Chapter 51: A Fateful Encounter
"Do you feel lost too?"
Just as Namikaze Minato was reeling from his disillusionment, a calm, young voice sounded beside him. He snapped back to reality, a jolt of fear running through him. A strange ninja had approached him undetected. As a shinobi, that was a serious lapse.
But the newcomer had stopped three meters away, indicating no hostile intent. Minato looked and saw a young Hidden Hot Water ninja with a youthful face. Two small puppies were perched on his shoulders, staring intently at Minato, their pink tongues lolling out cutely.
"Who are you?" Minato asked, puzzled.
"Just a Genin from the Hidden Hot Water Village. I was curious about you," Kael replied with a faint smile.
Minato gave a slight nod, preparing to leave, showing no interest in conversing with a ninja from another village.
"As a commoner-born shinobi, it's no wonder you can't understand the mindset of those clan ninja," Kael remarked casually. "After all, they are the true beneficiaries of the Will of Fire..."
Minato, who had started to turn away, froze. He slowly turned back, his eyes cold. Just as Kael felt indignant when the Hidden Hot Water was slighted, Minato would not tolerate anyone slandering Konoha's Will of Fire.
"Take back what you just said. Otherwise, I can't guarantee I won't attack you."
"Heh..." Kael couldn't help but chuckle. Minato really is gentle with his own but harsh with outsiders. He was certainly stingy with his goodwill towards those outside Konoha.
"What's so funny?" A dangerous glint flashed in Minato's eyes as he slowly drew his kunai.
"Do you think I was wrong?" Kael asked, his expression neutral, though a pang of regret hit him. His identity as a Hidden Hot Water ninja meant he could never truly connect with Minato. He genuinely admired this almost perfect man and wished they could be friends. But the moment they interacted, he was starkly reminded that they were on different sides. Even if he wanted to reach out, friendship was impossible.
What a pity... he thought.
The next instant, Minato vanished.
"You're asking for death!" his angry voice echoed.
"Substitution Jutsu!"
BAM!
Without thinking, Kael formed the seals for the Substitution Jutsu the moment Minato disappeared. He then quickly moved behind a tree for cover. Minato reappeared where Kael had been standing, his kunai slicing the log Kael had substituted with clean in two.
So fast! No wonder they call him the Yellow Flash, Kael thought, stunned.
He had barely regained his footing when several shuriken shot towards him from the left, rapidly filling his vision. His attempt at misdirection had been useless.
RUMBLE!
Just as the shuriken were about to hit him, a meter-high earth wall erupted in front of him.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Hmph!" Minato snorted. Chakra rapidly gathered in his left palm, swirling into a violently rotating, colorless sphere.
Rasengan!
"A no-hand-seal jutsu!" Watanabe Toneri gasped from a distance, watching anxiously.
BAM!
Minato flickered forward. The Earthen Beetle's wall was instantly blasted through, leaving a distorted hole. The Rasengan continued unabated, hurtling straight towards Kael. It was about to hit him!
"Goldie!" Kael roared, his face grim.
Goldie, who had somehow ended up on the other side, let out a sharp bark.
"Woof!"
Taunt skill: Inferiority Glare activated!
Minato was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of utter inadequacy, as if he were worse than a dog. His beloved was confined in the village, and there was nothing he could do. An uncontrollable murderous rage toward the small yellow puppy surged within him.
The Rasengan, about to strike Kael's chest, instantly changed direction and shot towards Goldie. The puppy yelped in terror, its big, cute eyes wide with fear, but it instinctively activated its own ability.
Disarming Cuteness!
The rapidly spinning Rasengan abruptly stopped just inches from Goldie's head, then dissipated into harmless wisps of wind.
Minato stared at the puppy, a complex expression on his face. His elite shinobi instincts told him he must have been affected by some kind of jutsu to feel such intense killing intent towards a dog, only to suddenly find himself unable to follow through.
What a bizarre technique! He turned his wary gaze back to Kael, assuming it was his doing. Since Goldie was Kael's summon, attributing the ability to him wasn't entirely wrong.
His repeated failures didn't extinguish his killing intent toward Kael; instead, it burned even hotter. Just as he was about to move, he heard an eagle's cry. He looked up sharply to see a massive ball of wind howling down from the sky diagonally towards him.
Startled, he quickly formed the seals for the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.
BOOOOOOM!
A tremendous explosion rocked the area for miles around. The chakra-infused air blast created a massive, gray mushroom cloud that rose above the ground, scattering everyone nearby. The merchants struggled to calm the terrified, neighing horses. Mr. Kawabe cowered behind a wagon, shielding himself from flying debris, staring up at Kael, who was now mounted on the soaring eagle, his heart pounding with fear. Remembering the subtle killing intent he'd glimpsed in Kael's eyes over the past couple of days, he nearly wet himself. So scary!
Seeing the Wind Eagle circling above, Minato's expression turned grim. He had no effective way to deal with a flying opponent. Despite his own considerable skills, he felt completely countered, almost helpless. Thinking back to the two puppies on Kael's shoulders earlier, he realized his initial assessment might not have been mistaken after all. He had sensed that Kael himself was weak; how could he possess such strange mind-controlling jutsu? It wasn't until the Wind Eagle appeared, displaying significant power, that he belatedly understood.
"So, your Summoning Beasts are your real strength," Minato stated calmly, looking up at Kael on the eagle's head.
"Who knows?" Kael shrugged with a smile. "I just wanted to talk, but I didn't realize you were such a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment."
Minato fell silent. He had to admit, the other ninja hadn't shown any hostility from the start. But Kael's words had struck a raw nerve. Feeling "betrayed" by his fellow village shinobi, lost and angry, how could he tolerate an outsider criticizing the Will of Fire, the principle he held most dear?
Sigh... Maybe he was right, Minato thought. But I believe Lord Hokage's love for the village is real. It's just that there are corrupt elements within Konoha. Perhaps this is the fundamental difference between commoner shinobi and clan shinobi... In the eyes of those corrupt ones, maybe I really am just another leaf to be burned. But even so, the flames of my burning will illuminate the entire village!
With that thought, Minato's confusion cleared. He took one last, deep look at Kael, who was about his own age, then turned and headed back towards the Konoha encampment, quickly disappearing from sight.