I, Uchiha, will not be whitewashed!

In the distance, Minato sat at the entrance of the command center, holding the trident kunai in his hand, turning it over and over in the moonlight.

The tear in his clothes hadn't been mended; it ran diagonally from his left shoulder to his right rib, a result of Ai's lightning release.

He wasn't injured, but his clothes were torn.

Sakugo stood up and walked towards Minato. Minato looked up at him.

"What's up?"

"Your Flying Thunder God Technique relies on kunai for positioning," Sakugo said calmly. "What if the kunai gets destroyed?"

Minato paused for a moment, then smiled. The smile was brief, like light reflecting off a blade. "Then let's throw another one."

Shuoge looked at him.

"Kunai is just a tool."

Minato put the kunai back into his ninja tool pouch.

"The real positioning is here."

He pointed to his head. "You need to know where the enemy will be in the next second, and then throw the kunai there. It's not that the kunai is fast, it's that you're fast. It's not that you're fast, it's that your brain is fast."

Sakugo was silent for a moment. He recalled the moment when Minato and A clashed—A's fist had already come crashing down, and Minato's kunai had only just left his hand. It wasn't that the kunai was fast; it was that Minato knew where A would come from before he even threw the punch.

Being quick-witted is true speed.

"Understood." Shuoge turned around and walked back to his tent.

Minato Namikaze's fighting style relies on his brain!

Minato watched his retreating figure, his golden hair gleaming coldly in the moonlight. He suddenly remembered the Third Hokage's words—"That child will become Konoha's sharpest blade in the future."

He's starting to understand now.

He reached the "movie level" threshold at the age of ten.

This is a true genius!

-

Shuoge sat in the tent, a knife across his lap.

He didn't clean his sword or refine his chakra; he just sat there, thinking about what Minato had said.

"It's not that the kunai is fast, it's that you are fast. It's not that you are fast, it's that your mind is fast."

He closed his eyes, replaying the battle in his mind—not Minato's actions, but Ai's.

Before Ai throws a punch, his shoulder moves first.

Before Ai turns, his feet will move first.

Before Ai retreats, his center of gravity shifts first. He hadn't had time to notice these details on the battlefield, but in the Sharingan's replay, every detail was crystal clear.

He doesn't need to be faster than Ai, just faster in the head. He needs to see how Ai moves first, and then, before Ai moves, deliver the knife to where he wants it to be.

He opened his eyes, picked up the knife, and stepped out of the tent.

Under the moonlight, he began to wield his knife.

It's not fast, it's slow.

One cut after another, each cut stopping at a fixed position.

It's not a slash, it's a stab.

He was practicing sending the knife to a pre-determined coordinate.

Kai finished his curls and sat beside him watching. Red peeked out from the tent and looked at him too. No one spoke.

Minato sat at the entrance of the command post, watching the figure wielding a sword in the moonlight from afar. He watched for a while, his lips twitched, then he stood up and walked back to his tent.

There are still tasks to complete tomorrow.

-

UI.

Shuo Ge firmly believed.

From the very first time he held a knife, he was pursuing speed.

The knife can be swung fast, sheathed fast, and the knife that kills is even faster.

Before the enemy could react, a red line appeared on their throat.

This speed allowed him to survive on the battlefield in Iwagakure, make a name for himself on the battlefield in Sunagakure, and defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist on the battlefield in Kirigakure. He thought speed was the answer.

But today he saw Ray Shadow Ai.

Lightning Release chakra stimulates cell activity, exceeding the limits of the human body.

That kind of speed isn't something you can train for; it comes from pushing your body to its limits.

He can't catch up. No matter how much he practices, he can't catch up.

And then there's Minato. The Flying Thunder God Technique isn't just about speed; it's about time travel. You train your speed to the limit, but he simply skips over speed altogether. How can you catch up?

Shuoge sat outside the tent, his knife across his lap, the moonlight casting a cold glow on its blade. He was pondering a question—if speed wasn't the answer, then what was?

