Invitation

"I bet on you to win that last fight, and as a result, I lost a barbecue dinner."

After a brief silence, Tsunade looked at the sunny, adorable little face before her and said with a straight face.

She didn't ask Minato why he had conceded; she could guess the reason without him having to say it.

"Sumimasen."

Minato scratched his head and fished a few bills out of his pocket: "Um, I still have some here..."

"Ha? What kind of person do you take me for?"

Tsunade's face darkened. Threats were one thing, but she would never actually steal money from a child.

Although she always felt perfectly entitled to swindle her own younger brother out of his allowance, that was, after all, her own brother.

Anyone with a younger brother knows that the creature known as a "younger brother" is born to be a slave to his older sister.

Glancing at the bills in Minato's hand, Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"That's quite a bit of pocket money, kid."

"Actually, this is my living expenses for the week..."

"Living expenses..."

Tsunade seemed to realize something, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

"Are you..."

"An orphan."

Hearing that crisp, clear voice, Tsunade silently set Minato down, while simultaneously giving herself a mental slap.

Damn it! I'm truly despicable!

This child is actually an orphan!

No, wait, I should have guessed it sooner. What kind of normal family would let a child come to the entrance exam all by himself?

At the thought of this, Tsunade was suddenly at a loss for what to do.

Watching Tsunade's shifting, uncertain expression, Minato stood there blankly.

He had a request for Tsunade; as the granddaughter of the First Hokage, she surely kept many Wood Release ninjutsu hidden away in her home.

Since Tsunade had unexpectedly sought him out, Minato naturally didn't want to give up this opportunity.

However, his personality was relatively introverted, and he wasn't very good at cozying up to girls. In both his past and present lives, it had always been the girls who took the initiative to approach him, so for a moment, he didn't know how to open his mouth to bridge the distance between them.

Seeing Tsunade silent, Minato tentatively spoke up: "How about... I treat you to a meal?"

"A meal?"

Tsunade was just pondering what posture she should take to kneel and apologize so as not to leave a shadow on this child's heart. Hearing this, she felt a sense of relief, but couldn't help but offer a playful smile.

"Oh? You kid, learning to treat girls to meals at this age?"

"Um—"

Minato pursed his lips, realizing he couldn't think of any suitable excuse. In the end, he could only helplessly pat the back of his head and offer an awkward smile: "Actually, I have a favor to ask of you, haha..."

So he has a favor to ask. No wonder this kid has such a good temper.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow: "What is it? Speak."

Minato shook his head and glanced nonchalantly toward the direction of the school: "If you don't mind... could you spare a little more time? My cooking skills should be decent enough."

Looks like it's going to be a troublesome matter...

But who told me to be so wicked?

Tsunade sighed helplessly: "Then let's go. Let me see what your cooking skills are like."

Minato's face lit up with joy. He formed hand seals, and with a poof, a Shadow Clone appeared, to whom he delegated the task of grocery shopping.

"You can even use Shadow Clone?" Tsunade looked stunned.

"It was among the ninjutsu my father left behind."

Minato nodded and led Tsunade toward his home.

Minato's house was the same as the one in the Road to Ninja version of the Infinite Tsukuyomi; it was this very same small building.

The location of the house was quite good, situated within the second ring, not far from the Hokage Rock. There was no shortage of large ninja clans nearby, and even the Uchiha were currently in this circle.

Due to the slope of the road, the small building was constructed on a two-meter-high stone platform and consisted of two main sections.

One part was the residential area; one would climb the iron staircase to the second floor, and the second and third floors were the areas used for daily living.

The other part of the building looked like a giant thermos. Its interior was connected to the residential area, with the first floor serving as a warehouse, the second as a study, and the third as a tea room. Because of the terrain, one could see most of the scenery of Konoha from the third floor.

As soon as they entered the house, Minato ducked into the kitchen.

