a faint laugh came from a distance.

"I apologize, Yondaime."

Itachi turned suddenly. A few meters behind him, several Shisuis stood with their palms pressed against the backs of their swords, the blades held across their faces.

"Haha, no need," Minato laughed. Shisui had just used Itachi's safety to create an opening.

Otherwise, his speed alone wouldn't have been enough to pose a threat.

Of course, even if Minato hadn't rescued Itachi just now, Shisui, who was nearby, could have saved him.

But by forcing Minato to act, Shisui had created an opportunity.

It was a calculated gamble.

"Uchiha Style: Dancing Blade Assault!"

The next moment, the eyes of the three Shisuis intensified, and then before Itachi's eyes, they suddenly multiplied into more than a dozen figures.

"Are those all shadow clones?" Itachi wondered, startled.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

With Minato at the center, more than a dozen "Shisuis" suddenly swung their weapons, unleashing countless flaming arcs of steel. The attacks formed what appeared to be a fiery cage, sealing off all escape routes.

Under the onslaught of these flaming blades, Minato's expression remained calm. He glanced at the figures continuously delivering slashing attacks around him, and a look of appreciation crossed his face.

"No wonder this technique is impossible for ordinary ninjas to dodge."