Birthday Present

Mito Uzumaki watched the four of them interact with a smile, as if she were watching children at play. "It's all right. This is the first time I've ever seen Nawaki say so much in front of someone he doesn't know. I'm sure you'll become good friends."

She was very pleased with how Nawaki had acted just now. Seeing how well he had performed as a ninja under the pressure of Orochimaru's killing intent, she forgave Orochimaru for his rather rude behavior.

"But Orochimaru had a point just now. Nawaki really is something special." Jiraiya wandered around Nawaki, hopping and jumping as he sized him up. "Kid, how about becoming my student? I'll train you to be a great ninja!"

The hall fell silent. Everyone waited for Nawaki's answer.

To everyone's surprise, Nawaki calmly said, "No! Please stay away from me. I heard stupidity is contagious."

"Thud!" Jiraiya suddenly toppled over. "Tsunade! Your little brother has a terrible personality! He's even more annoying than you and Orochimaru put together!"

"What did you say?" Tsunade's expression darkened. She planted one foot on Jiraiya's head, then ground it into the floor. With his face pressed against the ground, Jiraiya was powerless to resist and could only lie there, limbs twitching.

Nawaki winced just watching, so he spoke up to stop her. "That's enough, Sis."

Jiraiya had just started to feel a little touched, but the next thing Nawaki said made him realize how foolish he'd been.

"He's already dumb enough. If you crush his brain, he'll drag the whole team down, and you'll look bad."

"What do you mean, I'll look bad? What do you mean, drag the team down? And what the hell is 'crush his brain'? I'm a genius Jonin, Gallant Jiraiya, at the age of eleven! Since when did even one-year-old brats start looking down on me?" Jiraiya silently roared in his heart, but with his face pressed to the floor, he couldn't make a sound.

Tsunade couldn't hear his thoughts, though. Nodding in agreement, she said, "That makes sense. This idiot is already enough trouble as it is." Then she calmly lifted her right foot, looking as if to say, "You're lucky."

In the original story, Jiraiya was a capable teacher. His three students were Nagato Uzumaki, Minato Namikaze, and Naruto Uzumaki, and they all achieved incredible things.

If Nawaki had been born into an ordinary family, he would have happily agreed. But now he was the spiritual symbol of Konoha, the young heir of the Senju Clan, the successor to the Will of Fire, and Konoha's most legitimate heir.

Only someone of the Hokage's stature was qualified to take him as a student. That way, Nawaki could gain more reputation points. Jiraiya hadn't yet earned the title of Sannin; he was merely a talented ninja with a little renown, and clearly wasn't qualified.

Nawaki's favorite choice for a teacher was Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. That would bring him a massive amount of reputation. Learning ninjutsu was secondary: with his status, he could ask Mito to teach him whenever he wanted. He could even learn any jutsu in the Scroll of Sealing, since he was the grandson of the Second Hokage and inheriting their legacy was only natural.

Time passed amid the merriment, and soon evening came. After the cake was cut, everyone brought out their gifts for Nawaki.

Jiraiya gave him a doll, while Orochimaru gave him a Kunai and a Shuriken. Knowing her little brother liked collecting all kinds of materials, Tsunade gave him a small piece of Chakra Metal. As for Mito Uzumaki, she promised to grant one small wish of Nawaki's as a gift.

Mito gazed at her grandson with affection and asked, "Go ahead, Nawaki. What do you want? Is it one of those strange materials?" Clearly, she knew about her grandson's peculiar hobby of collecting all sorts of odd things. She simply thought of him as a clever, curious child, eager to learn about the world.

Just moments ago, Nawaki had even collected Jiraiya's hair, which had fallen to the ground, and the drool Orochimaru had left there, right in front of everyone.

Mito and Tsunade were both used to it, while Orochimaru thought Nawaki was a lot like him. As for Jiraiya, who cared what he thought?

Nawaki pondered for a while, then shook his head. "No, there aren't any materials I particularly want right now. Grandma, will you grant any request I make?"

Although Nawaki spoke with great clarity and acted mature for his age, his voice was still very childish because it hadn't yet changed. His babyish way of speaking, so at odds with his mature demeanor, was irresistibly adorable.

"Yes, as long as it's something Grandma can do." Mito, the kind and loving elder, didn't laugh at him. Instead, she made her promise with a serious look in her eyes.

"I want to learn the Chakra Extraction Technique. Will you agree, Grandma?" When he finished speaking, Nawaki gazed at Mito expectantly.

No one present had expected him to make that request.

Tsunade was the first to object. "You can't, Nawaki! You're only one year old. Extracting chakra could hurt your body. Wait another two years, until you're older, and then I'll teach you, okay?"

"But you started extracting chakra when you were three and graduated from the Ninja Academy as a Genin when you were six, didn't you, Sis? The clansmen say I look about three years old, and I'm even smarter than they are!" After exchanging for the Asura Bloodline, Nawaki had deliberately trained his body and eaten plenty of nutritious food. As a result, he was quite tall for his age and looked like a three- or four-year-old.

"But you're only one. It's dangerous to do that. What if..." Tsunade was still worried and tried to keep persuading him.

"Enough, Tsunade." Mito interrupted her, then looked at Nawaki. "Nawaki, you're a clever child, and you've always had a mind of your own. Tell Grandma, why are you in such a hurry to learn chakra extraction early? Is it because you're curious?"

Nawaki knew that if he used curiosity as an excuse again, Mito definitely wouldn't agree to his request today. This was a matter of survival. If he could start training two years earlier, he would be able to gain more strength and make more preparations. Two years was enough time for him to accomplish a great deal, so he absolutely couldn't let this opportunity slip by.

Nawaki took a deep breath and said solemnly, "No, Grandma! It's not because of something as shallow as curiosity! It's for power! I want to gain power and become a ninja!"

The people present all reacted differently to his answer.

Jiraiya furrowed his brow, Tsunade looked worried, and Orochimaru's eyes gleamed as he stuck out his tongue, as if he were about to devour Nawaki.

Hearing this, Mito's smile faded. Her expression turned serious, and her voice unconsciously grew stern. "Nawaki! Why do you want power? What do you intend to do with it?"

Nawaki knew this was the crucial moment. The success or failure of his plan depended on this. He looked Mito straight in the eye and said firmly, "Because this village is Grandpa's precious treasure! I have to protect it for him! I want to become the strongest ninja—the Hokage—so I can protect Grandpa's precious treasure!"