Chapter 130 – Gamabunta
By this point in the duel, Ishiro had largely understood the gap between himself and Namikaze Minato.
Although Ishiro had several strengths, it was clear he hadn't yet reached the level where he could dominate his peers.
Minato, on the other hand—with his Body Flicker, extraordinary reflexes, and mastery of seal-less ninjutsu—was practically invincible among shinobi of their level.
Still, Ishiro wasn't willing to give up just yet.
Seeing that Minato had fully focused his attention on his sensory ninjutsu, Ishiro decided to struggle one last time.
His hands rapidly formed seals as he prepared a high-level jutsu: Water Release: Great Exploding Water Shockwave—an A-rank technique with 27 hand seals.
The moment he began forming seals, Ishiro's Camouflage Technique immediately deactivated.
The first to notice him was Aburame Shimi, who had been carefully watching the skies.
As soon as Ishiro reappeared, Shimi spotted him.
"So it was the Light-Weight Boulder Technique... and his invisibility was from Camouflage Technique," Shimi muttered.
However, he didn't warn Minato—he trusted him.
By the time Minato sensed Ishiro, Ishiro had already completed about ten hand seals.
Because he was currently using sensory ninjutsu, Minato was extremely sensitive to chakra fluctuations.
Even though Ishiro was still midair, the overwhelming chakra of an A-rank ninjutsu made Minato instantly aware.
When Minato raised his head, Ishiro inwardly sighed—he knew this sneak attack wouldn't succeed.
Still, his hands didn't stop.
Ishiro was determined to unleash the Great Exploding Water Shockwave.
Minato's upward glance quickly drew the attention of all the surrounding Konoha shinobi, who followed his gaze and spotted Ishiro in midair, rapidly forming seals.
"Flight jutsu?! He's using flight ninjutsu!"
"That's Light-Weight Boulder Technique! It's one of Ōnoki's signature techniques. Could Ishiro be Ōnoki's disciple?"
The speculation wasn't wrong—Ishiro had indeed learned it under Ōnoki's personal instruction.
"With flight, Ishiro's almost untouchable... What will Minato-sama do now?"
A female jōnin even expressed worry for Minato.
"No wonder he dared to challenge Minato-sama alone. He was relying on flight to guarantee an escape if needed."
Minato himself realized the situation at once: victory today would be difficult.
After a moment's hesitation, he too began forming hand seals.
Seeing Minato's preparations, Ishiro's expression changed.
He had originally assumed Minato would use Body Flicker or a defensive jutsu to block his attack.
Given that he held the initiative, Minato shouldn't have been able to deploy an A-rank defense in time.
Thus, Ishiro thought he could at least cause Minato some trouble with the Great Exploding Water Shockwave—and then possibly snipe him from long range.
The success rate was low, but it was better than nothing.
But—
Minato bit his finger before forming seals!
Seeing that familiar action, Ishiro immediately understood.
In a rush, Ishiro completed the A-rank jutsu and, without maintaining control over it, channeled all his strength into Light-Weight Boulder Technique to soar even higher into the sky.
BOOM!
With a tremendous explosion of smoke, a massive toad appeared below—Gamabunta, with his signature pipe and massive blade.
Even from so high up, Ishiro could clearly feel Gamabunta's colossal presence.
Grateful for his quick reaction, Ishiro nonetheless climbed even higher just to be safe.
Meanwhile, Ishiro's unleashed Great Exploding Water Shockwave slammed directly into Gamabunta.
The effect?
Gamabunta wobbled slightly...
And that was it.
Standing atop Gamabunta's head, Minato didn't even have his clothes wet.
Truthfully, Gamabunta at this stage hadn't yet reached his peak strength and wasn't as haughty as he would later become when Naruto summoned him.
Still, feeling the attack, Gamabunta instinctively searched for the enemy—only spotting Ishiro with Minato's guidance.
"Flight jutsu, huh?
Minato, this is tricky... Toads can't fly," Gamabunta grunted.
Minato smiled wryly.
His original plan in summoning Gamabunta had been to use his massive size to close the distance to the airborne Ishiro—and to block the water wave.
Who knew Ishiro would react so fast, soaring to nearly invisible heights?
This time, Minato didn't suspect a leak of information.
Given his status as one of Jiraiya's disciples, and Jiraiya's known connection to Mount Myōboku's toads, Ishiro's reaction made sense.
From Ishiro's perspective, it was a wise and decisive move.
Gamabunta's appearance also stunned the Konoha spectators.
Seeing him up close left them in awe.
