Aside from teaching the Shadow Guard members the Flying Thunder Formation Technique, Minato would also occasionally teach them basic ninjutsu and combat experience.
In essence, they were all considered disciples of the Fourth Hokage—no different from an official student like Kakashi. It's just that they didn't formally address each other as master and disciple.
Unfortunately, aside from Makoto—the anomaly—Minato's combat style simply didn't suit them.
Even if they learned the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God Technique, with the chakra reserves of Hayate's team and Genma's team, they would run dry after using them just a couple of times.
Unless, of course, their chakra increased explosively as they grew older.
It had to be said—Minato's own chakra reserves were top-tier among non-bloodline shinobi.
Yamato had quite a lot of chakra as well, but since he possessed Wood Release techniques, there was no need for him to change his combat style to follow Minato's path.
Kakashi's chakra reserves were also decent, but he had equipped himself with a high-consumption "external hardware," which left him chronically drained.
Not to mention mastering the Flying Thunder God— even if he did, it wouldn't become part of his standard combat approach.
Seeing the somewhat dejected expressions on the three from Hayate's team, Minato comforted them with a smile: "No need to feel discouraged. You're younger than Genma's group to begin with—failure is only natural. Just keep practicing for a while longer."
Makoto said, "Let's call it a day. You were shaken by Genma's team's success—your mindset isn't stable enough right now to coordinate properly."
Hayate couldn't help but complain, "If we're talking about pressure, who here is more overwhelming than you?"
Makoto: "…"
He had to admit—standing next to someone like him, a complete cheat-code player, would put immense pressure on anyone.
Like Shisui, they had been striving hard since childhood, far surpassing their peers—even outperforming many adult shinobi.
But the gap between them and Makoto only kept widening.
That was just how the ninja world worked—sometimes, no amount of effort could close the gap.
Makoto himself had no solution. The white natural energy that caused his qualitative transformation was something others simply couldn't utilize, and he still hadn't found a way to deal with its annihilating properties.
Even Orochimaru wouldn't be of help here. If he had that capability, he wouldn't have failed to master the senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave himself.
"Hahaha," Minato narrowed his eyes with a smile. "Genuine talent and ability—not just you all, even I can't help but feel envious."
"Huh?" Yūgao looked unconvinced. "Hokage-sama, could Makoto really be stronger than you?"
For Konoha shinobi, the Hokage's strength always carried a certain aura of reverence.
Minato answered honestly, "Makoto may have already surpassed me—but that's only my guess. In the end, a shinobi's strength can only be judged after a real fight."
Makoto immediately sensed the intent to battle. "Minato-senpai… you're not thinking…"
"Well, ever since Naruto was born, I haven't fought in a long time. Feels like my body's getting rusty. Makoto, how about sparring with me?"
"If you want to, I've got no problem with that."
...
Evening. Training Ground.
Under the glow of the setting sun, Makoto and Minato stood facing each other.
Hayate, Genma, and the others watched with excitement—getting to witness a battle between top-tier shinobi was worth it even if it cost them their lives.
Kushina and Kaori stood to the side with the two little kids. They were curious, while Naruto and Karin simply found it lively and fun.
Seeing her husband like this, Kushina couldn't help but feel that keeping someone like Minato at home to take care of family might really be stifling him.
Maybe once Naruto grew a bit older, she could just kick him out to go back to work.
As for what to do if the Third Hokage refused to retire by then? Easy—beat him into retirement.
Around the training ground, Kakashi led an ANBU squad, staying alert to prevent anyone from wandering in. No matter what, the Fourth Hokage was officially still "injured"—it wouldn't be good if people saw him fighting.
Root ninjas? Ever since they tried to target Kaori, the couple had pressured the Third Hokage together, forcing Danzō to withdraw them.
Danzō didn't object. Apparently, he had been busy with something outside recently—Root seemed short on manpower, to the point they couldn't even spare people to monitor the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
So at this moment, everyone present was one of their own.
