The best freshman? This is the first time that Minato has heard of this title. Previously, the best student in his year had always been Uchiha Yoruki.
Uchiha Yoruki didn't win the last battle because at the end, he lost control and cast the Great Fireball Jutsu, and his mind was distracted.
Minato was able to take advantage of this opportunity to easily subdue him. Otherwise, if the fight continued, the outcome would be uncertain. However, the students in the ninja school don't know this. On the surface, it seems that Minato is slightly better in the end. Therefore, Uchiha Yoruki's title of the best freshman naturally goes to Minato.
Hearing this, Minato shakes his head and explains, "Senior Nawaki, I am not the best freshman. Uchiha Yoruki is also very strong. I didn't really beat him."
"But if you want to compete, I have no problem," he adds with a determined look in his eyes.
Nawaki doesn't understand the full context of the victory or defeat, but after listening to Minato's words, he feels that Minato is a very humble person.
Looking at the figure who is half a head shorter than himself, Nawaki feels as if he has met a strong enemy.
"If that's the case, let's get started!" He smiles and walks towards the open space in the backyard.
"Minato, you..." The sudden decision to fight is beyond Jiraiya's expectation. It is not that he objects, but after the training in the morning, Minato's physical strength has not yet fully recovered.
In this case, it is easy to get hurt in a fight with Nawaki. But when he sees the determination in the corner of Minato's eyes, he swallows the words that are about to come out of his mouth.
"Teacher, thank you." Minato also sees the worry in Jiraiya's eyes, and he gives him a grateful smile. It is not that he is showing off, but that his body's recovery ability is beyond his imagination.
At present, although the fatigue of his body has not been fully recovered, there is no problem in fighting with others. What's more, he did not use any chakra in the morning training.
Walking into the arena, standing a few meters away from Nawaki, Minato salutes. This is the etiquette of the ninja school, and it is also the etiquette that juniors perform for seniors in Konoha Village when sparring.
Nawaki returns the salute slightly, then his eyes sharpen, and he says, "Then, I'm going to start!"
Swish! When he finishes speaking, he rushes directly towards Minato. His figure is extremely fast and even brings a little wind, which brushes Minato's bangs on his forehead.
A punch aimed at Minato's face. From the strong wind, it is not difficult to judge Nawaki's strength, and his movement speed is even faster than Uchiha Yoruki.
He is worthy of being someone who has received guidance from two jonin ninjas, Tsunade and Orochimaru! Although Minato's strength is not small, he has no intention of competing with Nawaki in terms of strength, especially since he is younger and has no advantage in this regard.
Nawaki's speed is very fast, but this is Minato's strongest point. He moves his body to the side and dodges Nawaki's punch. At the same time, his left hand forms a hand knife and chops towards Nawaki's neck. When throwing a straight punch, it is one of the most difficult actions for the human body to retract force, and the neck is one of the most vulnerable parts.
Minato doesn't need to use all his strength. Once he hits the opponent, even if he doesn't faint, he will feel dizzy and his fighting power will be greatly reduced.
Nawaki slightly glances sideways and notices Minato's action. With Minato's speed, he doesn't have time to form a defense. However, in this case, he takes the initiative to attack! Immediately, his left leg moves and kicks back. The two bodies are staggered and slightly overlapped. Minato's left side of the body is almost touching Nawaki's body, so his attack is to make Minato lose his center of gravity.
Minato's eyes sweep over, and he is forced to retract his hand knife, jumps back, and dodges Nawaki's kick. "Awesome."
This kind of battle is even more thrilling than the fight with Uchiha Yoruki. If he had been a little slower just now, he would have lost his balance because of Nawaki's kick. In that case, he could not avoid any attack from Nawaki and would be defeated.
Nawaki is also shocked. Minato has just resolved his strong attack and used it to counterattack. It is enough to surprise him. "It just so happens that I am not good at ninjutsu, so let's have a taijutsu duel!" Nawaki immediately smiles, and his favorability towards Minato increases a little.
Minato is slightly startled. Although he has a lot of chakra, he doesn't know any offensive ninjutsu. Although he has already become Jiraiya's disciple, Jiraiya doesn't seem to have the intention of teaching him ninjutsu for now.
Even C-level ninjutsu would be difficult for him to deal with, just like the Great Fireball Jutsu performed by Uchiha Yoruki last time. Although he could dodge it with the Body Flicker technique, it would consume a lot of chakra.
Speaking of chakra, he realizes that it is the major advantage of the Senju clan. Because the members of the Senju clan are born with a physique that surpasses ordinary people, and this physique brings them a huge amount of chakra and strength.
Minato has already experienced the power of Nawaki, who inherits the blood of this clan, and his chakra volume is definitely higher than that of Uchiha Yoruki, so the ninjutsu he releases may be stronger than Yoruki's. After all, he is taught by Tsunade and Orochimaru.
This is undoubtedly good news for Minato. Avoiding the use of ninjutsu.
Swish! After saying this, Nawaki rushes over again, launching another powerful attack. Minato doesn't dare to confront him head-on, but he is more flexible and versatile. For a moment, it is hard to tell who is the winner.
Jiraiya watches from the side. He knows the level of Minato and Nawaki. If they are to compete like this, they should be evenly matched. However, after a fight, Minato, unable to dodge, takes Nawaki's punch head-on. He collapses on the ground, and both arms in front of him feel numb to varying degrees.
"Senior Nawaki, I lost," Minato admits defeat generously.
Nawaki stretches out his hand to Minato, who is slightly startled and also stretches out his hand. After Nawaki pulls him up, he says, "I can see that you must have gone to practice with Brother Jiraiya this morning, so you are physically exhausted, right?"
Minato nods.
"You are really amazing. Sister Tsunade and the others taught me for two years before I could reach my current level. Although I don't know how long you have been a disciple of Brother Jiraiya, considering your age, I am the loser."
Nawaki laughs heartily. Although his smile is not as gentle as Minato's, it gives people a very hearty feeling, which makes people feel good about him. He immediately stretches out his right arm and smiles at Minato: "Let's fist bump. We will be friends from now on!"
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[More Chapter available at p@treon.com/goldengaruda]
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