Minato's Scale of Heart

Chapter 43: The Scale in Minato's Heart [Seeking Recommendation Tickets]

"Fire Style – Flame Bullet!"

On the surface of the lake beside the small grove, Toneri stood quietly, watching the fist-sized fireball he had just spat out.

If you really want to count, a fist-sized fireball can also be considered a flame bullet...

Right?

This was the first time Toneri had attempted to release this Ninjutsu after obtaining the scroll from Orochimaru.

He knew his own shortcomings; he had that much self-awareness.

Toneri wouldn't deny that his Chakra control was indeed weak.

Most of his energy had been dedicated to improving his Taijutsu. Even with the Shadow Clone Technique, having a shadow clone specifically practice Chakra control wasn't enough to easily bridge the gap.

As it was, he had only learned to walk on water yesterday, and today he was attempting the simplest of the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques, the Flame Bullet.

Although his first release of the Flame Bullet was more like an "egg" than a "bullet," at least a form was visible, wasn't it?

After all, not everyone could succeed on their first attempt at releasing Ninjutsu. Otherwise, everyone would be Itachi.

Even Uchiha Sasuke's Great Fireball Technique wasn't successful after many tries.

"Hahaha—Toneri, you call that Ninjutsu?" Kushina, resting on the grassy bank by the river, saw Toneri's stance and thought it was some incredible Ninjutsu. To her surprise, it was just this "little fireball." She clutched her stomach and rolled on the ground with laughter.

Minato sat beside Kushina and couldn't help but chuckle at Toneri's actions.

Just moments ago, Toneri had called the two of them to the riverbank, saying he wanted to show them a Ninjutsu he had just learned, which resulted in this scene.

Toneri, Minato, and Kushina had been training together in this small grove for two weeks.

From the initial polite exchanges to now being friends who could chat freely and even joke with each other.

Minato was naturally easygoing. Although Kushina initially had some prejudice against Minato, it was just prejudice. After spending some time together, she realized she had indeed misunderstood him. He was just gentle in his interactions, which didn't mean he was effeminate.

Coupled with Toneri, who they sometimes felt like beating up, the three of them were as close as brothers... Pah, Minato and Toneri were close enough to share pants.

Toneri, refusing to believe it, tried a few more times but still couldn't break through the fist-sized limitation. The lethality was unknown for now, but it nearly made Kushina laugh herself to death.

Now, he was certain. Sometimes, having a lot of Chakra wasn't a good thing.

Because with more Chakra, it required more time and effort to control all of it within the body.

However, his progress during this time wasn't limited to this. At least he could now withstand a greater number of Shadow Clones.

The more Shadow Clones he created, the faster his strength would increase – a virtuous cycle.

Through his efforts, his Taijutsu alone was now comparable to that of a regular Genin. At least he wouldn't be easily beaten black and blue by Kushina anymore.

In ninja tool throwing and the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques, he had also made initial progress.

The rest couldn't be improved overnight; it required persistent practice.

Take his Taijutsu, for example.

The first two weeks saw immense improvement, almost changing day by day. This was because his starting point was low, and coupled with high-intensity, unrestrained training, his Taijutsu quickly reached the threshold of Genin Taijutsu.

But in the following two weeks, he had "only" managed to officially step into the Genin stage from merely touching the threshold.

The stronger one became, the slower the rate of improvement, because a person's bottleneck kept getting higher.

To give a simple example, at first, Toneri would get exhausted after running one lap around Konoha. In this situation, persisting meant progress. But after his Taijutsu improved, he might not even reach his limit after running ten laps. To break through further, he would have to exert even more effort.

The stronger one became, the harder it was to surpass physical limits. And without surpassing physical limits, the advantages of being a Jinchūriki wouldn't be as pronounced.

"Hoo—"

After a few final attempts, they all failed.

Toneri knew this wasn't something that could be achieved overnight. He had just acted on a whim, feeling that his Chakra control had improved significantly, so he wanted to try the newly learned Ninjutsu. He hadn't expected to embarrass himself.

Walking to the bank and looking at Minato and Kushina, whose relationship was gradually becoming harmonious, Toneri nodded with satisfaction.

Hmm, Tool Person #2 and Tool Person #3. The time for me to conquer the world is getting closer.

