"So… you mean a spar, Hikaru-kun?"
Namikaze Minato blinked at the suggestion, then lifted his gaze to the full moon hanging high overhead.
"At this hour?"
"I'm sorry for disturbing you so late, Hokage-sama." Hikaru immediately put on an awkward look, a hint of worry layered into his expression. "I just… can't fall asleep."
He looked exactly like a student who'd just finished a life-changing exam—excited for the future, but terrified he'd messed up, anxiety twisting in his chest.
And honestly, it wasn't even an act.
He had just taken an incredibly important assessment, and he was waiting in uncertainty for the outcome.
Minato didn't really know how to comfort him. At the same time, he couldn't deny he was curious.
It wasn't the first time he'd heard Kakashi talk about Hikaru's strength—especially his speed, which Kakashi described as borderline unbelievable.
And now Hikaru had learned the Flying Thunder God Technique.
If Minato claimed he wasn't curious about what Hikaru could do now… that would be a lie.
After all, in the entire village, only two people could use Flying Thunder God.
Him—and Hikaru.
"…Alright. I understand." Minato thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'm curious too. I want to see what kind of performance you'll show me."
"Then I'll be in your care, Hokage-sama." Hikaru smiled—this time, his expression settling back into calm.
He had to admit: earlier, his thoughts had drifted. But it hadn't shaken him deeply, and now he was fully composed again.
Minato gave a small nod.
In the next instant, his figure vanished.
And when he reappeared, he was already in front of Hikaru.
Hikaru drew his ninja blade immediately. The blade traced a clean arc through the air and met Minato's thrusting kunai with perfect precision.
Hikaru had said before that he wanted to test his full strength against Minato, and Minato had agreed.
So this spar would naturally be comprehensive—but neither of them would start by throwing out something impossible to deal with.
Especially not Flying Thunder God.
Once that technique entered the exchange, one delayed reaction was enough to lose outright.
Hikaru wasn't using Flying Thunder God. Minato, of course, wouldn't open with it either.
So Minato used only Body Flicker.
Yet even so, the speed of Minato's Body Flicker was the kind that made your scalp prickle.
Hikaru had heard stories about how outrageous the Fourth Hokage's movement was.
But hearing was one thing.
Feeling it in person was something else entirely.
With speed like this… even without Flying Thunder God, he'd still deserve the title "Yellow Flash."
Hikaru thought sharply as he increased the pressure behind his blade.
Minato's hand—holding the kunai—remained steady. No retreat. Not even a tremor.
Hikaru didn't hold back. He drove a kick in.
Minato lifted his leg in the same instant and blocked it cleanly.
Then Minato leaned back slightly.
Hikaru's blade, which had been steadily increasing force, suddenly lost its target—and Hikaru's body pitched forward.
With one leg already pinned, his balance collapsed for an instant.
Minato didn't hesitate.
His left fist drove straight toward Hikaru's abdomen.
Bang!
The moment Minato's punch landed, smoke burst outward.
And Minato felt it clearly—his fist hadn't struck a human body at all.
"Substitution…? That's fast." Minato murmured, already retreating.
Several kunai whistled toward him at the same time.
Hikaru's Substitution Technique was absurdly quick—so quick Minato hadn't even noticed the transition.
That meant Hikaru's control over that kind of technique was extremely refined.
Substitution didn't win fights by damage, but it was phenomenal at keeping you alive and baiting opponents into overcommitting.
Minato slipped past the kunai easily, then turned lightly—because Hikaru was already rushing in again.
This time, a brilliant blue chakra coated Hikaru's ninja blade, undulating like a living current. The aura it gave off was sharp—piercing—dangerously refined.
Humm—!
The slash was clean, direct, without a hint of flourish.
Minato lifted his kunai and blocked it instantly.
But his expression shifted a fraction.
Because the chakra in front of him—this "Hikaru"—felt… wrong.
And sure enough—
A stronger surge of chakra erupted not far away.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Water Release…"
Minato stayed calm, even with the roaring water dragon rushing toward him.
He'd faced countless kinds of shinobi in his life—especially on the battlefield. He'd seen every kind of assault imaginable.
So rather than panic, he simply acknowledged one thing:
Hikaru's tactical sense was consistently excellent.
Minato hooked his kunai downward, then kicked the "Hikaru" in front of him—an obvious shadow clone—straight away.
Then he flipped aside, smooth and relaxed, like the entire movement was effortless.
The massive water dragon became little more than a dramatic backdrop, and Minato slipped around it as if he were dancing.
Hikaru had dodged similar techniques before.
But dodging it with this much freedom—this much elegance—was another level entirely.
The most frightening part was that Minato, after evading everything, casually stabbed a kunai into the shadow clone as well.
A shadow clone was still a shadow clone.
It carried half the user's chakra. It could retain memories and imitate the original convincingly. In many situations, it could fool even experienced shinobi.
But its combat durability was… hard to praise.
Just look at Naruto—his clone army could shatter with a single hit.
They could deal damage, sure.
But they would never erase the gap between clone and original.
Poof!
The clone burst into smoke.
The fog spread quickly, swallowing Minato's silhouette.
Hikaru didn't look bothered.
For most people, that smoke would be a nightmare—perfect cover for Minato to vanish and strike from nowhere.
But Hikaru had been locking onto Minato with his sensory perception the entire time.
There was no way he'd let Minato slip beyond his control that easily.
