"Minato Namikaze?"
Uzumaki Mito lowered her head slightly, pondering. That name definitely didn't come from a shinobi clan. Although Mito had guessed Minato wasn't from a clan when she sensed his Chakra earlier, she still found it hard to believe now that it had been confirmed.
The blond boy before her already seemed to have strength rivaling a Jonin's. He might even be able to defeat an ordinary Jonin.
"Grandma Mito, he's my classmate. He just passed the exam and became a Genin. He's someone we can trust."
Kushina Uzumaki spoke up. She didn't know why Mito had asked about Minato and thought he was under suspicion, so she immediately spoke up for him.
"A Genin?" Mito looked up and studied Minato again, stifling a laugh.
"With strength like his, if he went on missions, he'd probably make a name for himself in no time!"
"To reach Jonin level at twelve... What a terrifying talent."
Mito was still marveling at Minato's strength, but Kuming had already lost interest and was watching her, hoping to get home and go to sleep soon. He wasn't surprised at all that Minato was this strong. Minato Namikaze was the first commoner in Konoha's history to become Hokage.
Of Konoha's seven Hokage, the First, Second, and Fifth came from the Senju Clan, a powerful clan from the Warring States Period. The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Sixth Hokage Kakashi Hatake also came from shinobi clans. Only Minato was a true commoner. Unless he had been extraordinarily talented, how could he have risen above Konoha's clans to become their leader?
The Fourth Hokage's student, Kakashi Hatake, had become a Jonin at around twelve. It wasn't hard to believe that his teacher, Minato, had Jonin-level strength at this age, too.
Besides, after fighting Minato, Kuming had gained a clear understanding of his own strength. In terms of Taijutsu alone, he was somewhere between a Genin and a Chunin. From how effortlessly Minato had defended himself, Kuming could tell he still had a long way to go before reaching Jonin level.
"Kushina, people from the village will be here soon. I'll take Kuming and go ahead."
"You and this boy stay here and wait for them. When they arrive, help the village's shinobi investigate the enemy's identity."
"Don't be nervous. Just tell them the truth, but you don't need to mention that Kuming and I were here."
Mito walked over to Kushina and patted her shoulder as she spoke. Then she looked at Minato and, after a moment's thought, pulled a scroll from her robes.
"What is that?" Kuming had sharp eyes. The moment he saw Mito take out the scroll, he knew what it was.
"That technique was given to him by Mito!"
As Kuming watched in surprise, Mito tossed the scroll to Minato and said warmly:
"Child, this is to thank you for saving Kushina. The ninjutsu in the scroll is my gift to you."
"Keep it safe. If Monkey asks about it, tell him I gave it to you."
"Goodbye."
Mito flashed over to Kuming and left with him. Before Kuming went, though, he gave Minato a strange smile and said, "I think we'll be seeing each other a lot from now on."
Watching Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kuming leave, Minato smiled wryly. He didn't even look at the scroll in his hand, just tucked it into his robes before jogging over to Kushina to check on her.
"Kushina, are you all right?" Minato asked with concern, worried she might have suffered some lingering effects.
"I'm fine. Minato, I had no idea you were this strong. How come I never noticed before?" With Mito and Kuming gone, Kushina felt bold enough to hook an arm over Minato's shoulder and ask curiously.
After being rescued by him, there was no way Kushina couldn't have developed feelings for Minato. The scene had been utterly cliché, but it had worked remarkably well.
"Well, it's nothing. I just practice a lot."
With Kushina acting so warmly toward him, Minato's cheeks flushed, and he began to stammer. But their conversation didn't last long before the Konoha Jonin arrived and interrupted them. The Jonin from Kumogakure had been very cautious, but Konoha's shinobi had still noticed something suspicious and sent pursuers after them.
The Konoha Jonin had arrived late because, unlike Minato, they hadn't happened upon the trail Kushina had left. Soon, the Konoha shinobi who had met up with Kushina and Minato escorted them back to the village. Tonight, Minato and Kushina would probably have to answer plenty of questions.
"Kuming, your decision to undo the seal just now was a little rash. That's not like you," Mito said as she led him swiftly through the forest.
"I got carried away. I don't know why, but when I saw Minato, I just wanted to hit him. Maybe it's because the pig was about to snatch the cabbage from our garden."
"It made me feel kind of annoyed."
Although Kuming was Kushina's younger brother, his mental age wasn't that of a four-year-old. Ever since arriving in this world, he'd always thought of Kushina as his daughter. Kushina probably never would have guessed that while she treated Kuming like a little brother, he wanted to be her dad.
"Jealous? You really are a child."
Mito smiled at Kuming's words. He'd always seemed so mature, acting nothing like a child, and it had often worried her. But seeing this childish side of him didn't make her angry. If anything, she was delighted.
After all, children were more lovable when they were innocent.
"Not at all. I just don't like Minato."
"By the way, Grandma Mito, why did you give that guy the Flying Thunder God?"
Kuming muttered under his breath. It wasn't that he disliked Minato. He just didn't like anyone showing off more smoothly than he did. But he quickly moved on and asked about the scroll Mito had tossed to Minato.
"What, are you jealous again? You've already seen the Flying Thunder God. You can't learn it, so am I not allowed to give it to someone else?"
Mito teased him. She'd suddenly discovered that teasing Kuming, this little grown-up, was a lot of fun. Seeing him with that frustrated expression made her feel years younger.
"Tch. I'm just worried it'll go to waste," Kuming said, though he didn't mean it.
"Haha. All right, I'll stop teasing you."
"I gave him the Flying Thunder God because I think he might be able to learn it."
"Since Tobirama died, no one has been able to master the Flying Thunder God Technique all these years. I don't want the technique to be lost."
"When you fought him just now, I noticed that boy had incredibly quick reflexes, and he was extremely skilled at the Body Flicker Technique. As far as that technique goes, there may be only a few people in all of Konoha who can surpass him. He has the potential to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique."
"If he really does learn it, Konoha could have at least another fifty years of peace."
Mito looked wistful, as if she were remembering the days when the First and Second Hokage had both been in Konoha. She wasn't exaggerating. The Flying Thunder God Technique was that powerful. Anyone who learned it and mastered it could immediately stand at the pinnacle of the shinobi world.
"Fifty years of peace, huh? I'll do my best to make sure your wish comes true."
"If you knew that guy used his body to block the Nine-Tails' claws after learning the Flying Thunder God, would you have him strung up and beaten?"
"Using Space-Time Ninjutsu like Minato did was pretty much the peak."
Kuming didn't interrupt Mito as she reminisced about the distant past. He only grumbled to himself. But after meeting Minato, he'd already made up his mind: he would never let the tragedies of the past happen again before his eyes.
"I'm still not strong enough!"
"At my current level, I'm not even as good as Kakashi. He graduated from the Ninja Academy at five and was already a Chunin at six."
"And prodigies like Itachi were already taking people out on the battlefield at four. By the time he was Minato's age, he could wipe out an entire clan."
"I'm only four, and I've never even seen what the Ninja Academy looks like. This is tragic."
Over the past few years, as his strength had grown, Kuming had become somewhat pleased with himself. But after thinking about his fight with Minato and the terrifying, short-lived prodigies in Konoha's history, all that self-satisfaction vanished, replaced by a sense of urgency.
Before you continue