"Ooh? That kid's punch speed is fast!"
In the crowd, Tsunade's eyes lit up.
Honestly, she hadn't really bet on Minato because she thought he'd win.
Sure, he seemed more naturally talented than Shinnosuke, but Shinnosuke was the Hokage's son. He'd been personally trained by Hiruzen Sarutobi since he could walk.
Minato, on the other hand, clearly had zero combat experience.
You could tell from the earlier tests and even the way he threw a punch just now.
But somehow, this kid with absolutely no experience just walked up and punched the Hokage-trained Shinnosuke right in the face...
Shinnosuke was a little dazed by the hit, too.
But he quickly shook it off, assuming he had just underestimated his opponent.
He slapped his cheeks to wake himself up. This time, he was much more cautious. He locked his eyes on Minato's every move and then quickly circled around to Minato's back.
"Sigh..."
Seeing this, Hiruzen couldn't help but facepalm, looking exasperated.
He had always thought Shinnosuke was a bit too honest and straightforward—not exactly a natural fighter. That's why he constantly reminded him to use tactics.
Looking at him now, Shinnosuke had clearly listened to the advice. The problem was, he didn't actually understand why tactics worked.
If you don't understand the "why," you can't use the "how."
"Circling... he's trying to get behind the opponent to force an opening?"
Orochimaru looked at him like he was observing a rare species of idiot. "Hmm. Circling behind someone who is faster than you..."
"Hey, hey. Give the old man some face..."
Jiraiya's mouth twitched as he nudged Orochimaru with his elbow.
Orochimaru went quiet, but Tsunade burst out laughing.
The other ninjas in the crowd shook their heads secretly. Shinnosuke's move was about as dumb as it gets.
Sure enough, just as everyone expected, Minato simply turned his body. Shinnosuke's "tactic" failed instantly.
Seeing Minato still facing him directly, Shinnosuke froze. He didn't understand what went wrong.
This isn't how it goes in the movies!
When Dad does it, he always gets behind me easily!
And then he finishes with a cool sweep kick...
Why isn't it working for me?
Looking at Minato's calm face, Shinnosuke felt the pressure mounting.
He gritted his teeth. Forget tactics! He charged straight at Minato!
"Phew, there we go..."
Jiraiya let out a small breath of relief. Even if Shinnosuke wasn't a genius, he had learned the basics of combat.
Minato was fast, but his lack of experience was a weakness. For someone like Shinnosuke who had systematic training, even if he took a few hits, his odds of winning a head-on brawl were high.
Just as Jiraiya thought this, there was another crisp smack.
Shinnosuke stumbled back, clutching his other eye. Not far away, Minato was still holding his follow-through pose.
"THAT! IS! IM! POSS! IBLE!"
Unlike the first time, Shinnosuke snapped out of it quickly. He gritted his teeth and charged again.
He swore to himself: Even if this guy throws a fireball at me, I won't take a single step back!
Filled with burning determination, Shinnosuke felt his blood pumping. He felt like he had limitless power!
"HRAAAAGH!"
He threw a passionate, heavy punch straight at Minato's face. As his fist got closer and closer, Shinnosuke felt like he could see the light of victory.
He saw his win. He saw his father's approval. And then he saw Minato vanish in front of his eyes at a speed he couldn't comprehend.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a fist coming from the side. He felt the power behind it. Shinnosuke's head snapped to the side from the impact, but a spark of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. He used the momentum to spin and throw a punch—but hit nothing but air.
The moment he tried to spin, Minato had already read his body language and figured out what he was doing.
Like a nimble leopard, Minato vaulted over Shinnosuke's head, landing behind him exactly as Shinnosuke turned around.
Crap!
The moment his punch missed, Shinnosuke didn't think—he just dove forward.
Good thing, too. Minato's fist swung through the empty space where he had just been standing.
"Phew... that was close!"
Shinnosuke rolled to his feet, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Oh! That blond kid is amazing!"
"Yeah, that kind of adaptability? Even the older students don't have that."
The parents in the crowd started buzzing with praise for Minato, which only piled more pressure on Shinnosuke.
Charge again. Dodge again. Shinnosuke completely ignored Minato's counterattacks, blindly trying to force a close-quarters grapple so Minato couldn't use his speed.
But... face, stomach, limbs. Aside from fatal spots, Minato hit him everywhere. Yet Shinnosuke still couldn't even touch the hem of Minato's shirt.
At that moment, he finally understood what his dad meant by "there's always someone better."
"Uh... is that enough?"
Looking at Shinnosuke, whose face was swollen like a pig's, Minato awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
The gap in their mental maturity and natural talent was huge. It felt like he was bullying a toddler.
"Not yet! Not yet!"
