It's Too Troublesome to be Hokage

"The combat strategy of hiding in shadows that are hard to detect is indeed difficult to defend against when attacking," Namikaze Minato's calm, gentle voice echoed.

"But Nara-kun, I must remind you: this tactic is ineffective against perception-type ninjas.

"Whether it's your original body or your clones, the chakra they emit is far too obvious.

"This time, you caught me—but I also caught you."

Flying Thunder God Technique!

At Minato's words, his figure instantly vanished, breaking free from the [Shadow Strangling Technique]'s control.

"I knew he was fast, but I didn't expect him to be this fast."

The [Shadow Clone] showed a helpless expression and immediately lifted the binding effect, relaying the situation back to the original.

"Fighting an opponent like this… it's really troublesome!"

Nara Shikadan instantly received the message: "Namikaze Minato has sensed the presence of shadow clones."

Yondaime is about to kill the entire map...

Shikadan pursed his lips and glanced at the forest surrounding the third training ground.

He had arranged many clones to sneak into the woods before the battle, including those controlling the wooden spear traps earlier.

But now, those clones were in grave danger.

"Fire Style: Flame Bomb!"

A roaring fireball erupted from a remote corner of the field, striking another hidden clone with devastating force.

Normally, Minato was a high-speed burst assassin—but he was no one-trick pony.

As Jiraiya's direct disciple, Minato commanded many of his master's ninjutsu.

Aware of the Nara clan's shadow secrets' strengths and weaknesses, Minato had abandoned the close-range surprise attacks and adopted a "turret ninja" style.

The fireball struck the [Shadow Clone] tasked with opening the trap, which had no resistance and was instantly destroyed.

The clone's death memory flashed back to Shikadan's mind.

He thought for a moment, then decisively dismissed all other clones to conserve chakra.

Among them was a team primed with multiple [Spiral Shadow Binding Bullets].

Too bad.

Shikadan exhaled softly, his gaze calm.

Forcing Yondaime to use Flying Thunder God five times was not a failure.

But his conventional ninjutsu skills remain an unknown.

Suddenly, Minato flashed to the ground, formed a tiger hand seal, took a deep breath, and exhaled forward.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

The fiery blast twisted through the air like a furious dragon.

Mid-flight, it split precisely into three streams, attacking Shikadan from the front, left, and right.

The orange-red flames reflected on Shikadan's face, which turned red from their heat.

In speed and power, Minato's fire escape far surpassed the 12-year-old Uchiha Shisui's.

Frowning, Shikadan melted into the shadows beneath his feet like flowing water.

[Flat Shadow Technique]

But unexpectedly, Minato's fireball did not pass directly over Shikadan's position.

Instead, it circled tightly around him, forming a blazing ring that trapped him at its center.

At such close range, the flickering flames distorted Shikadan's shadow, increasing the difficulty of controlling the [Flat Shadow Technique] and draining his Yin-style chakra.

Seeing Minato not seize the chance to break forward,

Shikadan knew Yondaime had completely abandoned his signature "Flash Backstab" instant kill assassin style.

The earlier [Shadow Binding Technique] had seriously restrained Minato's fighting style.

But now the tide had turned.

The Nara clan's shadow secrets restrain charging assassin ninjas—but falter against turret-style mage ninjas.

Desperate, Shikadan used [Hiding Like a Mole Technique] to burrow underground and escape the fiery encirclement.

Minato's eyes could not penetrate the flames, but his keen perception detected the underground chakra movement.

"Earlier there were so many clones... and the main body's chakra is too large for an ordinary child," Minato mused.

He guessed Shikadan's age was similar to Kakashi's.

"The Nara clan isn't known for huge chakra reserves, and Shikadan and Kushina aren't the same type of ninja.

"Could Shikadan be carrying special chakra-rich ninja tools?"

As Minato pondered, the underground chakra approached.

He jumped back, dodging shadow spikes bursting from below, and quickly formed hand seals.

The tried-and-true underground sneak attack failed.

Shikadan's figure erupted from the ground via [Shadow Seam Technique].

Spying the incoming fire, he grumbled internally,

I hate sensing ninjas...

"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"

Minato launched a huge fireball from above, aimed straight at Shikadan.

Unable to dodge with [Flat Shadow Technique], Shikadan formed a protective cocoon from materialized shadow spikes around his body.

[Shadow Shield Technique]

Boom!

The flame struck the shield, cracking its surface with a roar.

Within seconds, the fireball and shield dissipated.

Shikadan saw Minato already forming hand seals, ready to continue his fire-style assault.

He raised both hands, pointing index fingers forward in pistols.

"A serious ninja should just make hand seals honestly, right?"

Bang! Bang!

Two black bullets shot from Shikadan's fingertips, crossing half the training ground to Minato.

Caught off guard by this special ninjutsu, Minato initially planned to abandon hand seals and retreat strategically.

But the bullets aimed slightly off-target reminded him of Shikadan's earlier "shurikens fly out" technique.

His shooting accuracy is poor...

Just as Minato ignored the bullets to keep sealing, both struck the shadows beside him.

Yin chakra burst forth instantly.

[Spiral Shadow Binding Bullet]!

Minato's hand seals abruptly broke; much of his condensed chakra dissipated.

"What?!"

Shocked by the binding power, Minato realized,

"A long-range shadow binding technique!"

Shikadan's trump card was out—naturally with no hesitation.

Two more black bullets fired, but these were the more conventional [Spiral Shadow Piercing Bullets].

The bullets streaked through the air, leaving deep traces in space.

Minato's pupils narrowed; he activated Flying Thunder God to escape their control.

Shikadan wanted to continue shooting but lost precise location info due to distance, so he held back.

Then—

"Spirit Summoning Technique!"

Boom!

A massive red toad, its body like a mountain, landed heavily in the training ground, shaking the earth.

Shikadan gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to curse.

Flying Thunder God? Endured it.

Turret-style ninjutsu? Endured it.

But enduring this summoned toad—

Yondaime, you really are—

"I lost this match, Nara-kun," Minato's voice called from afar.

[Mission Complete: Target defeated!]

[Reward: A-level Ninja Secret Scroll!]

Shikadan's face flushed hot, then cooled quickly.

The summoned toad Bunta only appeared briefly, then returned to Myoboku Mountain—probably never even spotting the enemy.

"Your earlier Shuriken Secret Move, Starry Sky Falling Ranbu Zero…"

Minato formed a hand seal and appeared before Shikadan.

"And your secret move, Ultra Black Explosion Shadow Projectile…

"Nara-kun, your strength truly exceeds my expectations."

Shikadan blinked, bewildered by the high praise.

-End Chapter-

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