Flying Thunder God

In Kaede's view, before he had invented [Thunder Flash], he already knew how to train the [Rasengan]. He just had no interest in parroting others, and besides, the inventor of the technique was still alive, wasn't he?

He didn't dare train it, nor did he want to. Developing his own ninjutsu was the only way to live up to his talent.

Now, trading a technique he considered useless for his [Thunder Flash]? That was impossible.

Jiraiya frowned, his nostrils flaring wide, making him look a bit like a toad. "You're right. A ninja's energy is limited; they need to focus on one path."

He was somewhat disappointed. Among everything he had learned, the only techniques comparable to a no-hand-seal jutsu were senjutsu and summoning jutsu—both closely guarded secrets that couldn't be traded.

"How about using our Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques as the exchange, Kaede?" Kushina said with a smile.

"If it's from you, big sis, I could actually..." Kaede started, thinking of just giving it away.

"No, Kaede. Every ninjutsu is the effort of geniuses like you. How could we let that effort go to waste? At least respect the technique you created! Use the Uzumaki sealing techniques as the trade!" Kushina cut him off.

Kushina laughed happily. It seemed she wasn't so useless after all; when it mattered, she could still step in. "Besides, the Uzumaki Clan has vanished. If the Uzumaki sealing techniques are inherited by you, Kaede, they're sure to shine brilliantly again."

Kaede's face flushed as he looked at Kushina. To the other two, it seemed like he was moved, but the truth was: "Kushina, I just wanted Minato's [Flying Thunder God]. Can you stop meddling? Did all those hints go to waste?"

Frustrating! Too frustrating! He was so close to success, and then a tigress jumped in halfway. It was all over.

Sure, the Uzumaki sealing techniques were something Kaede liked too, but Minato's [Flying Thunder God] was the most urgent. You can't have both fish and bear's paw—you choose the bear's paw over the fish.

But now this salted fish was blocking him, refusing to let him grab the bear's paw. What could he do?

Minato watched the disappointed Jiraiya and his girlfriend, who was desperately trying to trade her clan's sealing techniques for [Thunder Flash]. His heart was deeply moved.

He knew that Jiraiya's intention was to learn Kaede's [Thunder Flash] and merge it with the [Rasengan], giving the Rasengan long-range attack power and strong penetrating force.

Even though, given their relationship, Kaede would probably be happy to share the training method for [Thunder Flash], as Kushina said, you couldn't betray the technique you created.

"Then let's use that as the trade."

He had made up his mind.

"Kaede, I have a Space-Time Ninjutsu. Do you want to learn it?" Minato asked.

Space-Time Ninjutsu. Kaede's mind jolted. He wanted to kick Kushina—that stinky salted fish—out of the way, hug Minato—that bear's paw—and give it a couple of licks.

But he still put on a deep act. "Space-Time Ninjutsu? I'm not really interested in learning attack ninjutsu. I feel like I already have too many attack techniques, and they're not that useful."

In a ninja battle, powerful attack ninjutsu was usually kept as a last-resort trump card, unleashing a devastating finishing blow. If you could win, you fought; if not, you ran. Hesitate, and you'd end up dead. Not everyone was Naruto, able to recover and power up with [Talk no Jutsu].

"[Flying Thunder God] isn't purely an attack ninjutsu. It should meet your requirements. But it's very difficult to learn. Be mentally prepared—I can't guarantee I'll be able to teach you," Minato said seriously.

Kaede said confidently, "With my ninjutsu talent, if I can't learn it, then this technique will probably be lost to history."

Jiraiya curled his lip in disdain. "Arrogant brat."

Applying [Flying Thunder God] in actual combat required sharp neural reflexes. That wasn't something you could achieve just by having high ninjutsu talent.

Since the Second Hokage created [Flying Thunder God], only he and Minato had ever mastered it. This kid was all talk.

If he couldn't learn it later, wouldn't that mean he'd just freeloaded a no-hand-seal technique?

Jiraiya grinned widely and held out his hand to Kaede. "Hand it over—your no-hand-seal training method."

Kaede naturally formed hand seals. "Puff!" A cloud of white smoke dispersed, revealing an arm-width scroll. "This is the original scroll. After you read it, remember to return it. It also contains my future ideas for [Thunder Flash] and some insights on ninjutsu. Consider it a gift, on Kushina's account."

With his extraordinary talent, how could he waste his gifts? Most of his time was spent researching ninjutsu. [Thunder Flash] wasn't a cheap trick to get [Flying Thunder God]; it was a genuine innovation Kaede had put his heart into. He was a true ninjutsu genius with real substance.

Jiraiya and Minato carefully read the contents of the scroll. They found that it contained not only the training method for [Thunder Flash] but also research reports on topics like "How to Precisely Control Chakra," "The Origin of Chakra," "The Secret Between Chakra and Hand Seals," and "On the Power of No-Hand-Seal Ninjutsu."

"Brilliant. So the synergy between different ninjutsu can achieve this kind of effect?" Jiraiya muttered, gaining some insight as he looked at a discussion on 'Compound Ninjutsu.'

'Compound Ninjutsu' was the Third Hokage's signature technique, but it seemed this kid had also done research in that area, and what he said made a lot of sense.

As for Kaede, he had simply followed the principle that a bad pen is better than a good memory, recording everything he knew and had deduced in this scroll. Aside from the secrets of his transmigration and runes, he had written down all his research on ninjutsu.

Only with a sincere heart could he earn the recognition of these two great figures of the shinobi world.

"See? I told you I'm pretty impressive," Kaede said with a smile.

"But I should warn you—many of the ninjutsu ideas in here were just flashes of inspiration. They haven't been verified, so I don't know if they're right. Only the research on [Thunder Flash] is reliable."

Jiraiya put away the scroll and looked Kaede in the eye. In that moment, he no longer saw a kid, but a true ninja.

"There's a lot of content. I need to read it slowly. You go learn [Flying Thunder God] from Minato first."

Minato, still savoring the scroll, led Kaede aside. "Kaede, you didn't have to share so much knowledge with us. Just the training method for [Thunder Flash] would have been enough."

"No, Minato, you're wrong. I just think that only by sharing ninjutsu knowledge can we pool our wisdom and spark more beautiful ideas.

In today's shinobi world, aside from Kekkei Genkai, the truly powerful techniques are still those created by our predecessors. I feel this world has lost its vitality. So I want to break this closed-off conservatism, share my knowledge, and combine everyone's strength to develop even stronger ninjutsu.

Right now, you two are my first sharing partners."

Kaede looked up at the sky, speaking eloquently. In that moment, he radiated the light of a sage.