The second round began the moment Renjiro's EMS slowly spun to life; his eyes, once relaxed and experimental, now held a different quality, a sharper focus that Minato recognised immediately. The Hokage's expression shifted, the casual amusement fading into something more serious. He understood that the spar had become a genuine test. The air between them crackled with tension, the silence broken only by the whisper of wind across the remote landscape.
Renjiro's internal analysis concluded that he could no longer treat this as a simple spar. He reflected on how quickly Minato had identified the Susanoo's weakness, marked him without notice, bypassed multiple defensive layers, and solved problems in seconds. He thought about the Hokage's combat intelligence; Orochimaru created plans before battle, but Minato created new plans during battle. Against Minato, every second created an entirely new battlefield. Renjiro decided to stop testing abilities individually and start fighting as a complete shinobi. He would use everything he had learned, every technique he had mastered, to push the Hokage to his limits.
He burst forward; pure speed, no hesitation. His body exploded into motion, the ground cracking beneath his feet as he closed the distance between them in an instant. Minato met him head-on; the first exchange was a blur of taijutsu and movement. Punches, elbows, knees, kunai, parries, body rotations, constant movement. The narration emphasized that Renjiro's EMS now tracked every muscle contraction before Minato moved; his perception had become absurd, his ability to read his opponent's body language almost precognitive. He could see the slight twitch of Minato's shoulder before a punch, the subtle shift of weight before a kick, the minute adjustment of fingers before a kunai throw.
Minato escalated using the Body Flicker; his form flickered, becoming a blur of yellow that seemed to exist in multiple places at once. Renjiro immediately followed, his EMS tracking the Hokage's movements with impossible precision. The world slowed from his perspective; he could see the individual particles of dust disturbed by Minato's passage, the faint trail of chakra that marked his path, the micro-adjustments in his posture that preceded each attack. Renjiro intercepted every angle, his body moving with the same fluidity as the Hokage's. He predicted weight shifts, hip rotation, shoulder movement, eye direction, and chakra gathering with uncanny accuracy.
Minato threw a punch aimed at Renjiro's temple; Renjiro ducked, his body flowing beneath the strike, and countered with a low sweep that forced Minato to leap. The Hokage twisted in midair, his hand flashing toward his kunai pouch, and threw three marked kunai in rapid succession. Renjiro's EMS tracked each projectile, predicting their trajectories, their spin, their intended landing points. He sidestepped the first, deflected the second with his forearm, and caught the third between his fingers.
Then Minato vanished.
Renjiro's EMS tracked the body movement, the chakra movement, and then the instant Flying Raijin activated; the kinetic trail ended, motion disappeared, and prediction stopped. He internally realised that his EMS predicted physical movement, but Flying Raijin was not movement. It was instantaneous displacement through space-time; there was no acceleration, no velocity, no travel path. The target simply ceased existing at one point and existed at another. The EMS could not calculate a path that did not exist. The feeling was disorienting, like watching a story skip a chapter; one moment Minato was there, and the next he was behind Renjiro, a kunai already aimed at his spine.
Renjiro barely blocked, his body reacting faster than his mind could process. He twisted, his forearm deflecting the kunai's edge, and spun away from the follow-up strike. The two continued exchanging blows, Minato repeatedly alternating between Body Flicker and Flying Raijin. Renjiro slowly began identifying a rhythm; he could not predict the teleport itself, but he could predict which marked kunai Minato was most likely to use, why that angle benefited him, and how Minato built attack patterns.
Mental chess unfolded between them. Renjiro thought that he could not predict teleportation, so he would predict the decision, understand Minato's intentions, and reduce possible teleport destinations. He began mapping the battlefield in his mind, tracking the positions of every marked kunai, every potential landing point, every angle of attack. Minato thought that Renjiro was no longer reacting; he was thinking ahead, eliminating options, and forcing Minato into increasingly narrow attack routes.