Just as Hikaru stepped toward the white haze, he paused.
His blade snapped up to the side—
And in that same instant, Minato's kunai appeared in front of him.
Clink!
Crisp metal rang out, the smoke thinning.
Hikaru and Minato had collided again—blades pressed close, sparks scattering from the friction.
A heartbeat later, they split.
And in the next heartbeat, they crashed together again.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
The metallic chimes grew faster, sharper, nearly tearing at the ears.
Their figures blurred, then smeared into near-invisible afterimages.
Speed was pushed to its extreme between them—two flickering phantoms crossing and uncrossing in rapid succession.
As the exchange intensified, the surrounding area began to suffer.
Boom!
They swept past a massive boulder—an instant later, a sharp explosion echoed out, and the stone shattered into fragments.
The debris didn't even have time to fall near them before both figures were gone again.
That blue chakra flared along the moving shadows, and trees began to collapse.
Some were cut clean in half.
Some toppled without even a visible mark, as if the very force holding them upright had been erased.
Thankfully, no one witnessed this fight.
And perhaps more importantly—
Thankfully, no one witnessed it, because neither of them had gone all out yet.
Strange… is this Hikaru's limit?
Minato parried while counterattacking, but his thoughts stayed sharp and analytical.
Hikaru was strong. His speed was startling, and Minato had personally witnessed it during the Division Commander evaluation.
It was unquestionably exceptional.
But…
It didn't seem to match what Kakashi had described.
Kakashi had made it sound like Hikaru's speed might not be inferior to Minato's—even without Flying Thunder God.
Minato's speed was difficult for anyone to properly describe.
And once Flying Thunder God entered the equation, almost no one truly understood how terrifying he became.
Kakashi, however, was one of the few who would know.
Even without Flying Thunder God, Minato's raw movement was fast enough to make people despair.
Is he holding back? Or did Kakashi misjudge?
Minato doubted Kakashi would make a careless error—certainly not a large one.
So perhaps—
Hikaru simply hadn't felt real pressure yet.
The thought made Minato want to laugh.
If Hikaru wanted to verify his strength and relieve tension through sparring, and Minato wanted to understand Hikaru's true level—
Then Minato couldn't go easy.
And he definitely couldn't allow Hikaru to walk away without ever feeling pressed.
Without hesitation, Minato's speed surged again.
His afterimage became like lightning—harder and harder to track.
"Hm?" Hikaru's pressure skyrocketed.
Just a moment ago, the pace had felt manageable—now it had changed completely.
He genuinely hadn't expected the Fourth Hokage to show this level of speed during a spar.
Is this him going all out?
Hikaru found himself struggling more and more to keep up, even while trying to judge where Minato was on the scale.
If this was full power, fine.
But if this was just Minato "trying a little," then Hikaru was going to feel miserable.
Minato's offense turned into a relentless storm.
Hikaru would dodge a punch—
And the next second, a kunai was already stabbing in.
Even when Hikaru twisted to block it, he'd realize too late that Minato had used Substitution mid-combo.
His body couldn't stop in time.
And Minato's real body would flash in from the side, kunai driving in again.
It was like being trapped under crashing waves—no space to breathe, no rhythm to reclaim.
Bang!
After roughly a minute of this stalemate—Minato fully releasing his speed—Hikaru was kicked backward and sent flying.
He simply couldn't keep up anymore.
Even when his mind reacted, his body couldn't match the pace.
The frustration swelled in his chest.
Last time against Lone Wolf, he hadn't looked anywhere near this helpless.
But this time—
There was nothing he could do.
So this is what it felt like… Sasuke facing Lee.
Hikaru pushed himself up slowly, forcing a bitter smile as he shook his head.
He didn't have the Sharingan.
But he did have astonishing bodily coordination, reaction speed fit for Flying Thunder God, and sharp sensory perception.
And even then… Minato's speed had driven him to this point.
All Hikaru could do was acknowledge it.
No wonder this man, once revived during the Fourth Great Ninja War, could restrain the Nine-Tails—and even use Sage Mode in midair despite claiming he "wasn't familiar" with it.
If he hadn't died to the Nine-Tails back then… who knows if he might've ended up even stronger than Naruto.
The thought flashed through Hikaru's mind—
And he immediately shook it away.
Minato was monstrous, yes. Give him ten more years to grow, and something like that might even be possible.
But one thing couldn't be ignored:
Naruto was born with a cheat code written into his existence.
"Hikaru-kun, are you alright?" Minato asked, noticing Hikaru just standing there. "Sorry… Kakashi told me about your speed…"
"I'm fine, Hokage-sama." Hikaru shook his head lightly, then smiled again. "But next… I'm going to use something more interesting."
"Oh?" Minato's curiosity rose. "Something interesting?"
Hikaru nodded, but didn't explain.
He disliked being forced into a corner—even if he'd been prepared for it.
Being on the receiving end wasn't his style.
And besides… his own leanings, deep down, were closer to Minato than anyone else.
In that case, being a little more open wouldn't be a big deal.
It might even be better.
With that decision, Hikaru's smile deepened.
His chakra began to boil.
Minato's eyes narrowed.
A strange sense of familiarity surfaced—paired with an instinctive feeling of danger.
Only a moment passed before Minato understood why.
Because at that very moment—
A streak of red eye shadow appeared around Hikaru's eyes.
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