Senior, Your Body Isn't Up to Snuff!

Soseki's eyes lit up with joy. Just as he was about to speak, he seemed to remember something and quickly said, "Lord Orochimaru, it wasn't me who stopped that big sister last night!"

"The first thing you think of after receiving a reward is others. No wonder Teacher Sarutobi thinks so highly of you," Orochimaru chuckled. "Don't worry, I've already paid a visit to Namikaze Minato."

Soseki breathed a sigh of relief and muttered under his breath, "That older brother's name is Namikaze Minato?"

Orochimaru continued, "Originally, with your achievements this time, it should have been classified as an S-rank mission. However, due to certain special circumstances, your contributions cannot be publicized, nor can they even be recorded."

Asuma, who had been eagerly anticipating showing off in front of his classmates, instantly deflated. He mumbled, "How could this happen?"

Soseki, on the other hand, remained unfazed, his expression unchanged.

Seeing this, Orochimaru's evaluation of him subtly increased.

"As compensation, the village has decided to reward you with the choice of one ninjutsu to learn."

Asuma asked excitedly, "Can we choose a Secret Technique Level Ninjutsu too?"

"Actually, the village doesn't encourage you to learn overly difficult ninjutsu ahead of time, but..." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly. "Geniuses are an exception."

"That's great!" Asuma cheered at first, but then, thinking of some of Soseki's actions, he lost his confidence. "Can ordinary geniuses choose too?"

Seeing Asuma's anxious demeanor, Orochimaru patted his head and said, "I'm sorry, Teacher Sarutobi felt your role in this operation was too small, so he specifically requested that your reward be limited to A-rank ninjutsu and below."

"Tch, I don't even care," Asuma pouted.

In truth, he didn't think it was unreasonable. After all, even he didn't feel like he had made any significant contribution.

But he was still annoyed!

"Choose one ninjutsu?" Soseki pondered inwardly. "In my plan, the Eight Gates and the Spirit Transformation Technique are ranked first."

"However, the Eight Gates is only an A-rank ninjutsu. It's not worth using this opportunity for, and more importantly, I've already figured out how to get it for free."

"As for the Spirit Transformation Technique, learning it now doesn't hold much significance. After all, the target for which I need to realize the value of this technique hasn't appeared yet!"

With that thought, Soseki asked with feigned "hesitation," "Lord Orochimaru, can you tell me which ninjutsu Senior Namikaze Minato chose?"

"It's the Space-Time Ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage, which is extremely rare throughout the Ninja World – the Flying Thunder God Technique!"

"As expected!" Soseki nodded inwardly.

He hadn't considered choosing the Flying Thunder God Technique initially, mainly because he was unsure if he had the talent for it. Wasting the opportunity carelessly would only hinder his progress in strengthening himself.

But now, with an extra opportunity to choose a ninjutsu, Soseki was naturally tempted.

The most crucial point was that Namikaze Minato was also starting from scratch, so he could definitely learn from the other's experience and insights.

With that in mind, Soseki no longer hesitated. "Lord Orochimaru, then I'll choose the Flying Thunder God Technique as well!"

A flicker of surprise flashed in Orochimaru's vertical pupils. "Are you sure, Soseki-kun? The cultivation difficulty of the Flying Thunder God Technique is among the highest of all Secret Technique Level Ninjutsu!"

"I just feel that if two people discuss it, it will definitely be easier to succeed than one person cultivating alone!" Soseki naturally reframed "getting it for free" as mutual progress.

Orochimaru, unaware of the underlying motive, mistook Soseki's intention as wanting to help Namikaze Minato and couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder Tsunade was able to get back on her feet because of you. You're truly kind!"

A few days later, on the hospital's training ground.

Soseki controlled his pace, jogging slowly.

At that moment, a "whoosh" sound was heard.

A green whirlwind flashed past Soseki, like an illusion.

"Bushy brows, stop right there!"

"I told you to do recovery exercises, not suicidal training!"

Two figures, panting heavily, chased after the green whirlwind, shouting.

However, the figure running like a whirlwind showed no signs of stopping.

"No, I can't, my lungs are going to burst!"

"Damn it, is that kid really a patient?"

"Yumiko-neechan, Misa-neechan..."

Hearing the familiar voices, the two nurses chasing the green whirlwind finally stopped.

"Soseki, you're here just in time! Quick, quick, help us stop him!"

"That kid was hospitalized for a muscle strain. Does he not want his legs anymore?"

Hearing their complaints, Soseki chuckled. "Yumiko-neechan, Misa-neechan, leave this to me. I know that student over there; he's a freshman who just enrolled this year."

"Is that really okay?" Yumiko and Misa exchanged a glance, but decided to trust Soseki's ability. "Soseki, we'll count on you. We need to get back to our rounds now."

With that, they limped away, supporting each other.

"Classmate Might Guy, want to have a race?" Standing at the edge of the training ground, Soseki smiled and cast his bait.

"Race!" The green whirlwind instantly stopped in front of Soseki, his eyes lighting up. He then asked excitedly, "Soseki-senpai, you know me?"

While speaking, he was still doing high knees in place.

"Of course. You dragged me, the president of the Psychology Club, to join your 'Vitality Club'..." Soseki chuckled helplessly. "How could I possibly forget?"

"It's the Youthful Passion Club!" Might Guy corrected him solemnly at first, then asked with confusion, "Soseki-senpai, why are you in the hospital? Did someone beat you up too?"

"Too?" Soseki's eyes twitched slightly. He coughed, "These are injuries from fighting a Kumogakure spy a few nights ago."

While he couldn't reveal anything about Kushina, he could talk about the spy incident on its own.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for him, who was garnering so much attention, to explain his injuries.

He couldn't just blame everything on Danzō!

"So you were beaten up after all! But..." Might Guy said subconsciously, his eyes filled with admiration, "Catching a spy? That's amazing!"

Soseki's lips twitched. Why did that sound a bit off?

"Then you..."

"I'm different. The classmates I tricked into joining the club said they wanted to beat me up, but they couldn't catch me!" Might Guy puffed out his chest with immense pride. "I ran twenty blocks straight, to the point of pulling a muscle, and no one managed to hit me."

"So, senpai, your body isn't up to par. Want to join the club and train with me?"

Thanks to "Madman..." for the 999 reward, "That Year, That Person, That Account 180529" for the 200 reward, "Green Lotus Dao Song" for the 100 reward, and "The Person Under the Bed" for the 100 reward. Let me explain: some readers felt the part about Namikaze Minato yesterday was too harsh. However, in reality, that's how it generally appeared in the original work. I merely changed the dialogue between the two characters into internal monologues. Some readers also said that the original work had foreshadowing, but I reread it and there really wasn't much foreshadowing. The two of them barely interacted, and Namikaze Minato also thought Kushina was very strong, which is why he didn't step in when she was bullied before. It was just a successful bold approach (Kushina cared a lot about how people viewed her hair, so I specifically mentioned in Namikaze Minato's monologue that he first noticed her because of her red hair). As for comments about combat weakness and Danzō being idiotic, well, I admit I'm not good at writing combat scenes, but that's how Danzō acted in the original work. He was strong, ruthless, and a cunning schemer, but that doesn't mean he wasn't idiotic!