Mito Uzumaki

"I suppose you could call it... Light Release? Hmm... Maybe Flash Release?"

Minato thought it over, but neither name quite seemed right.

Suddenly, he remembered where this ability had come from, and his eyes lit up. "How about: The Dimensional Flash Descends Upon Konoha's Hope—"

"Chotto matte! Enough. Let's just call it Light Release."

Tsunade raised a hand to cut Minato off, then rubbed her forehead with a pained look.

This kid... What a bizarre talent for naming things!

I guess nobody's perfect.

Minato smiled awkwardly. His memories of his past life had influenced him deeply, but he hadn't exactly wasted this life, either.

Honestly, he thought his naming skills had improved quite a bit thanks to the cultural influence of his past life.

"What matters isn't the name. It's the ability, right?"

Tsunade was helpless against Minato's naturally airheaded response. "Do you know much about this bloodline limit?"

Minato nodded. "I understand the basics. It's an extremely powerful ability, but I haven't had a good chance to develop it."

"What can it do?" Tsunade asked.

"Just what the name says. Light."

Minato chose his words carefully. "I still have to explore its full potential."

Minato didn't understand optics, but fortunately, Devil Fruits were highly subjective.

Sunlight and lasers, for example, worked on completely different principles, yet Kizaru had managed to develop both.

By that logic, he could even develop abilities involving auroras or X-rays. Both fell under the concept of light, unlike abstract ideas like the Milky Way being a river. And Devil Fruit powers could be developed through a certain degree of conceptual extension in the first place.

The Glint-Glint Fruit was his main means of combat early on, and he was bound to reveal its abilities eventually.

But he could decide exactly how those abilities appeared. He wouldn't reveal a trump card like elementalization, which could save his life, to anyone.

In the six months since his memories had awakened, he'd stayed home and trained.

In just ten minutes, Minato had mastered tree climbing and Water Walking, skills that Team 7 in the original story hadn't learned until after graduating.

And the first thing he did after learning Water Walking was train in the Rasengan.

It was the only ninjutsu in the original story with detailed training steps, and it had also been created by his counterpart in that story.

Rasengan training had three stages.

The first was to make chakra spin chaotically inside a water balloon until it burst.

The second was to increase the power of the chakra's rotation until it burst a rubber ball.

The third was to maintain stability while building on the second stage. The goal was to avoid damaging the balloon.

Naruto had taken a shortcut by using Shadow Clones, but it came at the cost of the technique's versatility. Still, thanks to Naruto's idea, Minato had found a clever workaround of his own.

He also used Shadow Clones to help form the sphere, but dispelled them at the last moment each time. Then he used one hand to get used to the feeling of chakra spinning chaotically. With enough practice, he mastered the one-handed Rasengan in three months.

During that time, Minato also confirmed that chakra couldn't hit him while he was elementalized.

Physical attacks didn't work, and neither did chakra attacks. The only things he had to watch out for were genjutsu and Senjutsu Chakra passed down by the Three Great Sage Lands.

"Two bloodline limits... And one of them is Wood Release. Just thinking about it gives me a headache."

Tsunade sighed ruefully.

Given what she knew about Konoha High Command, if they learned that Minato had Wood Release, their first thought would be how to secure control of that power.

If he were a hot-blooded fool like Nawaki, single-mindedly dreaming of becoming Hokage, that would be one thing. But Minato clearly wasn't the sort to let others control him.

From her brief interaction with him, it was easy to see that the boy had an independent, mature personality and the sharpness to see the heart of a problem. He couldn't be brainwashed.

The Will of Fire, the approach the Third Hokage liked to use, wouldn't work on Minato at all. After all, he even dared to question the Hokage. He didn't have the instinctive reverence for authority that ordinary people did.

As for forcibly brainwashing him...

That sort of thing wasn't as terrifying as people imagined, but it wasn't as powerful as they imagined, either.

Brainwashing usually only worked on people without much of a sense of self or understanding of the world. That was why its main targets tended to be children or people with little education.

And the target couldn't be kept out of contact with the outside world for too long. Once they found themselves and began questioning the brainwashing rhetoric, their rebellious feelings would surface, and the brainwashing would stop working altogether.

For people with a clear understanding of the world, unless one had a genjutsu that could forcibly alter their perception, trying to brainwash them would only backfire.

"Never mind. Come with me. Since this involves Wood Release, Grandma will probably want to meet you."

Tsunade stood and beckoned him over. Minato paused, glanced at the dishes on the table, then left a Shadow Clone at home to wash them.

