At 4:30 a.m., everything was still asleep.
Outside the window, the sky was a deep blue-purple, and the air carried the chill of dew.
Namikaze Minato opened his eyes right on time. He didn't linger in bed. He threw off the covers, washed up, smoothed his unruly blond hair, then deftly strapped on his Ninja Tool Pouch.
A well-worn notebook sat on the desk, its pages curled at the edges. It was Nishikawa Tetsu's A Fluid Mechanics Conjecture on the Chaotic Rotation of Chakra.
Minato picked it up and glanced over the complicated formulas in the dim morning light. With a wry smile, he rubbed his brow, then tucked the notebook inside his shirt.
He couldn't understand the process, but the conclusions were useful.
Ten minutes later, at Training Ground Three.
Bang!
A dull thud rang out.
The rubber ball in Minato's hand burst apart, sending fragments flying.
But he didn't look satisfied. He watched the blue current of air in his palm rapidly disperse and shook his head.
"The power's there, but it only lasts two seconds."
He pulled another specially made Flying Thunder God Kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch.
Some time ago, with the Third Hokage's approval, he had gained access to the Scroll of Seals.
To him, the Space-Time Ninjutsu that made countless people despair of ever mastering it looked like a masterpiece of art.
Whoosh!
He tossed the kunai into the air.
His figure flickered, but unfortunately, he reappeared some distance off target.
"As expected of a forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage. It's really hard to master."
Minato caught his breath, took out a bottle of electrolyte drink specially made by Nishikawa Tetsu, and gulped some down. Tetsu had forced several cases on him the last time they met.
Sweat ran along the