The air, already thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood, grew even heavier as the two faced each other in silence.
Minato Namikaze’s azure eyes remained fixed on Shinzuki Yu.
Those crimson, pinwheel-shaped Sharingan filled him with an overwhelming sense of pressure.
A genin…
Who had instantly killed a jōnin…
Using a Space-Time Ninjutsu he had never seen before.
It was beyond anything he thought possible.
“…You’re a Konoha shinobi?” Minato finally asked.
Although Yu’s forehead protector and uniform already answered the question, he wanted to hear it from the boy himself.
Yu calmly regarded the future Fourth Hokage.
“As you can see.”
His answer was concise.
With the Perfect Sage Body and the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan coursing through him, he had nothing to fear.
Minato sensed no hostility from him.
Only an unfathomable calm.
“That technique just now…
was it your Kekkei Genkai?”
Yu neither confirmed nor denied it.
“On the battlefield, any technique that kills the enemy is a good one.”
The answer explained nothing.
Minato chose not to press the matter.
Everyone had their secrets.
“The fighting here has stabilized for now.
Come with me to the command tent.
Your appearance needs to be reported to Shikaku and the others.”
It sounded like an invitation, but it was also an assessment.
He needed to learn who this young shinobi really was—and whether such terrifying power could be trusted.
Yu gave a slight nod.
“Very well.”
He also needed a legitimate way to establish himself within this world.
Meeting Konoha’s leadership was the perfect first step.
Besides…
The system’s newly refreshed check-in location was inside the command tent.
The two made their way across the devastated battlefield.
Minato moved at incredible speed but deliberately slowed his pace, occasionally glancing at the teenager walking beside him.
Yu’s footsteps remained steady, as if the shocking massacre moments earlier had nothing to do with him.
Before long, a large temporary command camp came into view.
Its perimeter was heavily guarded, and patrolling Konoha shinobi watched the unfamiliar genin with wary eyes.
The instant he crossed into the camp’s security perimeter, Yu spoke silently in his mind.
“System.
Check in.”
[Ding!
Check-in successful at: Konoha Forward Command Headquarters, Border of the Land of Fire!]
[Congratulations!
You have obtained a God-Tier Reward: Flying Thunder God Technique (Perfect Mastery + Enhanced Formula Designs)!]
An immense flood of knowledge poured into his mind.
The Flying Thunder God Technique…
Its underlying principles…
Every known application…
Even several ingenious improvements that bordered on the unbelievable.
Yu’s body paused almost imperceptibly before returning to normal.
Within his consciousness, countless golden formulae flowed, broke apart, recombined, and evolved before finally becoming instinct.
If Minato’s Flying Thunder God represented the work of a once-in-a-generation genius…
Then the version Yu now possessed was that same masterpiece refined to absolute perfection by the system.
Inside the command tent, the atmosphere was solemn.
Shikaku Nara stood before a battlefield map, his trademark mustache twitching slightly as he frowned.
Beside him, Chōza Akimichi stood with his arms folded, his expression equally grim.
“Minato, you’re back.
How did it go?”
Shikaku looked up.
Seeing the unfamiliar genin behind Minato, he raised an eyebrow.
Minato answered calmly.
“The Iwa squad on the western flank has been eliminated.”
He gestured toward Yu.
“This is Shinzuki Yu, a Konoha genin.
He played a decisive role in the battle.”
He paused before continuing.
“Using an unknown Space-Time Ninjutsu, he personally killed one Iwa jōnin, along with at least ten chūnin and genin.”
Silence filled the tent.
Both Shikaku and Chōza stared in disbelief.
A genin?
Killed a jōnin alone?
With Space-Time Ninjutsu?
It sounded absurd.
“Minato…
are you certain?”
Chōza’s deep voice rumbled through the tent.
“I witnessed it myself.”
Minato answered without hesitation.
From one corner of the tent, a tall, lean HYuga stepped forward.
His Byakugan glowed with pale light.
It was Tokuma HYuga, an elite jōnin from the HYuga branch family, renowned for both his speed and the insight granted by the Byakugan.
“So you’re Shinzuki Yu.”
Tokuma studied him carefully.
“Killing a jōnin is certainly impressive.”
“But battlefields are chaotic.”
“Sometimes…
luck plays a bigger role than skill.”
The implication couldn’t have been clearer.
He didn’t believe it.
“I’ve heard you’re quite capable.”
“Would you allow me to offer a bit of…
guidance?”
“Understanding your abilities better would only improve everyone’s chances of survival.”
It sounded courteous.
In reality, it was a challenge.
Shikaku made no move to stop him.
He wanted to see what this “genin” was truly capable of.
Yu had long since grown accustomed to this sort of test.
