"…This is—Sage Mode?"
Namikaze Minato stared at the red eye shadow around Hikaru's eyes, at the chakra surging with an unmistakable natural aura. Shock flickered across his face… but only for a moment before he forced himself calm again.
Of course he recognized Sage Mode.
His teacher, Jiraiya, could use it.
And Minato himself had studied it as well.
Even if he didn't consider his own mastery impressive, he understood better than most just how terrifying that state could be.
Hikaru… could use Sage Mode?
It was completely outside Minato's expectations—yet somehow, it also felt inevitable.
Hikaru was a member of the Senju clan.
And according to certain sealed records kept within the Hokage's office, the First Hokage had been exceptionally proficient with Sage Mode.
Minato still didn't understand why information about the First Hokage had been locked down so tightly. The people who truly knew what had happened back then were either elderly… or almost gone entirely.
As for the younger generation, they only knew one thing: the First Hokage founded Konoha.
Beyond that, they knew practically nothing.
But Minato was Hokage. There were pieces of truth he could still access.
He shook his head and forced the thought away.
This wasn't the time to dig into the reasons behind why the former Hokage's deeds had been hidden.
He'd already taken too many "information shocks" because of Hikaru lately—every time he thought deeper, he only felt more confused… and more uncomfortable.
"Is this… the Senju clan's Sage Mode?" Minato asked quietly, pushing aside the turbulence in his mind.
"No." Hikaru shook his head, looking Minato straight in the eye. "I didn't earn the Slug Sage's recognition. My Sage Mode… came from somewhere else."
Somewhere else?
Minato's brows lifted slightly, and he immediately connected the dots.
Jiraiya had learned Sage Mode from the toad sages of Mount Myōboku.
If Hikaru hadn't gained recognition from the Slug Sage, yet still possessed Sage Mode, then there were only two possibilities.
Either the First Hokage had left behind some kind of record—
Or it had something to do with that massive lizard summon.
Either way, Minato's evaluation of Hikaru rose yet again.
And another thought struck him.
Hikaru had never once revealed he could use Sage Mode.
He hadn't even used it during the Division Commander evaluation.
"Did you only learn it recently?" Minato asked.
"Not exactly." Hikaru smiled gently. "I learned it a while ago. My family has some materials that let me use it in a very basic way. But later, after I gained Lizardmaru's recognition, I studied properly for a period of time… while I was recovering in the hospital."
"A lizard…" Minato's curiosity sharpened. "So you could use some Sage power before, but now it's more complete?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Hikaru nodded earnestly. "But the burden is too heavy on my body, so I rarely use it. But tonight…"
He trailed off.
Minato nodded as if he understood.
The Senju had Sage Mode records. Minato didn't know why Hikaru couldn't get recognition, nor how Hikaru had managed to enter Sage Mode without it.
But if Hikaru was telling the truth—if he'd been quietly studying and only stumbled into partial Sage Mode at first—then his talent was frightening.
And if his inheritance was incomplete, it made sense that Sage Mode would be a brutal strain.
Minato almost automatically filled in the gaps.
Kakashi must have seen Hikaru using an incomplete Sage state, and that would explain why Kakashi's impression of Hikaru's "speed" had been exaggerated in certain ways.
Minato's mind spun out an entire explanation on its own.
Even so, he remained rationally cautious.
He had to be.
Hikaru's thoughts were complex, and the things he had done were dangerous—dangerous enough that if Minato had been careless, he wouldn't have survived the battlefield long enough to become Hokage.
But after Hikaru had voluntarily stepped away from the Division Commander position and chosen to take the written evaluation instead…
Minato's vigilance had, without him noticing, softened.
Hikaru had sacrificed his own interests to preserve Minato's dignity as Hokage.
That alone was hard not to be moved by.
And beyond that—Hikaru's Flying Thunder God was something Minato had taught him.
Hikaru had also saved Kakashi.
And Hikaru had always been relatively transparent with Minato: his goals, his intentions, the value of the information he carried—he never hid that those things existed.
When all of that stacked together, even if Minato still held caution in his heart, their bond inevitably deepened.
Minato wasn't Sarutobi Hiruzen—an old political fox who could slice emotions away from decisions like a blade.
Minato was young. He still followed the shape of his feelings.
Of course, even Hiruzen had feelings… but he could separate them from position, ideals, and necessity.
Just look at Hiruzen and Danzō.
Their personal ties ran deep, yet the moment work began, they treated each other like strangers.
Schemes, countermeasures, pressure—one after another.
Danzō had even resorted to assassination.
And what happened after that?
Nothing.
Danzō still lived.
He even outlasted Hiruzen by three years, and nearly became Hokage himself.
"Then I'm looking forward to seeing your Sage Mode, Hikaru-kun." Minato's eyes shone with interest. He was genuinely excited now.
"I won't disappoint you." Hikaru smiled. "But there's one thing I ask, Hokage-sama—please keep this secret. You're the only person who knows I can use Sage Mode."
Minato's heart stirred slightly. "You haven't even told your family?"
"No." Hikaru nodded softly. "I haven't told anyone."
Minato nodded, and didn't press further.
He raised his kunai one-handed, his expression turning more serious. Chakra began to rise from him in a steady, controlled surge.
"Thank you for trusting me," Minato said quietly. "But I'm going to get serious too. I want to see the power of Sage Mode."
"As you wish." The sharp blue chakra flared along Hikaru's blade again. "Hokage-sama…"
Boom!
Heavy impacts echoed through the sleeping forest.
Birds perched in the treetops startled awake, flapping into the night sky in chaotic bursts.
