Namikaze Minato barely dodged Riku's Rice Soul attack.
Riku's speed left Minato struggling to keep up.
Minato hadn't expected Riku to be so powerful—back in the Ninja Academy, he had clearly been weaker.
Even Riku was a little surprised that Minato could dodge that attack.
"He really is the one who'll master the Flying Thunder God someday. His reflexes are something else," Riku thought.
But that surprise quickly faded.
Minato wasn't the only one improving—Riku was also growing stronger every day. And Riku believed that at his peak, his Thunder Breathing would rival Minato's space-time ninjutsu in speed.
Not far away, Uzumaki Kushina watched anxiously, her heart pounding. She hadn't expected things to spiral like this.
While she was deeply moved by Riku standing up for her—fighting both her bullies and even Minato—it also filled her with worry. Riku might face punishment.
"Riku, I'm fine!" she shouted.
Riku gripped his sword tightly and whispered, "I swore that day I'd protect your smile... and yet, just days later, I let this happen."
He turned to face her. "I'll never forgive anyone who hurts you. Never."
"Riku..." Kushina murmured, her eyes growing wet as she looked at his back.
Riku turned back to Minato and sheathed his katana.
Minato raised his kunai. He knew that Riku wasn't sheathing his sword to surrender. It was the start of another technique.
"Thunder Breathing · Third Form · Mosquito Swarm into Thunder!"
Riku moved around Minato at blinding speed, leaving streaks of blue lightning in his wake.
The arcs of lightning trapped Minato—he couldn't retreat. If he did, he'd be electrocuted.
Riku kept slashing. Each blow was heavy, laced with Lightning Chakra. The strikes grew harder to block.
Minato's limbs began to numb. His reaction speed slowed.
"This next hit—I won't be able to stop it," he realized.
Minato forced his right hand to rise. But it was too slow.
Just as Riku's blade was about to connect, a tall figure appeared behind Minato.
"Ninjutsu: Needle Jizō!"
White hair coiled around Minato's body like armor.
Riku's sword struck the hardened hair, sparking with a metallic "ding"—and then shattered.
Riku narrowed his eyes.
Standing in front of him was one of the Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya.
Jiraiya unwrapped his protective jutsu and scratched his head. "Man, I just got back to the village and already there's trouble."
"Lord Jiraiya!" Minato said, relief washing over him.
Jiraiya eyed the broken blade on the ground. "What happened here? That wasn't just a 'small conflict,' Minato."
Minato stumbled over his words. "We're classmates... It got out of hand."
Jiraiya frowned. "That swing was heavy. Even with the flat of the blade, your arm would've been broken."
But just as the tension began to ease—Riku snapped. He hurled the broken blade straight at the leg of the Genin who had attacked Kushina.
Another figure dropped from above, slamming a fist into the earth.
The ground shook, and the shattered blade was blasted away by the shockwave.
Tsunade, the Slug Princess and another Sannin, stood between Riku and the Genin.
Arms folded, she glared. "That's enough, kid. You've gone too far."
Jiraiya's face was serious now. "Why use such brutal force on your fellow villagers?"
Riku's voice was ice. "Fellow villagers? Did that Genin treat Kushina like a companion when he threw a real kunai at her?
And Minato—you watched it happen. You didn't stop him. But when I retaliated, you pulled that same kunai and aimed it at me. Who's the real villain here?"
Jiraiya turned to Minato. "Is this true?"
Minato explained the entire situation: how the Genin had attacked Kushina, how Riku retaliated and fractured his chest, and how Riku then threatened to break their limbs. Left with no choice, Minato had intervened.
Jiraiya sighed. From his perspective, Minato had done the right thing.
"You already punished them," Jiraiya told Riku. "But you still wanted to cripple them. Isn't that excessive?"
Suddenly, Kushina ran between them and spread her arms protectively.
"They were the ones who crossed the line! Why are you only blaming Riku?!"
Riku pulled her behind him, stepping forward with a bitter smile.
"Too much? What if that kunai had killed her? Would you still think I was overreacting?"
His voice lowered into something darker.
"But I get it. She's just some girl from another village. And I'm the kid with traitorous parents. In your eyes, they're the companions. We're the outsiders, right?"
Jiraiya rubbed his nose awkwardly. "I never said that."
Tsunade, watching quietly until now, stepped forward and looked at Kushina. "What's your name?"
"Kushina. Uzumaki Kushina."
Tsunade's eyes softened. She recognized the name.
Though she hadn't been in the village when Kushina arrived, she'd kept up correspondence with her grandmother, Uzumaki Mito.
Red hair. From the Uzumaki clan. There was no mistaking it.
Tsunade turned to Jiraiya. "Let the Hokage deal with this."
Jiraiya nodded. From Tsunade's tone, he sensed that Kushina wasn't just any child.
"Alright. Minato—take the injured to the hospital."
"Yes!"
Minato helped the wounded Genin to his feet, nudged the dazed younger brother awake, and led them away.
Riku's eyes flickered.
With both Sannin present, his window for vengeance was gone.