Compared to the office politics of his previous life…
This was refreshingly straightforward.
A faint smile crossed his lips.
“Sure.”
The word had barely left his mouth…
When he vanished.
Completely.
Tokuma’s Byakugan was already active, granting him nearly three hundred and sixty degrees of vision.
Yet he failed to catch even an afterimage.
A chill suddenly crawled up the back of his neck.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
He instinctively tried to counterattack—
But a hand holding a kunai was already resting lightly against the artery in his neck.
Its icy edge froze him in place.
At the same moment…
Golden formula seals silently appeared across the command tent.
On the strategy map.
Along the edge of the table.
Across the tent supports.
Even beside Shikaku’s teacup.
Each seal flickered into existence before disappearing just as quickly.
“W-What…?”
Minato’s composure finally broke.
“That’s…
the Flying Thunder God Technique?!”
He recognized it instantly.
Those unique formula seals…
That impossible movement…
It was unquestionably his signature jutsu.
Yet…
It wasn’t.
Yu’s formulae were even more concise.
More elegant.
Far harder to detect.
When activated, they produced almost no chakra fluctuations at all, as though they had become part of space itself.
Cold sweat trickled down Tokuma’s forehead.
He knew…
If that kunai moved forward by even another inch…
He would already be dead.
Shikaku and Chōza could only stare in stunned silence.
Instantaneous.
Perfect.
And in certain aspects…
Even more refined than Minato’s Flying Thunder God.
How could a mere genin possess something like this?
Yu calmly withdrew the kunai and stepped back.
As though he had done nothing remarkable.
“My thanks.”
Tokuma’s face alternated between red and pale.
He opened his mouth…
Only to realize he had nothing to say.
The speed he had always taken pride in…
Looked childish in comparison.
“Yu…”
Minato stepped forward, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes.
“Your Flying Thunder God…”
“The formula you’ve developed differs from mine.”
“It’s…
more refined.”
For the first time, he saw a path toward improving the technique he had created himself.
Yu answered matter-of-factly.
“I had a few insights on the battlefield and worked out some improvements.”
No one truly believed that explanation.
Yet no one questioned it either.
Geniuses rarely needed ordinary explanations.
Minato, however, looked as though he had found a kindred spirit.
He immediately began discussing the Flying Thunder God Technique in detail, eagerly exchanging ideas and applications.
Yu welcomed the conversation.
With the system’s perfect mastery, every question came naturally.
From time to time, he offered an unconventional insight that left Minato’s eyes lighting up in realization.
“That’s brilliant!”
Watching the two engross themselves in discussion, Shikaku’s thoughts raced.
A young shinobi with astonishing regenerative abilities…
An incomprehensible Space-Time Dōjutsu…
And a Flying Thunder God Technique refined beyond even Minato’s…
“Genius” no longer came close to describing him.
He was a trump card capable of changing the course of the war.
Shikaku cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
The two Space-Time Ninjutsu users reluctantly ended their discussion.
“Shinzuki Yu.”
“What are your thoughts on the current situation at Kikyō Pass?”
He wanted to gauge more than the boy’s combat ability.
He wanted to know how he thought.
Yu glanced at the map.
Thanks to his knowledge of the Naruto storyline from his previous life, he understood this campaign almost completely.
“Iwagakure’s offensive is fierce.”
“But their supply lines have been stretched too far.”
He raised a finger and pointed to an inconspicuous location on the map.
“The Torisaka Pass in the northwest.”
“The terrain is easy to defend and difficult to assault.”
“It’s also the critical hub for their logistics.”
“If an elite strike team launches a lightning raid there and cuts off their food and military supplies…”
“The entire Iwa army will collapse into chaos without needing a decisive battle.”
Shikaku’s pupils contracted.
The command staff had analyzed the very same strategy before.
But it required flawless timing and near-perfect troop coordination.
Yet Yu had identified the key point immediately.
“It’s an excellent plan.”
Shikaku nodded slowly.
“But how do you guarantee the strike team can break through the enemy lines…”
“…and return safely?”
Yu turned toward Minato.
“Captain Minato.”
“With his Flying Thunder God, my Flying Thunder God…”
“…and an elite ANBU squad…”
“It’ll be more than enough to complete the mission before Iwagakure can react.”
His tone remained calm.
But every word radiated absolute confidence.
Minato’s eyes lit up.
“I understand.”
Shikaku studied the young man in silence.
The self-proclaimed genin standing before him had already proven himself to be far more valuable than a single elite combatant.
“I’ll give your proposal serious consideration.”
Then he looked directly at Yu.
His attitude had changed completely.
“From this moment onward…”
“You are temporarily assigned to Minato’s direct unit.”
“You will operate under his command.”