The Yellow Flash and The Village of Mokugakure

[Minato Namikaze]

The streets of Ambrosia were about as full as when he had came here a few hours ago. There weren’t many people, but his main focus was the out of place ninja that was walking just ahead of him. Minato wasn’t being overly cautious here, there were too many people for a full fledged fight to break out in the middle of the City. No, it was after the both of them left the City of Ambrosia itself that the real battle would begin. Minato knew this, and so did the dark man he was tailing. Where was he going? Was he on a mission? Who was he supposed to be reporting back to? All of these questions ran through Minato’s mind as he tailed the man. The only strange thing about the man was the fact that he didn't have a Forehead Protector. If it was a new Village, then they probably didn’t have time to set all of that little stuff up. That, or he’s a rogue Ninja, which meant that Minato would have to be careful.

The two ninja had reached the exit of Ambrosia, neither of the two men hesitated as they neared their exit into the dense forest that surrounded the city. Minato was impressed, this guy didn’t break his concentration, nor did he ever look back at Minato. So either he was confident in himself, or he had no Idea that Minato was following him. As the two passed through the entrance into the forest the Ninja that Minato had been following stopped and looked around, Minato walked up to him in an attempt to greet him. The man had caught Minato off guard. Before he knew it, he’d launched his foot into Minato’s stomach and jumped up into the trees. Minato clung to his stomach for a few seconds, the pain felt stronger than it usually had in the past. And he’d been impaled through the stomach by the Kyuubi’s claw without dying instantly.

‘Yep... Definitely not as strong as I used to be.’ Minato coughed as he grasped his stomach and looked up at the Ninja who was running from him. Minato didn’t have much time, if he was going to get his information, he needed to catch this man right now. Minato stood up, re-positioned his forehead protector and then took off along the forest’s floor. Minato was naturally speedy, his quick thinking and high reflexes had helped him a lot, but he was also one of the fastest ninja around. It was time to use his Flying Raijin. Minato reached into his kunai holster, pulled out his three pronged kunai, and tossed it at his opponent. The man turned in mid air and deflected it with his own kunai, but Minato had already made his move.

With a flash of yellow light. Minato had disappeared and reappeared at the kunai’s location. Minato grasped the kunai with his right hand, using it to deflect the Ninja’s own kunai bombardment. The Man’s eyes stared straight at Minato, their colour no longer black but rather, they were a crimson red with three tomoe sitting around a black pupil.

‘Uchiha?’ Minato thought to himself as he kicked the Uchiha man in the stomach and sent him crashing into the dirt below them. He hadn’t expected it, but it made sense. The way he dressed and the way he looked, Minato should have known right from the beginning. Minato landed on the ground in front of his Uchiha opponent. The man looked up at him with a smirk as he took in a deep breath. Minato almost instantly realized what his opponent had done on his way down to the ground. Minato held his hand up, gathering chakra as it began to spin and rotate in the palm of his hand. His opponent had prepared a fireball jutsu, and he had no time to get away. The only thing he could think of doing was dispersing the fire with one of his own Jutsu.

‘Rasengan!’ Minato howled as both he and his Uchiha opponent released their Jutsu. Minato’s Rasengan collided with the fireball with a force that almost knocked him off of his feet, Minato could only stand and watch as the Rasengan in his palm slowly dispersed the flames. By now, the Uchiha had already taken the time to get away from him.

‘Why are you following me?’ A voice spoke out as Minato felt the cold touch of a steel kunai knife at his throat.

‘I just wanted to talk, you’re the one who attacked first.’ Minato replied as he poked at the Uchiha’s stomach with the point of his own kunai knife. ‘Now the question is… Are you confident you can cut my throat before I can react?’ Minato grinned.

The confident scoff that came from the man as Minato asked his question was the perfect signal, one that Minato had been waiting for the entire time the man’s kunai has been at his throat. The Uchiha gasped in disbelief as he was given no choice but to watch Minato disappear in a flash of yellow light, only to reappear behind the man. The roles of the two ninja had been reversed

‘Now… Can we please work this out without cutting each others throats?’ Minato questioned as he held his kunai against the man’s throat. Kind of hypocritical of him, but he needed to get his point across. The man nodded slowly, almost as if he hesitated with his movements. Minato relaxed his muscles and took his weapon away from the man’s throat, placing it back in it’s holster. The man jumped forward and turned around, his sharingan still activated, still tracking every little move Minato made.

‘Hello, my name is Minato.’ His statement was strong and firm, the Uchiha man looked at him and recognized the name and knelt down on his right knee.

‘Lord Fourth, I am so sorry for attacking you earlier. My name is Izanami.’ Izanami’s words felt sincere and, to be completely honest, Minato was surprised that the man hadn’t recognized him sooner. But he’d probably been here for a long time, him being here proves that Minato wasn’t the first person brought to this world, and who knows how old this place actually is… Minato smiled at the man and gestured for Izanami to stand.

‘What are you doing here?’ minato asked as he looked around at the forest around him. It was dense, and the sounds that could be heard coming from within it sounded guttural and primal. As if everything that lived within the forest wanted to kill them, as if the forest itself wanted to kill them.

‘It seems Dangerous, but it’s safe. The animals of this forest are part of the reason no one has attacked the Village yet.’ Izanami explained to Minato as they looked at each other. Minato’s initial intuition was right, there was a Hidden Village somewhere in this forest. Now he just had to make it there. Minato nodded at his new friend and then looked back to the forest. A noise had caught his attention, it wasn't a loud noise but rather a soft noise. A noise that you wouldn't have heard unless you were specifically listening for it. It sounded as if leaves had been knocked off of a branch in one of the trees by them.

‘Have they been following you for long?’ Minato asked as he placed his hand over his kunai.

‘Since I got to Ambrosia.’ Izanami frowned, his response was soft and direct. He clearly didn’t want to let whoever it was know that both He and Minato were aware of their presence. ‘They fell back a little when we started fighting.’

‘I see…’ Minato responded as he placed his hand on his hip. His voice was low and his lips moved only to the slightest degree. He didn’t want to let them know that he knew they were there. If they were going to be ambushed, he’d rather be prepared for it.

‘So... shall we get going?’ Minato questioned happily as his serious demeanor took a sudden one hundred and eighty degree turn. In truth, he really did just want to get going. He really did want to get to the village to see who was running it, but he also needed to look for a nice spot for their impending fight. There was no way of getting around it, if they ran now, then whoever was following them would know that they had realized they were there. The only option was to continue as normal.

Minato smiled at Izanami warmly, gesturing for him to take the lead.