The Roar of a Single Dog

How far could a Civilian Ninja really go?

Just look at Orochimaru and Jiraiya.

They had both been born civilians, yet later became two of the Konoha Sannin.

And Minato before them was another excellent example.

His parents had died very early. Neither of them had been ninja, and Minato had only entered the academy after happening to take the test.

Before that, he had received absolutely no ninja-related education.

He had always trained and explored on his own.

As everyone knew, the Ninja Academy was only responsible for teaching the Three Basic Jutsu. Beyond that, it covered ninja theory, basic Taijutsu, Shuriken, and physical training. The academy did not teach any other advanced Ninjutsu.

This undoubtedly put Civilian Ninja and clan ninja more than a whole level apart even during their student years.

Yet Minato Namikaze had completely shattered that conclusion.

In the class, his current strength was inferior only to Uchiha Chen and Nawaki.

Standing before him was a child of the Sarutobi Clan.

Minato swiftly drew several Shuriken with his right hand and threw them at Sarutobi Me from highly tricky angles.

Then Minato himself charged rapidly toward Sarutobi Me.

As he ran, Minato once again threw several Shuriken at the dodging Sarutobi Me.

"Bang."

Sarutobi Me directly turned into a log in midair!

Seeing his opponent turn into a log, Minato did not panic. He suddenly stopped and threw a punch behind him.

Sure enough, Sarutobi Me's attack had already arrived.

Minato's fist shot straight for the other boy's face.

Sarutobi Me leaned back slightly, evading Minato's attack. Taking advantage of that opening, Minato fired the Kunai in his hand at his opponent, forcing Sarutobi Me back.

After opening the distance, Sarutobi Me stared at his opponent with an extremely grave expression. He had not expected that facing a Civilian Ninja would prove this troublesome.

"Hah!"

In the blink of an eye, Minato and Sarutobi Me clashed again. The clanging of Kunai rang continuously through the air as their figures flashed back and forth, neither yielding an inch.

Jiraiya watched Minato on the stage with a surprised expression.

In the end, when Minato limped off the stage covered in wounds, Sarutobi Me had already passed out on the stage.

"Not bad, not bad. You're very good." Jiraiya patted Minato's shoulder approvingly. He clearly thought highly of Minato.

"Hurry and have Tsunade treat you. You're unsteady even when walking."

"Okay. Thank you, Lord Jiraiya."

The next two matches had nothing worth watching. Very soon, it was time for the fourth match—Uchiha Chen's turn.

"Chen, do your best!" Mikoto clenched both fists cutely as she kept cheering Uchiha Chen on.

"I know."

Uchiha Chen flashed a bright smile.

He lightly shook his Uchiha Brand Windbreaker, and loud screams immediately erupted around him.

"Chen, you're so handsome!"

"I like you so much!"

Such screams were endless.

Watching the young girls around him scream nonstop, Jiraiya curled his lip.

"They're nowhere near as crazy about him as they were about me when I was young."

"..."

Uchiha Chen strolled onto the stage and merely snapped his fingers. A feather suddenly appeared on the platform. His opponent glanced at the feather, and his tense body instantly froze. Then he slowly collapsed, falling asleep on the stage.

Uchiha Chen effortlessly defeated his opponent.

Cheers immediately erupted from below the stage again.

Jiraiya widened his eyes. "That little Uchiha brat isn't simple."

This was Genjutsu: Feather Sleep. This technique differed from the Temple of Nirvana Technique. The Temple of Nirvana Technique released large-scale illusory feathers, putting enemies within its range to sleep.

That was a large-scale genjutsu.

The Feather Sleep Technique, however, was a genjutsu aimed at a single person. Its effect was related to the amount of Chakra invested and one's spiritual power. The greater the Chakra output, the longer the person caught in the genjutsu would sleep.

This technique was more than enough against a second-year student.

Although he could not yet perform more profound genjutsu, casting genjutsu through mediums such as sound or movement had already become second nature to him.

