Flying Thunder God

As Kaede saw it, before he had invented Thunder Flash, he'd already known how to train in the Rasengan. He just had no intention of copying someone else's work, especially when its creator was still around.

He didn't dare train in it, and he wasn't interested in doing so. Developing his own Ninjutsu was the only way to do justice to his talent.

Now, trading a Ninjutsu he considered useless for his Thunder Flash was out of the question.

Jiraiya frowned, his nostrils flaring until they looked a bit like a toad's. "You're right. A ninja's time and energy are limited, so he needs to focus on one path."

He was a little disappointed. Of all the techniques he knew, the only ones as precious as a Ninjutsu that required no Hand Seals were Senjutsu and Summoning Jutsu. Both were closely guarded secrets, and neither could be offered in a trade.

"How about trading one of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu, Kaede?" Kushina suggested with a smile.

"If it's you, Big Sis, I could actually..." Kaede began, thinking he could just give it to her for free.

"No, Kaede. Every Ninjutsu is the result of the hard work of talented people like you. We can't let that hard work go to waste. You should respect the technique you created! Let's trade it for one of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu!" Kushina cut him off.

Kushina beamed. It seemed she wasn't completely useless after all—when it mattered, she was the one who had to step in and solve things. "Besides, the Uzumaki Clan is gone. If Kaede inherits the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu, he can make them shine again."

Kaede gazed at Kushina, his face flushed. The other two took it for a look of gratitude, but what he was really thinking was, Kushina, all I want is Minato's Flying Thunder God. Can you stop interfering? Did all those other things I fed you go to waste?

Damn it! This was so frustrating! He'd almost succeeded, and then this tigress had come out of nowhere to ruin everything.

Kaede liked the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu too, but Minato's Flying Thunder God was what he needed most urgently. You couldn't have both fish and bear's paw, so he'd choose the bear's paw.

But now this salted fish was blocking his way and refusing to let him take the bear's paw. What was he supposed to do?

Minato looked at Jiraiya, who seemed disappointed, and at his girlfriend, who was doing everything she could to trade their clan's Sealing Jutsu for Thunder Flash. He was deeply moved.

He knew what Teacher Jiraiya had meant: learn Kaede's Thunder Flash and combine it with the Rasengan, giving the Rasengan long-range capabilities and tremendous penetrating power.

Given their relationship, Kaede would probably have been happy to share how to train in Thunder Flash. But, as Kushina had said, he couldn't let Kaede's own creation go unappreciated.

"Then let's trade for that!"

He made up his mind.

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

Space-Time Ninjutsu. Kaede's heart lurched. He wanted to kick that stinking salted fish, Kushina, aside, grab hold of Minato—the bear's paw—and give him a couple of kisses.

But he put on a thoughtful expression. "Space-Time Ninjutsu? I'm not that interested in learning attacking techniques. I feel like there are already too many of those, and they're not all that useful."

In a battle between ninjas, powerful attacking techniques were usually trump cards, saved for a devastating finishing blow. If you could win, you fought; if you couldn't, you ran. Hesitate, and you'd end up dead in the underworld. Not everyone was Naruto, who could recover and power up through Talk no Jutsu.

"Flying Thunder God isn't purely an attacking technique, so it should suit you. But it's extremely difficult to learn, so prepare yourself. I can't promise I'll be able to teach you," Minato said seriously.

Kaede replied confidently, "With my talent for Ninjutsu, if I can't learn it, then this technique will probably be lost for good."

Jiraiya curled his lip in disdain. "What an arrogant brat."

Using Flying Thunder God in actual combat required quick reflexes and sharp nerves. A person couldn't master it just by having a talent for Ninjutsu.

Ever since the Second Hokage had created Flying Thunder God, only he and Minato had managed to learn it. This kid was all talk.

If he failed to learn it, wouldn't he have gotten a free copy of a Ninjutsu that required no Hand Seals?

Jiraiya grinned and held out his hand to Kaede. "Hand over your training method for that Ninjutsu."

Kaede formed Hand Seals without a second thought. "Poof!" When the cloud of smoke cleared, a scroll about as thick as his arm appeared. "This is the original scroll. Once you've finished reading it, remember to return it to me. It also contains my ideas for the future of Thunder Flash, along with some insights into Ninjutsu. Consider it a gift, since Kushina asked."

As a remarkably talented person, Kaede would never waste his gifts. He spent most of his time researching Ninjutsu. Thunder Flash wasn't some shortcut he'd come up with to get his hands on Flying Thunder God; he'd genuinely put his heart into innovating Ninjutsu. He was a real prodigy with solid skills to back it up.

Jiraiya and Minato pored over the scroll. They found that it contained not only instructions for training in Thunder Flash, but also several research papers, including "How to Precisely Control Chakra," "The Origin of Chakra," "The Secret Between Chakra and Hand Seals," and "On the Strengths of Ninjutsu That Require No Hand Seals."

"This is amazing. So techniques can work together like this?" Jiraiya said, struck by the discussion of Compound Ninjutsu in one section.

Compound Ninjutsu was the Third Hokage's signature technique, but this kid had clearly been researching it too, and what he said made a lot of sense.

As for Kaede, he'd simply thought it was better to write things down than trust his memory. He'd recorded everything he knew and every idea he'd worked out in the scroll. Aside from the secrets of his transmigration and the secrets of Runes, he'd written down all of his research on Ninjutsu.

Only by approaching them with sincere intentions could he earn the approval of these two big names in the Shinobi World.

"Well? I told you I was pretty impressive," Kaede said with a smile.

"But I should warn you: a lot of the ideas about Ninjutsu in there came to me in a flash of inspiration and haven't been tested, so I don't know if they're right. Only my research on Thunder Flash is backed by reliable evidence."

Jiraiya put away the scroll and looked at Kaede with new respect. In his eyes, Kaede was no longer a child, but someone who could truly be called a ninja.

"There's a lot to go through, so I'll need time to read it all. You go learn Flying Thunder God from Minato first!"

Minato led Kaede off to the side, still reluctant to tear himself away from the scroll. "Kaede, you didn't have to share so much knowledge with us. The training method for Thunder Flash would've been enough."

"No, Minato, you're wrong. I think Ninjutsu knowledge can only grow when people share it and learn from one another. That's how we can spark even better ideas.

"Nowadays, aside from Kekkei Genkai, the truly powerful Ninjutsu in the Shinobi World are still techniques created by the previous generations. I feel like this has made the Shinobi World stagnant. So I want to break through that closed-minded tradition and share what I know, so that we can develop even more powerful Ninjutsu together.

"You're the first people I've chosen to share it with."

Kaede gazed up at the sky and spoke eloquently. At that moment, he seemed to shine with the radiance of a sage.