First Meeting with the Three Sannin

The next day, in the morning, Beichen Haotian had just finished breakfast and was preparing to go out when he heard a knock on the door.

Beichen Haotian opened the door with a hint of confusion. Creak, a familiar figure appeared before him.

"Huh? Teacher, why are you here? I was just about to head to the training grounds for assembly."

"Is that so? You don't need to go today. Completing yesterday's mission is equivalent to several days' worth of missions for us. You have three days off. During these three days, I'll teach you some things too, otherwise, I'd be a pretty incompetent teacher. Here, Chakra Paper, try it." Kitada Junichi said with a smile.

"Oh." Beichen Haotian took the Chakra Paper as instructed and channeled a trace of chakra. The surface of the paper immediately wrinkled and became moist.

"It seems your chakra nature is lightning and water. Not bad. Take these scrolls and cultivate well."

With that, Kitada Junichi took out over twenty scrolls from his ninja tool pouch in one go and placed them on the ground.

Beichen Haotian heard this and squatted down. He casually picked up a scroll and opened it, only to find that it contained the cultivation scroll for an A-rank ninjutsu, Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique.

This... Beichen Haotian was a bit surprised now. He calmed himself and thought for a moment, then immediately realized.

"Teacher, this must have been ordered by Lord Hokage, right?" Although his tone was questioning, it was incredibly certain.

"Haha, you're quite smart, kid, to have guessed that." Kitada Junichi laughed heartily.

"What's so smart about it? With such a large quantity of ninjutsu, how could I possibly receive it without Lord Hokage's permission? My contribution is worth this many rewards." Beichen Haotian chuckled speechlessly.

"It's good that you know what's what. Don't forget Lord Hokage and Konoha's cultivation of you."

"I understand."

"Good, that's good. Take these scrolls and keep them safe. I'm going to the back mountain to instruct those two kids. As a teacher, I can't play favorites. Oh, right, there's a scroll among them with my insights on Water Style, I hope it can help you."

"Thank you, Teacher." Beichen Haotian said sincerely.

"Alright, alright, that's all for now. Take the items back, memorize them, and then burn them. Remember, you cannot pass them on to anyone else without authorization. If you want to find us, come to the back mountain waterfall."

"Got it. See you later, Teacher."

"En." Kitada Junichi responded, then left using the Body Flicker Technique.

He carried the scrolls into the house, bringing them inside in several trips. Sitting on the cushion, he muttered to himself, "Interesting, trying to win people over? If it were an ordinary kid encountering such a good thing, they would definitely think of giving their all for Konoha. Unfortunately, they met me. Giving my all for Konoha? That's impossible. However, one must reciprocate kindness. I'll still do what I need to do."

With that, he took out two scrolls and opened them. One contained the Water Clone Technique, and the other contained Lightning Style: False Darkness.

Thus, Beichen Haotian spent nearly a whole day memorizing these various ninjutsu. Fortunately, Beichen Haotian had awakened his Observation Haki, his mental strength had greatly increased, and his memory was excellent. Although it wasn't yet photographic memory, he could memorize them after reading through twice, and complex ones at most three times.

The next day, Beichen Haotian trained by the waterfall with his teammates and teacher. Beichen Haotian didn't practice anything else. Whether it was Swordsmanship, Haki, Geppo, or Kami-e, they could all be mastered in just two days. For these two days, Beichen Haotian planned to focus on practicing some simpler ninjutsu in Water Style and Lightning Style.

On the evening of the second day, after parting ways with his teammates and teacher, Beichen Haotian walked alone on the bustling street. He had been training for too long and was quite tired. Beichen Haotian didn't want to cook and decided to find a slightly better tavern to treat himself.

"Can't Go Back Tavern? That's an interesting name. I'll eat here." He stepped into the tavern, and a waiter immediately approached him.

"Serve some of your specialty dishes and a pot of good wine," Beichen Haotian shouted carelessly.

"Esteemed guest, the dishes are no problem, but let's forget the wine. You're too young."

This same old excuse again, damn it. It's always like this. Today, I can't hold back. I must drink the tavern's wine, even if I have to pay for it myself, Beichen Haotian thought with great displeasure.

"Little brother, this is really unfair of you. I've risked my life for Konoha, protecting your peace. Now I can't even have a drink? Good heavens, is there no law in Konoha? I'm a ninja, don't treat me like an ordinary child." Beichen Haotian put on a wronged expression and shouted pitifully.

This shout alerted the other customers, and they all started voicing their opinions, some in favor of Beichen Haotian drinking, others against. However, more were in favor. In their opinion, Beichen Haotian had a point. What was the big deal about a ninja drinking?

Hearing the customers' opinions and finding Beichen Haotian's words somewhat reasonable, the waiter began to relent and was about to agree. Suddenly, the door to a second-floor private room opened, and two people walked out.

One was a youth wearing a forehead protector with the character for "oil" on it, white hair with a Kabuki-style hairstyle, a red coat, dark trousers, and wooden clogs. The other was a young man wearing a white stand-up collar windbreaker, light golden hair, and a gentle smile on his face.

"Huh, it's Haotian. What are you doing here?" Minato Namikaze shouted loudly. He couldn't help but shout, as the first floor was quite noisy.

"Minato, you're here too? Perfect, come down and settle this. I'm so young, yet I contribute to Konoha, and now someone's stopping me from having a drink? Does Konoha have any law? Any legal system?" Beichen Haotian said indignantly, accidentally quoting lines from a movie.

