Chapter 21: Chapter 20 – A Brief Altercation

The stranger stopped abruptly, pushing Naruto to do the same. Gradually coming to his senses, the boy shook his head in all directions, as if trying to dispel a bad dream. He began to tremble upon seeing the hooded individual before him.

Whoever it was, this individual seemed powerful. From what little Naruto could remember in his still vague mind, one look had been enough to convince him to follow the man. He was very persuasive and probably just as strong.

Naruto couldn't control his tremors. He who had been very proud to face a giant boar in the morning realized that the presence of Itachi had a lot to do with his courage. But here he was alone. Itachi wasn't watching over him. And something told him that in front of him was an individual far more formidable than a giant boar.

The individual approached Naruto, slowly. In a gesture of panic, the boy raised his arm and thought back to his father's technique, the rotating bluish sphere. He must learn that technique…

“Rasengan!”

The individual, surprised, narrowly dodged the powerful sphere, but his hood came down… revealing his face.

Naruto, who had closed his eyes, looked at his hands in amazement. Regaining self-confidence, he puffed out his chest.

“So!” Naruto yelled. “Not so tough now, right? You have in front of you Naruto Uzumaki, the future…”

“Hokage…” The man then whispered looking worriedly in his direction.

“Exactly!” Naruto said. “So beware, because otherwise…”

“Naruto,” a man said softly behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Get away from here; I'll take care of the rest…”

Naruto turned around, surprised, and saw his father, in his Hokage outfit, who stared determinedly at the young man in front of them.

“Dad… ” he whispered, impressed.

He had never seen his father fight before. Whether at school, in the village, at home and even when his godfather Jiraiya visited him recently, everyone spoke of his father as the greatest Shinobi in the world, but he had never seen him before in action.

“What an impressive technique, Yondaime Hokage,” The individual said. “So that's the famous Rasengan? You almost got me.”

“That's right,” Minato answered calmly.

“If it had touched me, I think it would have been very problematic... Fortunately, I dodged it.”

“I missed on purpose,” Minato answered while advancing calmly towards him. “I wanted to know who I was dealing with. A frontal attack without thinking was not the best option. Using the Rasengan to push back a piece of clothing and reveal a face seemed safer to me.”

“Impressive,” the red-eyed young man praised. “Then, you made that reasoning in a split second. The time to appear, spot me, perform your reasoning, create your technique and attack me with it was so short that even my eyes had trouble following. And your movement was so fluid and precise enough to let me believe that I dodged your attack when everything was calculated, right? You remind me of a friend. Anyway, your plan succeeded. You now see my face.”

“Indeed. I know who is standing in front of me... And I must admit that I wasn’t expecting it to be such an important member of the Uchiha clan.”

He paused, stopping in the center of that dark deserted place between the buildings.

“You disappoint me, Shisui Uchiha.”

Shisui nodded sadly.

“Yondaime Hokage, it's not very wise to judge others…”

In a quick move, he placed himself beside Minato, who raised a kunai with a quick gesture to counter his quick attack. But the kunai fell to the ground. Minato had vanished.

“...on their appearances and your preconceived ideas…”

He is quick, Minato thought, stepping back.

“You are the head of the Uchiha clan. I can't trust you that easily.”
.
“I would never have thought that of you,” Shisui whispered sadly. “I thought that this hatred of the Uchiha faded with the generations, but even you think like Danzo…”

“It's not about the Uchiha, but about you, who took the leadership by force in defiance of Mikoto,” Minato said, throwing several kunais in all directions.

Shisui, Sharingan activated, was impressed by the speed of Minato's throw. However, he spotted a slight flaw. If Minato had sent his kunai in all directions, the center didn’t have as many of them.

Shisui sped to the center, thus dodging all the kunai and managing in stride to maintain a sufficient distance from them. This distance, along with the capabilities of his Sharingan and his speed, would allow him to dodge any frontal attack from Minato, no matter how fast.

Minato disappeared. Shisui stared at the kunais, searching for the Yondaime's cloak.
Naruto opened his eyes wide as Shisui felt cold metal against his throat.

“As you said, beware of appearances and preconceptions, Shisui.”

Shisui closed his eyes.

