After the Second Great Ninja War concluded, high-level discussions between countries did not immediately end.
Due to the war, all previously established economic and cultural connections between nations had been forcibly severed. Now that the war was over, it was naturally imperative for each country to restore these ties as quickly as possible for their own interests.
This was the most important matter for the great ninja nations.
But for ordinary civilians and the ninja of various villages, this hard-earned peace was undoubtedly the most precious thing worth cherishing.
Peace brought a lightness to people's hearts.
...
Konoha Ninja Village, Training Ground Seven.
Crashing sounds rang out across the training field as two figures darted and clashed in a blur of motion.
In these days immediately after the war, most people naturally wanted to fully enjoy this peaceful life.
But clearly, not everyone felt the same.
"Boom!"
A specially crafted kunai wrapped in Wind Release blades [Wind Release: Cutting Gust] clashed with a chakra tanto radiating lightning [Lightning Release: Chakra Blade], producing an explosion-like sound.
The slender boy holding the kunai was sent flying backward by the impact. His feet slid across the ground, carving two deep marks as he came to a stop. His entire arm, which held the kunai, trembled.
Minato glanced at the special kunai in his hand. On its sharp edge was a tiny nick. Then his gaze lifted toward the silver-haired man before him, offering a faint wry smile.
Though his current strength wasn't bad, compared to Sakumo's, the gap had become obvious.
His present opponent was none other than Sakumo.
Sakumo also looked down slightly, noticing how the lightning encircling his chakra tanto flickered irregularly, then crackled and dissipated.
He couldn't help but be startled, lifting his eyes to look at Minato.
Although he already knew the boy was highly skilled in chakra control, he hadn't expected Minato's command over nature transformations to actually surpass his own.
Both strikes were powered by chakra—Sakumo's Lightning Release disrupted Minato's Wind Release. Yet Minato's chakra sliced clean through the lightning surrounding his tanto.
And Sakumo's overall chakra capacity was superior to Minato's.
"Sakumo-senpai, let's go again!"
The wry smile on Minato's face lasted only momentarily before being replaced by fierce fighting spirit.
Observing this, Sakumo smiled lightly, "You really don't allow yourself even a moment of peace..."
Though speaking thus, internally, he unexpectedly felt a trace of pressure.
While Minato was still far inferior to him, during their short sparring sessions over the past few days, Sakumo had perceived the boy's astonishing growth rate.
If things continued like this, he might soon be overtaken by Minato.
To Sakumo, Minato's rapid growth was admirable—but the thought of being overtaken so soon stirred a rare flicker of irritation in him.
"Instant Flash!"
Minato shouted before transforming into a streak of golden light, dashing toward Sakumo once more.
Ever since returning from the battlefield and resting for a day or two, Minato had been thinking about how he should proceed with his training.
In terms of ninjutsu, he had already mastered the Rasengan and its Nature Transformations. Sealing techniques were mostly completed as well. And his signature technique—the Flying Thunder God Technique, which earned him the title "Yellow Flash"—had also seen some progress.
The reason he rarely used the Flying Thunder God in combat was because his fundamental physical abilities were still too weak.
The body and neural reaction speed required by the Flying Thunder God Technique were still far from sufficient.
Following Jiraiya-sensei's previous training regimen no longer yielded significant results for him now.
After much consideration, he decided that fighting against Sakumo, whose battle style closely resembled his own, would be the fastest way to improve at this stage.
Of course, another part of the reason was because his body was still in its growth phase.
Minato naturally wouldn't rush the process—he simply felt that his current body hadn't yet reached its limit.
Seeing Minato charging forward again, Sakumo remained calm and composed. He chose to adopt a defensive approach.
Minato dashed several meters toward Sakumo, then stomped hard on the ground, leaping upward and slashing downward with a specially crafted kunai in hand.
Sakumo responded by swinging his tanto upward in a diagonal block.
[Boom!]
However, the next moment, Minato suddenly crossed his arms, and in his left hand had already formed a deep blue Chakra Light Sphere, rapidly rotating.
[Rasengan!]
The chakra light filled Sakumo's eyes, slightly altering his expression.
"Seal-less ninjutsu—truly troublesome!"
Sakumo lightly smiled. His right hand continued swinging the sword unchanged, but his left hand began forming seals.
Single-handed seal formation.
As he completed the sequence, the chakra tanto radiated intense lightning. A blade-shaped energy formed atop it, engraved with dazzling Lightning Release markings.
[Bang!]
The two attacks collided, locking into a stalemate momentarily.
But then Sakumo clenched his left fist and drove it straight into Minato's abdomen.
Minato seemed to have anticipated this, already thrusting forward with a specially crafted kunai embedded with wind blades.
"Fast thinking!"
Sakumo naturally moved faster than Minato. But when it came to consecutive split-second decisions during battle, he was slightly slower than Minato.
Now he finally understood why even Chiyo held such caution toward him.
If not for the significant difference in their overall strength, he might not necessarily have an advantage over Minato.
The Wind Release kunai surged forward, its razor-wind blade slicing through the air. Sakumo tightened his grip on the chakra tanto. Before Minato could capitalize on the momentum to attack again, he was forcefully pushed backward by an irresistible force.
Sakumo didn't pursue further—it was clear he was only here to train alongside Minato.
After regaining his footing, Minato shook off the numbness in his body slightly and smiled at Sakumo.
"These past few days... thanks for helping me out."
"Not at all."
Sakumo waved his hand dismissively but looked at Minato with a slightly strange expression in his eyes. "You really are something else, kid."
Minato smiled. His battlefield intuition was naturally sharper than Sakumo's.
After all, although Sakumo had just experienced the Second Great Ninja World War, he had not yet reached the peak of his power.
Minato personally led Konoha to victory in the Third Great Ninja War; at that time, his battle experience far surpassed Sakumo's.
At that time, the caliber of opponents he had faced was also more formidable than those encountered by Sakumo.
Swish!
As they conversed, a slim and graceful figure suddenly appeared.
They turned their heads sideways—this person wasn't unfamiliar.
"Junko-senpai," Minato said. The newcomer was Junko Watanabe.
Junko Watanabe nodded toward him, then addressed Sakumo, "Aniki."
Sakumo also smiled warmly and asked with a hint of concern, "Why aren't you resting at home?"
Feeling Sakumo's concern, Junko—who seldom smiled—felt her eyes glisten with visible delight.
Minato caught this emotion clearly and gave a soft chuckle.
But Junko quickly regained her composure and got straight to the point.
"The Third Hokage and the elders have already returned to the village. Now, rewards will be distributed according to the merits each ninja has achieved during the war."
...
...
A new volume starts here. I've been mulling things over for a while. Originally planned to finish two chapters before 3 AM, but something unexpected happened midway, so this chapter essentially got rewritten entirely.
I also have things to do tomorrow. Counting this update, I now owe everyone a total of eleven chapters.
I'll find some time these days to make them up. Sorry, everyone.
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