Shinnosuke roared at the sky. "I will absolutely never give up! I'm the man who's going to become Hokage! AAAHHH—"
"Oh! Go get him, kid!"
"Haha, that's right! Don't give up! That's what a ninja looks like!"
Moved by Shinnosuke's persistence—getting knocked down and getting back up over and over—the crowd started cheering for him. The atmosphere suddenly got heated.
"Hmph... nice spirit, but useless," Tsunade said, crossing her arms and puffing out her chest. "Looks like I win this one."
She said it, but she didn't look happy. In fact, she looked serious.
Next to her, Hiruzen and Orochimaru went quiet. They knew Tsunade's gambling luck. She always lost. Her luck was notoriously terrible.
It wasn't that she never won. It was just that every time she won, something bad happened.
First time she won big? Her grandfather, the First Hokage, died. Next time? Her granduncle, the Second Hokage, died.
It didn't always mean death, but bad things always followed. The severity depended on how much she won.
"Ah, don't worry, it's just a barbecue dinner..."
Before Jiraiya could finish comforting her, Minato suddenly raised his hand in the ring.
"I forfeit!"
"Winner: Shinnosuke Sarutobi!"
"Nani?!" (What?!)
Shinnosuke, who was charging at Minato with boiling blood, stumbled and face-planted into the dirt.
"HAAAH—?!"
Tsunade's beautiful amber eyes went wide. Her jaw dropped as she stared at Minato in disbelief.
When she snapped out of it, her face went dark. She instinctively rolled up her sleeves. "Is he kidding me? Is this a joke? That brat..."
"Calm down, calm down..."
Jiraiya tried to hold her back, but she palmed his face and shoved him away so hard he almost lost his scalp.
Orochimaru chuckled. "See? You're just never happy, even when you win."
Tsunade got even angrier, but since Orochimaru immediately hid behind the Hokage after speaking, she had to settle for beating up Jiraiya instead.
Hiruzen shook his head and laughed. He hadn't expected that twist, either.
Tsunade was mad, but someone was even madder: Shinnosuke Sarutobi.
"Wait a minute!"
Shinnosuke scrambled up and pointed at Minato. "Why did you forfeit?! You... you were about to beat me!"
Minato nodded. "Exactly. Quit while you're ahead, right?"
"That's not how it works!"
Shinnosuke's face turned beet red. "If you do that... it makes me look like I'm just pestering you!"
Aren't you?
Minato was speechless. A teenager's pride is a fragile thing. But Minato was too nice to say anything mean.
Shinnosuke clearly realized it too, turning even redder. But mostly, he was just frustrated. "Does winning this fight mean nothing to you?"
"Hmm... not really. I'm not like you. I don't have anything to prove."
Minato smiled sheepishly. It was just a sparring match; he didn't care.
He only accepted the challenge to test his own skills.
Beating up a kid any longer was pointless.
Plus, the kid was the Third Hokage's son. If he lost too badly, it would look bad for the Hokage.
The Third Hokage's character in the original story was... complicated. Minato couldn't quite figure him out yet.
So, even though the Glint-Glint Fruit gave him a safety net, he wasn't going to go out of his way to offend the guy for no reason.
"I haven't learned any real martial arts, so I'm just swinging wildly. I don't have a finishing move. If we kept going, I would have lost for sure."
That excuse is terrible!
You beat me into a pulp by "swinging wildly," so what does that make me?!
Hearing this, Shinnosuke screamed internally.
His passion, his will, his determination—it was all a joke!
The honor he cherished, the "Chief Student" title he was desperate for... Minato didn't care about it at all. He just tossed it away like trash.
This just makes me look like a clown!
"Dammit!!!"
Watching Minato walk away, Shinnosuke shouted, "Next time, I will definitely beat you!"
"Yeah, good luck!"
Minato waved without looking back, keeping his pace.
His exam was over. Now that he lived alone, he had to take care of everything himself.
His dad had left him a decent inheritance, enough to get him through school, but cooking and cleaning still took time.
Leaving the school, Minato was thinking about what to make for dinner when suddenly he felt weightless. A hand grabbed the back of his collar and lifted him off the ground.
"Hey there... kid!"
Tsunade held Minato up with one hand, the other on her hip. Her beautiful face looked a little dark. "Minato Namikaze... right?"
"Lady Tsunade?"
Minato nodded, his cute face looking confused. "Can I help you?"
Tsk...
Why does a boy have to be this cute?
Looking at the sunny little boy in front of her, Tsunade's expression softened. She pouted. The anger she felt from thinking Minato threw the match to mess with her bet mostly evaporated.
She had planned to scare the brat, but his "character model" was too high-tier. He was so cute that she felt guilty before she even did anything.
But guilt is just guilt. Everyone in the Leaf Village knew Tsunade had no shame.
Scaring kids? That was her favorite hobby!