“What a mistake,” he whispered. “I took the advantage twice in this little... altercation. The first was by attacking you by surprise, which had the effect of knocking your kunai down. The second was when you threw your kunais and I spotted the weak spot in your throw…”

He paused, sighing.

“But in reality, these two instances allowed you to trap me, right? The position where your kunai had fallen during my previous attack and the one that corresponded to a throwing error, overlapped. I was negligent. Watching you narrowly fail made me overconfident, and I let my guard down, which allowed you to trick me.”

He smiled.

"Were these really mistakes on your part that you were able to use to your advantage or a perfect simulation, I don't know. But, in either case, I can only bow to your talent. You are a real genius. To use mistakes in a way that makes them even more dangerous than a perfect combination, I have to admit that without even owning a Sharingan, you can create illusions surpassing those of almost anyone in the Uchiha clan. We need more Shinobi like you.”

He was trapped. But Naruto saw that his eyes had changed. What was this Sharingan he was seeing? Naruto knew Itachi, but he had never seen eyes like that before.
Minato noticed his son’s surprised expression. He tilted his kunai slightly. In the reflection, he saw Shisui's pupil.

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"Do you really want to go that far?" Minato whispered.

“Only if you force me to.”

Under Naruto's astonished gaze, Minato lowered his kunai.

“Dad, what the hell are you doing?!”

Naruto panicked.

He's under control… The boy thought.

Shisui turned to Minato.

“You are amazing, Yondaime Hokage.”

Minato didn't answer.

With a relaxed gesture, Shisui took his kunai from his hands and analyzed the inscriptions on it.

“This seal, Itachi told me about it. How complex... It is said that even the greatest Uzumaki could not use it several times in a row. And you, you use it without reservation. What genius, what reflexes, what talent…”

He delicately twirled the kunai in his hands, as if it were a unique and fragile treasure, then returned it to Minato.

“You deserve your title of Kage. And not just for your talents. I am also thinking of your presence of mind and your openness.”

He paused, staring at Minato with his piercing eyes returning to their basic form.

"How did you know I wasn't your enemy?"

"It's simple," Minato replied. “What interest would a possessor of the Mangekyo Sharingan have in capturing the son of the Hokage… if once spotted, he fights without even using his powers? Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to end it? Besides, why would such a high-ranking and intelligent member of the village capture the Hokage's son alone? I see no good reason for such an act. I, therefore, deduce that this act was done on a whim.”

Shisui tilted his head, impressed.

“You read me based on those few low-level exchanges better than the sharpest of eyes. But I think you underestimate yourself too, Minato Namikaze. Even a possessor of the Mangekyo Sharingan might not take the better of you easily. I was able to read you too during this little exchange, and I must admit that your level is such that you would be able to compete with the best users of the Mangekyo Sharingan…”

“However,” Minato continued, frowning. “The question I have is what prompted you to kidnap my son?”

Shisui looked down.

“You don't know?”

"I think I know..." Minato admitted.

Shisui looked up and stared at him seriously.

“But I hope I'm wrong.” The Hokage added.

“You understand…”

“Will the police investigate?”

“Naturally…”

Shisui held out a hand.

“I know what the leaders think about our clan, and I understand it. But, I'm just asking you. Whatever happens, never sully the honor of the Uchihas, because…”

Minato shook his hand.

“As you have understood, it is not wise to judge others on their appearances and your preconceived ideas…”

Suddenly, he saw Shisui’s body deform. Did he turn into water? A cloud of smoke? Or did he just disappear? Minato couldn't tell. What was certain was that Shisui Uchiha seemed never to have been there. Like a mirage...

“The Uchiha clan is full of mysteries,” Minato said to himself, looking at his hand. “But I'll try to remember that, Shisui Uchiha.”

There was silence. Only the cry of crows could be heard from afar.

And suddenly...

“Hey! I don't understand what’s going on. A stranger kidnaps me; you recognize him, you fight against him, talk quietly, and then he vanishes? Why didn't you kick his ass?!”

Minato burst out laughing and put a hand in his son’s hair. Naruto pouted.

“Come on, Naruto. We're going to have some Ramen with Jiraiya-sensei!”

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