Minato's Flying Thunder God

At Training Ground No. 7 in Konohagakure, a kunai engraved with an Ouroboros design stood embedded in the ground.

With a whoosh, two figures appeared out of thin air at the same time.

Minato Namikaze was only one final step away from mastering Flying Thunder God. All he needed to do was attempt a teleportation through space-time. If he succeeded, he would have mastered it.

Still, he approached this final step cautiously and had come to discuss it with Orochimaru, only to discover that Orochimaru had learned Flying Thunder God before him.

As expected of Lord Orochimaru, one of the Three Ninja alongside my teacher!

After learning how far Minato had progressed, Orochimaru decided to let him experience what teleporting with Flying Thunder God felt like.

After successfully sensing the formula, he needed to make the chakra within his body resonate with the chakra sealed inside it before he could jump through space.

A thoughtful look crossed Minato Namikaze's face, but he was soon interrupted.

"Minato! I brought you lunch!"

Kushina wore an apron, her red hair streaming behind her. Minato turned around, and the sight of his beloved's face brought a warm, sunny smile to his lips.

Mito Uzumaki regarded Kushina Uzumaki as family, and Kushina was very close to Mito's granddaughter, Tsunade.

But she had rarely interacted with Tsunade's teammate Orochimaru-at least, before she met Minato.

By now, she regarded Orochimaru as Minato's second mentor, and anyone Minato respected as an elder deserved the same respect from her.

"Orochimaru, would you like some?"

Kushina opened the lunchbox, revealing food so bizarre-looking that it could rival Stargazy Pie. It was clearly homemade, brimming with her love for Minato...

"Sorry... I've already eaten. Besides, you made this for Minato. There's no need for me to have any."

Orochimaru shook his head, ignoring Minato's pleading gaze.

Enjoy that blessing yourself. Consider it payback for flaunting your romance in front of me.

With trembling hands, Minato picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece of charred fish.

His hands never shook when he slit an enemy's throat with a kunai on missions, but faced with Kushina's cooking, he could no longer control them.

"Minato, you really must be exhausted! You can't even hold your chopsticks properly. Let me feed you!"

Kushina's voice was full of concern, but to Orochimaru, it sounded terrifying.

Minato was about to refuse when Kushina stuffed a piece of fish into his mouth.

Minato closed his eyes, helpless tears of "happiness" spilling from them.

"Minato, tell me! Is it good?"

"It has a very unusual flavor. How should I put it... I've never tasted anything so unique in my life."

Minato didn't want to lie, so he could only phrase it tactfully.

Kushina missed his meaning entirely. Folding her arms across her chest, she laughed heartily.

"Looks like I really do have a talent for cooking! Minato, leave your dinners to me from now on!"

Kushina clenched a fist as she declared this with boundless enthusiasm.

"There's no need! Really, there's no need..." Minato hurried on. "What I mean is, I don't want you wearing yourself out, Kushina. Let me do the cooking from now on!"

Every word Minato spoke was driven by his desire to survive.

In the end, faced with Kushina's firm insistence, Minato had no choice but to accept.

Whenever he was away on missions, Kushina had little to do. Other than chatting with Mikoto, she could only sit around bored. Cooking was a new hobby she had found, and Minato couldn't turn her down.

"Minato, have you rested enough? If you have, get up and keep training!"

Watching Minato Namikaze numbly hold his mouth open and "enjoy" Kushina's tender attentions as she fed him, Orochimaru thought it over and finally offered him a lifeline.

"Yes, Teacher Orochimaru!"

Minato's attitude toward Orochimaru shifted even further, and so did the way he addressed him.

He saved my life! Who knows what might happen to me if I keep eating?

Besides, Orochimaru had helped him tremendously with both the Rasengan and now Flying Thunder God. Given Orochimaru's relationship with Jiraiya as well, Minato saw nothing wrong with calling him his teacher.

"What? Orochimaru, you're so strict! Minato hasn't even finished eating!"

Kushina was a little unhappy. She had put so much effort into making this meal and brought it straight to Minato without even tasting it herself, yet he had barely eaten any.

"Ahaha, Kushina, Teacher Orochimaru may be strict, but he's really helped me a lot!"

Minato tried to soothe Kushina. Orochimaru's words had been an enormous help! They had practically saved his life. How could that not count as a tremendous favor?

Kushina could only agree. It was for Minato's sake, after all.