The tremors continued—trees collapsing with cracking roars, dust rising in scattered plumes.
Only two figures moved within the destruction, drifting like ghosts.
They were like streaks of light—impossible to track, leaving no clear traces behind.
The naked eye couldn't even tell who they were.
But the force erupting from their collisions was enough to make one's blood run cold.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
The metallic clashes were sharper than before—faster, tighter, more urgent.
For a time, it seemed the two of them had locked into a dead-even struggle.
Hikaru was… satisfied.
He could only keep up with Minato's speed after activating Sage Mode—but that was enough.
Minato's movement was monstrous. Hikaru had already experienced it firsthand.
And Hikaru's Sage state was still only a beginner's level.
Being able to chase Minato like this was completely acceptable.
At the very least, he no longer had to endure being beaten without any chance to respond.
And the boost from Sage Mode isn't only physical…
Hikaru blocked Minato's kunai, then instantly produced a kunai with his left hand and drove it forward.
Minato reacted at once, catching Hikaru's left wrist.
At the same time, chakra flashed—so fast and so clean that Hikaru didn't even seem to notice it.
But Minato had no choice but to release him.
Because that blue chakra flared again along Hikaru's blade—sharp enough to bite, heavy enough to crush.
Minato's kunai had already been fighting for a long time. Under this pressure, it finally began to fail.
Hairline cracks spread, visible even in moonlight.
Minato could only retreat.
Hikaru, of course, didn't waste the opening.
The moment Minato released his wrist, Hikaru's blade swept in.
Minato leapt back lightly, dodging a slash that should have been too fast to avoid.
Hikaru flicked his left-hand kunai toward Minato and pressed in as well.
Minato drew another kunai, knocked the projectile aside with a sharp metallic ring, then flipped his kunai in his grip and stepped in close.
Clink!
Their weapons locked again.
Feeling the weight coming through the metal, Minato nodded slightly.
"Very good. But this isn't your full power, is it?"
"Probably not." Hikaru's breathing grew slightly heavier, but his voice remained gentle. "And neither is yours, Hokage-sama. At the very least… neither of us has used Flying Thunder God."
Minato nodded. That was true.
Then his brows furrowed.
Because the Hikaru in front of him suddenly turned into smoke.
"Substitution?"
Minato was genuinely surprised.
Hikaru was still throwing out Substitution at this speed?
Just how deeply had he mastered that technique?
There was no time to dwell on it.
Hikaru struck from Minato's side.
Minato's coordination was exceptional. He turned instantly, kunai lifting to meet Hikaru's blade—perfectly timed.
But Hikaru didn't linger.
The moment their weapons touched, he rotated away, slipping around Minato's front. At the same time, his left fist drove toward Minato's back.
Minato twisted, barely.
Hikaru's punch brushed his clothing instead of his body.
But when Minato turned and kicked—
The Hikaru standing there became smoke again, leaving only a chunk of wood on the ground.
That kind of ghostlike Substitution… even Minato couldn't help but sigh.
"Sage Art: Water Release—Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Hikaru gave Minato no time to appreciate it.
Not far away, a fierce surge of chakra roared upward.
A massive water dragon—infused with natural energy—howled forward.
It carried a distinct "nature" scent, and its chakra quality was far denser than ordinary ninjutsu.
"This is senjutsu…"
Minato understood at a glance.
Senjutsu chakra supercharged ninjutsu into something absurdly destructive.
He himself had never seriously tested techniques like that.
And he had never fought against them either—Jiraiya didn't use senjutsu in sparring.
So facing Hikaru's Sage Art now, Minato was both curious… and excited.
Still, one thought flickered through his mind.
Why does this senjutsu feel… not as overwhelming as I expected?
Minato almost laughed at himself.
Hikaru had only recently completed his Sage Mode.
And Hikaru's chakra reserves weren't endless.
Of course the output wouldn't be as monstrous as Minato imagined.
Even so, the speed with which Hikaru entered Sage Mode was ridiculous.
But that could simply be talent.
"Even so… I'll have to deal with it properly."
Minato watched the roaring dragon and tossed his kunai upward with his right hand.
His left hand caught it midair.
And on Minato's now-free right palm, a rapidly rotating sphere of blue chakra formed.
In a blink, it stabilized into a perfect orb.
A technique of extreme shape transformation—
Minato's pride.
Rasengan.
The moment Minato brought out Rasengan, it marked one thing clearly.
He was now genuinely serious.
BOOM!
When the senjutsu-infused water dragon crashed into him, Minato drove the Rasengan straight into its head.
The explosion thundered through the forest.
Violent chakra scattered outward like shrapnel.
Minato's expression shifted.
He could feel the strength of that senjutsu.
His Rasengan could withstand it—Hikaru's gathered chakra was still only "moderate," after all.
But the blast pressure alone…
A human body could not endure that directly.
Rasengan still has its flaw… no ranged capability.
Minato sighed inwardly, his gaze sharpening.
He had a rough sense of Hikaru's ninjutsu output now.
He didn't know whether Hikaru could maintain that level for long.
But he didn't need to.
Shinobi defenses were never reliable.
A technique like that—used at the right time—could kill outright.
Minato didn't believe in luck.
War had carved too many lessons into him.
Any carelessness could drag you into an irreversible abyss.
Chakra shifted around his body.
In the instant the Rasengan and water dragon's collision fully detonated—
Minato vanished.
Almost simultaneously, he appeared at Hikaru's side.
Flying Thunder God—blooming at point-blank range.
His kunai was about to press into Hikaru's back—
When the Hikaru before him vanished as well.
And at the same time—
From behind Minato came the sound of a blade tearing through the air.
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