Namikaze Minato was someone that almost everyone who had watched Naruto probably knew.
If Qi hadn't watched Naruto in his previous life, he probably wouldn't have made it this far. Naturally, he knew who Minato was.
There was no other reason. Minato was simply that powerful. In Konoha's entire history, only two elite shinobi had mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu. The first was the former Konoha Shura, Uchiha Madara.
The second was the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, who rose to fame during the Third Shinobi World War and earned the title of Yellow Flash...
What was most remarkable was that Madara was so powerful because he possessed the Sharingan, a rare kekkei genkai. Minato, on the other hand, had no kekkei genkai at all. He was a true ninjutsu specialist, yet his mastery of Space-Time Ninjutsu had reached a level where he could rival Madara.
Qi would have been lying to himself if he claimed he had no expectations about being assigned to work under such an incredible shinobi.
With that feeling in his heart, Qi finally met Namikaze Minato, who was waiting in the village, the next day. Orochimaru had brought him there...
"This person is Namikaze Minato!?"
Namikaze Minato was known as the Yellow Flash, and he certainly lived up to the name.
Even setting aside his ghostly speed and inhuman reflexes, he was eye-catching just standing there. That golden hair of his was impossible to miss.
His bright blond hair and gentle smile seemed to tell everyone, "I'm Namikaze Minato. Pleased to meet you..."
"Orochimaru-senpai."
When Minato saw Orochimaru approaching, he greeted him warmly.
"I heard you've received a new mission as well?"
It was perfectly normal for Minato to address Orochimaru this way. Orochimaru was of the same generation as Minato's teacher, and that was based on their teacher-student lineages. However, the Naruto world didn't seem to have terms like "teacher's younger brother" or "teacher's elder brother." Here, the relationship between teacher and student was simply that between an instructor and a pupil.
In this world, there seemed to be only one way to address someone senior to you in rank, other than "teacher": "senpai"...
"My mission is nothing special. I'm just going to the front lines to oversee things."
Orochimaru returned Minato's greeting with a friendly smile. He gestured toward Qi beside him and continued,
"This boy is the Kagetsu Qi I told you about. From now on, have him follow you. The conditions where I'm stationed are no longer suitable for him."
"That won't be a problem..."
Minato nodded and looked at Qi. Suddenly, as if he'd thought of something amusing, he smiled.
"I just realized that I'm Lord Jiraiya's student, and he's your student. That makes us fellow disciples."
"Ha..."
Orochimaru smiled, too.
"You're giving him too much credit... Well, I'll leave him in your hands for now. I should get going. My people are waiting for me on the other side."
With that, Orochimaru vanished in a puff of smoke...
It had been a clone...
"Looks like Orochimaru-senpai is in a real hurry. The pressure from the Rock Ninja must be that intense..."
Minato didn't mind Orochimaru using a clone to deliver Qi. The Sannin were the spiritual pillars of Konoha, and they hardly had any time to themselves. They had to remain on the battlefield at all times, so using a clone was unavoidable. Orochimaru and the others were probably already on their way to the front lines.
What concerned him was that Orochimaru had returned to the village less than two days ago, only to be sent back to the front lines. That showed just how dire the situation there was.
But that thought passed in an instant. Minato soon composed himself. He knew that no individual could change this. For Konoha to win, everyone would have to work together. With that in mind, he turned to Qi, his expression softening.
"Is it all right if I call you that?"
Of course he didn't mind...
Qi quickly nodded.
"My teacher is Lord Jiraiya, one of the Sannin. We may not have the same teacher, but we're still fellow disciples. If you don't mind, just call me senior brother."
What an easygoing person...
Qi had been in this world for more than a decade and had almost grown accustomed to the rigid hierarchy of the shinobi world. Yet Minato's easygoing nature made him feel as if he'd returned to his previous life...
He could clearly tell that Minato wasn't putting on an act.
Even though he'd already learned about Minato's personality from the anime in his previous life, experiencing it in person made a much deeper impression.
"Senior brother."
"Oh, being called senior brother feels a little embarrassing, haha..."
Minato laughed heartily.
"I know a little about you. Keep working hard, Qi."
As he spoke, he stood up.
"Come on, then. Your new teammates are waiting outside the village."
New teammates... Kakashi and the others, then...
Qi suddenly understood. At this point, Kakashi was still in the shadow of his father's suicide. He was cold-blooded as could be...
"By the way, to make things easier during missions, you can call me 'teacher' like the others when we're on duty. That'll make it easier for me to teach you a few things."
"All right, teacher."
Qi answered naturally.
The Naruto world's hierarchy was nowhere near as strict as the one in his previous life. Things were more casual here, so forms of address were naturally much simpler.
Still, there were basic conventions. Minato wanted Qi to call him that so he could openly pass on some of his ninjutsu knowledge. Qi naturally had no reason to refuse.
"Let's go."