The answer had been swirling in my mind for a long time before it finally came to me—timing.

Speed ​​is a means, not an end.

The goal is to put the knife in the right place at the right time.

Speed ​​is just one way to achieve this goal, but not the only way.

You can be slower than your enemy, but you can know where he's going before he moves.

You can be weaker than him, but you can redirect his power to empty space. You can be faster or slower than him, as long as your blade appears at his most vulnerable moment and in his most vulnerable spot.

He stood up and picked up the knife.

"Kai".

Kai was sitting next to him wiping his sweat when he heard his name called, and he paused for a moment. "Huh?"

"Let's practice."

Kai's eyes lit up. He jumped up, cracked his knuckles, and clenched his fists. "Great!"

The two stood in the moonlight. Hong peeked out from the tent, glanced inside, and then retreated back in, but the tent flap remained open.

Kai made the first move.

He was fast; his fist whistled as it slammed into Shuoge's face.

This punch was slower than usual—not because Kai was slower, but because he was testing the waters.

Shuoge's sword remained sheathed, the scabbard held horizontally in front of him, blocking the punch.

Kai retracted his fist, and a second punch came from the side, even faster. Shuoge turned to the side, his scabbard slashing upwards, striking Kai's wrist. Kai's wrist went numb, and his fist went astray.

Kai took a step back and looked at Shuoge. "Your movements have slowed down?"

Shuoge did not speak.

Kai charged up again.

This time he sped up, each punch landing with a powerful, visceral impact, accompanied by the sound of wind.

Shuoge's scabbard drew an arc in front of him, blocking the first punch, deflecting the second, and the third grazing his shoulder, missing. Kai's fourth punch was already at his chest—Shuoge's scabbard was waiting there.

It wasn't blocking, it was waiting. Kai's fist collided with the scabbard on its own.

Kai was stunned.

He withdrew his fist and looked at Shuoge.

He didn't fail to see the scabbard during that punch; his fist had already been thrown and couldn't be retracted. Shuoge's scabbard wasn't blocking; it was waiting for him.

The scabbard was already there before he threw his punch.

"Again."

Kai refused to believe it. He charged forward again, this time changing his rhythm, alternating between fast and slow, and mixing feints and real attacks.

Shuoge's scabbard moved unhurriedly, parrying to the left, deflecting to the right, raising its grip, and pressing down. Each time, Kai felt he was about to land a blow, but each time, his fist was blocked by the scabbard that was waiting there in advance.

It wasn't that Shuoge was fast; it was that his fist delivered the punch himself.

Kai stopped, panting heavily. He looked at Shuoge, his eyes filled with something—not admiration, but confusion.

"How...how did you know where I'd throw my next punch?"

Shuoge sheathed his sword. "I don't know."

"and you--"

"The knife was there. You ran into it yourself."

Kai opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He thought about it and it seemed to make sense.

When he threw his punch, Shuoge's scabbard was already there. It wasn't that Shuoge blocked his punch; it was that his punch went looking for Shuoge's scabbard. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

"I'm not fighting anymore." Kai plopped down on the ground. "Fighting with you gives me a headache."

Hong chuckled inside the tent, but quickly suppressed it.

Shuoge hung the sword on his back and looked up at the moon. He remembered what Minato had said—"It's not that the kunai is fast, it's that you're fast. It's not that you're fast, it's that your mind is fast."

His mind isn't quick enough.

No, he chose the wrong approach.

But today, he has touched the threshold of "true speed".

……

……

……

Patrol missions on the northern front were simpler than those on the eastern front, but also more dangerous.

It's simple because the terrain is open, and you can see for miles around at a glance.

The danger lies in the fact that the elite squads of the Hidden Cloud Village could emerge from the clouds at any moment and deliver a lightning strike.

