I Know You Know I Noticed You

The Rasengan was arguably the only ninjutsu in the original anime that had its entire development process shown, from nothing to completion.

Aoba had mastered it long ago.

Although it was an A-rank hand seal-less ninjutsu, to be honest, he felt nothing much about it.

There was no other reason—it consumed too much chakra.

With his current chakra reserves, he could only form six or seven before he had to collapse and rest.

Aoba estimated that his current chakra reserves were about the same as Uchiha Sasuke's during the Chunin Exams.

But Sasuke had only been able to use Kakashi's Chidori three times after learning it. That was an issue of proficiency. Aoba's chakra control was far better than Sasuke's had been back then.

Chidori also had the effect of stimulating the body, while the Rasengan only worked if it hit someone at close range. Spending that much chakra on it was less practical than using a kunai or a sword.

Only Naruto, the child of prophecy blessed by the protagonist's halo, could survive until Naruto: Shippuden. Anyone else would have died long before then.

Still, he realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He had no interest in forming spinning balls, but he was quite interested in how one was formed.

He needed that kind of development approach. Learning the process behind a successful example would provide excellent reference material for his future ninjutsu development.

Besides, just because he did not need the Rasengan now did not mean he would never need it. As it happened, he now had a "reasonable" way to learn it.

Over the next few days, Aoba occasionally stopped by Training Ground 3. At last, he figured out Minato's usual training schedule.

A young ninja with blond hair and a jonin flak jacket suddenly appeared in the training ground.

He had azure eyes and a gentle, sunny smile on his face.

He was the kind of man who inspired goodwill at first sight, even from strangers.

There was no need to guess. Aoba immediately knew that this was Namikaze Minato.

No wonder some people called Minato Konoha's Little Sun.

That level of approachability...

Compared to the first time he had met Orochimaru, the difference was enormous.

If it were him, he would choose the eternally youthful pretty boy too.

But that Body Flicker was so fast!

It was not the Flying Thunder God. If it had been, Aoba doubted he would have even seen a shadow.

Aoba held his breath and concealed himself more deeply. To that end, he had deliberately smeared grass juice over his body to eliminate his scent.

He knew that with Minato's sensory abilities, his crude hiding technique was no different from being transparent.

But as long as Minato did not expose him, Aoba would pretend not to know.

Minato seemingly had not noticed Aoba at all. He simply gathered chakra in his palm and blasted it toward the rock ahead.

Over the following period, Aoba became the most "loyal" spectator.

He watched Minato continuously gather chakra in his palm, forming an unstable rotating sphere. Either it collapsed just as it was about to take shape, or the chakra sphere went out of control and left a huge crater behind.

Whenever the chakra sphere completely lost control, Minato vanished from the spot and instantly reappeared somewhere else.

Flying Thunder God!

This was the Flying Thunder God. There was no visible figure, no movement trajectory—he simply appeared out of nowhere.

Too fast!

So fast that there was no time to react.

Aoba tried putting himself in Minato's opponent's position and found that there was simply no way to fight him. Even knowing all the intelligence, there was still no solution.

Aoba watched for several days. Then, on this day, two people arrived. Besides Minato, there was a middle-aged man with face paint.

His signature long white hair hung all the way to his waist. He wore a forehead protector bearing the character for "oil" and wooden clogs on his feet. It was none other than Jiraiya, one of the Sannin.

Aoba had finally met all three of Konohagakure's Sannin.

Jiraiya walked into the field and clicked his tongue. "No wonder the old man sent me here. You're making quite a commotion."

After teasing him, Jiraiya casually found a rock and sat down, his gaze seemingly sweeping in one direction by chance.

He found it strange too. Such crude concealment did not seem like the work of Anbu.

"Minato, how's the development of that jutsu going?"

"It still isn't very stable."

Minato scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. "Maintaining chakra shape transformation is difficult. Once I compress it to the limit, it easily loses control."

After speaking, Minato gathered chakra again, but the chakra sphere quickly dispersed.

Jiraiya shook his head after watching.

"Something like a Tailed Beast Ball isn't easy to imitate."

Then he looked at Minato's palm and snorted twice. "Only a brat like you could keep trying this. If it were anyone else, that hand would've been ruined already."

"It's fine. Don't rush."

Jiraiya pulled out an ice pop from somewhere, broke it in half, and handed one half to Minato.

"This jutsu was never going to be easy to complete."

Minato accepted the ice pop with a smile and put it in his mouth.

A moment later.

"I've got it!"

Minato seemed to have thought of something.

He walked to the center of the clearing, took a deep breath, and extended his right hand.

Bzzz—

The air began to vibrate.

Pale blue chakra rapidly gathered in his palm, darting around chaotically before being restrained by some force and beginning to spin wildly.

A fierce wind suddenly rose, sending sand and stones flying.

Aoba held his breath in the tree canopy. Across his retinas, countless streams of data cascaded downward like waterfalls.

The chakra sphere in Minato's hand grew brighter and brighter, spinning faster and faster as it emitted piercing shrieks.

Just as the chakra sphere was about to take shape.

Bang!

With a muffled explosion, the chakra sphere suddenly burst apart.

"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"

Long white hair transformed into a solid barrier before Minato, blocking the violent shockwave spilling outward.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei."

Minato shook his hand, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Still not quite there."

"It's already very good."

Jiraiya withdrew his ninjutsu, and his white hair returned to normal. "That power is comparable to a small Tailed Beast Ball."

The field ahead was a complete mess, as though a typhoon had swept through it.

Aoba's eyes immediately lit up. What excited him was not the jutsu's power, but Jiraiya's hair-based ninjutsu.

He seemed to have found some inspiration, yet he could not quite put it into words.

The Chip operated at full capacity, recording every step of Minato's technique. Every formation of the chakra sphere was a new attempt, a process of trial, error, and research.

Through the system's analysis, Aoba could reverse-engineer Minato's line of thought.

Several days later, when Aoba once again climbed that familiar "VIP viewing tree," a teasing voice rang out behind him.

"I say, kid, after watching for so many days, haven't you seen enough?"

Aoba's body stiffened as he slowly turned around.

Jiraiya stood there with his arms crossed, leaning leisurely against the trunk with an amused smile on his face.

"Ah... um... good morning, Lord Jiraiya..."

Aoba wore an awkward yet polite smile.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to spy!"

At the training ground, Aoba bowed deeply to Jiraiya and Minato. "I... I'm Yamashiro Aoba, an intern medical ninja at Konoha Hospital. I was passing by and saw that your ninjutsu was just... just too amazing, so I couldn't help myself..."

Minato smiled gently. "It's all right, but secretly watching someone train really isn't a good thing."

Jiraiya, meanwhile, studied the sunglasses-wearing kid with great interest. He had noticed the boy long ago, but since Aoba had shown no ill intent, he had ignored him.

"A medical ninja? A little brat like you?"

Jiraiya's tone carried a trace of doubt.