I Could Never Have a Brain as Straightforward as Naruto's

More than half a month had passed since the Crow Ghost incident. During this time, nothing had happened; it was calm and peaceful, yet Houka could sense the undercurrents surging beneath the surface.

He had to become strong quickly!

Houka once again used a Shadow Clone to handle his schoolwork, while his real body trained frantically!

"Houka, here is the Chakra paper you wanted!"

On the Hokage Rock, Might Duy tossed a slip of paper over casually.

Houka's eyes lit up, and he immediately caught it.

The purpose of Chakra paper was to test one's own Chakra nature.

Guy, who was doing warm-up exercises nearby, also curiously gathered around.

Houka channeled his Chakra into the paper. Instantly, half of the paper caught fire, while the other half became wrinkled.

"It's Lightning and Fire nature Chakra!" Might Duy said.

Houka nodded; these two natures were possessed by the majority of the Uchiha clan members.

Houka's next plan was to train the Rasengan. He had delayed it until now because he was worried his Chakra wasn't sufficient, but now, the Chakra within his body was already between the levels of a genin and a chunin!

The Rasengan was a ninjutsu without hand seals developed by the Fourth Hokage. It was not only convenient but also possessed immense power. Most importantly, Houka knew the training method by heart!

Houka had long since recalled the training process for the Rasengan, which consisted of four stages.

The first stage was to concentrate Chakra in the palm of one's hand!

The second stage was to hold a water-filled balloon in one's palm, then release Chakra to make the water inside move irregularly until the balloon burst.

The third stage was to replace the balloon with a rubber ball, then materialize the released Chakra until it tore the ball apart!

The fourth stage was to combine everything from before: concentrate Chakra in the hand, release it continuously, maintain it, and finally solidify it. This was the Rasengan!

After the early morning training ended, Guy went to class, and Might Duy went off to perform a mission, leaving Houka alone on the Hokage Rock.

"Let's give it a try!"

Houka spread his palm, and the Chakra within his body slowly gathered in his palm. Because he had a foundation in Medical Ninjutsu, the first stage was very simple for him.

"Now for the second stage!"

Houka took out the balloon he had prepared in advance, found a nearby river to fill it with water, and placed it in his palm.

Chakra slowly surged into the balloon.

Before long, the water inside the balloon finally began to shake, but only very slightly.

"What's going on?"

Houka sensed something was wrong. He had channeled a lot of Chakra, but it had only produced such a small reaction, which left him very dissatisfied.

He closed his eyes to carefully sense the process of his Chakra input. After a while, he realized with a start: the Chakra was leaking out after entering the water instead of remaining inside.

Knowing the reason, Houka quickly made adjustments. He closed his eyes, sensed carefully, and controlled the Chakra to stay within the water of the balloon.

In an instant, the water in the balloon began to swirl.

Houka immediately increased his Chakra input. Aside from the water swirling more and more violently, the balloon showed no signs of bursting at all.

So uncooperative?

Houka gritted his teeth in frustration, then immediately reflected on the problem.

"Irregularly—right, I have to make the water move irregularly until the balloon bursts."

Houka continued to experiment, but the results left him very frustrated because making water move irregularly was extremely difficult. It was like a person trying to do two things at once while distracted—for example, trying to walk left and right at the same time. But in reality, once you go left, you can't go right, and if you go right, you can't go left... unless you are two people!

Could it be that I have to be like Naruto and create a Shadow Clone?

Houka's current Shadow Clone was in class at the Ninja Academy and couldn't come over to help.

No, no. Naruto's brain is straightforward, which is why he couldn't do it. As a transmigrator, could my brain be even more straightforward than Naruto's?

He couldn't accept that!

Houka gritted his teeth and practiced frantically.

It wasn't until evening that he finally grasped a bit of the trick, managing to make the water move irregularly for a few seconds!

Houka let out a sigh of relief: "I knew it. How could there be a brain more straightforward than Naruto's?"

Houka's stomach suddenly growled. He looked up at the sky and realized he had forgotten to eat lunch.

"If you don't mind, I have some food here."

Suddenly, a gentle voice came from behind him.

Houka was startled. He turned around and felt awkward.

Golden hair, blue eyes, a gentle smile, a handsome face, a tall figure...

Minato Namikaze?!

Holy crap, this was truly a case of Li Gui meeting Li Kui!

The original creator of the Rasengan that Houka had just been practicing was the great master standing right in front of him: the Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash, Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze!

"Ah, my apologies. I saw you training just now... hmm, what kind of ninjutsu was that? It looked quite impressive," Minato Namikaze said with a smile.

"That... my name is Uchiha Houka," Houka replied, his response completely off-topic.

Minato Namikaze chuckled and tossed over a small black pill, saying, "This is a Military Ration Pill. It tastes pretty good. By the way, my name is Minato Namikaze, and I'm a ninja!"

"Hello." Houka caught the pill and ate it without hesitation. Minato Namikaze's character was absolutely top-tier in the world of Naruto; there was no way he would do something like poisoning him.

Sure enough, as soon as the Military Ration Pill hit his stomach, Houka felt a gentle warmth and a sense of fullness spread through him. It was truly miraculous.

"Thank you for the Military Ration Pill."

"Don't mention it. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I was peeking at your training just now. I'm really sorry," Minato Namikaze said with a gentle smile.

Hearing Li Kui—no, hearing Minato Namikaze apologize, Houka felt his face flush. However, this wasn't the first time he had experienced this (thanks to Guy's Leaf Whirlwind series), so he quickly regained his composure.

"It's alright. This ninjutsu is just a flight of fancy; I don't even know if it will succeed." Houka blinked, suddenly thinking that if he could get Minato Namikaze to join in, he might be able to master the Rasengan much faster. After all, Minato Namikaze was the Yellow Flash, the future Fourth Hokage—hugging this thick thigh wouldn't be a mistake!

"That's truly amazing, to think of creating your own ninjutsu!" Minato Namikaze praised.

"Could you help me perfect it?" Houka extended the invitation, feeling a bit nervous; after all, he was still just a child.

Minato Namikaze pondered for a moment and actually agreed: "Of course, I'm looking forward to this ninjutsu as well!"

Houka's eyes lit up, and he proceeded to explain the four stages of Rasengan training to Minato Namikaze. The two of them practiced and chatted together.

Talking with Minato Namikaze made Houka feel very at ease, as if two peers were communicating on equal footing, making him forget for a moment that he was only seven years old.

By the time the cold moonlight blanketed the earth, Minato Namikaze had already successfully completed the second stage, causing the water to move irregularly until the balloon burst.

As for Houka, under Minato Namikaze's guidance, he had also succeeded in making the water move irregularly, but no matter how he moved it, he couldn't manage to burst the balloon.

Sigh, as expected, Li Gui just couldn't compare to Li Kui.

Minato Namikaze seemed to notice Houka's disappointment and comforted him: "It's alright, just try a few more times. Actually, my motor nerves are just very well-developed, and I'm quite sensitive to the flow of Chakra."

Houka's eyes brightened slightly.

Just then, the voice of Might Duy drifted over from the distance.

Houka was startled, then realized: "Oh no, I forgot to train Taijutsu with Uncle Might Duy!" (To be continued)