Master Minato Hears My Sophistry!

Losing a man to another man—that is the most pathetic thing of all.

Yuhi Kurenai was, after all, not as annoyingly persistent as Sakura in the early stages of Shippuden.

Once she realized Uchiha Mai wanted to join Master Minato's team alongside Might Guy, she sat down on the ground with a sigh of resignation, signaling that she had no intention of competing.

If you can't hold onto the sand, you might as well scatter it.

There is a kind of love called letting go, giving up forever for the sake of love. If my departure allows you to have it all, let true love take me away, say goodbye~

Hilarious. We were never even together to begin with, so what's there to say goodbye to?

In less than a minute, Uchiha Mai had swept through everyone except Might Guy with the force of autumn leaves scattering in the wind. Of course, this was partly due to sneak attacks and the fact that his opponents were absolute scrubs.

Yet, the decisiveness and strength Uchiha Mai displayed still shocked the few spectators present. If this were the world of Battle Through the Heavens, they would likely be exclaiming, "Terrifying!"

Does Uchiha Mai have the strength of a Chunin now? Uchiha Mai himself didn't think so. In terms of pure taijutsu and shurikenjutsu, he might have touched the baseline of a Chunin, but he was far behind in ninjutsu.

Even if he could be considered a Chunin, he would be the bottom-of-the-barrel kind. Kakashi was promoted to Chunin in his second year after graduation, but he didn't become a Jonin until he was twelve or thirteen.

Can a six-year-old Kakashi and an eleven-year-old Kakashi, both Chunin, really be at the same level?

That is naturally impossible.

In his past life, Uchiha Mai had read many Naruto fanfictions, and some readers often complained about the power scaling set by the authors.

They'd say things like, "Special Jonin, Jonin, Elite Jonin, Quasi-Kage, Kage—these classifications didn't even exist in the original story. Do you even understand Naruto, author?"

If everything were exactly like the original, why the hell would you read fanfiction?

Indeed, Konoha doesn't have such granular classifications as Quasi-Kage or Kage, just as society doesn't explicitly label people into different tiers based on their wealth.

But in reality, isn't it true that whoever has the money calls the shots? Some things don't need to be stated out loud.

Wherever there are people, there is a social hierarchy. Uchiha Mai felt it firsthand: many ninjas in Konoha would mentally rank and label others based on their combat records and strength.

We're all in the same village, after all. Do you really think people don't know who has what record and how strong they are?

Naturally, they form evaluations and labels in their minds, just like in his past life, where people would label others as rich or poor based on the car they drove to a party.

Genin fresh out of the Ninja Academy are called greenhorns. Those who have been around for a few years are old hands; newly promoted Chunin are rookies, while those who have taken on many Chunin-level missions without dying are veteran Chunin...

The official records won't be that detailed, but human hearts will be. There is a real gap in combat experience, intuition for danger, worldly wisdom, and decisiveness.

Uchiha Mai actually wished he could divide Genin and Chunin into levels 1-10 so he could intuitively judge his own strength and how much he had improved.

Just like in an online game, seeing the experience bar go up provides positive reinforcement. Keeping oneself motivated to grow stronger is also a very important thing.

Overall, Mai was probably at the level of a bottom-tier Chunin. Taking down a few scrubs one by one in a minute was just a normal performance.

Uchiha Mai slowly turned around, held up two fingers, and smiled at Master Minato: "Senior, there are only two people left standing now."

Namikaze Minato: "..."

After a moment of speechlessness, Namikaze Minato scratched his head and said somewhat awkwardly: "Uh, student Uchiha Mai, that is your name, right?

This was actually a test of unity, to check your understanding of the Will of Fire, to see who was willing to step forward and sacrifice themselves for the sake of others..."

Master Minato babbled on, repeating the words the Third Hokage had taught him before he arrived.

It was quite awkward. Minato didn't feel he had said or done anything wrong; the Hokage had said as much, so why did they suddenly start fighting?

Uchiha Mai: "..."

This time, it was Uchiha Mai's turn to be speechless.

Are you kidding me... playing this cringey game with me?

I thought you were a straightforward guy, Master Minato, but I didn't expect you to be like those mediocre people, playing such boring tricks.

What now? It was a test of the will to self-sacrifice, and I went and laid out four competitors without a second thought. Doesn't that mean...

At the critical moment, Uchiha Mai had a flash of inspiration and said: "Then, Senior, you should choose me even more."

"Oh? How so?" Minato was slightly puzzled. You beat up your teammates and classmates, and you think you're in the right?

Uchiha Mai flattered him: "To tell you the truth, the moment you stepped into the classroom, I recognized you.

Your noble golden hair, your sharp, god-sculpted handsome features, your tall and upright stature, and your sunny, confident smile all gave you away.

You must be the Elite Jonin known as the Little Sun of Konoha, a disciple of the Sannin Jiraiya—Namikaze Minato."

Master Minato nodded repeatedly as he listened. You speak well, every word hits the mark, though it's a bit blunt—I'm actually getting a little shy.

After the shyness passed, Minato tilted his head and asked in confusion: "What you said is indeed true, but what does that have to do with you beating them up?"

"It has everything to do with it!"

Uchiha Mai slammed one fist into his other palm and continued to argue: "A team led by an Elite Jonin must be an elite squad.

Even if you try to accommodate new members, you will inevitably take on dangerous missions, enter and exit dangerous zones, and constantly put yourselves in harm's way.

Allowing ninjas who lack the necessary strength to join such a team is bad for both you, Master Minato, and for them.

Once something goes wrong, not only might they lose their lives, but you, Master Minato, will also be caught in a dilemma. If you save them, you might miss the chance to complete the mission. If you prioritize the mission, you are being heartless.

The fact that I was able to take those four down so easily shows they aren't qualified to join your team, Master Minato.

I did this for their sake, and for yours."

Uchiha Mai wore an expression of "if I don't go to hell, who will," almost moving himself to tears; wasn't this exactly the Will of Fire?

"Emmmm..."

Namikaze Minato rubbed his chin in contemplation for a moment. What he said made so much sense that he found himself speechless.

Wait, there was one final loophole. Namikaze Minato looked toward Might Guy.

Uchiha Mai explained unhurriedly, "As for Might Guy, although he comes from an ordinary background and doesn't understand ninjutsu, his true strength is actually greater than the other four combined."

"Might Guy's taijutsu level and talent are not beneath my own, and his level of effort surpasses mine tenfold."

"Someone with such talent and diligence will surely become a jonin in the future. By then, he can take advantage of his massive chakra reserves to compensate for his lack of ninjutsu aptitude."

What is ninjutsu talent?

It is the perception, control, and affinity speed regarding elemental chakra, most of which can be resolved through sheer volume of chakra.

Hand seals exist to better control chakra, allowing one to perform the same ninjutsu with less consumption.

Anyone with a "chakra ton" is incredible. As long as one isn't brain-dead, possessing the chakra levels of Senju Hashirama would allow anyone to become a human artillery piece, simply clapping their hands together to fire off all sorts of ninjutsu in a relentless barrage.