Mito Uzumaki

"I suppose we could call it... Light Release? Hmm... or perhaps Flash Release?"

Minato pondered for a moment, feeling that both options lacked a certain something.

Suddenly, he recalled the origin of this ability, his eyes lighting up: "How about: Dimensional Flash Descends upon Konoha, the Hope of—"

"Hold your horses! That's enough, let's just call it Light Release."

Tsunade raised a hand to interrupt Minato, rubbing her temples with a headache.

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

Was there really no one perfect in this world?

Minato offered an awkward smile; his memories from his past life influenced him deeply, but he hadn't exactly wasted his time in this one.

Honestly, he felt that with the added cultural influence of his previous life, his naming skills had actually improved quite a bit.

"The name isn't what's important, is it? It's the ability."

Tsunade felt quite helpless toward Minato's natural airheadedness: "How much do you know about this bloodline limit?"

Minato nodded: "I have a basic understanding. It's a very powerful force, I just haven't had a proper opportunity to develop it yet."

"And the capabilities?" Tsunade asked again.

"Just as the name implies: light."

Minato said, choosing his words carefully: "The specifics are still waiting to be developed."

Minato didn't understand optics, but fortunately, things like the Glint-Glint Fruit were quite idealistic.

For instance, sunlight and lasers operated on completely different principles, yet Kizaru had managed to develop both.

Following that logic, auroras or even X-rays could be developed, and both were indeed concepts belonging to light—unlike abstract concepts such as "the Galaxy is also a river." Not to mention, the development of a Devil Fruit inherently carried the possibility of conceptual extension.

The Glint-Glint Fruit was his primary means of combat in the early stages, and it was an ability he would inevitably have to reveal.

But how exactly he displayed it was up to him; he wouldn't reveal his trump cards, like elementalization, to anyone.

In the half-year since his memories awakened, he had stayed home to train.

The tree-climbing and water-walking exercises that Team 7 only mastered after graduation were mastered by Minato in ten minutes.

And the first thing he did after learning to walk on water was to practice the Rasengan.

It was the only ninjutsu in the original work with detailed training steps, and it was one that he himself had created in that original timeline.

The training for the Rasengan was divided into three stages.

The first stage was to make the chakra rotate chaotically inside a water balloon until it burst.

The second stage was to increase the power of the chakra rotation to burst a rubber ball.

The third stage was to maintain stability based on the second stage, with the standard being that the balloon must not be damaged.

In the original story, Naruto took a shortcut using Shadow Clones, but that sacrificed the mobility of the technique. However, benefiting from Naruto's approach, Minato also found a clever way.

He also used Shadow Clones to help "rub" the sphere, but he would dispel the clone at the very last moment, using his single hand to adapt to the feeling of the chaotic chakra rotation. Through practice, he completed the single-handed Rasengan training in three months.

It was also during this period that Minato confirmed that chakra could not strike an elementalized body.

Physical attacks were ineffective, chakra attacks were ineffective; the only things he needed to watch out for were genjutsu and the Sage chakra inherited from the three great holy lands.

"Two bloodline limits... and one of them is Wood Release. Just thinking about it makes it feel like such a hassle."

Tsunade sighed wistfully.

Based on her understanding of Konoha's upper echelons, once they knew Minato possessed Wood Release, their first thought would certainly be how to firmly grasp that power in their own hands.

If it were someone like Nawaki—a hot-blooded idiot who wanted to be Hokage—it might be easier to manage, but Minato clearly didn't have the personality to be manipulated.

From their brief interaction, it wasn't hard to see that this child not only possessed an independent and mature personality, but also a shrewdness that could see through the essence of problems; he couldn't be brainwashed.

The "Will of Fire" that the Third Hokage was so fond of using had no effect on Minato at all. After all, he even dared to question the Hokage, unlike ordinary people who had a natural filter for authority.

As for forced brainwashing...

Such methods weren't as terrifying as people thought, though they weren't as powerful as people imagined, either.

Forced brainwashing usually only worked on those who lacked a sense of self and had a limited understanding of the world, which was why the primary targets were usually small children or those with poor education.

Furthermore, the target of the brainwashing couldn't be removed from control for long; otherwise, once the target found their sense of self and began to doubt or rebel against the brainwashing rhetoric, the conditioning would fail completely.

And for those with a clear sense of awareness, unless there was some kind of genjutsu that could forcibly twist one's cognition, it would only be counterproductive.

"Forget it, come with me. Since this involves Wood Release, Grandmother will likely want to see you."

Tsunade stood up and beckoned. Minato paused, glanced at the dinner plate on the table, and left a Shadow Clone at home to wash the dishes.

"You really do love using Shadow Clones, don't you? Be careful of overexertion."