The Hokage teleported again, appearing to Renjiro's left, his kunai aimed at Renjiro's ribs. Renjiro was already moving, his body pivoting to intercept the strike before it could land. He countered with a palm strike aimed at Minato's chest; the Hokage vanished again, reappearing behind Renjiro, his leg sweeping toward the back of Renjiro's knee. Renjiro jumped, his body flowing over the sweep, and launched a kick at Minato's head.
Minato caught Renjiro's ankle, using the momentum to spin him off balance; Renjiro twisted in midair, his body adjusting to the sudden shift, and landed in a crouch. He launched himself forward, his fist aimed at Minato's centre mass; the Hokage sidestepped, his hand flashing toward another marked kunai. Renjiro predicted the throw, intercepted the kunai mid-flight, and hurled it back at Minato. The Hokage's eyes widened slightly as the kunai soared toward his face; he caught it, his reflexes barely keeping pace, and then he was gone again.
Renjiro pushed the EMS, consciously increasing the chakra flowing into his eyes. His perception accelerated dramatically; the world appeared slower. Air resistance, dust, muscle tension, tiny eye movements, finger twitches, and chakra fluctuations became visible. He could see the individual molecules of air displaced by Minato's movements, the faint shimmer of chakra around the Hokage's body, the microscopic adjustments in his posture that preceded each teleportation.
He exploded into motion; pure physical speed, no hesitation. His body moved faster than it ever had before, his muscles responding to his will with impossible precision. He kept pace with Minato's Body Flicker, his form a blur of motion that seemed to exist in multiple places at once. During several exchanges, he actually overtook Minato's physical movement; his fist would be where the Hokage's face would be before the Hokage arrived, his kick would intercept a teleportation before it completed. The important distinction was clear; Renjiro was matching physical speed, but Minato's true advantage remained the Flying Raijin. The Hokage could still teleport, still reposition, still bypass Renjiro's predictions with his ultimate technique.
Minato internally became genuinely impressed; this was no longer the Renjiro from the war. The young shinobi had transformed into something else entirely, a fighter who could match the Yellow Flash's speed and read his intentions before they were executed. He realized that continuing to race physically was becoming disadvantageous, so he stopped relying on speed alone and began combining teleportation, feints, delayed kunai placements, and momentum shifts.
The final combination was beautifully choreographed; multiple marked kunai were already scattered across the battlefield. Minato disappeared, appeared, vanished again, and reappeared elsewhere in a constant series of angle changes. Renjiro kept reading every physical action; every punch, every kick, every throw. But each teleport interrupted the predictive chain. The fight became a contest between absolute prediction and absolute repositioning.
Minato feinted left, then teleported right; Renjiro intercepted the right, only to find the Hokage appearing behind him. He spun, his fist aimed at Minato's throat; the Hokage vanished, reappearing above him, his foot descending toward Renjiro's head. Renjiro rolled, his body flowing beneath the strike, and launched a kunai at Minato's centre mass. The Hokage caught the kunai, his fingers closing around the blade, and then vanished again.
The Hokage's strategy became clear; he was herding Renjiro, forcing him into a specific position, limiting his options. Renjiro realised it too late; he had been manoeuvred into a corner, his back to a cliff face, his escape routes blocked by marked kunai. Minato appeared directly behind him, his hand already forming the seals for the Rasengan. The technique materialised in his palm, spinning with deadly precision, its energy humming with power.
Minato intentionally created a brief opening; Renjiro committed. Minato used that commitment; Flying Raijin, blindside. He appeared directly behind Renjiro with a fully formed Rasengan already in his hand. Perfect timing, perfect positioning. For a split second, it appeared to be checkmate.
Then Renjiro instantly ac
=====
Bless me with your powerful Power Stones.
Your Reviews and Comments about my work are welcome
If you can, then please support me on Patreon.
Link - www.patreon.com/SideCharacter
You Can read more chapters ahead on Patreon
Latest Chapter on Patreon: Chapter 932-Have You Considered Genjutsu?