First Meeting with Namikaze Minato: The Answer to Living Off a Partner

Chapter 43: First Meeting Namikaze Minato — The Meta Answer Is Eating Soft Rice

"How's the reading going? Tired?" At noon, Sarutobi Biwako put down the documents in her hand and asked.

"Fine, I love learning!" Hyuga Ningyuan laughed.

"How much have you memorized?" Sarutobi Biwako pressed.

"About twenty pages or so!" Hyuga Ningyuan said.

"Oh?" Sarutobi Biwako paused. "Your memory's pretty good too!"

Hyuga Ningyuan smiled shyly, hiding his merit and fame.

"Anything you don't understand?" she asked again.

"No, I recognize all the words, and I can grasp all the sentences!" Hyuga Ningyuan laughed.

"Is that so?" Sarutobi Biwako was a bit surprised. Hyuga Ningyuan was only five years old!

This level of comprehension and literacy didn't seem like a five-year-old at all.

But thinking of Kakashi at the Ninja Academy, a genius of Hyuga Ningyuan's caliber didn't seem so hard to accept.

"Good, then let's go eat!"

"Mm!"

With a new skill in hand, Hyuga Ningyuan naturally wanted to test it out.

He infused Qi into his clothes, and their flutter followed his will.

So now his clothes not only defied gravity but could also billow even without wind!

Unfortunately, the Hyuga Clan's clothes didn't have much fabric to flutter, so it didn't look great. He'd need a custom-made, ethereal outfit later to really show off this skill.

Food, plates, chopsticks — he could also infuse them with Qi, but aside from making them fly, there wasn't any special effect.

Still, this gave Hyuga Ningyuan another idea.

He could infuse poison with Qi, then have the poison crawl into an enemy's teacup or bowl.

Silent and traceless poisoning!

Also, was he limited to physical objects?

If he could control a cloud, could he step onto it and fly?

If he controlled air, could he block someone's throat or windpipe while they slept, killing them without a sound?

If he controlled water, could he use light refraction for remote reconnaissance?

"Hey!" Mentioning water control, Hyuga Ningyuan instantly realized what this Object Control ability was — wasn't it just the Flap-Flap Fruit?

Infuse it with the fruit's energy, then control it and make it float!

But his floating was far inferior to the Flap-Flap Fruit. That fruit could make entire islands float, while he struggled to lift a stone pillar.

Still, his ability could be upgraded, and it might not be worse than the Flap-Flap Fruit in the future.

Plus, his ability had finer precision and wasn't afraid of seawater.

"Heh heh." Thinking that Object Control was similar to the Flap-Flap Fruit, Hyuga Ningyuan's mood brightened considerably.

What was this called? A man in Naruto, starting off with the Flap-Flap Fruit ability?

"What are you suddenly giggling about?" Sarutobi Biwako asked.

"Uh, nothing, the tempura's really good!" Hyuga Ningyuan chuckled. "It's just... I still can't believe I got to become your disciple."

"It's not hard to become my disciple. I've had plenty at the hospital — even Tsunade was taught by me!" Sarutobi Biwako laughed.

"But you're the Hokage's Wife!" Hyuga Ningyuan grinned. "To me, you're a real big shot!"

"I'm no big shot. I'm just an ordinary Medical Ninja. As for being the Hokage's Wife, that title isn't anything special — we're all just members of the village!" Sarutobi Biwako said with a kind face.

Hyuga Ningyuan nodded with rice in his mouth. He believed Sarutobi Biwako wasn't just saying that; she truly meant it.

Come to think of it, Asuma thought his father was hypocritical, didn't acknowledge the Will of Fire, and betrayed his own class. Maybe this sincere personality trait came from Sarutobi Biwako.

"Behind every successful man is a great woman. You're the great woman behind the Hokage!" Hyuga Ningyuan said.

"You kid, you really know how to talk!" Sarutobi Biwako looked puzzled. "Where do you learn all these lines?"

And earlier: heroes aren't judged by youth, ambition isn't bound by age.

Marry Yūhi Kurenai, be a ninja like the Second Hokage.

Was I not well-read enough, or had I fallen behind the times?

"It just came out when the mood hit!" Hyuga Ningyuan said offhandedly.

He hadn't thought about writing a book or anything. Ninjas had the drive to tear houses apart looking for books.

If they couldn't find it, they'd suspect Ningyuan.