Cheers erupted:
"Minato-sama is mighty!"
"Gamabunta-sama is awesome!"
Moments ago they had been worried about Ishiro's flight; now the atmosphere completely shifted to celebrating Minato and Gamabunta.
Gamabunta, seeing the tiny speck that was Ishiro high above, didn't want his summoning to go to waste.
He formed a water-style ninjutsu:
"Water Release: Iron Bullet!"
A massive glob of water shot upward—but Ishiro easily dodged it thanks to the huge distance.
Gamabunta then crouched low, flexed his limbs, and leapt high into the air.
Ishiro, watching the rapidly enlarging form of Gamabunta rushing toward him, was startled.
Luckily, he was still high enough that Gamabunta couldn't reach him—even after the toad's maximum leap, there remained a large gap.
But at the apex of his jump, Gamabunta unleashed another Iron Bullet.
Prepared this time, Ishiro again narrowly avoided it.
BANG!
When Gamabunta landed, the earth shook violently.
Countless trees were flattened, and a windstorm, no weaker than a C-rank Wind Release, swept outward in all directions.
Even high in the sky, Ishiro was shaken by the scene.
No wonder giant summons could match Kage-level forces!
Ishiro was too far away to be affected, but the Konoha jōnin weren't so lucky.
They were caught right in the blast zone.
Fortunately, Aburame Shimi reacted quickly, shouting:
"Defensive jutsu—now!"
The faster-responding jōnin immediately deployed barriers:
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
After a chaotic scramble, they finally blocked the winds.
The gusts might not have seriously injured them, but it would've been utterly humiliating otherwise.
Standing atop Gamabunta, Minato called out:
"Gamabunta, that's enough. Thank you for your help."
Gamabunta glared once more at the distant speck of Ishiro but knew he was of no more use.
With a puff of smoke, he canceled the summoning and disappeared.
Minato landed steadily back on the ground and raised his head to look at Ishiro.
Seeing there was no immediate danger, Ishiro slowly began to descend.
Yet he still didn't fully land, stopping about a hundred meters above ground.
Minato understood.
Today's battle was over.
Using Body Flicker, he quickly returned to stand beside Aburame Shimi and the others.
After checking their condition, he turned and addressed Ishiro:
"Today's fight... let's call it a draw."
He paused, then added:
"But... as an elite Iwa shinobi, what exactly is your purpose in coming to our camp?"
Hearing this, the others also became curious.
Earlier, they had been too engrossed in the intense fight to consider it.
Now, prompted by Minato's question, they all turned their gazes toward Ishiro.
Ishiro hesitated briefly, then said:
"Your strength far surpasses mine.
I accept defeat.
I concede willingly."
Minato was stunned.
He had assumed Ishiro was a schemer, like Danzo—a cold strategist.
Such straightforward words were more fitting for someone like his own teacher, Jiraiya.
Ishiro didn't know Minato's thoughts.
He was currently debating how best to end this encounter.
His original goal was simple: fight.
Now the fight was done, and logically, he should just leave.
But things weren't that simple.
Minato wasn't an NPC he could just fight and ignore afterward.
After thinking carefully, Ishiro spoke again:
"Namikaze Minato—student of Jiraiya, one of the Sannin...
The so-called 'Child of Destiny'...
A man prophesied to bring change to the shinobi world.
I came here to see for myself what made the Child of Destiny special."
Minato blinked in surprise.
He hadn't expected that explanation.
Although rumors of him being the "Child of Destiny" existed, few truly believed it.
After all, compared to Ishiro's high standing in Iwagakure, Minato's status in Konoha was relatively modest at the time.
A ninja whose chances of becoming Hokage were still slim—how could he be the Child of Destiny?
As Minato hesitated, Ishiro continued:
"Your strength is undeniable.
You've already stepped onto the path toward Kage-level.
In terms of power...
You may indeed be worthy of the title Child of Destiny in the future."
There was a trace of envy in his voice.
"And though we haven't interacted much, I can sense something in you—
A natural charisma, the ability to inspire trust.
Just like... another Child of Destiny."
"Another... Child of Destiny?"
Minato frowned, puzzled.
Ishiro didn't explain further.
Instead, he smiled and said:
"Anyway, I'm satisfied.
Today, you've convinced me that maybe the prophecy is real."
"Minato...
Today, I lost.
Next time, I'll challenge you again."
With that, Ishiro began to rise into the sky once more, activating Camouflage Technique as he slowly faded from sight—
Disappearing before the eyes of all the Konoha shinobi.
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