False Reincarnation
The Third Shinobi War was finally over. What were the great nations even fighting about anyway? What was the Second Shinobi war even about? Mask honestly had no idea, he had largely ignored the Second Shinobi War and he didn't even realise there had been a Second Shinobi War until it was pointed out to him. The Third Shinobi War was unexpected and he didn't understand the politics behind it all. Mask was quite disinterested in the war and politics altogether, but he kept his eyes open enough to keep aware so that he wouldn't be caught off guard in case another war was to start or to be informed when something interesting happened. Interesting like when people were declaring a blonde haired Leaf shinobi as his reincarnation during the Third Shinobi War. Now, THAT was interesting. That was something that was worth the extra effort to investigate into, its not everyday you have the chance to meet your supposed reincarnation.
What could possibly give people the idea that this shinobi could be his reincarnation in the first place?
The man's name was Minato Namikaze. He was known as Konohagakure's 'Yellow Flash' and considered the fastest man alive by many. Tobirama had been known for his speed once but that wasn't enough to deem a man his reincarnation. There had to be more to it than that, speed alone might earn you a nice comparison but to be considered a reincarnation? There had to be more to it. So, he would have to utilize his resources to gather information on this man. That was fine by him, even if it did take a bit of time because of the war. It was a rare occasion when he took an interest in the Hidden Leaf or any of the hidden villages of the other shinobi nations. It was natural for the former Hokage to be curious about who the shinobi everyone hailed as his reincarnation. He wanted to know how this man fought and how people drew comparisons between the both of them.
The easiest information obtained was that of the man's appearance. The man has blue eyes and Tobirama once had light blue eyes. The former Hokage has white hair and his supposed reincarnation has blonde hair, so they both had light colored hair. Was it a hair and eye color thing? No, it went past minor things like hair and eye color. Appearance would be irrelevant. The man's behaviors and fighting style was measured to make the comparison to himself or at least Mask assumed so. But aside from the details of Minato's background and appearance, Mask's sources couldn't provide much information. He found his sources' unreliability rather disappointing but dwelling on such shortcomings wouldn't help him in anyway. The best he could do is compile everything he knows about the Yellow Flash and draw conclusions from there.
**********************
Minato Namikaze
Age Range: 20 to 25
Hair Color: blond
Eye color: blue
Height: somewhere around 5'8" or 5'9"
-Trained by Jiraiya, the Toad Sage.
(Jiraiya is the former student of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, who is Tobirama's former student.)
-Known as the 'Yellow Flash' due to his speed
-Fast to the point where it appears he teleports? That bit of information wasn't exactly clearly.
-Uses specialized kunai?
- it is possible that he has access to a version of Sage Mode.
**********************
His sources had trouble finding information on the man's exact fighting style. Speed and 'so fast that it appears to be teleporting' were not what Mask considered to be adequate details about the man's fighting style. What chakra nature transformations could Minato use? What sort of weapons did he favor? Wait, his sources did say that the man preferred using specialized kunai which was somewhat helpful. That didn't tell him much about how the 'Yellow Flash' fought in battle though. The only way for Mask to obtain that information was to fight the famous 'Yellow Flash', his supposed reincarnation. But did his curiosity go that far?
Of course it did. Mask was a scientist after all. He is the shinobi who uses science to further his own power and knowledge. Old age? Old age was a joke to the former Hokage. His own age was just a worthless number to him as he had slowed his aging process years ago when he was still a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. Mask is still a fearsome shinobi even without his reputation as Tobirama Senju. The battle between the ghost and and his supposed reincarnation would truly be a sight to behold. It took some effort, but Mask eventually found the opportunity to fight this shinobi after tracking him down.
This battle would be Tobirama's test for Minato. This was to see if the 'Yellow Flash' is as skilled and powerful as others claimed and to see if the shinobi's fighting style as similar to Tobirama's for people to make such a claim of reincarnation. This was a simple test, but it was similar to an experiment on many levels.
Minato Namikaze was not quite how I expected him to be, but that is to be expected. After all, most of my information about the shinobi was from rumors and second-hand information. I'm not sure what I expected to begin with from the information that I obtained. The only thing that I knew about his battle style was his speed as my sources failed to gather anything else on the matter. He wasn't an opponent I took lightly, as he was trained by the Toad Hermit, who was taught by my former student Hiruzen Sarutobi. I suppose this was also a chance to judge how well Hiruzen taught Jiraiya and the rest of the sannin... and judge how well Jiraiya taught Minato.
The Hidden Leaf's ability to pass on lessons and teachings to the next generation hasn't seem to have dulled from what I have observed. The man's speed was quite impressive, impressive enough for his main fighting style to revolve around it. Minato is highly intelligent and quick to adapt to new difficulties that may arise in mid-combat, something I was known for. That's not enough for people to call him my reincarnation though. His main fighting style is focused on his speed and he supplements this with using the 'Flying Thunder God' jutsu. I'm not sure how he managed to learn that jutsu, as I didn't teach it to any of my students or entrust the knowledge of the jutsu to anyone. It is possible the 'Yellow Flash' created his own version of the technique but I have my doubts. None of the less, he's developed a fighting style his own around the jutsu that was similar to one of my own fighting strategies. Those specialized kunai are emblazoned with his Flying Thunder God seal allowing him to summon himself to its location. That certainly explains why people said Minato could teleport behind enemy lines.
His usage of the Flying Thunder God technique initially caught me off-guard, Minato seemed equally as surprised as I was when he saw that I too used the Flying Thunder God technique. I had never anticipated I would fight someone who could use this jutsu of mine against me. My version Sharingan and my abilities as a sensor were quite helpful in this battle, I could adapt and react more quickly than him. Even then, the battle felt a little easy, I had expected more of a challenge. It wasn't that the battle wasn't as challenging as I expected, because it had been. However it appeared that Minato was distracted by his thoughts in battle for whatever reason. I had not paid too much attention to this during my fight with him, but I made mental note of it as a simple observation.
"There are only two known users of the Flying Thunder God technique, as the Second Hokage did not pass down the jutsu." Minato stated. "It also wouldn't make sense for him to teach the jutsu to someone outside of the Hidden Leaf."
"The only logical conclusion is that you are Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage."
The masked man did not answer. Instead, Mask looked into the man's eyes with his glowing red irises.
"Sleep and Forget." That was the final thing Minato heard before suddenly falling unconscious.
Minato had weakened enough from battle to be susceptible to the jutsu cast by Mask's eyes. The man wouldn't remember this fight, but he would awaken soon enough. With that, Mask made his leave, making his Flying Thunder God seals disappear as he did. As much as Mask hated to manipulate minds like that, he couldn't afford to risk the Leaf discovering him. Minato would be fine, as he was not in enemy territory, he could easily make his own way back to safety.
Minato had figured out the truth of my identity while we fought. That's what was distracting him during our battle. His intellect is impressive and his mind is sharp. The usage of my technique is also impressive, even if I am unsure of where I learned it, I must give him credit where it is due. I also must give credit to Jiraiya for teaching Minato, and commend Hiruzen for teaching Jiraiya. I can see why people think this Minato is my reincarnation. However, in order to reincarnate, you must be dead to begin with, and I did not die.
But others do not know that, and I intend to keep things that way.