"That's enough for today. Speaking of which, since we met, all we've done is train and train. Why don't we go out and have some fun? I've been in Konoha for over a month, and I haven't even gone out to play on the streets yet," Toneri suggested.

"Okay! Okay!" Kushina immediately agreed.

She had also been in Konoha for quite some time, but she didn't have friends, so she hadn't gone out to play much.

After being mocked as a "tomato" by those brats on the street when she was young, she rarely went out unless absolutely necessary.

But going out to play required one important thing: money!

No money!

Speaking of money, there was no need to look at Toneri; he was the poorest of the three, unable to produce a single cent.

Therefore, Toneri and Kushina turned their gaze to Minato, especially his forehead protector.

Ninja...

Seem to earn money quite quickly, right?

Noticing their expectant gazes, Minato knew it was his turn to speak. After all, he was the only ninja among the three now and had completed several missions, so he had some money on him.

"Let's go, my treat today!" Minato brushed some grass off his pants.

"Let's go!" Kushina cheered excitedly.

Toneri took off, running quickly, shouting at the same time, "Race you there!"

Seeing Toneri sprint ahead, Kushina's expression changed drastically, and she also charged out.

Minato started off slowly, "Kushina, if Toneri wants to be first, just let him have it. There's nothing to fight over."

But he only heard Kushina's voice from afar, "Fight for first place for what?! You let him run ahead to lead the way, do you know what the consequences will be?!"

Hearing this, Minato's expression changed just like Kushina's, and he put force into his feet.

He didn't care anymore, activating the Body Flicker Technique, he chased after them.

If he let Toneri lead the way, would they even eat dinner tonight?

Ten minutes later.

Toneri clutched his cheek and the noticeable bump on the back of his head.

He mumbled, "We can race, but why do you have to hit me?"

Kushina glared at the innocent-looking Toneri and said irritably, "You have the nerve to say that? With your sense of direction, don't you have any idea by now? What number did you say last time?"

Toneri rolled his eyes at her.

He had only said it once, and Kushina had remembered the phrase "AC count."

But this time, Toneri was truly suffering for no reason. He wasn't really directionally challenged. If someone was treating him to a meal, why would he get lost?

At most, he'd just run around Konoha once…

Minato watched the two with a smile.

At this moment, he felt like he had two friends he could genuinely get along with.

Although Minato had sensed at the beginning that Toneri seemed to be approaching him intentionally, with Kushina joining in, everything had become so natural.

Minato wouldn't admit that he didn't care about those details because Toneri had tricked Kushina into joining…

But to be fair, Toneri was sincere towards him. Minato could feel that, which was why he had overlooked Toneri's motives for approaching him.

Don't underestimate him just because he's young. They say children from poor families mature early. Minato, having lived alone since childhood, was also a precocious person with his own sense of judgment about people's hearts.

Sunlight doesn't mean one is an idiot.

Not much to say, I'm going to bathe and get clean. Pick one: recommendation tickets or me!

Book Recommendation: I Really Just Wanted to Forge Iron Author: Jing Qiao Qiao De Xie (Shui Duan Qiao / Chang Qiong Qiao). This basketball novel is very good. They finally went after Kobe and AI, which I am very pleased about. If you like basketball novels, you can go check it out. The author is very long… about as long as Jin Mu! If you go, remember to mention my name, Jin Mu, a man as long as I am!

Book Recommendation: I Really Just Wanted to Forge Iron Author: Jing Qiao Qiao De Xie

The 1990s. Just as David Stern stood anxiously outside the CCTV building in the great Celestial Empire, holding his NBA videotapes and pondering how to open up the potentially infinite Chinese market, he never imagined… that wishing upon God actually worked!

"Iron Shadow," "Northern God," "Protector of the NBA Rim's Smile," "Never Shoots Without a Fadeaway," "A Jump Shot as Beautiful as a Painting"… When Su Feng, possessing the above nicknames, burst onto the scene, the youth of many people began at this moment!

"Bah! When will these haters ever stop! My nickname is clearly 'God Slayer'!" Su Feng said indignantly, looking at the newspaper.

Slayer is the slayer of gods, and God? In the NBA of the 90s, how many gods could there be?

I'll save today's thank-you for the rewards until tonight.