"Stupefy!"
"Protego!"
Spells clashed as beams of magic shot back and forth, shields forming and breaking in quick succession. The surrounding trees weren't spared either, bark splintering and branches snapping under the impact.
Minato suddenly pointed his wand toward the broken branches scattered on the ground. In an instant, they twisted and sharpened into dozens of needle-like projectiles that shot toward Fugaku.
Fugaku reacted just as quickly, transfiguring the ground beneath him into a solid rock dome. The needles struck against it, but before anything else could happen, a deep roar echoed.
The dome burst apart.
A lion lunged through it.
Minato had transfigured a rock into a full-sized predator, and it wasted no time attacking Fugaku.
Fugaku was caught off guard for a split second, but his instincts kicked in. He used Body Flicker to escape just before the lion could tear into him.
Minato didn't let up. The moment Fugaku moved, he followed with a short-range apparition, appearing right behind him.
And immediately walked into a wall of fire.
Not ordinary fire.
Fiendfyre.
Minato's eyes narrowed. He didn't hesitate.
"Finite."
The cursed flames destabilised, but Fugaku had already moved. He wasn't going to stand still and wait. From Minato's blind spot, a volley of shurikens and kunai flew toward him.
For a moment, it looked like Minato was done for.
Then the lion reappeared.
It threw itself in front of him, taking the hit. Steel pierced through its body, and the transfiguration collapsed soon after.
But it had done its job.
It bought Minato time.
This time, Minato didn't hold back.
More transfigurations followed. Eagles, snakes, lions, even small insects, all attacking from different angles, forcing Fugaku onto the defensive.
But it wasn't easy for either of them.
They had the power.
They had the knowledge.
But their minds and bodies weren't fully caught up.
This was their first real wizard duel.
Minato had a slight edge in magic, but Fugaku balanced it out with Body Flicker, shuriken techniques, and substitution. Even then, Minato managed to land a few hits.
Fugaku didn't come out clean either. Bite marks covered his calf, blood slowly seeping through.
The fight dragged on.
Twenty minutes.
By the end, both of them were exhausted.
Not because they ran out of magic.
But because their bodies and minds couldn't keep up.
They stepped back.
A draw.
Minato let out a breath.
"I think that's enough for now, Fugaku. And look at this, you actually managed to scratch this handsome face of mine."
Fugaku was about to agree and head back, but that last line made something in him twitch.
For a moment, a thought crossed his mind.
'Maybe I should just use Protego Diabolica… even if it's unstable, it'll shut him up.'
He forced it down.
"…You still talk too much," Fugaku said. "Makes people want to punch you."
He glanced at Minato's wounds.
"Fix yourself. We need to get back. Class starts in half an hour."
"Yeah, yeah."
Both of them raised their wands.
"Episkey."
The scratches faded. Their clothes returned to normal with another flick.
Minato stretched slightly.
"By the way, have you used the system shop yet?"
"Yeah. Bought a Dark Arts book. Figured I should have something as a backup. With the war going on, you never know when they'll throw even kids like us onto the battlefield."
Minato nodded.
"True. Apparition helps with escape, but it's not as fast as people think."
He paused.
"I wanted to ask you something. Uzushiogakure… has it already fallen?"
His tone shifted slightly.
Fugaku noticed.
"I asked Father about it. Konoha got news last year."
He looked at Minato.
"This about Kushina?"
Minato scratched his cheek.
"…You know me."
"We haven't heard anything specific. Even if she was brought here, they wouldn't tell the Uchiha. She's probably with Mito Uzumaki."
Minato went quiet for a moment.
"…Is it really that bad with the Uchiha?"
Fugaku gave a small, tired shrug.
"What do you think? And our own attitude doesn't help either."
Minato let out a breath.
"…Yeah."
Then, like a switch flipped, his expression changed.
"Oh, right. What about Mikoto?"
Fugaku frowned.
"What about her?"
Minato grinned.
"Well, when God sent me here, he said we could settle our debate, so…"
Fugaku froze.
"…Wait. You met God?"
Minato blinked.
"Oh. Yeah. You didn't?"
"…No."
A pause.
"Why?"
Minato smirked.
"Maybe I'm just better than you."
That did it.
Fugaku's hand twitched toward his wand again.
Minato immediately raised both hands.
"Alright, alright, relax. Not important."
He leaned in slightly.
"I'm talking about Kushina versus Mikoto. We get to see it ourselves now, don't we?"
That made Fugaku hesitate.
"…It's not like that," he said slowly.
"But?"
Minato's eyes lit up instantly.
"There's a 'but'? Come on, tell me."
Fugaku turned away.
He wasn't answering that.
"Hah, look at you," Minato laughed. "Too shy to say it?"
No response.
Fugaku simply raised his wand.
And apparated away.
Minato clicked his tongue.
"Still the same."
He followed a moment later.
When they returned to the academy spot, both of them froze.
Someone was there.
A boy, maybe seven or eight years old, was staring at them with wide eyes.
Minato slowly turned toward Fugaku.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a secluded spot?"
Fugaku looked just as uncomfortable.
This had never happened before.
Not once in two years.
And now, on the first day he brings Minato here…
"…Unlucky," he muttered.
Minato folded his arms.
"So? What now?"
Fugaku thought for a moment.
"…Erase his memory?"
"Yeah, I'll handle it," Minato said casually. "I'm better at memory charms. Dumbledore was already messing with them early on."
The boy's face turned pale.
"What do you mean, erase my memory? No, I won't tell anyone, I swear, I won't—"
"Relax," Minato said with a bright smile. "It won't hurt."
Fugaku's eye twitched.
"Obliviate."
The boy didn't even get to finish his sentence.
By the time he regained awareness, both Minato and Fugaku were gone.
This time, they didn't return together.
Both of them understood that being seen together wasn't a good idea, especially when they weren't even in the same class.
When Minato reached his seat, he felt something tucked into his shirt.
A note.
He opened it.
"Meet at the same place during lunch. We need to talk about our future plans."
Minato smirked slightly.
Yeah.
That made sense.
This world wasn't something they could take lightly.
Even with Dumbledore and Grindelwald's power… it wouldn't be enough.
He placed the note under his desk.
A small flick of his fingers.
It burned to ash. The process was clean and silent.
A perfect display of wandless casting.