Tsunade's lips curled, and she felt a bit more appreciation for Minato in her heart.

If it were her, she might have dragged it out until the sink was full, or even stinking, though she was lucky enough to have a younger brother she could boss around.

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

The two arrived beneath the Hokage Rock, where a red building appeared before them. Minato Namikaze was very familiar with the architectural style; it was the Konoha Hokage Building.

Minato widened his eyes: "You live here?"

Tsunade shook her head: "Grandmother lives here."

As she spoke, she pointed to a building next to the Hokage Building that looked like a copper hot pot, with a giant sphere atop its roof. (This was the residence of Mito, containing the seals that strengthened the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques.)

The moment the two entered the building, two Anbu ninjas wearing masks appeared silently before them.

"Lady Tsunade."

Seeing Tsunade, the Anbu greeted her respectfully, then immediately turned their gaze toward Minato: "And this is..."

"None of your business, don't be annoying!" Tsunade waved her hand, her tone impatient.

The Anbu didn't say anything more upon seeing this and retreated quietly, though Minato felt that, barring any surprises, his files would likely be placed on the Monkey's desk very soon.

The two arrived at a room, and before Tsunade could even knock, an aged voice drifted from within.

"Is that little Tsunade? Come in."

Tsunade curled her lips and pushed the door open to enter.

"Grandmother!"

On the bed in the room, an old woman wearing a kimono sat up, her gaze fixed on Tsunade with affection.

Then, her eyes fell on Minato's face, and she couldn't help but smile: "And this child is...?"

"Hello, Grandmother, my name is Minato Namikaze." Minato greeted her politely.

"This brat is a genius who just enrolled this year; he came to me for help with something."

Tsunade gave the back of Minato's head a light pat: "This is my grandmother, the wife of the First Hokage. You should address her as Lady Mito."

"Just call me Grandmother."

Mito scrutinized Minato carefully, revealing a nostalgic smile.

"This warm and familiar chakra... it truly makes one feel pleasant. Little Tsunade, you must teach him well and pass this power down..."

An ordinary sensory ninja might not have detected Minato's Wood Release, but as the wife of Hashirama Senju, Mito sensed the similarity between Minato's chakra and Hashirama's after just one glance.

Combined with the fact that her usually scatterbrained granddaughter had suddenly brought an unknown child to her doorstep, it wasn't hard to guess that Minato possessed Wood Release.

Chakra does not lie; this child's chakra is very warm. He is a good child.

"But... I don't think I have much to teach him. This brat also has another special bloodline limit..."

Tsunade felt a bit insecure; she had only been a Jonin for a few years now.

Teaching ordinary people was fine, but facing a genius like Minato—who possessed dual bloodline limits and could pin down the Hokage's son in his first actual combat—made her feel a bit out of her depth.

In her view, Minato's talent was far superior to her own, and there was indeed little she could teach him.

"There are many conditions a strong person must possess; ninjutsu is only one aspect of it..."

Mito smiled and shook her head: "The key is whether or not you are willing to teach."

"Teaching or whatever... isn't that just babysitting?"

Tsunade curled her lip in disdain, but after glancing at Minato's cute face, she gave a soft huff: "Do you want to be my disciple, brat?"

"Then I'll be in your care, Teacher Tsunade." Minato nodded with a smile.

"Don't get too happy too soon."

Tsunade felt secretly pleased at being called 'Teacher', yet she maintained a haughty expression: "I am very strict! First, you must know how to respect your teacher! For example, you must prepare delicious meals for your teacher every day! Of course, you don't need to worry about the money..."

"Yes, I will do my best."

Minato nodded repeatedly. He had to cook for himself anyway, so it was just one extra portion; it wasn't much of a bother.

Mito watched the two, her gaze growing increasingly gentle: "I will speak to the Monkey about this, so you don't need to worry. This old woman's bones are still sturdy enough; I should be able to hold on for a few more years."

"Grandmother—"

Tsunade's expression was dissatisfied: "You're saying those worrying things again."

Mito smiled and said nothing.

As a standout of the Uzumaki clan, possessing the Yin Seal capable of storing chakra, she could return to her youthful appearance and maintain her peak state whenever she wished, rather than being as aged and frail as she was now.

It was just that ever since her husband, Hashirama Senju, passed away, she had never returned to her youthful appearance again, because the person worth dressing up for was no longer there.

Now, she had only two missions.

First, to watch Tsunade and Nawaki grow up safely.

Second, to cultivate the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and safely pass on the power her husband left for the village.

Come to think of it, Tsunade was about to turn twenty, and Nawaki would soon graduate from the academy. It was time to put the cultivation of the next Jinchuriki on the agenda...