Naruto: Flash Reborn — Minato’s Second Life

"Sorry, are you hurt?"

Hizashi half-crouched in front of Mikoto, who remained seated on the ground catching her breath. The earlier use of Rotation had nearly drained him, making it extremely difficult to perform the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms while maintaining the Byakugan.

If Mikoto had released [Great Fireball] instead of [Phoenix Fire] earlier, he would have had no choice but to defend with Rotation alone. In that case, he would have lost.

"Mm, I'm fine."

Mikoto slowly pushed herself up, hands braced against the ground. Most likely because she'd siphoned so much chakra from Hizashi beforehand, her tenketsu points hadn't stayed sealed for long under his Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

In the end, she admitted she'd been careless.

She never imagined Hizashi Hyuga had truly mastered the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms—a technique said to be nearly impossible even for many Chunin within the Hyuga Clan.

So, she didn't feel the loss was unfair.

Shshsh!

At that moment, several figures leapt down from the second floor. Minato and Kushina appeared beside Minato, with Kushina helping Mikoto up and asking about her condition.

Hiashi Hyuga also helped Hizashi stand, although his temporarily disabled right arm made it awkward for him. Another person stepped forward and supported Hizashi's weight on his shoulder.

It was Satoshi Miyazaki.

The two Hyuga brothers were slightly taken aback—they'd never interacted this closely with their cohort-mates before.

Seeing their slightly embarrassed expressions, Satoshi simply smiled lightly and said, "After all, we're from the same cohort and class, walking this path together. A small favor like this should be nothing, right?"

His eyes flickered briefly over Hiashi's now-disabled right arm, and behind his smile lingered a trace of guilt.

Clearly, he understood exactly what Hiashi had done earlier.

As everyone gradually left the area, Nawaki jumped straight down and stretched lazily in the center.

"Finally, my turn!"

In an instant, his previously relaxed gaze sharpened into one filled with intensity.

A cheerful figure stood facing him across the arena.

Nawaki lifted his head and returned the smile. Judging by their expressions, one might mistake them for close friends rather than opponents.

Of course, Sakumo Hatake still stood between them using his unfathomable movement techniques—but oddly enough, anticipation gleamed across his face at this match.

"The sixth round, Nawaki vs Sarutobi Ao..."

When those words reached the ears of those on the spectator stands, everyone immediately turned their gazes toward the arena. Everyone knew Nawaki was the grandson of the First Hokage, and his opponent was the young man who had stopped that disrespectful Genin earlier—an apparent member of the Sarutobi Clan.

And currently, the most famous person in the Sarutobi Clan was none other than The Third!

"Has it really been almost a year? These two are facing off again?" One of Nawaki's teammates sighed not far from where Minato and the others stood.

"Senior Shurou, did Senior Nawaki and Senior Ao previously sparred before?"

"Which one do you mean?" Minato asked.

A faint smile formed on Senior Shurou's face as she replied, "Rivals? More than that. All through the Ninja Academy, those two have always been competing—though Nawaki always came out on top, while Sarutobi Ao stayed close behind."

She didn't mind explaining it to Minato—not just because he was Nawaki's friend, but also because, well… boys like him tend to catch girls' eyes.

Minato didn't realize what was happening, but when Kushina saw the two talking, she suddenly appeared between them.

"Kushina, what's wrong?" He thought she should still be supporting Mikoto, so Minato asked in confusion.

Not knowing how to explain, Kushina ignored him and pretended to focus intently on the battlefield below.

From a distance, Mikoto gave a soft smile and thought to herself with a sigh.

"Even someone like Minato has his blind spots sometimes."

Seeing Kushina wouldn't give an answer, Minato stopped asking and quickly turned his attention back to the arena, especially since Senior Shurou mentioned they were evenly matched.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have kept being rivals all these years.

"It's been a while since we last fought after graduating. I wonder how much you've improved over this past year?" Sarutobi Ao spoke first.

With rather refined features bordering on feminine, Ao radiated an overall approachable presence.

Nawaki grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and twisted slightly before replying with a grin, "That's something you'll have to find out for yourself."

His words carried a hint of provocation. Upon hearing them, Sarutobi Ao's gaze steadily sharpened as he answered, "That works both ways."

Even before the fight officially began, tension filled the space between them.

"Begin!" Sakumo promptly announced.

Boom!

The second the command was out, they leaped forward and locked fists in a powerful clash.

Both put their full strength into the impact, creating a surprisingly loud sound that reached even those upstairs on the second floor.

Their faces remained inches apart, locked in fierce eye contact as fire burned within their gazes.

"What heavy-handed strikes..." Ao remarked, noting how Nawaki always excelled through sheer physical might inherited from his clan's powerful bloodline.

Nawaki smirked slightly. "You're not bad yourself."

Though Ao looked somewhat frail, Nawaki—having fought him countless times—knew better than to underestimate this opponent whose strength nearly rivaled his own.

"Heh..."

In the next instant, both swung their other fists toward one another. Almost simultaneously, they shifted their heads aside, relaxed the force behind their clashing arms, then crashed them together again with renewed intensity while their free hands collided in mid-air.

This was pure brute strength pitted against brute strength.

Their movements flowed with seamless grace, not a single flaw in sight. Especially the sheer power behind their blows—it was so intense, just watching made them feel its crushing weight.

This was a force no one here could hope to stand against—a move near impossible to dodge.

Both arms trembled slightly from the immense strain, yet neither backed off—not even an inch—or gave the first sign of breaking the stalemate.

Not that either side would lose from it—this clash was like a needle's point meeting the sharp tip of wheat awns, both refusing to yield an inch.

"You Sarutobi Clan genius," Nawaki chuckled mid-confrontation, "you're not like me, right? Using nothing but brute force?"

Then he released the pressure in his arms and suddenly stepped back.

At the same time, he began weaving hand seals at lightning speed.

Across from Nawaki, Sarutobi Ao's hands moved even faster, blurred into afterimages!

...

...

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