Black-colored shuriken transformed into blurred shadows. To the many watching students, those shuriken were nothing more than a fleeting black light—completely untraceable.
Their flight path was so skillfully calculated that even someone like Moto Kouda, a Chunin-level ninja, would find them extremely difficult to dodge. Even as a teacher at the Ninja Academy, he had to admit he'd never attained such precise shuriken-throwing technique.
After all, this was a skill handed down through the Uchiha clan!
But to Minato's eyes, although the shuriken flew at extreme speed, they still hadn't reached the point of being undodgeable. However, Yan Uchiha's several thrown shuriken nearly completely sealed off all his possible escape routes.
No matter which way Minato tried to dodge, one or two shuriken always found their mark.
From afar, Yan Uchiwa wore a proud expression mixed with mockery.
Even if Minato Namikaze did have real talent, someone from such humble beginnings could never hope to rival a genius like himself—one born into the prestigious Uchiha clan.
Minato's golden brows furrowed slightly, but otherwise, he showed no sign of panic. Just because Yan excelled at shuriken throwing didn't mean Minato lacked skill himself.
Then, as the spinning shuriken closed rapidly into his vision, Minato suddenly produced several wooden practice shuriken in his hands from seemingly nowhere.
These were the only kind of shuriken Minato carried—wooden training tools used by the Ninja Academy.
Whoosh! Whoosh! With practiced ease, Minato flicked his wrist—
His movements followed immediately after, swifter even than Yan's earlier attempts. Those wooden shuriken traced similarly distinct trajectories.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of impacts rang out. Surprisingly, Minato's wooden shuriken managed to knock away most of Yan's metal ones midair. Still, there remained two final shuriken continuing toward him.
It proved one thing clearly: physically, Minato wasn't weaker—maybe even stronger. But when it came to technique, he was falling behind.
"That kid Minato really has precise calculations!"
Meanwhile, hidden in a shadowed corner of the Ninja Academy, Jiraiya silently observed everything—his presence completely undetectable.
Minato's disadvantage against Yan wasn't merely about shuriken-throwing skills. There also existed an enormous difference between wooden practice shuriken and real ones regarding sharpness. That's why Minato deliberately waited until the last moment before attempting to deflect them.
That's because a kunai loses momentum the farther it travels through the air.
Even so, the wooden shuriken Minato used to block Yan's kunai ended up sliced apart.
Yan not only mastered the Uchiha clan's shuriken techniques, but his strength far surpassed that of ordinary Genin.
Arrogant though he was, there was no denying—he really was a prodigy.
Seeing Minato Namikaze actually deflect his real metal shuriken with wooden ones, slight surprise flickered across Yan Uchiha's dark eyes. He knew full well how much of a gap existed between training tools and real weapons.
However, for those remaining two shuriken, Minato Namikaze simply no longer had time to deal with them.
Just as Yan Uchiha was thinking this, the remaining two shuriken had already changed course and were flying toward Minato from different angles.
When Moto Kouda thought Minato wouldn't be able to dodge and was about to intervene, Minato suddenly stamped his foot on the ground and shot backward rapidly.
Whoosh!
Minato's figure, like a golden flash, retreated several meters in an instant.
That speed was too fast for the students around him to even register. Even Kouda was momentarily stunned.
He hadn't expected Minato to be this fast.
After retreating a few meters, Minato casually stepped sideways a couple times, dodging the remaining two shuriken completely, which then hit the wire fence at the boundary before falling down.
"This speed..."
Jiraiya, watching from a hidden vantage point, was also startled. Although Minato's speed wasn't particularly impressive by his standards, for a student of the Ninja Academy, it was simply unbelievable.
No wonder he'd managed to escape after tricking the Anbu directly under The Third's command with the Transformation Jutsu back then.
With such speed, it was practically equal to that of a Chunin!
In fact, only a week ago, Minato's speed hadn't been this great yet. However, ever since his sudden surge in chakra that day, he had shown tremendous improvement with every training session.
If not for his limited chakra reserves, Minato would confidently say that all of Yan Uchiha's techniques would become ineffective.
Even if you possess powerful offensive moves, they hold no meaning at all if you can't even catch sight of your opponent.
Yan Uchiha was also greatly shocked by Minato's speed. Originally, he had thought the battle was over.
Immediately panicking, he quickly took out several more shuriken, attempting to corner Minato with no place left to retreat.
Whoosh!
However, after dodging those shuriken, Minato maintained his incredible speed and charged toward Yan Uchiha once again!
Caught off guard, Yan Uchiha didn't have time to perform his powerful shuriken technique anymore. Minato's straight punch came rushing forward with a gust of wind.
Being someone who had trained since childhood, Yan reacted instinctively, barely tilting his head aside. Minato's fist grazed past his cheek, causing a faint painful sensation.
Though it wasn't a direct hit, Minato's punch still scratched Yan Uchiha's face.
Unfazed, Yan Uchiha lifted his right knee and slammed it toward Minato's abdomen.
The distance between them was extremely close. If Minato insisted on pressing the attack, he'd have to take the knee strike. However, Minato seemed to predict Yan's move in advance. He pulled back his punch, stepped back slightly, and simultaneously used his other hand to block Yan's right knee.
In case Yan followed up with a straight kick instead of the knee strike, Minato was already ready.
Nonetheless, Yan Uchiha's counterattack wasn't finished yet. Clenching his fingers into a fist, he swung an uppercut upward at Minato's chin.
Minato, in response, changed his returning fist into a palm, blocking this uppercut effectively.
In the blink of an eye, the two had already exchanged multiple techniques. This display left all the gawking students dazzled, and even the upperclassmen who came rushing over to watch were no exception.
Because these two moved far too fast!
Of course, there were still some sharp-eyed observers among them who could follow the fight, including Mikoto Nae.
She wore a look of shock on her face, though she wasn't surprised that Yan Uchiha possessed such strength.
While children from ordinary families were still clinging to their parents for affection, children from the Uchiha clan were already undergoing rigorous training.
What lay behind every genius was hard work and sacrifice.
Yet what she never expected was that Minato could not only neutralize but also completely shut down Yan Uchiha's shuriken assault, matching him evenly in taijutsu.
Besides Moto Kouda, several other Ninja Academy instructors were also present. They couldn't believe their eyes at what they were witnessing.
Could it actually be true that two freshmen from the Ninja Academy were engaging in a battle of this magnitude?!
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