Roll Up! (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

After dinner that evening, Sarutobi Asuma couldn't help but talk to his family about the Water Release that Shita Genichi had performed that afternoon.

After finishing his story, he couldn't help but ask, "Father, how did he do that?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was rendered speechless.

Although he had the data in his hands and had even studied it himself, mastering it was not something that could be done overnight.

First, one must have an excellent grasp of the Nine Syllables Hand Seals, something even he, the Professor of Ninjutsu, did not possess.

Thus, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only say, "Genichi has great talent in Water Release, and his research into hand seals is very deep, which is why he was able to develop such a unique way of casting techniques."

"However, everyone has their own path. Asuma, you are different from Genichi. You don't need to fixate on how he did it; instead, you should learn from his attitude toward training."

Sarutobi Asuma frowned; he was not satisfied with this answer.

What was that supposed to mean?

Shita Genichi can do it, but I can't?

Sarutobi Asuma was unconvinced, even though he had been defeated by Shita Genichi several times in practical combat class.

It was just that he hadn't been trying hard enough, not that he was inferior to Shita Genichi.

"If Genichi can do it, I can too! I will definitely be able to do it!"

With that, Sarutobi Asuma stood up and stormed off in a huff.

He was going to train hard!

Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but sigh as he watched him go.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke laughed, "It's normal for Asuma to be unwilling to admit defeat at his age. Father, you don't need to worry too much; he'll understand once some time has passed."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded helplessly; this youngest son was far too rebellious.

Fortunately, there was Shinnosuke.

Biwako, meanwhile, chided him, "Hiruzen, don't always dismiss Asuma's ideas."

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt even more helpless. Was it wrong to keep his son from taking a detour?

If he lacked the aptitude for something but insisted on doing it anyway, wouldn't that just be a waste of energy and time, while also crushing his own self-confidence?

On the other side, Shita Genichi finished dinner with his parents and busied himself at their shop for a while before heading upstairs to open the scroll containing the Four-Symbols Seal.

Compared to the Evil Sealing Method and the Fire Sealing Method, this sealing technique was far more complex and profound.

Therefore, Shita Genichi began by studying it.

As for Genjutsu and Konoha-Style Kenjutsu, they were not suitable for the night.

At ten o'clock, Shita Genichi went to sleep on time.

Yet even in his dreams, he was busy working on the Four-Symbols Seal.

Sigh, I want to improve too much!

Waking up with a yawn the next morning, Shita Genichi couldn't help but sigh.

Who else could be this hardworking while already having a cheat?

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

On this day, Shita Genichi arrived at the home of Namikaze Minato.

As expected, it was Uzumaki Kushina who opened the door.

"Big Sister Kushina!"

Shita Genichi greeted her with a smile, carrying the dumplings and snacks he had brought as he walked into the house with practiced ease.

Uzumaki Kushina followed behind him, asking with a smile, "Genichi, I heard you've already mastered the Fire Sealing Method. Not bad! It seems you have quite a talent for sealing techniques!"

Shita Genichi set the items down and laughed, "Compared to you and Big Brother Minato, I'm still far behind!"

Namikaze Minato smiled, "Genichi, don't be so humble. I've heard that even the Third Hokage himself admits he can't compare to your Water Release."

Shita Genichi quickly changed the subject, "Um, Big Brother Minato, have there been any results regarding the further development of the Rasengan?"

Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina exchanged a look, then looked a bit embarrassed.

Uzumaki Kushina covered her mouth and laughed, "Minato has been too busy lately; he hasn't had any time to think about it."

Fair enough!

Shita Genichi felt helpless. For the current Namikaze Minato, the Rasengan was likely sufficient, and he was probably pouring all his focus into sealing techniques.

Of course, there was likely the Flying Thunder God as well.

"Genichi, do you already have some ideas?"

Namikaze Minato asked curiously.

He trusted Shita Genichi's brain.

Shita Genichi nodded, "Big Brother Minato, I do have some ideas, and I think they are very suitable for you."

As he spoke, he took out a small shuriken, a four-pointed throwing star with a hollow center that fit onto his finger. With a gentle flick, the shuriken began to spin at high speed.

Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina watched, lost in thought.

"Shita Genichi, do you mean to take the shape transformation further, form it into the shape of a shuriken, and then throw it?" Namikaze Minato asked.

Shita Genichi stopped the spinning shuriken and snapped his fingers: "As expected of big brother Minato!"

"That's exactly right."

"However, it isn't just simple shape transformation; that alone would be very difficult to achieve."

"You must incorporate Wind Style nature transformation."

"I've even thought of a name for the jutsu: Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"

Wind Style: Rasenshuriken?

Namikaze Minato pondered it for a moment. Although the naming style didn't quite match his own, it sounded pretty good.

Uzumaki Kushina clapped her hands in praise: "What an amazing idea, truly worthy of Shita Genichi."

She reached out and ruffled Shita Genichi's hair: "I really don't know how your brain works to come up with a jutsu like this."

Shita Genichi smiled brightly: "You just have to observe carefully."

A little bit of humble-bragging.

"It is indeed a very promising jutsu, though it must be incredibly difficult to pull off." Namikaze Minato laughed: "It looks like I'll have to work even harder from now on."

Shita Genichi nodded: "The development of this technique can only rely on you, big brother Minato. I don't have the Wind affinity, so training in Wind Style nature transformation is extremely difficult, let alone applying it. The difficulty for me to develop this jutsu is ten thousand times higher than it is for you."

"By the way, let's have Jiraiya join in the development too; many hands make light work."

"Besides, I think this jutsu would suit him well."

Although Jiraiya hadn't officially taken him as a student, he had taught Shita Genichi sealing techniques, so calling him Master Jiraiya was perfectly fine.

Namikaze Minato nodded with a smile and agreed immediately: "I will pass this on to Master Jiraiya."

Even though Jiraiya was wandering outside, they could still communicate through toads.

After finishing their discussion on the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, Shita Genichi took out his notebook and began to ask Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina for advice on the Four-Symbols Seal.

Over the past six months, he had studied the Four-Symbols Seal in depth, but he still hadn't fully mastered it, so he naturally wanted to absorb knowledge from Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina.

With such excellent resources available, he naturally had to be thick-skinned and not let the opportunity pass.

Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were not stingy, offering guidance one after another.

They treated him with equal sincerity.

After having lunch at Namikaze Minato's house and staying for another half hour, Shita Genichi finally took his leave.

After he left, Namikaze Minato said to Uzumaki Kushina: "Kushina, what do you think about giving a jutsu to Shita Genichi as a gift?"

Uzumaki Kushina nodded: "That's fine, but what kind of jutsu should we give him?"

"A sealing technique?"

Namikaze Minato thought for a moment and smiled: "No rush. Shita Genichi is still a student and is currently learning the Four-Symbols Seal. Let's wait until he finishes learning that."

Uzumaki Kushina laughed: "That will probably take quite a while. At his current pace, it will likely take another two or three years for him to fully master the Four-Symbols Seal."

Namikaze Minato said: "That's already very fast. He's not even seven years old yet!"

Uzumaki Kushina couldn't help but sigh: "That's true, I almost forgot his age."

"This kid really puts a lot of pressure on people. It's a good thing he isn't in our year, hahahaha!"

Namikaze Minato chuckled at that.

Indeed, Shita Genichi was far too driven.

If he were in the same year, even Namikaze Minato would feel the immense pressure.