"Teacher Orochimaru, I feel like I'm ready to try now."

Minato spoke to Orochimaru.

"Then seize that feeling while you have it!"

Orochimaru nodded.

Minato drew a kunai engraved with the words "Kunai of Ninja Love" from his ninja tool pouch and flicked his wrist, throwing it forward.

Whoosh!

Golden light flashed. Before the kunai could hit the ground, Minato had appeared on the other side of the training ground, one hand gripping its handle.

He can already use Flying Thunder God Second Step when he's only just learned the technique...

Such talent, such reflexes. Even Orochimaru marveled at Minato's aptitude as a shinobi.

Holding his Flying Thunder God Kunai, Minato turned around and exclaimed joyfully, "Teacher Orochimaru, I did it!"

Orochimaru nodded in admiration and gave Minato a thumbs-up.

"Huh? You mastered it already? That's my Minato! The food hasn't gone cold yet, either. Come finish it!"

Kushina spoke with delighted surprise, too. At her words, however, Minato's face filled with horror.

Orochimaru flicked out his tongue and shrugged, then left the training ground, abandoning a petrified Minato.

Orochimaru planned to spend the coming days relaxing properly.

The strain of the war needed no explanation. As Deputy Commander, he had not only fought on the battlefield but also handled administrative matters while the other shinobi rested.

After returning, he had researched the Cosmic Cube, built and improved equipment, and trained in Flying Thunder God. Without Shadow Clones, he could never have accomplished so much in just over a year.

Unlike Jiraiya, who enjoyed peeping into bathhouses, or Tsunade, who gambled and drank, Orochimaru took a more casual approach to relaxing.

Dressed in a white kimono, its sash fluttering, he strolled through Konohagakure's streets, occasionally smiling and greeting the villagers. He just had to be careful not to stick his tongue out too far and frighten anyone.

His reputation was riding high. Ever since the Third Hokage had tied the Hokage Armband onto him on the day he returned, everyone in the village recognized him.

The old Orochimaru had never particularly cared about his outward appearance. It was merely a shell to him.

But after merging with another soul, Orochimaru's outlook had changed, and he wholeheartedly agreed with one saying:

Strength is temporary. Looking good lasts a lifetime!

Orochimaru had been fairly good-looking in his youth. The Divine Dragon's aura carried within the Dragon Yuan had also dispersed the cold, sinister air of a snake that once clung to him, leaving him looking like a handsome young man.

After accepting gifts from enthusiastic villagers and signing a few autographs for children playing ninja by the roadside, Orochimaru noticed Shikun Mitarashi hurrying toward him.

"Sorry, everyone. I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

Understanding, the villagers took their children away, giving Shikun Mitarashi and Orochimaru some space.

"There are too many people here. Whatever it is, let's discuss it at my house."

Seeing that Shikun Mitarashi was about to speak, Orochimaru offered the suggestion.

At home, Orochimaru poured a cup of tea and handed it to Shikun Mitarashi.

This was premium tea that cost two hundred thousand ryo per jin, and even Orochimaru had little of it in stock.

Shikun Mitarashi took only a small sip before producing a kunai. Three large circles marked its surface, and to Orochimaru, they looked like Three-Color Dumplings.

"Lord Orochimaru, I've mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, but inscribing the formula is difficult. It takes me a whole day to make one kunai, and there's still a chance of failure."

Those three dumplings formed the design of Shikun Mitarashi's Flying Thunder God Formula.

His proficiency in sealing jutsu limited the speed at which he could inscribe the formula.

In truth, ninety-nine percent of the shinobi in the Shinobi World never had access to something as advanced as sealing jutsu. Even those who did struggled to grasp the basics.

In the original story, during the plan to destroy Konohagakure, Orochimaru had expressed surprise upon seeing Kakashi's Sealing Brand Technique.

It was already quite rare for Shikun Mitarashi to have any foundation in sealing jutsu. His ability to successfully inscribe the formula now owed a great deal to the insights Orochimaru had given him.

Minato Namikaze was different. His girlfriend, Kushina, had inherited all of Mito Uzumaki's teachings.

Judging by the scroll Kushina had given him, Orochimaru believed her skill in sealing jutsu was exceptionally high, perhaps even at a master's level.

Minato's own proficiency in sealing jutsu was considerable, and Kushina's guidance had surely played a part in that.