Jin made no effort to conceal his chakra.
The moment it surged outward, a pressure rolled across Konoha like a rising tide. Several shinobi throughout the village paused mid-step, instinctively turning toward Training Ground 7.
In the Hokage Tower—
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been waiting.
He immediately retrieved his crystal sphere and activated the Telescope Technique. The image of Training Ground 7 formed within the glass.
On the field—
Jin felt it.
The gaze.
The surveillance.
Good.
Without hesitation, he swung his blade toward Minato from dozens of meters away.
"I'm coming. —Pine Torch."
Flames erupted from the blackened blade, spiraling outward into a towering vortex of fire. The inferno expanded violently, forming a rotating wall that swallowed Minato's position in an instant.
Wind fed the blaze.
The vortex devoured nearly half the training ground.
A scorching stench filled the air.
One swing.
Overwhelming.
But Jin did not relax.
Very few in this world could survive that strike—
Minato was one of them.
A sharp whistle cut through the roar of flames.
A specially marked kunai shot through the firestorm, aimed straight at Jin's face.
Jin tilted his head.
The blade missed by a hair—
—and in that instant, space distorted.
Flying Thunder God Technique.
Minato appeared mid-air, grasping the kunai and slashing for Jin's neck in a seamless follow-up.
"So fast."
Jin smiled faintly.
The next moment—
His head flew cleanly from his body.
And yet—
No blood sprayed.
The severed body moved independently, blade sweeping upward toward Minato mid-air.
Minato's expression did not change.
He vanished again.
He knew Jin's abilities well.
They had sparred many times before.
Jin anticipated Flying Thunder God—
Minato anticipated Jin's elemental intangibility.
Neither underestimated the other.
Before Jin's body fully reformed—
Another kunai shot from behind.
"Shadow Shuriken Technique."
The airborne blade multiplied—
One became two.
Two became four.
Four became dozens.
A rain of steel blanketed Jin's position.
"Mirror Flame Wall."
Jin swept his arm outward.
A massive curtain of fire erupted, vaporizing the incoming barrage in midair.
His expression sharpened.
Flames engulfed his body.
Fire Release Chakra Mode.
The surrounding inferno compressed inward, converging into the blade in his hand.
The temperature skyrocketed.
Grass withered.
Moisture evaporated from the air.
The ground cracked under unbearable heat.
Inside the Hokage Tower—
Hiruzen's pupils shrank.
"That feeling…"
His mind flashed to the destroyed training ground on the village outskirts days earlier.
So it had been Jin.
Confirmed.
"Monstrous…"
Hiruzen's eyes did not leave the crystal sphere.
Back on the field—
The blade in Jin's hand darkened further.
Charcoal black.
The air around it warped visibly.
"Ennetsu no Tachi — East: Rising Sun Blade."
Jin's voice dropped, emotionless.
Across from him, Minato forced a grin.
He didn't like closing distance anymore.
The blade radiated annihilation.
"If you won't approach," Jin said softly, "I will."
He vanished.
Not teleportation.
Pure speed.
He reappeared before Minato, blade raised high—
—and cleaved downward.
Minato's pupils contracted.
That speed—
It rivaled the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Armor.
The blade touched ground with a faint sound.
For several meters around the point of impact—
The earth dissolved.
No explosion.
No shockwave.
Simply erased.
A smoldering crater remained.
Minato reappeared dozens of meters away, heart pounding.
If that strike had landed—
There would be nothing left of him.
But there was no time to breathe.
Jin appeared again.
Slash.
Teleport.
Slash.
Teleport.
Their figures flickered across the training ground again and again.
However—
Each time Minato shifted—
Jin's blade destroyed the marked kunai at that location.
The number of anchors was dwindling.
Minato's mobility would not last forever.
Jin judged it was enough.
The display had served its purpose.
Further exposure meant revealing too much.
He stopped advancing and spoke calmly:
"Minato. Continuing like this wastes time."
"Let's decide it with the next strike."
Minato was about to respond—
Then he sensed something.
A faint smile curved his lips.
"Finally."
In the distance—
A seated Minato clone burst into smoke.
The real Minato closed his eyes briefly.
When they opened—
They had changed.
Orange pigmentation spread around them.
His pupils became horizontal.
Sage Mode.
Natural energy flooded his body.
Jin's expression did not shift.
He raised his blade.
One clean arc.
"This is your trump card?"
His voice echoed across the field.
"Then allow me to respond."
The black blade hummed.
The air trembled.
"Ennetsu no Tachi — North: Ashes of Heaven and Earth."
He swung.
No blazing spectacle.
No roaring inferno.
Just—
Absolute, silent incineration.
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