Chapter 65: A Test and a Request
"Boss? Two live fish, please!"
"What kind? We've got a promotion today! Buy three get one free, buy five get two free!"
"I just want two."
"But this is a combo deal, a huge discount! Won't you reconsider?"
Just then, a head, brimming with lazy excitement, popped out from behind the fishmonger's stall. "Combo deal? What combo deal?"
...
Liumu, holding his vegetable basket, shot an exasperated glare at the boss behind him before moving on to check other shops. Their departure date was fast approaching, and today Liumu wanted to cook something special to help Haku recover her strength.
But…
He hadn't been in the market long when he felt eyes on his back.
Turning, he saw Minato, arms crossed, watching him with a faint, knowing smile.
"Didn't expect to see you here."
Hearing this, Liumu's face was a mask of black lines. Unexpected? Haven't you been tailing me since I left the house? Though he thought it, he said aloud, "Yeah, what a coincidence."
"Come with me. Somewhere else."
Liumu: "…???"
Before he could react, Minato's hand was on his shoulder. Then—whoosh!—the scene before him shifted from the bustling market to a barren, windswept plain.
Flying Thunder God?!
Liumu was stunned.
That's… so cool!
If you used this for express delivery…
"Liumu," Minato's voice cut through his thoughts. "Want to have a little… discussion?"
"Discussion?" Liumu looked blankly at his nominal senior brother. "Why?"
"Because… I want to test your strength!"
With no further warning, chakra began swirling violently in Minato's outstretched right palm. A high-pitched whine filled the air.
"Rasengan!"
Liumu: "…?!"
What the—straight to action?!
Seeing Minato charge, Liumu smirked. Energy coursed through his body, and in an instant, a fist-sized, swirling sphere of blue chakra materialized in his own hand.
Minato: "…?"
For a split second, Minato stared, shocked. But the shock quickly melted into a broad, genuine grin. That Liumu could use the Rasengan wasn't a surprise; Jiraiya had demonstrated it, and Liumu's talent was such that learning it quickly was plausible. But to see it firsthand…
BOOM!
The collision of the two Rasengan sent violent tremors through the ground.
Before Liumu could recover, Minato's head tilted slightly to the side. A three-pronged kunai, marked with the Flying Thunder God seal, materialized right in front of Liumu's face.
So fast! When did he—?!
With no time to think, Liumu instinctively activated the Kizaru template's intangibility. The kunai passed through his form like light through air.
Whoosh. Minato smiled and vanished.
"So that's your game!" Liumu muttered.
From the corner of his eye, he caught Minato reappearing directly above him, a fully formed, larger Rasengan already descending.
"You lose," Minato's calm voice announced the impending impact.
"Not necessarily."
HUM…
Minato had intended to dissipate the jutsu at the last moment. But to his surprise, Liumu didn't dodge. Instead, he pushed off the ground lightly, rising toward the attack.
A flicker of unease crossed Minato's mind. Too late. His Flying Thunder God-guided Rasengan struck Liumu square in the back.
Yet the expected impact didn't come. Instead, a blinding light erupted from Liumu's back. A mass of crimson flame surged forth, instantly swallowing the Rasengan whole as if consuming a snack.
Gulp.
Liumu landed nimbly to the side, clicking his tongue. "Interfering."
Minato's attack was unexpected, but a standard Rasengan couldn't harm his light-form. The Taotie's Gluttony, acting on its own protective instinct, had devoured the attack before it could make contact.
"I just had a thought," Liumu said, looking at Minato. A mischievous smile played on his lips. He extended a hand. Hurricane-like, azure chakra began swirling violently in his palm.
Under Minato's watchful gaze, within moments, Liumu had condensed a Rasengan the size of a small boulder.
"Such immense chakra…" Minato murmured. The wind generated by the massive sphere whipped at his clothes. And still, Liumu showed no sign of stopping.
In the end, the colossal Rasengan looked absurdly large above the seven-year-old boy holding it aloft, like a miniature meteorite.
"Is this the limit?" Liumu wondered aloud, eyeing his creation with a wry smile. Using only his natural chakra reserves, this was as big as he could make it. Yet its scale already dwarfed any "Great Ball" Rasengan he'd heard of.
"Let's test its power!"
The thought flashed. Liumu hurled the gigantic Rasengan toward Minato, then flashed away in a streak of light, landing several hundred meters back.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion was earth-shattering. A massive crater bloomed where it struck, dust and debris blasting skyward in a mushroom cloud.
Liumu's fire-natured chakra made learning the Rasengan particularly tricky, but his extended practice in the Time Chamber had paid off. His speed in forming it now rivaled anyone's.
This would make kneading dough so much easier, he mused, watching the aftermath.
Minato appeared beside him in a yellow flash, the two observing the destructive spectacle together. As an A-rank jutsu, the power Liumu had just displayed was genuinely terrifying.
"The Third Hokage wants you to stay," Minato said, his voice quiet.
Liumu: "…???"
"No," Liumu refused flatly, his tone leaving no room for debate.
"What if it's my request?" Minato turned, his expression serious.
"Yours?" Liumu frowned. "Why?"
"Because soon… I'll be undertaking a very difficult mission. My own strength… may not be enough. So I need…"
"A mission? What mission?" Liumu asked, then immediately realized his mistake. Missions, especially at Minato's level, were classified.
Before Minato could answer—or refuse to—Liumu's brow furrowed in deep thought. He didn't know much about Minato's future exploits. The timeline was still peaceful, with no major wars. But judging by Minato's grave expression, he wasn't lying.
Could it be…
(End of Chapter)
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