Rasengan

At Ichiraku Ramen, Jiraiya watched Kushina wolfing down her food like a starving beast, then glanced at his own bowl. He felt like he was already full.

"Last time I came back, I remember Ichiraku Ramen had just opened as a little stall. Never thought it'd grow this big," Jiraiya said, eyeing the lavishly decorated shop that bore no resemblance to its humble beginnings.

Minato leaned in and explained quietly, "That's thanks to Kaede. I heard he put up the money to sponsor Ichiraku, letting Teuchi expand it."

Kaede ate his noodles slowly. In Konoha, aside from his mother's cooking, only Ichiraku Ramen was palatable. The former he had to eat; the latter genuinely had its own charm.

Ignoring Jiraiya's stare, he turned to Kushina and asked, "Want more? Order another bowl if you're not full!" Now that he was the boss, Kaede was feeling generous—at least he could afford a bowl of noodles.

Before Kushina could answer, Minato quickly replied, "That's enough, Kaede. Really, it's enough."

Jiraiya propped his hands on the table and said, "Kid, are you from the Uchiha Clan?" His tone was unusually serious. The Uchiha's Sharingan was rumored to control tailed beasts. This kid getting close to Kushina—was he up to something?

Beneath his carefree exterior lay a meticulous mind and a gentle heart for all things in the world. A kind and reliable soul—that was Jiraiya's true charm!

Kaede spoke bluntly, "Drop your pathetic probing, Lord Jiraiya. If I wanted to do anything to the Nine-Tails inside Kushina, would I have waited until today?"

Opening his Sharingan with a single tomoe, Kaede met Jiraiya's gaze. No one liked sycophants; fearlessness and composure were the prerequisites for honest communication.

"That evil chakra really rubs me the wrong way. Kid, you don't seem to respect me much," Jiraiya said, dropping his seriousness and turning playful.

"I've already shown my sincerity, Lord Jiraiya. How you choose to think is your business. Kushina and I became friends years ago, and I won't let some baseless suspicion tear us apart." Kaede kept his head down, eating his noodles as he spoke slowly.

Jiraiya wasn't the type to dwell on such things. What he cared about wasn't the Nine-Tails, but Kushina herself. As long as she wasn't in danger, it wasn't his problem—that headache belonged to the Third Hokage.

"Lord Jiraiya, actually, Kaede's main duty as an Anbu is to protect Kushina's safety. That's the Third's orders." Minato's gentle voice came with a smile, his eyes narrowing as he spoke to Jiraiya.

The Kabuto Squad had originally existed as an Anbu unit to protect the jinchuriki's safety. After Kaede and Shisui joined, they were only isolated and observed for two weeks before the squad resumed its daily mission: "Protect the Jinchuriki."

Aside from occasional emergency missions, they just needed to take shifts watching over Kushina. When it was Kaede's turn, he often took her out to eat and drink, keeping her from getting the troublesome idea of "leaving the village."

"Are kids these days already this strong? Joining the Anbu at such a young age, huh? Did Konoha's combat power start dropping while I was away?"

After the Second Great Ninja War, Jiraiya had stayed behind to teach Nagato and his two disciples, then wandered the shinobi world, following the Great Toad Sage's guidance to find the Child of Prophecy—though he believed Nagato, with his Rinnegan, was that child.

"Wow~ I'm so full~ burp" Kushina quickly covered her mouth, her eyes darting to the three men present.

They all turned away, pretending nothing had happened.

Jiraiya sidled up to Minato, slinging an arm around his shoulder and whispering, "I've got a new discovery about that jutsu of yours. Wanna check it out?"

At that, Minato perked up. Though he had invented the [Rasengan], its further development had been a joint effort with his teacher Jiraiya. Now that his teacher had a new idea, he couldn't wait to see it.

"Let's go to Training Ground Seven. It's usually empty—we can test the jutsu there," Minato suggested.

"I'm coming too!" Kushina grabbed Minato's arm, her eyes full of threat as she stared at him.

Jiraiya looked at Kaede and said, "Kid, we're researching secret jutsu here. Outsiders scram, got it?"

"I have to protect Kushina."

"With me, the great Jiraiya, around? What need is there for a little brat like you?"

"I have to protect Kushina."

"We're working on high-level stuff like a seal-less jutsu. Your Sharingan is pretty suspicious, kid. You're not coming." Jiraiya was unusually serious. Any other Anbu would be fine, but copying jutsu with the Uchiha's Sharingan was way too easy.

Kaede stood up on his own, sneering at Jiraiya. "A seal-less jutsu? I can do that too. Watch closely—[Thunder Flash]."

Right in front of Jiraiya, Kaede demonstrated what it meant to conjure lightning with his bare hands. He rubbed his fingers together, and a white bolt like a tiny serpent coiled around his fingertips. He flicked it out, and it turned into a sharp flash of light that pierced the ground, leaving a small black hole behind.

From start to finish, he didn't form a single hand seal.

Jiraiya stared at the sight, utterly incredulous. "Did you invent this jutsu?"

"Have you ever seen anyone else use this move?"

"Lord Jiraiya, Kaede is a jutsu genius. [Thunder Flash] is his own seal-less technique. Having him around might help improve the Rasengan," Minato chimed in at the right moment, offering the suggestion to Jiraiya.

Of course, the main reason was that Kushina behind him looked absolutely fierce, and he was a bit scared of her.

With that, Jiraiya relented. "Alright then. Off to Training Ground Seven! I'll show you the might of the Toad Sage, Lord Jiraiya!"

Training Ground Seven

"Watch closely! Lord Jiraiya is about to perform!" He gripped his right wrist with his left hand, and chakra began to gather in his right palm, spinning at high speed.

"[Rasengan]." A spinning sphere appeared in his hand.

Jiraiya held up the sphere and said, "A normal Rasengan is only this big. But when I keep feeding chakra into it... [Giant Rasengan]!"

A massive, pale blue orb—many times larger than the original—was hoisted in Jiraiya's hand.

"The Rasengan was originally created based on the principle of a Tailed Beast Ball. In theory, as long as you have enough chakra, it can grow infinitely. But that would require chakra on par with a tailed beast, which isn't very practical in combat. So I've always focused on the Rasengan's penetrating power," Minato commented, analyzing Jiraiya's [Giant Rasengan].

Watching this, Kaede knew that in the future, Jiraiya would only teach Naruto the [Rasengan]—the simplest version.

Maybe even then, he was hoping Naruto would reach the level his father had achieved.

"To increase penetrating power, you need to change the Rasengan's form. Like my [Thunder Flash]—I compress lightning to its absolute limit and combine it with lightning's speed to achieve ultimate penetration."

Kaede offered his opinion at the right moment.

Hearing this, Jiraiya said, "Kid, how about we trade jutsu? The [Rasengan] for your [Thunder Flash]?"

Kaede shook his head. "The [Rasengan] and [Thunder Flash] are both offensive jutsu, and both can be developed into a whole series. I don't have the energy to study [Thunder Flash] while also juggling the [Rasengan]. A shinobi's focus is limited, so I refuse."