"By the way, congratulations, Minato—er, I mean, Fourth Hokage!"
Uchiha Chen smiled and cupped his hands toward Namikaze Minato in congratulations.
As one of the countless transmigrators, Chen had Max-Level Comprehension. That wasn't too shabby, and if he kept steadily growing stronger, he might one day reach the pinnacle of the Ninja World. But he'd never had any interest in becoming Hokage.
Just look at how busy the Seventh had been after taking office—and how worn out he'd become.
Most importantly, Chen didn't have the Will of Fire in him!
So, in a word, he wouldn't take the Hokage Position even if a dog would.
Ahem. Though that was what he thought, Chen still offered his sincere congratulations on Minato's imminent succession as Fourth Hokage.
"Thanks. To be honest, I was pretty surprised myself. After all, teachers like Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, and Lord Orochimaru are all more qualified than I am to become Hokage."
After thanking him, Minato scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed and very modest.
"Minato, you don't have to be modest. You're absolutely worthy of the Hokage Position!"
Chen simply smiled and shook his head at Minato's words.
He couldn't help recalling the reasons people online had listed in his previous life for why Minato had succeeded as Fourth Hokage.
Chen agreed with them completely.
Minato's succession as Fourth Hokage had been inevitable. Aside from Third Hiruzen Sarutobi "resigning to take responsibility" for the enormous losses the village had suffered during the Third Shinobi World War, there were several other reasons.
First, Minato's formidable strength was the most basic guarantee. Everyone had witnessed his performance in the war, and the name "Yellow Flash" had already spread throughout the Ninja World.
Then there was Minato's character, which had earned him practically universal approval throughout Konoha.
Second, the Second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki, was Minato's girlfriend. The importance of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to Konoha went without saying, and with Minato around, the village could keep the Nine-Tails under better control.
Third, Minato's teacher was Jiraiya, whose own teacher was Third Hiruzen Sarutobi. He came from a thoroughly respectable lineage.
When Chen came back to himself, he saw Minato waving a hand in front of him, looking puzzled.
"Uncle Chen?"
How had he drifted off in the middle of their conversation?
"Ahem, sorry. I was thinking about something and spaced out. Anyway, what about you? Did you come here to practice ninjutsu?"
Chen coughed twice and changed the subject.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot. I came here specifically to find you."
Minato slapped his forehead, as if something had just occurred to him.
"Find me?"
Chen blinked, confused.
He'd only met Minato a few times. What could possibly make him come all the way here to find Chen?
Minato scratched his cheek with a finger, looking a little embarrassed, then edged closer. He couldn't stop smiling.
"Uncle Chen, Kushina accepted my proposal!"
"Oh? Congratulations! Double celebration, then!"
Chen wasn't surprised by the outcome at all. If Minato had been rejected, that would have been the real shock.
But coming all this way just to tell him that... wasn't that a bit much?
Was Minato rubbing his happiness in the face of a single man?
Hmph. Chen wasn't jealous. Not one bit!
Seeing the confusion in Chen's eyes, Minato hurried to explain.
"Don't get me wrong, Uncle Chen. I came mainly to thank you. If you hadn't said what you did to me that day, I wouldn't have realized I'd gone down the wrong path. I wouldn't have figured out how to propose to Kushina, either."
As he spoke, Minato looked at Chen with even greater gratitude.
"Well... I didn't really say much."
Seeing Minato's grateful expression, Chen felt a little awkward. He'd only made an offhand remark at the time.
But what Minato said next left Chen completely stunned.
Minato paused, then spoke with utmost seriousness.
"To show my gratitude, I've decided to teach you the Flying Thunder God!"
Uchiha Chen: ????
What was going on? He'd gotten a god-tier technique like the Flying Thunder God just because he'd said one thing?
Wasn't that a little too easy?
The Flying Thunder God was a Space-Time Ninjutsu that remained hugely useful even in the later stages of Naruto.
It was practically a god-tier life-saving technique!
When Chen gave him a questioning look, Minato nodded solemnly to show he wasn't joking.
Of course, Minato didn't want to teach Chen the Flying Thunder God solely for that reason. It was just the most reasonable-sounding explanation.
The main reason was that the Ninja World War had just ended, and Konoha's strength had been greatly reduced, especially its high-level combatants.
The major villages had signed a ceasefire agreement, but such agreements could be torn up at any time.
To guard against that possibility, one of the best solutions was to train as many high-level combatants as possible in a short time. But people with the talent to become such fighters were extremely rare.
That was why Minato had chosen Chen. Jiraiya had told him that Chen had learned the Rasengan in a single day and had even added changes in other natures to it.
What had shocked Minato most was Chen's Sage Mode. He'd actually figured it out on his own!
Even Minato himself couldn't match that kind of talent.
"Emmm... Since you insist, Minato, I won't refuse."
Chen could more or less guess what Minato was really thinking. But no concern could outweigh the allure of a god-tier technique like the Flying Thunder God!
So Chen graciously accepted.
Minato was clearly a man of action. Before long, he'd started "teaching" Chen.
But just one hour later, Minato's gaze had changed.
In that single hour, he'd watched Chen go from never having used the Flying Thunder God to learning it—and then mastering it!
Before today, if anyone had told Minato they could learn the Flying Thunder God in an hour, he would have scoffed. Mastering it would have sounded even more absurd.
But today, he'd witnessed it with his own eyes!
Uchiha Chen wasn't just a genius. He was a monster!