Tsunade crossed her arms over her ample chest and leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching Minato skillfully wash and prepare the vegetables, her tone softening slightly: "Your place is in a great spot, right in the center of the village. How come I've never seen you around before?"

"Well, after my parents passed away, I rarely went out, but I've been getting up early to train lately."

"Getting up early to train..."

Tsunade chuckled; she lacked such self-discipline when not on missions, so it was no wonder she hadn't seen him before.

As for him recognizing her, there was nothing surprising about that. As the granddaughter of the First Hokage and Second Hokage, and a student of the Third Hokage, she possessed both beauty and strength; it would be strange if anyone in the village didn't know her.

"So, you only started training recently?"

Minato shook his head: "I began refining chakra half a year ago. My family left behind training scrolls from when my father was a ninja, so I taught myself some simple ninjutsu using them. I only started physical conditioning recently after hearing there would be a taijutsu assessment for enrollment."

After neatly chopping the side dishes, the Shadow Clone returned home, handed the groceries to Minato, and then dispelled itself.

"You're actually self-taught? What kind of ninjutsu have you mastered?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"Hmm... there's the Three Basic Jutsu, Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere, Water Release: Water Vortex, Earth Release: Earth Wave, and Shadow Clone."

"Those are all just basics... wait a minute!"

Tsunade suddenly straightened up, bracing one hand against the doorframe, her eyes burning as she stared at Minato: "Wind, Water, Earth—you can cast them all proficiently? What about your chakra affinities? Have you tested them?"

Minato nodded: "I have all five affinities: Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, and Earth. However, my family doesn't have any Fire or Lightning Release ninjutsu, and aside from Vacuum Sphere, the others are just common D-rank techniques."

Among these five affinities, the Wind affinity was likely his own.

The Water and Earth should have come from Hashirama Senju, while the Fire and Lightning should have come from Madara Uchiha.

Moreover, he had also inherited the Seal-less Self-Healing of Hashirama and the Sharingan of Madara, meaning he possessed the capabilities of both Yang Release and Yin Release as well.

"Five affinities..."

Tsunade looked at him as if she had discovered some rare treasure, then suddenly smiled with a hint of smugness: "Your request—could it be that you've discovered your own talent but are struggling because you lack ninjutsu, and thus want to take me as your master?"

"Take you as my master..."

Minato was stunned; he truly hadn't considered taking a master.

According to the original plot, his teacher should have been Jiraiya.

However, although the current Minato's personality was no different from the original, the influence of his past life's memories and knowledge meant his perceptions and values were actually worlds apart from the original Minato.

Jiraiya longed for people to understand one another and spent his entire life searching for the Child of Prophecy mentioned by the Great Toad Sage; he could be called a true and thorough idealist.

But ideals detached from reality were nothing more than empty talk.

Minato believed that people could understand one another, but understanding could not solve problems.

War was the continuation of politics, and politics, at the end of the day, was merely the pursuit of interests.

If the problem of resource distribution could not be solved, conflict would naturally never cease.

Minato admired Jiraiya's idealism, but he did not approve of the man's philosophy.

They were not cut from the same cloth, and he did not intend to become Jiraiya's student as he had in the original timeline.

But if it were Tsunade, even if she couldn't teach him much, she would certainly have access to the legacy of Wood Release ninjutsu, especially since the First Hokage's wife, Mito Uzumaki, was still alive at this time.

Noticing Minato's reaction, Tsunade realized she might have been overthinking things and couldn't help but pout: "What is it? You didn't want to take me as your master?"

Minato hurriedly waved his hands: "No, no, no! Actually, I would very much like to take you as my master, Senior!"

"Too late. I don't like your attitude."

Tsunade gave a light huff, though in her heart, she became increasingly curious about what Minato's request actually was.

He had clearly displayed exceptional talent, yet he still harbored secrets he was unwilling to expose to outsiders.

The only possibility she could think of... was a Kekkei Genkai.