Minato Namikaze stood there with his mouth hanging open, stunned silent.
He had no words to describe what he was seeing.
Creating the Rasengan was already brutally difficult. Forcing chakra into a high-speed, irregular spin while compressing it puts the technique squarely in A-rank territory. It doesn't need hand seals, but the dual demands of compression and rotation alone make ninety-nine percent of people give up—let alone developing it any further on top of that.
"Chiyama... you're a monster, aren't you..."
Staring at the Rasengan soaked in flames and the heated cloud rolling off it, Minato realized Kazuyama Gekkō had pushed the Rasengan to a whole new tier. By weaving chakra nature transformation into it, he had taken the Rasengan from A-rank to S-rank.
"Hehehehe, to be praised by the Fourth Lord Hokage—what an honor."
"Come on, have a taste of my Fire Release: Rasengan!"
At his words, a serious glint flashed through Minato's eyes. He nodded.
They burst toward each other, right hands raised—two Rasengan, one standard, one advanced.
Boom!
The clash came in an instant. Kazuyama Gekkō felt no resistance at all; his Rasengan simply chewed through. The moment they collided, violent flames detonated outward, swallowing Minato Namikaze in fire.
Minato had it much harder. The instant their Rasengan met, a ferocious force pressed him down. Even pouring more chakra in couldn't stem it; if he hadn't kept ramping up his output, his Rasengan would have shattered already. And the heat—surrounded by flames, he was at a severe disadvantage. To avoid getting scorched, he had no choice but to jump away with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
With Minato pulling back, Kazuyama Gekkō's Rasengan lost all opposition and fully erupted. Its spin dragged the flames into a towering fire twister that speared into the sky.
That crimson glare ripping through the night sent every on-duty ninja and ANBU running toward the scene.
"Damn it, is that even a Rasengan anymore?"
"The power's insane! Kazuyama, were you trying to kill me!?"
Minato's still-shaken voice sounded at Kazuyama Gekkō's side. Staring at the calmly raging firestorm, he lost all composure.
[Ding! Detected host using Fire Release: Rasengan: Flame Cloud with Fire Nature Transformation to heavily strike the Rasengan's creator, Minato Namikaze, breaking his defense. Special Reward: Rasengan second nature transformation progress +50%!]
Good! He'd known it—go after the creator and the rewards would be outrageous.
And what a reward.
Even Kazuyama Gekkō was a bit surprised by Fire Release: Rasengan: Flame Cloud's power. It was still a close-range technique, but the splash damage was terrifying. The fire twister was still roaring, and its rotation only made the flames burn hotter and stronger.
"Tsk tsk, relax. I know what you can handle. See? Your Hokage robes aren't even singed!"
"You bastard! Only because I moved fast! If I'd been a second slower, my robes would be ash!"
Minato swore, hair nearly burned. He wasn't exaggerating—half a beat slower and he'd have gone up in flames.
"And put the fire out, now!"
"I'm betting a bunch of people are already on their way!"
Seeing Minato's face black as a pot bottom, Kazuyama Gekkō clicked his tongue, then flashed through hand seals.
"Water Release! Water Formation Pillar!"
A massive column of water wrapped the fire twister, and a wave of steam blasted outward.
"Lord Hokage! What happened? Are there enemies?"
"Lord Hokage!"
The steam pushed back the night as dozens of figures arrived one after another. ANBU, chunin, jonin—more than eighty in all...
When the vapor thinned, Kazuyama Gekkō and Minato Namikaze found themselves surrounded.
"It's fine. Qianshan and I were sparring. He caused all that noise."
"Hey, hey, hey, Minato, that's not fair! You're the one who dragged me into sparring!"
Seeing Minato try to pass the buck, Kazuyama Gekkō protested.
"Everyone, sorry to have startled you so late at night."
"Our Lord Hokage here insisted on sparring, hiding behind his title! Look at all the kunai on the ground—they're all his!"
"I was just the reluctant partner!"
"In the Lord Hokage's own words: 'We're the only two in the village who can use the Flying Thunder God Technique. If you won't train with me, who will?'"
"What's a lowly grunt like me supposed to do? I had to take the hits! Look—I didn't even set any coordinates, and now he's trying to pin it on me!"
"I'm being framed here!"
Under everyone's gaze, Kazuyama Gekkō was one step from tears. When they looked around, it really was as he said.
Only Minato Namikaze's uniquely shaped kunai were scattered across the ground.
Minato's eyes went wide. He didn't get it at all. During the spar, Kazuyama had thrown even more kunai—so how were there none left now???
He turned to Kazuyama Gekkō, baffled. Kazuyama flashed a sly grin, raised his right hand, and, using the moonlight's reflection, flicked a glint straight into Minato's eyes.
At that glimmer, Minato understood. Bastard! He'd used Crystal Release to crystallize every last kunai!
No wonder there wasn't a single one in sight. Ruthless!
[Ding! Detected host playing Minato Namikaze in front of numerous ninja and ANBU, making him feel the host's cunning! Special Reward: Rasengan second nature transformation progress +20%!]
[Note: Reach 100% to unlock the second Nature Transformation!]
"I see. Then it's fine. Lord Hokage, turn in early..."
"Lord Hokage, we're clearing out."
"We are too."
With the flames out and the culprit being their own Hokage, what else could they say? Best to pretend nothing happened.
Minato Namikaze: I... he... Damn it, I'm done! Senzan, you Rokudenashi!
Kazuyama Gekkō: Hehehehe... thanks for the compliment...