Facing simultaneous attacks from nearly ten Kushinas, Sakai's previously well-organized defense crumbled in an instant. His strength was nothing particularly outstanding among Genin.
"Boom! Boom!"
Even so, he still managed to destroy two of Kushina's Shadow Clones with taijutsu strikes. Shadow Clone is a ninjutsu that splits the user's chakra, so these clones naturally lacked the same level of agility as the original body.
This clearly showed the difference between ordinary Genin and Ninja Academy students. Unable to evade Kushina, he curled his body, intentionally exposing his back to protect his two vital areas.
If this had truly been a life-or-death battle, such a move would undoubtedly lead to certain death. But this wasn't an actual fight—it was just a trial, under which the rule dictated that as long as the Chakra Mark hadn't disappeared, one hadn't failed yet.
Immediately afterward, the multiple attacks from Kushina rained down on him like violent wind and storm. The intense pain nearly caused him to lose control over his body.
Yet enduring unbearable pain, he launched another counterattack—but again, what he struck was only another one of Kushina's Shadow Clones.
He couldn't wrap his head around it—how could a mere Ninja Academy student wield high-level jutsu usually mastered only by Chunin or even Jonin?
Even if someone had taught her, creating ten Shadow Clones at once seemed far too exaggerated.
Even his Jonin instructor could barely create five...
His only remaining chance was to use ninjutsu to sweep away all of Kushina's Shadow Clones at once. Yet since the start of their battle, she hadn't given him the slightest opportunity to execute hand seals.
Kushina's taijutsu skills were honed through constant practice alongside Minato and Mikoto. There was no need to elaborate on Minato's skill; Mikoto herself was no worse than a Genin. Naturally, Kushina's movements weren't easily avoidable by a fellow Genin like Sakai.
All of this originated from the very beginning of the fight when Minato used misdirection magic, allowing Kushina to close in immediately, after which there had been no opportunity left for any comeback.
When it came to battlefield timing and control, he and his teammates were nowhere near that golden-haired kid...
Was he really just a Ninja Academy student?
...
After quickly eliminating one of the Genin, Minato leaped aside without letting his guard down even slightly.
Earlier, amid attacks from two Genin, he'd managed to rapidly defeat one opponent thanks to their poor assessment of his capabilities.
Both his physical speed and rate of executing hand seals exceeded their expectations.
And even Raikō Ma, a technique he always considered practically useless, proved effective in this situation.
But he couldn't be certain whether the eliminated Genin wouldn't, out of shame and anger, turn around and join forces again with the other teammate to attack him.
Although his speed surpassed theirs individually, if one acted as a distraction while the other launched jutsu, it wouldn't be easy to handle.
The boy whom Minato had just eliminated glared at him with lifeless eyes. After a few breaths, his expression softened into a helpless sigh, and he sat down right there.
"Nishikawa, what are you doing?" Another companion asked in confusion upon seeing his action.
Nishikawa shrugged. "I'm already a 'dead man.' The fight from now on is your business and Sakai's—it has nothing to do with me anymore."
Obviously, he had already accepted his elimination. Although they had disrespected Yu Akasaka and others earlier, at least Nishikawa himself was reasonable enough.
Upon hearing this, the youth's face darkened further as he glanced at Sakai, who was nearly driven to desperation by Kushina. Deep inside, he felt indignant but powerless.
Like that red-haired girl pointed out, they'd all underestimated the Ninja Academy students.
This was indeed the fundamental reason for their defeat!
But looking at it from another perspective, that golden-haired kid hadn't done anything unnecessary since his appearance.
A significant part of why they were defeated so quickly was due to the unintentional effectiveness of his diversionary tactics.
"Hey, Takezou, don't lose focus! If this brat had wanted to sneak up on you just now, you'd have been eliminated too."
While he was distracted, Nishikawa reminded him, prompting the youth to immediately refocus his attention on Minato, who stood several meters away.
Given Minato's speed, victory or defeat could be decided in an instant at such a distance.
Losing focus during battle was precisely his shortcoming as a ninja.
Observing this scene, Minato gradually eased his suspicions.
The youth named Takezou stared at Minato before suddenly pulling several smoke bombs from his sleeve and hurling them onto the ground. Instantly, purple smoke filled everyone's vision.
From the earlier skirmish, he knew he couldn't match Minato, so he decisively chose to escape.
However, Minato was faster than him; if he wanted any chance of escaping, he had to obscure Minato's vision first.
Still, this situation had also been anticipated by Minato. As soon as Takezou took out the smoke bombs, Minato's hands rapidly began forming hand seals.
[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!]
A powerful gust fueled by chakra surged forth from Minato's mouth, creating a howling sound as it scraped through the air. In an instant, the purple smoke created by the smoke bomb was blown entirely away. Moreover, the strong wind caused Takezou, who had already burst forward, to lose control of his body and shoot straight ahead.
His speed did increase, but simultaneously, he lost control over his movements.
Whoosh!
Immediately after releasing the jutsu, Minato gave chase. Propelled by the wind, his speed became even greater, yet like Takezou, his body also swayed violently under the force of the wind.
Minato quickly overtook Takezou's position, but his own momentum alone wasn't enough to bring him to a stop. However, he had prepared in advance, forming the same cross-shaped seal with both hands as Kushina had used.
Two [Shadow Clones] appeared beside him. Those clones clasped their hands together, using their arms to shield Minato from the force of the wind.
Regaining control of his body, Minato dashed forward and instantly used the Shifting Body Technique to appear in front of Takezou. Minato also wanted to protect his own forehead and chest with his arms, but just a moment before impact, his fingers had already tapped Takezou's forehead.
A faint glow of chakra swirled around his fingertip before it merged into the mark on Takezou's forehead.
"Boom!"
Instantly, the chakra mark cracked open — and so did the one on his chest, despite Takezou's protection.
Meanwhile, Sakai, who had just eliminated six of Kushina's [Shadow Clones], could no longer hold on. He took a solid punch to the chest from her, and his chakra marks shattered upon impact. Nearly drained of energy, he collapsed onto the ground.
Yu Akasaka and the few others watching nearby were even more astonished...
A full three-man Genin squad had actually been completely wiped out by just Minato and Kushina!
...
...
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