Minato happily patted Qi on the shoulder. With that single pat, Qi suddenly realized that the scene before his eyes had completely changed—he was already somewhere outside the village!
It was the Flying Thunder God Technique! He hadn't expected to experience it firsthand so soon! And... it had happened so quickly!
He was beginning to understand why Minato could use the Flying Thunder God Technique in combination with the Rasengan to injure Uchiha Madara, and why the Flying Thunder God Technique had become a legend in Konoha.
Only someone who had experienced the Flying Thunder God Technique firsthand could understand how terrifying it was... Calling it fast didn't even begin to describe it. The difficulty of performing the technique was only one aspect. The demands it placed on the user's reflexes were just as severe.
The essence of the Flying Thunder God Technique lay in the coordination between the two. If either part was missing, it wouldn't work. If the user's reflexes weren't good enough, they couldn't bring out even half the technique's potential.
White Fang had been the same. He was no slower than Minato, and Lightning Release could strengthen the body, but without the necessary reflexes, all he could do was charge around wildly. The difference between White Fang and Minato was that White Fang was also an elite master of underground movement...
It was precisely this perfect combination of stealth and speed in combat that had made White Fang the Instant Kill King of Konoha's history. Compared to the Yellow Flash, White Fang's instant kills carried a more ruthless edge.
But Qi's momentary daze made Minato, who had just put away his Kunai, misunderstand. He thought his junior was upset that he'd used a technique on him without warning.
"Sorry. It's not just Orochimaru-senpai who's in a hurry. We are, too."
He spoke with some embarrassment and regret. Time was short, so he'd had no choice, but acting without saying a word first had indeed been a little discourteous.
"Senior brother, you've got it wrong. I don't mind. I was just thinking about something else."
Qi came back to his senses, realizing that his reaction had probably led Minato to misunderstand.
"Ha, I see... I'm glad you don't mind. Your new teammates are just ahead. Let's hurry."
Seeing that Qi truly wasn't upset, Minato relaxed. He wasted no more time and led Qi onward.
Before long, they arrived at an open space. Three people, two boys and a girl, were waiting there, looking bored.
"Teacher's here!"
As soon as Minato appeared, all three looked over. One black-haired boy even shouted loudly. But he quickly noticed Qi and let out a surprised cry.
"There's someone else?"
The other two weren't as "lively" as he was, but their eyes were on Qi as well...
"Obito, didn't you hear the teacher say yesterday that we'd be getting a new teammate?"
A silver-haired boy said coolly, then turned his gaze away, seemingly unfazed by anything that happened.
"Kakashi, shut up! Of course I heard!"
"Come on, you two, stop arguing. It's really rude to do that in front of the teacher and our new teammate..."
"It's not my fault! Kakashi started it!"
These three were indeed the young Kakashi, Obito, and their teammate, the medical ninja Rin...
"You all seem full of energy. That's a relief."
Minato clearly didn't mind that his students were so "lively." Smiling, he led Qi over.
"Let me introduce him. This is Kagetsu Qi. From today onward, he'll be our new teammate."
With that, Minato patted Qi on the shoulder.
"Go ahead and introduce yourself to your new teammates."
"Hello."
Qi studied the three of them carefully.
"My name is Hatake Kakashi. I hope you won't hold us back."
Kakashi glanced at Qi, his tone cool and indifferent.
That made Qi's teeth itch...
Being a show-off was one thing, but he'd even said Qi would hold them back. Sooner or later, Qi would have to show the brat what he could do!
Even without what had happened with Ogata, it seemed Qi and the Kakashi of this time still wouldn't get along very well...
"Hello! My name is Obito Uchiha. Wahaha, the elite of the future!"
Obito was much more enthusiastic. He kept slapping Qi on the shoulder, seemingly intent on dislocating it...
"Heh, hello. Pleased to meet you."
Qi gave an awkward laugh and rubbed his sore shoulder.
This guy was way too enthusiastic...
"An elite who showed up late?"
Kakashi suddenly tossed out a sarcastic remark from the side...
That jab was so sharp that Qi nearly spat out a laugh...
"Kakashi, you again! I'm telling you, one day I'll surpass you!"
Obito flew into a rage, just as he did in the anime. At this point, he and Kakashi were practically sworn enemies...
"Come on, you two, don't argue..."
Like Minato, Rin smiled awkwardly as she tried to mediate. Even while playing peacemaker, she didn't forget to give Qi a very friendly smile and introduce herself.
"Hello, my name is Rin. I'm a medical ninja. Pleased to meet you, Qi."
"Likewise."
The girls were the most sensible. A team without a girl really wasn't complete...
"Okay, now that you've all introduced yourselves, let's get down to business."
Seeing that everyone had finished introducing themselves, Minato clapped his hands to put an end to the argument between Kakashi and Obito.
"Let me explain today's mission..."
His expression turned serious.
"Just like before, our mission is once again to infiltrate the enemy's rear and fight!"