"You really love making your Shadow Clones do things for you. Careful, or you'll wear yourself out."

Tsunade's lips curled up slightly. She admired Minato a little more.

If it were her, she might have left the dishes until the sink was overflowing, or even stinking. Fortunately, she had a younger brother she could order around.

Minato smiled gently, packed up the trash, and followed Tsunade outside.

They arrived beneath Kage Rock, where a red building stood before them. Minato recognized its style at once: it was Konoha's Hokage Building.

Minato's eyes widened. "You live here?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Grandma lives here."

As she spoke, she pointed to a building beside the Hokage Building. It looked like a copper hot pot, with a huge sphere on top. (In the Minato story, this was where Mito lived. Inside were seals that strengthened the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques.)

As soon as they entered the building, two masked Anbu Ninja appeared silently in front of them.

"Lady Tsunade."

The Anbu respectfully greeted Tsunade, then turned their attention to Minato. "And this person is..."

"None of your business. Don't be a nuisance!" Tsunade waved them away impatiently.

The Anbu didn't say anything more and quietly withdrew. Still, barring any surprises, Minato figured his file would soon be on the Third Hokage's desk.

The two of them reached a room. Before Tsunade could knock, an elderly voice came from inside.

"Is that you, little Tsunade? Come in."

Tsunade's lips curved upward as she pushed open the door.

"Grandma!"

An old woman in a kimono sat up in bed and gazed at Tsunade with affection.

Then her eyes fell on Minato, and she smiled. "And who is this child...?"

"Hello, Grandma. My name is Minato Namikaze." Minato greeted her politely.

"This brat is a genius who just enrolled in the Academy this year. He came to me for help with something."

Tsunade gave Minato a light smack on the back of the head. "This is my grandmother, the wife of the First. You should call her Lady Mito."

"Just call me Grandma."

Mito looked Minato over carefully, a nostalgic smile on her face.

"Such warm chakra, and so familiar. It really lifts my spirits. Little Tsunade, you must teach him well and pass this power on..."

An ordinary sensor ninja might not have noticed Minato's Wood Release, but as Hashirama's wife, Mito had sensed the similarity between his chakra and Hashirama's after just one glance.

And when she considered that her normally scatterbrained granddaughter had suddenly brought over a child she didn't recognize, it wasn't hard to guess that Minato possessed Wood Release.

Chakra didn't lie. This child's chakra was warm. He was a good child.

"But... I'm not sure I have much to teach him. The brat has another special bloodline limit, too..."

Tsunade sounded uncertain. She'd only been a jōnin for a few years.

Teaching an ordinary person would be fine, but Minato had two bloodline limits and was a genius who had beaten up the Hokage's son in his very first real fight. That made her feel a little out of her depth.

In her eyes, Minato was far more talented than she was. There really wasn't much she could teach him.

"There are many things a strong shinobi needs. Ninjutsu is only one of them..."

Mito smiled and shook her head. "The important thing is whether you're willing to teach him."

"Teaching him... Isn't that just babysitting?"

Tsunade curled her lip disdainfully. But after glancing at Minato's adorable face, she gave a soft huff. "Hey, kid. Want to be my student?"

"I'd be grateful to have you as my teacher, Lady Tsunade." Minato smiled and nodded.

"Don't get too excited."

Tsunade secretly enjoyed hearing him call her teacher, but kept up her haughty expression. "I'm very strict! First, you have to respect your elders! For example, you'll prepare delicious meals for your teacher every day! Of course, you don't have to worry about the cost..."

"Okay. I'll do my best."

Minato nodded repeatedly. He was going to cook for himself anyway, so making one extra serving wouldn't be much trouble.

Mito watched them, her eyes growing gentler. "I'll speak to Monkey. You don't need to worry. This old woman is still in decent health. I should be able to hold on for a few more years."

"Grandma—"

Tsunade looked displeased. "You're saying things like that again. You're making us worry."

Mito smiled but said nothing.

As an outstanding member of the Uzumaki Clan, with a Yin Seal that could store chakra, she could return to the appearance of her youth and maintain her peak condition whenever she wanted. She didn't have to be as old and frail as she was now.

But ever since her husband, Hashirama Senju, had passed away, she had never returned to her youthful appearance. The person she'd once wanted to look beautiful for was gone.

Now she had only two duties.

First, to watch over Tsunade and Nawaki as they grew up safely.

Second, to raise the next Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails and ensure the safe transfer of the power her husband had left to the village.

Come to think of it, little Tsunade would soon turn twenty, and Nawaki was about to graduate from the Academy. It was time to start preparing the next Jinchūriki...