Fierce! After Mikoto spat out the first small fireball, the fireballs spurted from her mouth like raindrops. The blazing flames covered all of Uchiha Yoruki's shurikens and then fell. The remaining fireballs attacked Uchiha Yoruki with unabated momentum. Yoruki looked around and then gritted his teeth, retreating.
It wasn't that he didn't have a way to break Mikoto's ninjutsu, but the venue was too small. If he used the Great Fireball Technique again, the result would be the same as last time. Just when he wanted to use the same Phoenix Flower Jutsu to counter it, Mikoto saw his intention. The dense fireballs made it impossible for Yoruki to form hand seals.
"Mikoto can actually use ninjutsu. I've never seen her use it during normal sparring," Kushina said, slightly opening her mouth and then puffing her cheeks. She could use ninjutsu, but it wasn't offensive.
"It's just a sparring match. Of course, there's no need to use ninjutsu," Minato smiled. This Phoenix Flower Technique was also recorded in the Ninjutsu Scroll of the Third Generation.
As long as the chakra isn't exhausted, fireballs can be created infinitely. Obviously, Mikoto saw the continuity of this technique. Now Yoruki was forced by her to be unable to use jutsu to resist. As for the shurikens, they were still slightly weaker than the blazing flames.
Mikoto immediately took an absolute advantage, while Yoruki could only dodge in the field without any chance to make a seal. But his reflexes and speed were remarkable. He was able to avoid Mikoto's Phoenix Flower attacks again and again, gradually moving toward the crowd.
Minato saw through his intention. Mikoto, like Yoruki, didn't dare to use Phoenix Flower in such a small range because it could accidentally hurt classmates. And then, Yoruki could fight back. Mikoto saw this too and immediately threw out a few shurikens while spitting fireballs.
Blazing! The flames wrapped around the shurikens not only increased their speed but also made them more powerful. This was Mikoto's last desperate attempt, and Yoruki, who was about to approach the edge of Mikoto's range, was forced back by her shuriken fireball.
"Mikoto, good job!" Minato couldn't help but cheer for Mikoto. Now, Yoruki's only way out was cut off. The Phoenix Flower wasn't a fire escape ninjutsu that consumed too much energy.
Although it was C-level, with Mikoto's current state, it should be no problem for her to persist until Yoruki was defeated. However, Minato didn't think this was the end. What Yoruki had shown was just a much faster physical condition than a year ago. He didn't believe that Yoruki's improvement over the past year was limited to this.
While thinking, his eyes swept toward Yoruki, and Yoruki also looked at him. "This guy dared to be distracted in the battle?" Minato's heart sank slightly. The next moment, a sudden change occurred.
Swish! Yoruki, who had been forced to dodge all over the field by Mikoto's fire, suddenly disappeared. Minato was not unfamiliar with this speed.
"It's the Body Flicker Technique!" The next moment, Yoruki appeared beside Mikoto, his fist stopping just half an inch from her temple. During the whole process, she didn't react at all.
"What a fast speed!" When she saw Yoruki's figure clearly, she was momentarily shocked and then stopped her movements. If Yoruki had wanted, she would have been knocked unconscious in that instant. This almost teleporting speed was not something she could handle now.
Shirota-sensei also came to his senses at this time. The battle between Mikoto and Yoruki was more exciting than the battle between Minato and Yoruki a year ago.
"The winner is Uchiha Yoruki," Shirota-sensei announced immediately, and the other students were still in a daze, completely confused about what had happened. The change of victory and defeat happened in just a moment.
Minato's eyes narrowed slightly because Yoruki's eyes were looking at him. Obviously, Yoruki had learned the Body Flicker Technique in the past year to completely eliminate Minato's speed advantage.
This is a strong opponent!
Afterward, Mikoto and Yoruki made a seal of reconciliation and returned to their respective teams.
"Sorry, I lost," Mikoto said with some guilt when she returned to Kushina's side, but there was no dissatisfaction in her eyes. She had already used all her means but couldn't beat Yoruki because her own strength wasn't enough.
Kushina naturally didn't blame her and said some comforting words. After Mikoto smiled at her again, she gradually felt relieved. The sparring class continued, and Minato's name was called later.
His opponent was a kid second only to Yoruki in Class 3. However, the result was obvious. Minato defeated him easily, and he noticed Yoruki had been analyzing his movements intently.
A year ago, Yoruki had said he wanted to defeat Minato, and it wasn't just an empty remark. From his fight with Mikoto today, it was clear Yoruki had trained harder. His strength was definitely not the same as it was a year ago.
After the sparring ended, it was exactly noon. Usually, Minato and Kushina would eat together, but today, for some reason, Kushina pulled Minato to a corner of the school. There was no one around, and Minato looked at Kushina with a questioning look, and the latter's face was slightly red.
"Kushina, what's the matter?" Minato asked, not knowing what was going on. Kushina pondered for a long time, and Minato was very patient.
"Um. After school today, can you guide me in my practice?" Kushina seemed to have exhausted all her strength to say this, and Minato was slightly startled when he heard it.
"So that's it, but after school, if you don't go home, won't your family be worried?" Minato smiled gently.
Kushina pouted and said, "Worried? They won't worry about me." Minato knew nothing about Kushina's family situation, but it seemed that Kushina herself didn't know she had been protected by the Anbu directly under the Hokage.
She wanted to run around without permission, and he was afraid the Anbu wouldn't easily agree. But when he saw Kushina's expectant eyes, Minato couldn't refuse her request.
However, he didn't agree to Kushina immediately. He stroked his chin, thought for a while, then looked at Kushina and said, "Okay, I promise!"
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[More Chapter available at p@treon.com/goldengaruda]
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