"Training ground? Pass," Uchiha Tatsumi said, waving a hand lazily.
He'd already sparred with Minato enough to know his tricks. There was no new challenge left to squeeze out of him.
"Come on, Tatsumi! If you're my friend, meet me at the training ground!" Minato grinned, his blue eyes gleaming with confidence. "I've got a new ninjutsu you haven't seen. Three minutes, and you'll be hooked, just like me."
"…"
"So cocky. What's got you acting all high and mighty?" Tatsumi eyed Minato thoughtfully. The guy's confidence was practically radiating.
What's with you, Minato? Feeling invincible?
"Heh, I've booked the training ground. I'll be waiting," Minato said with a sly smile, then turned and jogged off without another word.
Tatsumi stared after him. "…"
Something about Minato's smug look sent a shiver down his spine. It was like he'd just been invited to a trap. Did the sun fry your brain, man?
With a sigh, Tatsumi joined the group—Kushina, Mikoto, and Nawaki trailing along—as they headed to the training ground.
Under the blazing Konoha sun, Tatsumi and Minato faced off in the center of the dusty training field. Minato was practically bouncing with excitement, while Tatsumi slouched, clearly not in the mood.
"Old rules?" Tatsumi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yup," Minato nodded.
The "old rules" meant Tatsumi couldn't use genjutsu. Sure, Minato had learned to break basic illusions, but Tatsumi's Sharingan-enhanced genjutsu was on another level. One glance, and Minato would be out cold before the fight even started.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Minato shouted.
As the battle kicked off, Minato bit his thumb, wove hand signs, and slammed his palm to the ground. A puff of smoke erupted, and a toad—barely a meter tall—appeared in the center of the field. It wore a traditional kimono with a bandage tied around its waist like a wannabe gangster, a pipe dangling from its mouth.
Tatsumi blinked. "…This is your new ninjutsu?" He glanced at Minato skeptically. "With your chakra reserves, you're summoning that?"
"Hey, after years of training, I can finally summon a toad this big!" Minato said, puffing out his chest.
"Oi, Minato, kid," the toad croaked, its voice gruff and demanding. "Same deal as always—one hundred caterpillars. You got 'em, or what?"
Minato's face fell. "Uh… I've scoured every inch of Konoha for caterpillars. I've only got, like, fifty. Can you… maybe cut me a deal?"
Tatsumi's jaw dropped. "…"
This is your big moment? Compared to Orochimaru's Manda, who demanded human sacrifices, this toad was bargaining for bugs. Talk about a downgrade.
Tatsumi shook his head, deciding to end this quickly. The sun was brutal, and he wasn't in the mood to drag things out.
He reached into his ninja pouch, pulled out a handful of shuriken, and flung them with a flick of his left wrist. His right hand followed, guiding the shuriken to collide midair, redirecting them toward Minato in a tricky arc.
Minato's sharp eyes tracked the shuriken. No chakra enhancement, no weird tricks—just a standard throw. He glanced at his toad, who gave a curt nod.
The toad's tongue shot out like a whip, moving so fast it was a blur. It struck the shuriken, knocking them off course with pinpoint precision.
"Not bad," Tatsumi said, nodding appreciatively. "That's some tongue."
A spark of excitement flickered in his chest. That toad's speed was impressive—maybe even useful. A wild idea about borrowing that tongue for his own techniques crossed his mind, but he shoved it aside. Focus, Tatsumi.
Minato was still a novice in a straight fight, but that toad was a wildcard. Tatsumi's Sharingan spun lazily, analyzing the situation. He'd deal with Minato first, then figure out the toad.
Chakra surged beneath Tatsumi's feet, propelling him forward in a burst of speed. He closed the gap to Minato in an instant.
Minato didn't flinch. He drew a kunai and met Tatsumi head-on, their weapons clashing in a rapid flurry of sparks. The clang-clang of metal echoed across the training ground.
But Minato was no match in taijutsu. Tatsumi's movements were sharper, faster, and within moments, Minato was on the defensive.
That's when the toad intervened. Its tongue lashed out again, aiming for Tatsumi's back.
Thwack!
Tatsumi twisted midair, dodging the strike with a flip. The tongue followed, relentless, cracking the ground where it hit.
Nawaki, watching from the sidelines, swallowed hard. "That speed… that power! No way a chunin could keep up. That's a Mount Myoboku toad for you!"
Minato seized the moment, hurling a volley of shuriken to cut off Tatsumi's escape routes. The toad's tongue struck again, aiming for Tatsumi's pinned position.
Poof! The Tatsumi caught by the tongue vanished, replaced by a log.
"Substitution Jutsu!" Kushina called from the sidelines.
Mizumon tensed. Tatsumi's one-handed seals were ridiculously fast—when had he even made the signs?
Where is he? Above? Behind? Below?
Minato scanned the empty training ground, his senses on high alert. Only he and the toad stood in the open.
Suddenly, Tatsumi appeared behind Minato, fist cocked for a strike. The toad's tongue whipped toward him, forcing Tatsumi to leap back.
"Light, use the oil!" Minato shouted.
The toad—Light—didn't hesitate. It scooped Minato onto its back, leaped high, and puffed out its cheeks. A massive stream of toad oil sprayed across the training ground.
Minato's hands blurred through seals. "Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"
The oil ignited, and the fireball exploded into a roaring inferno, engulfing half the training ground in flames. The onlookers—Kushina, Mikoto, and Nawaki—gaped at the sheer scale of the attack.
Mikoto shook her head. "That combo… Toad Oil Flame Bullet. Minato's burned through a ton of chakra with the summoning and now a C-rank fire jutsu. He's only nine. How much does he have left?"
Sure enough, Minato was panting, his face pale from the chakra drain. Chakra came from physical and mental energy—push too far, and you'd be left exhausted in body and mind.
Tatsumi, facing the wall of flames, didn't bother dodging. His Sharingan gleamed with excitement. "Of all the opponents I've faced, I, Uchiha Tatsumi, declare your toad's tongue the strongest!"
The flames swallowed him whole.
Poof! The Tatsumi in the fire vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Kushina shouted.
A kunai streaked through the air like a bullet, grazing Minato's head and slicing off a single strand of yellow hair. It embedded itself deep into the training ground's wall with a thud.
Minato froze, the strand of hair drifting slowly to the ground.