That was what made genjutsu so impossible to guard against.

Compared to Minato, who was covered in wounds, Uchiha Chen looked far more composed.

"Chen, are you alright?"

As soon as Uchiha Chen stepped off the stage, Mikoto hurried over to him and asked anxiously.

"I'm fine. It was nothing." Uchiha Chen gave her a head pat.

This blatant display of affection dealt massive damage to Jiraiya, who had watched the whole thing from the sidelines. He felt as though he had taken ten thousand critical hits.

He let out the roar of a single dog.

"Why... why?"

Jiraiya threw back his head and howled at the sky, speechless as he questioned the heavens.

"What did I do wrong?"

"Kids these days can flaunt their affection like this, but I'm already a Jonin and still haven't found a girlfriend. Why won't Tsunade agree to go out with me?!"

Uchiha Chen's death-seeking personality from his previous life surfaced again. He suddenly wanted to tease Jiraiya.

"Lord Jiraiya, Lord Jiraiya." Uchiha Chen waved, beckoning him closer. "Want to know how to win over Lady Tsunade?"

With a serious expression, Uchiha Chen began feeding nonsense to the eager-to-learn Jiraiya.

"Yes, yes! What's the method? Tell me quickly..." Jiraiya wiggled his hips.

"I have a move. It works really well. Go find Lady Tsunade, grab her hand, back her into a corner, and kiss her directly."

"As long as you follow my method, Lady Tsunade might not immediately change the nature of your relationship, but she'll definitely understand your feelings. Then your relationship will gradually improve, right? What you lack right now is just an opportunity."

"Won't she hit me?" Jiraiya felt a little afraid when he thought of Tsunade's violent side.

"Lord Jiraiya, to be honest, based on what I've observed, I've always had the impression that you're afraid of Lady Tsunade. Surely you wouldn't actually be too scared to do it?"

"Uchiha, you couldn't be more wrong about that. If you really think that, I'm deeply disappointed in you."

"You might end up with the nickname 'idiot.' When we carry out missions, Tsunade has always listened to me. If you don't believe me, go ask Orochimaru." Jiraiya boasted.

"Will it really work?" Jiraiya still lacked confidence.

"Of course it will. Think about it—if you take Lady Tsunade's first kiss, she definitely won't do anything too outrageous to you. After all, first times always leave a deep impression." Uchiha Chen wore a knowing smile.

"Alright, alright, I get it." Jiraiya nodded fiercely again. "If this method really works, kid, even if you don't make it into the top three, I'll personally give you some guidance!"

"Hehe." Uchiha Chen smiled ambiguously, neither agreeing nor refusing.

"Chen, honestly, how can you just say things like that?"

"It's fine. Passing on some life experience to a single dog who's nearly twenty and still can't find a girlfriend is a good thing."

"...Enough nonsense. I'm heading up now."

Embarrassed by the teasing, Uchiha Mikoto gave Uchiha Chen a shove, then ran onto the stage with a flushed face.

"Good luck."

As for Jiraiya, it wasn't as if this would be the first or second time Tsunade had beaten him up. One more time wouldn't make a difference, right?

"Chen, what are you thinking about?"

Minato, whose injuries had been treated by Tsunade, had returned as well. Tsunade's medical skills spoke for themselves; Minato, who had been in serious condition moments ago, had mostly recovered already.

Except for the few bandages on his face.

"Nothing. Are your injuries better, Minato?" Uchiha Chen asked.

"Lady Tsunade already healed them." Minato replied with a smile. "But since the cuts on my face weren't deep, Lady Tsunade said that a few bandages would be enough. She also said they might attract girls' attention."

Who was he kidding? She clearly wanted to slack off. She had healed your major injuries and couldn't be bothered to treat the minor ones.

Only a kid like you would believe that.

Uchiha Chen curled his lip.

"Has Mikoto already gone up?"

"Yeah, she's the one on the stage."