"Alright, don't dwell on it. Come up and join us," Minato said, amused and exasperated, inviting him. The youth beside him also looked amused, finding this kid rather interesting.

"Sure, you're a good friend. No wonder you were more popular with the girls at school than me. I can't even compete with you when it comes to acting cool."

...Everyone suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. There was no need to say such things out loud.

Beichen Haotian tended to appear somewhat cold and unapproachable to strangers, but he became quite goofy with those he knew well. The more familiar he was, the goofier he became. Minato Namikaze, being from the same year and class as Beichen Haotian, was both a rival and a friend, and they were very familiar with each other.

With a light leap, Beichen Haotian landed beside Minato Namikaze. He greeted the person beside him, "This must be Lord Jiraiya. You truly look handsome and elegant."

Jiraiya, I'm very familiar with him from my past life.

"Good kid, Minato has mentioned you to me. The only rival Minato had at school. I didn't quite believe it before, but hearing you speak today, I know Minato wasn't exaggerating. Ahahaha." Jiraiya laughed heartily.

Putting those two together might not be a good idea, Minato Namikaze thought.

"Come on, honest kid, come inside with me. I'll introduce you to two people."

Jiraiya pulled Beichen Haotian into the private room. Minato Namikaze quickly followed.

As soon as Beichen Haotian entered, he saw two people sitting at a low table. One was a youth with a pale complexion, light yellow pupils, wearing a Konoha Jonin Vest, exuding an unapproachable aura.

Orochimaru! The name immediately popped into Beichen Haotian's mind.

The other person was wearing a short-sleeved white T-shirt, with light yellow hair, fair skin, and delicate features. The most striking thing was her magnificent physique, far beyond that of someone her age.

Tsunade!

"Come, let me introduce you. This kid is Beichen Haotian, a very honest young man," Jiraiya said with a beaming smile, pushing Beichen Haotian forward.

"Idiot, you think we didn't hear anything just now, right, Orochimaru?" Tsunade said, slamming the table loudly.

Orochimaru didn't speak, just nodded slightly, agreeing with Jiraiya's assessment that he was an idiot.

Uh, Jiraiya suddenly felt awkward.

"You two must be Lord Orochimaru and Lady Tsunade. As expected, hearing about you is not as good as meeting you. Lord Orochimaru, one can tell you're a master at first sight. While calling Lady Tsunade the most beautiful woman in the Ninja World might be a slight exaggeration, she's definitely worthy of being called the most beautiful woman in Konoha."

Orochimaru's mouth twitched slightly. Tsunade was first stunned, then slapped the table and burst into laughter, "You silver-tongued brat, but I like it."

Indeed, who doesn't like hearing compliments? If someone greets you with a smile, why would you slap their face? Moreover, Beichen Haotian was less than ten years old, still considered a child by many, which greatly increased his credibility.

"Alright, let's sit down and talk while we eat," Jiraiya said.

Thus, the five of them sat around the low table, where many exquisite dishes were laid out, the aroma of food and wine mingling together.

Although he already had a guess in his heart, Beichen Haotian still asked, "Minato, is there something that brings you and the esteemed lords together?"

"Yes, today is the day I officially become a disciple, a disciple's banquet, so to speak," Minato said with a smile.

"Oh, so that's how it is. Lord Jiraiya is a very good master."

"Huh? Kid, how do you know Minato is apprenticing under Jiraiya, not me or Orochimaru?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"It's simple. Putting aside everything else, just looking at the three of you, Lord Jiraiya's aura is the most compatible with Minato's," Beichen Haotian said with a serious expression.

"Just like that? Since when does choosing a master have anything to do with aura?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.

"Uh... you could also say it's about style. I heard some things about the three of you from my own instructor. Lord Jiraiya's path is the most suitable for Minato," Beichen Haotian explained with a smile after taking a sip of wine.

"Little brat, quite clever," Orochimaru's hoarse voice sounded.

"Thank you for the compliment. It's just a small trick, I'm still far from being as skilled as Lord Orochimaru. Speaking of which, since it's a disciple's banquet, Minato, have you been drinking?"

"No, I'm not an adult yet. I'll just have tea instead of wine."

"Is that so? What a shame. Do you know a famous quote by Minato?"

"What famous quote?" Minato asked, taking a bite of food, looking confused.

"A man who doesn't drink is not worthy of walking the earth; a man who doesn't smoke is wandering the world in vain. So, you must do at least one of the two."

Everyone was speechless...

"Which celebrity said that? I have no impression of it at all," Minato replied, completely bewildered.

"Me!" Beichen Haotian said with a grin.

"You... are you considered a celebrity?"

"Of course, aren't I second only to you at the Ninja Academy?"

Hahaha, Jiraiya and Tsunade finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter. Even Orochimaru's mouth twitched into a somewhat stiff smile; perhaps he hadn't smiled in so long that he was unaccustomed to it.

Seeing this, Minato couldn't help but laugh too. Tonight, the four individuals who would later be famous throughout the Ninja World were laughing heartily at the same table, the atmosphere very harmonious.

Although Beichen Haotian, who came from Earth, spent most of his time practicing Swordsmanship, surfing the internet was an indispensable part of being a 21st-century youth. Therefore, he knew many jokes, both serious and not-so-serious, which kept the atmosphere of the entire banquet very pleasant.

Thanks to the brother who sent the recommendation ticket, it's the first time I've received one, and I'm still a bit excited thinking about it. It's not that I don't want to mention the name, but I really couldn't recognize those two characters...