The Shuoge squad was assigned to patrol the eastern section of the northern route, walking it once a day, with a three-day patrol followed by a one-day rest.

After walking for five days, I didn't encounter anything.

Kai said that Kumogakure was terrified of Minato, while Kurenai said they were holding back a powerful attack. Sakugo remained silent, but his Sharingan scanned the distant mountain ridges every day, always finding nothing.

On the sixth day, we met.

It's not an AB duo, it's one person.

A Jonin from Kumogakure, around forty years old, with a scar on his face and a short sword in his hand, stood in the middle of the patrol route, as if waiting for someone.

His headband was embroidered with a cloud symbol, and he carried a long sword, specifically designed for lightning-style swordsmanship, on his back. The scabbard was black, wrapped with white strips of cloth, on which lightning patterns were drawn.

Upon seeing Shuoge and the other two, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Konoha brats..." His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against sheet metal. "Blade, Uchiha Sakugo."

Shuoge stopped, his sword behind his back, his hand resting on the hilt. His Sharingan began to spin silently—three tomoe, the red pupils glowing like two red-hot charcoal eels in the hazy sunlight.

"Kumakure Jonin, Raikage," the man announced, twirling his short sword in his hand. "My speed is second only to the Raikage."

Kai clenched his fist.

The red kunai slid out of the ninja tool pouch and was held in the palm of his hand.

Shuoge raised his hand, gesturing for them to step back.

Kai hesitated for a moment, then pulled Hong back to the side of the road.

Lightning flashed.

His speed was fast, but not like Ai's lightning-fast speed; it was a silent, stealthy speed.

The short sword thrust in from the side at a tricky angle, its blade wreathed in lightning chakra, emitting a faint crackling sound.

Sakugo's Sharingan caught it—his shoulder moved first, his left foot pushed off the ground, and his right hand slashed the short sword upwards from below.

He dodged to the side, without drawing his knife.

The lightning didn't stop.

The second slash came down from above, and Shuoge blocked it with his scabbard. Lightning Release chakra flowed through the scabbard, and his arm went numb.

He took a step back, and Lei Guang's third slash was already at his chest.

The strike was so fast that even the Sharingan could only see a blur.

Shuoge didn't block; he turned to the side, the blade grazing his clothes and cutting a gash, but not damaging his flesh.

Lei Guang sheathed his sword, took a step back, and looked at him.

Where's your knife?

Shuoge did not answer. His sword was still in its sheath, and his hand was still on the hilt.

Lei Guang frowned, then charged forward again, even faster than before.

The short sword drew an arc in the air, slashing from left to right, but Shuoge's scabbard blocked the arc and the blow.

Lei Guang sheathed his sword, switched hands, and swung the short sword from his right hand to his left, slashing upwards.

Shuoge's scabbard was already waiting there—not to block, but to await.

Lei Guang's sword struck its scabbard by itself. His pupils contracted.

"you--"

Shuoge drew his sword.

It's not about speed, it's about accuracy.

The blade grazed Lei Guang's ribs, not deep, just skin and flesh. But Lei Guang knew that if the cut had gone any deeper, his kidney would be gone. He stepped back, clutching the wound under his ribs, blood seeping from between his fingers.

"You've slowed down." Lei Guang's voice was slightly breathless. "But your knife..."

"It is indeed slower," Shuoge said calmly. "But it's 'faster'."

Slow is about speed, fast is about finding the right opportunity.

Lei Guang looked at him, and there was something in his eyes—not fear, but confusion. The child's knife wasn't sharp, but every time it struck, it landed in the most dangerous spot.

It wasn't that he was fast; he crashed into it himself.

Kai stood by the roadside, his mouth agape.

He recalled the time he sparred with Shuoge the previous night, when his fist repeatedly struck Shuoge's scabbard.

He thought it was Shuoge who blocked his punch, but now he knew—not blocked, but waited there. Waiting for you to throw a punch, waiting for you to bring your fist to the scabbard.

