Bloodline Limit

"In that case, let me see your foundation first."

Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Namikaze Minato.

Namikaze Minato took a deep breath and quickly performed the Three Basic Techniques he had learned at the Ninja Academy.

A burst of white smoke exploded, and as it cleared, two figures were revealed: they were none other than Hyuga Shinichi and Nawaki.

Hyuga Shinichi watched and offered his critique.

"Oh, using the Clone Technique followed by the Transformation Technique to turn into me and Nawaki? Your foundation is quite solid."

It couldn't help but remind Hyuga Shinichi of his own early days, when he could never quite manage a perfect clone and was teased for a long time by Nawaki, Gai, and Tomohiro.

However, Mito later taught him the more efficient Shadow Clone Technique, which he learned faster than the other three.

Just as he finished reminiscing about his dark history, he heard Nawaki pipe up.

"Not bad, Minato. This clone technique of yours is better than what Shinichi used to..." Mmph!

Hyuga Shinichi immediately covered Nawaki's big mouth; they had agreed long ago not to tell anyone else about that.

The fake Hyuga Shinichi and fake Nawaki created by Namikaze Minato exchanged a glance and continued their performance, with the fake Hyuga Shinichi throwing a punch at the fake Nawaki's face.

Nawaki, seeing this, was about to protest—why was the fake version of him getting hit by the fake version of Shinichi?

Suddenly, the fake Nawaki went pop and turned into a wooden log; it was the Substitution Technique.

Jiraiya nodded, silently praising the boy. At this age, Namikaze Minato's talent was truly outstanding; he had demonstrated the effectiveness of the Three Basic Techniques perfectly.

Since Namikaze Minato hadn't graduated yet and his family hadn't left him any scrolls of ninjutsu, this was all he knew for now.

To teach Namikaze Minato ninjutsu, they first needed to know his chakra nature.

Hyuga Shinichi took a piece of Chakra Induction Paper from the ninja tool pouch at his waist and handed it to Namikaze Minato, who had transformed back from the fake Hyuga Shinichi.

"Channel your chakra into this paper and let's see what your chakra nature is."

Taking the Chakra Induction Paper, Namikaze Minato closed his eyes and controlled his chakra, channeling it into the paper in his hand.

The Chakra Induction Paper first seemed to be sliced, splitting into two pieces right down the middle.

"It's Wind Style, just like me. Then..."

Before Hyuga Shinichi could finish his sentence, the two halves of the paper began to wrinkle, then burst into flames, burning both pieces to ash.

"Oh! You have three innate chakra natures: Wind, Lightning, and Fire. And they all look quite strong! I never expected to take on a disciple with such extraordinary talent; this is a huge surprise!"

Jiraiya was delighted by Namikaze Minato's talent.

Beside him, Hyuga Shinichi recalled that in the original story, Namikaze Minato's chakra natures were Fire, Wind, Lightning, Yin, and Yang. At first, he had thought Namikaze Minato was like him—starting with Wind and training to acquire others later.

It was truly unexpected! Namikaze Minato was born with three chakra natures!

Hyuga Shinichi thought back to the years he had spent by Mito's side, diligently practicing various ninjutsu techniques.

Yet, to his confusion and frustration, apart from his Wind nature, the other chakra natures seemed beyond his reach; he simply couldn't cultivate them.

Mito had once carefully studied and analyzed this phenomenon, concluding that it was likely because his innate talent for Wind Style was too overwhelming.

This extraordinary talent made his comprehension and application of Wind Style effortless, but it also created significant obstacles when he tried to engage with other elements.

Perhaps, just as all things in the world require balance, an overly dominant talent in one area often leads to stagnation or deficiency in others.

However, it was precisely because of his exceptional Wind chakra that he was able to develop the Wind-Riding Sword Technique.

Among the Konoha ninja he had worked with, there was no shortage of excellent Wind Style users, but none could execute the moves of the Wind-Riding Sword Technique like he could, nor could they achieve the same sharp, instant-cutting effect with their Wind Style slashes.

Now that they knew Namikaze Minato's chakra natures, Jiraiya and Hyuga Shinichi could teach him corresponding ninjutsu.

Jiraiya took out several low-level ninjutsu scrolls for Namikaze Minato to study, supplementing them with his own explanations.

There was one problem, however: none of them present knew Lightning Style, so they had to set it aside for now and focus on other techniques.

Hyuga Shinichi, however, had an idea inspired by his previous spar with Nawaki.

It was about Nawaki's combination ninjutsu. Since they didn't know Lightning Style, perhaps they could combine Lightning chakra with other techniques to produce new effects.

This brought to mind the concept of Kekkei Genkai. In fact, Nawaki's combination ninjutsu was already a prototype for a Kekkei Genkai, though Nawaki hadn't truly fused them together yet.

With his own presence, Namikaze Minato had become Jiraiya's disciple earlier than in the original timeline. With his help and Namikaze Minato's own talent, developing a Kekkei Genkai was a real possibility.

"Minato, do you know what a Kekkei Genkai is?"

Hyuga Shinichi's sudden question interrupted Namikaze Minato's lesson with Jiraiya, causing both of them to look over.

"I do. The First Hokage's Wood Style and Brother Shinichi's Byakugan are both Kekkei Genkai, right? Why do you ask, Brother Shinichi?"

"Well, did you know that a Kekkei Genkai can be created through fusion?"

Jiraiya immediately understood what Hyuga Shinichi was thinking. While he agreed that Namikaze Minato was talented, fusing a Kekkei Genkai wasn't just a matter of talent; a failed fusion could cause permanent, incurable damage to the body.

In mild cases, the chakra pathways in the body would wither, leaving the person bedridden for life; in severe cases, it could lead to a painful death.

"Shinichi, I know what you're thinking, but we cannot let Minato attempt to fuse chakra. We both know what could happen, and we cannot be irresponsible with Minato's life."

Jiraiya stared solemnly at Hyuga Shinichi with his pure white eyes.

"I know, but Brother Jiraiya, think about it—what if Minato succeeds? Besides, I will be right there to help him. I can use my Byakugan to monitor the flow of chakra in Minato's body. If there's a problem, we stop immediately. That way, we can ensure Minato's safety."

Jiraiya remained somewhat hesitant; after all, this concerned the life of Namikaze Minato.

"Sigh, then let's have Minato start by using combination ninjutsu just like Nawaki, to clearly perceive the changes when two types of chakra fuse together."

"Eh? Does Shinichi mean that it's possible for me to fuse a Kekkei Genkai as well?"

Standing to the side and unable to interject regarding the practice of ninjutsu, Nawaki asked his own question upon hearing Hyuga Shinichi mention his combination ninjutsu.

"Mm, after all, a Kekkei Genkai is something that can be inherited. You may not have the talent for Wood Style, but developing a new Kekkei Genkai is still possible."

A Kekkei Genkai is when a very small number of ninja fuse their chakra nature transformations to develop a new style of jutsu. Once successful, this new jutsu is recorded in the ninja's genes and passed down to the next generation through blood ties.

Nawaki's grandfather, Senju Hashirama, possessed the world-renowned Wood Style. Although Nawaki lacked the conditions to fuse Wood Style, it was not impossible for him to fuse a new Kekkei Genkai; the official Naruto novel Akatsuki Hiden even featured a youth who used Mud Release.

"Jiraiya-sensei, I want to give it a try."

After saying this, Namikaze Minato looked toward Hyuga Shinichi and offered a sunny smile.

"Besides, I trust Brother Shinichi. Brother Shinichi would never let anything happen to me."