Chapter 69: Intense Battle!
Swish! Swish!
In an instant, it seemed as if two streaks of different colored lights flashed across everyone's eyes, and then collided fiercely against each other.
This battle, whose cause and effect had been laid a year ago, finally unfolded at this moment!
"This guy, terrifying speed!" Miyazaki Satoshi, Takenouchi Rin and others exclaimed in awe. They hadn't even seen how these two had engaged each other so quickly.
They were well aware of Minato's speed, having spent three days together with him.
Previously, when fighting against lower-ranked ninja, he had relied on his speed to overwhelm them, giving the opponents no time to react.
Therefore, when they saw that Uchiha Homura possessed a speed comparable to Minato's, they couldn't help but reveal expressions of indescribable shock.
Even the lower-ranked ninja in the stands were stunned by such movement speed.
With just this striking speed alone, if they were the ones facing it, they would likely be crushed instantly.
As the saying goes, "striking first is being stronger." Seizing the initiative in battle is extremely important!
Even Sarutobi Ao and Nawaki, who had just left everyone awestruck by their earlier battle, couldn't help but feel a chill.
The two collided, locking eyes with each other, both displaying a hint of astonishment in their eyes for different reasons.
"You're indeed a formidable opponent," Minato said. A year ago, when he fought against Uchiha Homura, he could only win by relying on his speed advantage. Back then, his techniques and foundations were inferior compared to the Uchiha-born Homura.
Although Minato didn't deliberately focus on improving his speed during the year of training under his teacher, after going through basic training, he had already reached an incomparable level.
Uchiha Homura's heart was also unsettled. He had analyzed the battle with Minato a year ago, so his training for the past year had been entirely focused on enhancing his speed.
But even so, it seemed like his current speed didn't give him much of an advantage against Minato.
However, this meant that he still had the upper hand.
Uchiha Homura extended his other hand, aiming to grab Minato's wrist and restrain his hands first.
However, his intention had already been seen through by Minato, who also extended his hand.
The speed of their movements was astonishingly fast. In the blink of an eye, to most people, the two had already engaged in a stalemate, their four arms intertwined, each holding the other's arm.
But this was clearly just the beginning, as both of them, while their hands were locked, aimed their attacks at each other's lower body, using leg sweeping techniques.
These techniques may seem low-level, but in this situation, they were more effective than any ninjutsu or taijutsu.
White Fang, watching from another side of the stands, observed with interest. A significant portion of his strength came from his sword techniques, and taijutsu occupied a large part of sword techniques. He was also highly skilled in speed.
The actions and speed of these two in the arena had already surpassed the standard of ordinary lower-ranked ninja.
One was Jiraiya's student, a prodigy acknowledged by the Third Hokage himself. The other was a gifted young man from the Uchiha clan.
Their battle, in a sense, was a clash between the two prominent factions within Konoha.
Bang! Bang!
In the arena, the two, their hands locked in a stalemate, kept attacking each other's lower bodies. But after a while of deadlock, neither could effectively disrupt the other's balance.
So, they both made an instantaneous decision, suddenly releasing the grip on one of their opponent's hands and striking towards their vital points.
As Jiraiya had once said, a ninja's strength wasn't just composed of ninjutsu, but also relied heavily on their reflexes.
When someone continuously performs the same action multiple times, their brain's judgment tends to become slightly sluggish, making it difficult to change the ongoing action abruptly.
Both Minato and Uchiha Homura were aiming to exploit this opening.
But it seemed like they both realized this at the same time, throwing punches almost simultaneously. In this situation, switching between offense and defense didn't make any sense.
At that moment, they both forcefully pushed against the remaining arms that were still locked, separating themselves from each other.
Swish! Swish!
The sound of their shoes scraping against the ground echoed, and the two jumped apart, creating a distance of about three to four meters between them.
"Such quick reflexes, such precise judgment," Sarutobi Ao murmured in awe. Previously, he had been puzzled as to why Nawaki valued Minato so highly, but after watching his battle with Uchiha Homura, he understood.
Their battle awareness and on-the-spot judgment were far beyond what one would expect from academy students.
The exchange between the two just now might have seemed like a simple taijutsu clash, but if either of them had been a split second slower in their judgment, the other would have instantly seized the opportunity and gained the upper hand.
Such opponents were the most formidable in battle.
After retreating, Uchiha Homura had already prepared his next move. Since he couldn't gain any advantage in taijutsu clashes, he needed to make use of his speciality.
The Uchiha clan's unique sword techniques.
Swish! Swish!
As he steadied his stance, he had already thrown out the prepared sword darts from his hand. Ordinary ninja would need to observe the opponent's movements, position, and distance before using ninja tools.
But for Uchiha Homura, none of that was necessary.
At a distance of a few meters, with his wrist strength, the darts would reach Minato in less than a second. Even with his reflexes, he shouldn't be able to react in time.
However, just as Homura had prepared his sword darts during the retreat, Minato had also not been idle.
Yet, those several sword darts were completely dodged by Minato without even a glance, requiring no special countermeasures.
Although this wasn't Uchiha Homura's full power, Minato's nonchalant reaction still made his pupils constrict involuntarily.
Even Sarutobi Ao and Nawaki couldn't comprehend how Minato had dodged them.
If it was about reflexes, that was too fast, right?
"Not reflexes, but habit," Sakumo Hatake narrowed his eyes. Once the human body gets accustomed to something, it can make judgments autonomously, without going through the brain.
This is what's known as muscle memory. Even among ninja, only those proficient in taijutsu possess this ability.
None of the people present knew what kind of training Minato had undergone this past year. Jiraiya had often attacked him at high speeds using unconventional methods while he was moving.
Minato didn't know how much suffering he had endured, even getting injured. Now, his body could automatically react, just as Uchiha Homura could throw sword darts without looking, he could also dodge most attacks without observing them.
Of course, those attacks had to be within the limits of his capabilities.
While dodging Uchiha Homura's attacks, Minato wasn't idle either. He rapidly formed hand seals with his hands.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Raging flames took the shape of a dragon, roaring towards Uchiha Homura. The difficulty of mastering this Dragon Fire Technique wasn't too high, and Minato had learned it quickly.
Its scale and power were no less than Sarutobi Ao's previous display.
However, Uchiha Homura couldn't help but sneer coldly.
Using a fire ninjutsu against him?
Almost instinctively, he began forming hand seals, having practiced this particular one countless times.
It was also the hand seals for the Dragon Fire Technique, as he intended to counter Minato's move.
"This Minato is playing with fire ninjutsu against an Uchiha?" A lower-ranked ninja couldn't help but laugh.
However, Sarutobi Ao and Nawaki were fixated on Minato's hands.
After performing the Dragon Fire Technique, he didn't stop the movements of his hands, but continued forming new hand seals!
(End of chapter)