Soseki's eyes first lit up with joy. He was about to speak, but seemed to remember something and hurriedly said, "Lord Orochimaru, the one who stopped that big sister last night wasn't actually me!"
"The first thing you think of after receiving a reward is someone else. No wonder Teacher Hiruzen thinks so highly of you." Orochimaru smiled. "Don't worry. I already paid Namikaze Minato a visit in advance."
Soseki sighed in relief, then muttered softly, "That big brother is called Namikaze Minato?"
Orochimaru continued, "Originally, given your accomplishments this time, it would have been appropriate to classify it as an S-rank mission. But for certain special reasons, your contributions cannot be publicized, nor can they even be officially recorded."
Asuma, who had been looking forward to showing off in front of his classmates, instantly deflated and muttered, "How can it be like this?"
Soseki, meanwhile, remained perfectly calm, without the slightest change in expression.
Seeing this, Orochimaru's assessment of him rose another notch.
"As compensation, the village has decided to reward each of you with the opportunity to choose one technique to learn."
Asuma asked excitedly, "Can I choose a Secret Technique Level Ninjutsu too?"
"In truth, the village does not encourage you to begin learning overly difficult ninjutsu too early, but..." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly. "Geniuses are an exception."
"That's great!" Asuma cheered at first, but after recalling some of Soseki's performances, he lost his confidence again. "Do ordinary geniuses count too?"
Seeing Asuma's conflicted expression, Orochimaru patted his head. "Sorry, but Teacher Hiruzen believes your role in this operation was too minor. Therefore, he specifically requested that your reward be limited to A-rank Ninjutsu and below."
"Tch, like I care." Asuma curled his lips.
In truth, he did not think it was unfair. After all, even he himself did not think he had made much of a contribution.
But it was still really annoying!
"One technique of my choice?" Soseki pondered inwardly. "In my plans, the first choices are the Eight Gates and the Mind Transfer Jutsu."
"However, the Eight Gates is only an A-rank Ninjutsu. Using this opportunity to exchange for it would be somewhat wasteful. More importantly, I've already figured out how to get it for free."
"As for the Mind Transfer Jutsu, there isn't much point in learning it right now. After all, the target I need in order to realize this technique's value hasn't even appeared yet!"
With that thought, Soseki asked "hesitantly," "Lord Orochimaru, could you tell me which technique Senior Namikaze Minato chose?"
"It was a space-time ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage, one that is exceedingly rare throughout the entire Shinobi World—the Flying Thunder God Technique!"
"As expected!" Soseki nodded to himself.
He had not considered exchanging for the Flying Thunder God Technique at first mainly because he was unsure whether he possessed any talent in that regard. Wasting the opportunity recklessly would only affect the pace at which he improved his strength.
But now that he had gained an extra opportunity to choose any ninjutsu for free, Soseki naturally felt tempted.
Most importantly, Namikaze Minato was also starting from scratch. That meant he could completely mooch off the other's experience and insights.
Thinking this, Soseki no longer hesitated. "Lord Orochimaru, then I'll choose the Flying Thunder God Technique as well!"
A trace of surprise flashed through Orochimaru's vertical pupils. "Are you certain, Soseki-kun? The Flying Thunder God Technique is among the most difficult of all Secret Technique Level Ninjutsu to master!"
"I simply thought that if two people discussed it together, success would surely come more easily than if one person trained alone!" Soseki very naturally described freeloading as mutual improvement.
Orochimaru did not know the trick behind it. He thought Soseki wanted to help Namikaze Minato and could not help but sigh. "No wonder even Tsunade has managed to pull herself together because of you. You really are gentle!"
A few days later, on the hospital grounds.
Soseki controlled his pace and jogged slowly.
Then, with a sharp whoosh—
A green whirlwind raced past Soseki, like a phantom.
"Thick Brows, stop right there!"
"I told you to do rehabilitation training, not suicide training!"
Two figures chased after the green phantom, shouting breathlessly.
Yet the whirlwind-like figure showed no sign of stopping.
"N-no more, my lungs are about to come out!"
"Damn it, is that kid really a patient?"
"Big Sister Yumiko, Big Sister Misa..."
Hearing that familiar voice, the two young nurses chasing the green whirlwind finally stopped as well.
"Soseki, you came at just the right time! Hurry, help us stop him!"
"That kid was admitted for muscle strains in the first place. Does he not want those legs anymore?"
Hearing their complaints, Soseki chuckled. "Big Sister Yumiko, Big Sister Misa, leave this to me. I happen to know that student over there. He's a freshman who just enrolled this year."
"Can you really handle it?" Yumiko and Misa exchanged glances, then decided to trust Soseki's ability. "Soseki, we'll leave him to you. We need to hurry back and make our rounds."
After saying that, the two limped away while supporting each other.
"Might Guy, want to race?" Standing at the edge of the field, Soseki smiled and cast out the bait.
"A race!" The green whirlwind instantly stopped before Soseki, his eyes shining. Then he asked excitedly, "Senior Soseki, you know me?"
Even while talking, he kept sprinting in place without pause.
"Of course. You dragged me, the president of the Psychology Club, into joining your Vigor Club..." Soseki smiled helplessly. "How could I possibly forget?"
"It's the Youthful Passion Vigor Club!" Might Guy first corrected him solemnly, then asked in confusion, "Senior Soseki, why are you at the hospital? Did someone beat you up too?"
"Too?" The corner of Soseki's eye twitched slightly. He coughed. "These are injuries I received while fighting Cloud Village spies a few nights ago."
Although he could not reveal Kushina's matter, he could still talk about the spy incident separately.
Otherwise, with so much attention focused on him, it would be difficult to explain the injuries on his body.
It was not like he could really dump every bit of blame on Danzo!
"So you really did get beaten up! But..." Might Guy said instinctively, then added enviously, "Capturing spies? That's amazing!"
The corner of Soseki's mouth twitched slightly. Why did that sound a little strange?
"Then you..."
"I'm different. Those classmates I tricked into joining the club said they wanted to beat me up, but they couldn't catch me at all!" Might Guy proudly puffed out his chest. "I ran through twenty streets in one go. I strained my muscles from running, and no one even managed to hit me."
"So, Senior, your body really isn't up to it. 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, Azure Lotus Dao Song for the 100 reward, and That Person Under the Bed for the 100 reward. Let me explain something. Some readers thought yesterday's Namikaze Minato scene was pretty poisonous, but in fact, that was roughly what happened in the original work. I merely changed the conversation between the two into inner monologues. Some readers also said that the original had buildup, but I went back and checked—it really did not have much buildup. The two barely interacted to begin with, and Namikaze Minato also thought Kushina was strong, so he never stepped forward when she was bullied before. He just succeeded by forcefully flirting with her. Kushina cared a lot about what others thought of her hair, which is why I specifically mentioned in Namikaze Minato's inner monologue that he first noticed her because of her red hair. As for those saying the fight scenes are bad and Danzo is stupid, well, I admit the fight scenes are bad. I really am not very good at writing battles. But Danzo acted like this in the original work too! He was strong, ruthless, and a scheming old bastard, but that does not mean he wasn't stupid!
Before you continue