Chapter 40 (Patreon)

Winter had completely passed.

Spring arrived quietly, bringing life back to Konoha.

Training Ground Seven.

This place was strangely legendary.

The Sannin once trained here—Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru.

Later came Minato’s team—

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.

And after them—

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

Yujiro glanced sideways at Itachi walking beside him.

A strange thought crossed his mind.

Was this some kind of inherited bond?

After noticing Yujiro staring at him, Itachi gave an embarrassed little smile.

This version of Itachi really was different.

Gentle. Smart. Thoughtful.

Honestly, if nobody filled his head with that twisted “Will of Fire” logic later on, maybe things would never reach the point they did in the future.

Yujiro clicked his tongue inwardly.

That self-sacrificing ideology was enough to make him sick.

When the two arrived near the three wooden posts, they quietly waited.

Yujiro was honestly curious himself.

Who exactly would become their Jōnin leader?

A few minutes later—

Two figures appeared.

Minato and Kakashi.

“Yujiro, Itachi, congratulations.”

Minato smiled warmly.

“From today onward, you’re officially outstanding Genin of Konoha.”

Meanwhile, Kakashi scratched the back of his head and casually walked over toward Yujiro.

Seeing that, Yujiro immediately understood something.

Wait a second.

“Yondaime-sama…” Yujiro narrowed his eyes slightly. “Don’t tell me Kakashi-san is our Jōnin instructor.”

“Huh? No, no.”

Kakashi waved both hands quickly.

Honestly, even though he was already a Jōnin, he truly did not feel confident supervising Yujiro.

That monster was impossible to judge normally.

Minato chuckled softly.

“Actually, from now on, I’ll be your team leader.”

Itachi froze.

“Hokage-sama… personally?”

He clearly did not expect the Fourth Hokage himself to lead the team.

Minato nodded.

“A normal Genin squad requires three members.”

Then he glanced toward Kakashi.

“But you two graduated too early. There aren’t any Genin in your class capable of matching your pace.”

“So after discussing it, we decided Kakashi will become your teammate.”

Kakashi’s body stiffened slightly.

It was not that he still could not let go of the past.

But deep down…

He still carried lingering fear.

Every teammate he ever had ended up suffering.

Obito.

Rin.

He was afraid that same misfortune would spread to Yujiro and Itachi too.

At that moment—

“Kakashi-san.”

A calm voice suddenly reached him.

Kakashi turned his head.

Yujiro was looking at him with that same confident, unruly grin as always.

“Let’s get along.”

For some reason, that smile instantly eased the heaviness in Kakashi’s chest.

Right.

This was Yujiro.

Trying to measure him with common sense was pointless.

Ever since meeting him, Kakashi had already experienced enough shocks to understand that.

Thinking that far, Kakashi suddenly relaxed.

Then he smiled beneath his mask.

“Yeah. Same to you.”

“Alright then.”

Minato clapped his hands lightly.

“Since that’s settled, let me properly evaluate your combat abilities.”

He looked toward the three of them with interest.

“Fight me.”

“Show me what you can do.”

Yujiro’s eyes immediately lit up.

Fighting Namikaze Minato—

The Yellow Flash himself.

Now that sounded interesting.

After all…

Yujiro had never truly gone all out before.

Mainly because nobody he met so far was worth it.

“Begin.”

The moment Minato spoke, his figure disappeared instantly.

At the same time, Itachi and Kakashi moved without hesitation.

The two already had experience fighting alongside Yujiro before.

Their coordination was naturally smooth.

Hidden high within a nearby tree, Minato nodded inwardly in satisfaction.

That level of teamwork…

It already rivaled experienced combat squads.

Then—

It was time to see their actual strength.

“One Sword Style—Wind Sever!”

A sharp wind blade exploded outward instantly.

Minato’s instincts screamed.

Without hesitation, he used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.

The very next second—

The massive tree he had been hiding inside was shredded apart by the wind slash.

Wood fragments exploded everywhere.

Minato’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Then he suddenly turned—

Yujiro was already behind him.

Wait.

Then the Yujiro in front earlier—

Shadow Clone?

Minato was genuinely shocked now.

In such a short amount of time, Yujiro had already prepared a clone to bait him?

That level of combat instinct was absurd.

Most battlefield shinobi could not react that quickly.

What terrifying talent.

Minato’s eyes lit up completely.

This was true battle talent.

“Lightning Style: Chidori!”

Electricity screamed through the air.

Kakashi had already pushed up his forehead protector, lightning gathering violently in his right hand as he charged toward Minato at terrifying speed.

At the same time—

“Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!”

On Minato’s left side, Itachi completed several hand seals at incredible speed.

Countless fireballs mixed together with hidden shuriken instantly sealed Minato’s blind spots.

And above them—

Yujiro condensed another wind blade and slashed downward.

Perfect coordination.

No escape route.

Minato stood calmly in the middle of the incoming attacks.

Then—

He smiled.

“You three really are exceptional.”

His praise was completely sincere now.

In less than a minute, these three had cornered a Jōnin-level shinobi through pure teamwork.

That level of cooperation was unbelievable.

The next instant—

A golden flash erupted.

“Flying Thunder God Technique.”

Minato had no choice.

He could not exactly counterattack seriously against his own students.

So he escaped using Hiraishin instead.

Far away, atop another tree branch, Minato instantly reappeared beside one of his special three-pronged kunai.

The custom kunai designed specifically for Flying Thunder God.

But the moment he appeared—

His entire body suddenly went cold.

That instinctive chill…

The sensation of death.

Behind him—

Yujiro’s black blade had already reached his back.

One more inch—

And Minato’s body would have been pierced clean through.

Minato let out a helpless laugh.

“Yujiro… you’re way too dangerous.”

Then he shook his head.

“I lose.”

Right now, Minato genuinely was not calm at all.

He had hidden that Flying Thunder God marker beforehand.

So how did Yujiro predict where he would teleport?

Minato was full of questions.

Meanwhile, Itachi and Kakashi hurried over from the distance.

At that exact moment—

“Poof!”

The Yujiro behind Minato suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Shadow Clone.

Minato’s pupils shrank slightly.

So the two clones earlier were distractions…

And the real body had already predicted his teleportation destination in advance.

What terrifying battlefield awareness.

Yujiro and Minato both jumped down from the tree.

Of course, Yujiro knew Minato still could have escaped if he truly wanted to.

After all—

The title “Yellow Flash” was not just for show.

Minato smiled warmly at the three of them.

“I have a general understanding of your strength now.”

“You’ll have a few days to prepare yourselves.”

Then his expression became slightly more serious.

“Because next time…”

“We’ll officially begin missions.”

Itachi and Kakashi both nodded immediately.

Meanwhile, Yujiro quietly smiled to himself.

Finally.

The real thing was starting.

He honestly hoped the missions would be dangerous enough.

Ordinary training no longer helped him unlock the next Limiter.

If he wanted to break through his limits—

Then he needed real battles.

Real life-and-death fights.