Naruto: Minato Namikaze, born evil

Chapter 72 Only those who survive deserve to contribute.

Bang!

No one saw how Minato retaliated.

In a mere instant, Kato Dan's body flew backward like a lobster, his body arched, as fast as a cannonball, and crashed heavily into a thick tree trunk!

"Pfft! Cough cough..."

Kato Dan tumbled down from the tree in a disheveled state, coughing up blood, and stared at Minato in horror.

"Teacher Duan!"

Seeing Kato Dan being kicked away by Minato, Ayako cried out in alarm.

Nawaki quickly reassured him, "Don't worry, Minato knows what he's doing."

"One of the essential tactical skills of a ninja is taijutsu (body techniques)."

Minato, still in the kicking stance, slowly retracted his leg amidst the shocked gazes of the crowd.

"As the only ability in the ninja tactical system that can be activated instantly without refining chakra, Kato-senpai's training in this area isn't very solid." (Kato's chakra level is only 7...)

"cough--"

Upon hearing this, Kato Dan coughed up blood again, gritting his teeth as he struggled to sit up.

monster!

This kid is a monster!

The terrifying power of that kick just now even made him vaguely see a revolving lantern!

Is this guy really eight years old?!

Bang!

A smoke bomb exploded at his feet, and Kato Dan clutched his abdomen, concealing himself.

"So strong!"

On the treetop not far away, Mikoto watched this scene, covered her mouth and gasped softly, her eyes filled with amazement.

Unexpectedly, Minato's single kick almost rendered a Jonin unable to fight. Compared to that, his performance during the fight with me just now seemed incredibly gentle.

In the forest, behind a thick, large tree.

Kato leaned against the tree trunk, tilting his head to look at Minato in the distance, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Minato's kick turned his originally clear thinking into mush.

Just as he was thinking about how to deal with this freak, a gentle voice suddenly rang in his ear.

"What are you looking for, senior? Let me help you find it?"

"!!!"

Kato was startled and was about to retaliate when a kunai was already held against his neck.

"I'm sorry, senior, I really don't have the time to mess around with you. The fact that I've been willing to waste time talking to you until now is already out of respect for your age."

Minato glanced at the cold sweat on the other man's forehead and said calmly, "I don't dislike ambitious men, but you can't make advances on the people around me."

There's nothing wrong with liking someone, and even using some scheming is understandable, but Kato Dan's intentions were too obvious.

"You...you've misunderstood, Minato-kun."

With his deepest, most shameful secret exposed, Kato Dan's heart sank. He swallowed instinctively and forced a smile, saying, "I just..."

"I'm not here to hear explanations, senior."

Minato slowly retracted his kunai, his tone leaving no room for doubt: "Nawaki will become Orochimaru's apprentice, and may join the Anbu or Root. Team 7 will have new members, and we all have a bright future."

A bright future, huh...?

Kato gave a bitter smile and lowered his head dejectedly.

He could tell perfectly well that the other person wasn't making a wish, but rather issuing a warning!

If he doesn't know his place, the next time it will be the Anbu, not Minato, who will come looking for him.

The young man before him, in terms of both strength and the energy he could mobilize, was beyond what his shallow understanding could comprehend!

"I also want to thank you for saving face for me in front of my students."

Although he was somewhat cunning, Kato Dan was not the kind of person who didn't know what was good for him, like Danzo.

Minato truly had the ability to kill him!

Even if the Third Hokage found out, he might very well turn around and accuse himself of trying to harm the Wood Release bloodline limit holder.

Upon hearing Kato Dan's words, Minato shook his head slightly without saying anything.

He wasn't trying to save face for the other person; there were just some things he couldn't say in front of Nawaki.

With his back to Kato Dan, Minato slowly and deliberately left.

He focused his gaze, secretly preparing himself for what might happen if the other party became enraged and did something outrageous.

If the other party dares to launch a sneak attack, he will immediately declare: "You inherently evil Kato Dan, I'll...!"

But even after he had walked quite a distance, the other party did not make any further moves, which made Minato feel somewhat disappointed.

"Let's go, Rope Tree."

Upon finding the rope tree, Minato regained his usual gentle demeanor.

Seeing that Kato Dan wasn't there, Nawaki tentatively looked at Minato: "Um, Dan-nii-san, he..."

"I got a minor injury, but I'll be fine after a while. It won't affect my mission."

Minato casually remarked that as Tsunade's disciple, he was still able to handle this matter properly.

"All right…"

Rope Tree looked awkwardly at his two teammates: "Then I'll head back first. Please take care of Brother Duan."

"Um…"

The two nodded quickly, afraid of angering Minato and getting kicked themselves.

Minato led the two away. On the way, Nawaki glanced at Mikoto and said, "By the way, I haven't asked yet, who is she?"

"Uchiha Mikoto, Orochimaru-senpai's newly accepted disciple."

Minato introduced, "This is Nawaki, Tsunade-sensei's younger brother."

Mikoto nodded slightly: "Nice to meet you, please take care of me."

"Orochimaru-senpai's disciple?!"

Upon hearing Minato's words, Nawaki felt utterly bewildered. Forgetting all about greetings, he hurriedly exclaimed, "Orochimaru-nii actually took on a disciple? Wasn't he supposed to be too busy to lead a class? And taking on a disciple, and an Uchiha at that?"

"How rude of me, what's wrong, Uchiha?"

Mikoto's eyebrows furrowed slightly, her expression displeased.

Realizing he had misspoke, Nawaki smiled apologetically: "Sorry, I didn't mean to say the Uchiha were bad, I just..."

"Is it just that you're feeling resentful?"

Minato joked, "Now that you've left the team, you can naturally become Orochimaru's apprentice, but whether he'll accept you is another matter."

"Of course we'll accept it! What's our relationship?"

Rope Tree confidently replied, "But speaking of which, why did you suddenly decide to give me special training?"

Minato succinctly stated: "To improve your survivability on the battlefield."

"The battlefield..."

Nawaki frowned slightly. Judging from Minato's words, the war should be about to begin, but he didn't ask any further questions. It wasn't something he needed to know right now.

As Tsunade's younger brother, he has the same impulsive personality as Naruto, but because of his background, he is very sensible about these things.

"So what are you planning to teach me?"

Putting his dislike for war aside, Nawaki asked eagerly.

"Live!"

Seeing his energetic appearance, Minato smiled gently, but his words sent a chill down Nawaki's spine.

"Starting tomorrow, aside from necessary training, I will launch continuous attacks on you—both you and Mikoto-nee!"

"And you only need to understand one thing: only those who survive are worthy of contributing!"

Rope Tree opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.

After a long while, he finally spoke in a voice barely audible.

"Um... is it too late for me to rejoin the team now?"