Hong understood. She twirled her kunai between her fingers and then withdrew it. She didn't need to do anything.

The lightning didn't recede. He glanced down at the wound on his ribs; blood had stained half his clothes, but his eyes changed—not with fear, but with seriousness. He slowly drew the long sword from his back, its blade crackling with blue-white lightning chakra.

Lightning Release Sword Technique—that's his true strength.

"Since you've drawn your sword..." Lei Guang's voice was low. "Then let's settle this with a fight to the death."

Shuoge pursed his lips and remained silent, his sword held horizontally in front of him, his three-tomoe Sharingan staring at the long sword wrapped in lightning.

The lightning bolt moved. This time, it was more than twice as fast as before.

The long sword slashed down from above, roaring with lightning. Before the blade even arrived, the lightning chakra had already made Sakugo's skin go numb.

The Sharingan spun rapidly, clearly capturing—not the sword, but the feet, the hands, and the movement trajectory of the body's posture.

Lei Guang took a half step forward with his left foot, shifting his weight forward, so the knife would come from above.

Shuoge neither retreated nor parried. His knife thrust out from the side, but it didn't strike; it missed.

The tip of the knife stopped just as Lei Guang's left foot was about to land.

Lei Guang's blade froze in mid-air. He looked down at his chest—Shuo Ge's blade was pressed against his heart, but hadn't pierced it. If his foot had landed, his body would have sent his heart to the blade's tip. His pupils contracted sharply.

"you--"

"You're fast, but your body betrays you," Shuoge said calmly.

Lei Guang looked at those three-tomoe Sharingan eyes and suddenly smiled. It wasn't a bitter smile, but the kind of smile that comes from someone who has lived a lifetime on the battlefield and is finally seeing something new. "A fine sword."

He withdrew his lightning release, his long sword hanging at his side. "Kill me."

Shuoge's blade pierced through. A clean, swift cut through the heart. Lei Guang fell, his eyes still open, that smile still lingering on his lips. Shuoge sheathed his sword, blood staining the blade, slowly drying in the wind.

Kai stood by the roadside, his mouth agape. Hong still held the kunai in her hand, but had no chance to strike. The wind blew in from the north, carrying the smell of blood and the chill of the snow-capped mountains.

"Let's go." Shuoge turned around and walked towards the camp.

Kai caught up, took a few steps, and couldn't help but glance back at Lei Guang's corpse. "How did you manage that strike just now?"

"Before he drew his sword, I had already predicted his actions by observing his changes in posture. This is a unique application of the Sharingan's dynamic vision." Sakugo did not turn around.

"The body is honest; the actions of the hands and feet will reveal the answer."

Kai opened his mouth, then closed it again. He remembered what Shuoge had said before: "Look at the shoulders," "Look at the hands," "Look at the feet," and now it had become "Look at the body." He felt he would never be able to learn it.

Hong followed behind, glanced at Shuoge's back, then at the corpse on the ground, took a deep breath, and followed.

-

Back at the camp, Sakugo went straight to Minato. Minato was sitting at the entrance of the command center wiping a kunai. When he saw Sakugo, he looked up.

"Raikage, an elite Jonin from Kumogakure, is dead."

Minato's finger paused for a moment. "You killed him?"

"Um."

Minato glanced at him, his gaze lingering for a moment on the clean scabbard of his sword. "He's skilled in Lightning Release and swordsmanship. Did you see him?"

—This question is asking whether Shuoge will assassinate or confront the enemy head-on.

"I saw him," Shuoge replied.

Minato was silent for a moment, then put the kunai back into his ninja tool pouch. "Go and rest. We have a mission tomorrow."

Shuoge turned and left.

Minato sat by the door, watching his back, and his lips twitched slightly, not in a smile, but something fainter.

"genius……"

—No, he's a genius among geniuses.

He figured out something so terrifying just by watching one battle.

He directly killed an elite Jonin from Kumogakure.