"I've always thought I'm quick-witted and eloquent. Maybe I could become a great writer!" Hyuga Ningyuan said.

"A great writer, eat your food!" Sarutobi Biwako picked up a piece of meat and put it in Hyuga Ningyuan's bowl. "So, great writer, what are you planning to write?"

"Hmm, a book about a doctor healing the sick?" Hyuga Ningyuan thought for a moment, then said, "The protagonist is modeled after me when I'm older—tall and handsome, every woman swoons over him. All the female patients want him to treat them, some even fake being sick. They listen to everything he says and follow every instruction. His medical skills are unmatched; there's no illness he can't cure, no problem he can't solve."

"That sounds pretty interesting!" Sarutobi Biwako imagined such a book and burst out laughing. "But there's no one that handsome in the world!"

"How can you say that? There's one right there." Hyuga Ningyuan pointed a finger.

"Huh?" Sarutobi Biwako turned her head. They were eating at a restaurant outside Konoha Hospital. At this hour, the place should be full of doctors and nurses, but since the food was so delicious, a few other customers were around too.

Hyuga Ningyuan was pointing at a young man with short golden hair, a handsome face, and a warm smile.

"Minato?" Sarutobi Biwako murmured softly.

Minato had sharp ears. The moment someone said his name, he sensed it. When he looked over and saw it was Sarutobi Biwako, his wariness faded.

"Lady Biwako!" Minato stood up and walked over. His food hadn't arrived yet, so he could easily join their table.

"You're eating alone?" Sarutobi Biwako asked curiously. "I thought you and Kushina were already together?"

"Uh..." Minato blushed. "I'm not here to eat. I'm buying some food to take back."

He'd only seen Kushina at school before, and he fell in love at first sight.

Back then, the distance kept his mind full of romantic fantasies. But after they officially got together, he realized—Kushina couldn't cook!

He actually knew how to cook, but since he used to eat alone, he'd just thrown things together. His culinary skills were mediocre at best, nowhere near good enough to treat Kushina.

So for the past few days, he'd relied on takeout. As for the future...

He'd have to seriously learn how to cook.

"I see!" Sarutobi Biwako nodded. "But if you're going to live together, it's best to cook at home. Eating out all the time will drain your wallet!"

"I'll work hard to learn!" Minato smiled gently, then turned to Hyuga Ningyuan. "And this is?"

"Hyuga Ningyuan, my new disciple. He's learning Medical Ninjutsu under me," Sarutobi Biwako introduced.

"Hello, Senior Minato!" Hyuga Ningyuan looked at the Tough Guy before him with obvious curiosity.

Rumor has it—just rumor, mind you!

Rumor has it that from Minato's graduation to his death, in every battle, he never lost!

This was a man with a hundred percent win rate. Even against the Nine-Tails, he only died because he chose to.

Or rather, because he was too strong, the plot had to kill him off. Otherwise, the story couldn't go on.

If Minato had lived, the Uchiha wouldn't have rebelled, Itachi wouldn't have defected. Konoha would have Shisui, Itachi, Fugaku, Minato, Kushina—a pile of Kage-level fighters. Forget the Akatsuki Organization not being able to fight back; Konoha could've tried taking on all four other villages and unified the world.

After all, in the later years, it wasn't just Konoha that suffered a talent drain—the other villages were the same.

Hereditary Rule wasn't just Hiruzen Sarutobi's problem; the Kage of other villages had it too. Only Kirigakure was the exception.

If he didn't want to die, no one in this world could make him.

There might have been some scheming behind his love story with Uzumaki Kushina, but his love for her was real. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to die with her.

Anyway, if it were Hyuga Ningyuan, he couldn't do it.

"Nice to meet you too!" Minato smiled. "Lady Biwako is a master of Medical Ninjutsu. Studying under her, your future achievements will be limitless!"

There was even a hint of envy in his voice. He came from a civilian background and didn't have the same learning resources as Hyuga Ningyuan.

What he didn't know was that Hyuga Ningyuan's learning resources weren't all that great either.

The paths they walked were very similar—both relied on their girlfriends.

Minato learned the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu and, through his connection to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, became Jiraiya's disciple.

Hyuga Ningyuan learned the Yūhi Clan's Illusion Jutsu and, through his connection to Yūhi Shinku, became Biwako's disciple.

What does this prove?

It proves that in a rigid class system, riding on someone else's coattails isn't necessarily a bad way to break through the barriers!