...
After a brief standoff—
They moved simultaneously.
At terrifying speed, the two collided, engaging in close-quarters taijutsu.
Their movements exceeded the dynamic vision of almost everyone present. Only a few—like Kakashi and Kushina—could clearly follow everything.
To the others, it looked like two afterimages clashing in the field, accompanied by a dense barrage of kunai collisions.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Minato's reaction speed was astonishing, his attacks just as fast. Holding his tri-pronged kunai in a reverse grip, he unleashed a relentless flurry.
Makoto handled it with ease.
In terms of speed and reaction, he was no longer inferior to Minato. With his smaller frame, his strength was still enough to match him—and when he used Tsunade's chakra burst technique, he could even suppress Minato.
To Minato, it felt like he was facing a monstrous beast with absurd strength. He didn't dare take hits head-on—one clean punch, and he'd end up no better than Jiraiya after Tsunade's blows.
Makoto wasn't just using Tsunade's monstrous strength—he was faster too.
A straight-up enhanced version of Tsunade.
Fortunately, Minato's fighting style was never about brute force.
Using the recoil from Makoto's attack to retreat, Minato threw a kunai toward him and rapidly formed hand seals.
Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
The single kunai instantly multiplied into a dense rain of blades, shooting toward Makoto from all directions.
Makoto raised his left hand and used One-Horn Great Wall to shield himself.
As for the kunai landing around him—he didn't bother stopping them, letting them embed into the ground.
Minato's were Flying Thunder God kunai—and the shadow-cloned ones had physical form.
Meaning every single one could serve as a teleport marker.
Makoto raised his perception to its maximum.
The moment Minato disappeared—
Makoto turned instantly.
Clang!
Their kunai collided.
With his deep familiarity with the Flying Thunder God, he accurately intercepted the attack from behind.
The chakra formula of the Flying Thunder God could be shared—provided you understood it.
And Makoto's version had been taught by Minato himself. He was intimately familiar with it, and Minato hadn't restricted his markers.
Which meant—
Every kunai engraved with "Sword of Shinobi Love" on the ground—
Makoto could use them too.
...
And then—
The two began a battle of pure teleportation.
Appearing. Disappearing. Reappearing.
Tracking. Counter-tracking. Attacking.
The fight became something no one else could fully see or understand.
It was as if a blurry video had suddenly turned into individual frames flashing one by one.
At this point, even Kakashi, lifting his forehead protector and using the Sharingan, couldn't follow the details anymore.
Meaning—
If he were caught in that battle—
He could be killed instantly at any moment.
This was the overwhelming dominance of speed and reaction under instant movement.
To fight someone like this, you either destroyed all nearby Flying Thunder God kunai immediately—
Or got out of their range.
Kakashi didn't feel discouraged. Calmly, he kept analyzing countermeasures in his mind.
As for Hayate and the others—
They were completely lost.
"Incredible…"
"So this is how Flying Thunder God battles look…"
"Since when did our captain become this terrifying?"
"Can this even still be called a ninja fight…?"
...
Suddenly—
The two appeared at the center of the field.
At the same time—
Each formed a Rasengan in their right hand—
And slammed it into the other.
In battles at this speed, any technique requiring hand seals was a waste of time.
Only no-seal jutsu could be used.
That was also why Minato, despite knowing many techniques, focused solely on developing the Rasengan.
The two Rasengan collided—
The extreme chakra structures destabilized—
And the resulting shockwave spread outward like a hurricane.
It destroyed the materialized Flying Thunder God kunai—
And tore a layer off the ground itself.
What surprised Minato was—
His Rasengan collapsed—
But Makoto's remained partially intact.
He immediately retreated, his expression turning serious.
The Rasengan used non-elemental chakra—no nature transformation involved.
If his was inferior—
Then either Makoto's control over chakra shape had reached a monstrous level—
Or—
The very nature of their chakra was fundamentally different.
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