Ding! Headpat an A-Rank Ninja: Minato Namikaze [Young]

Konoha, an Unknown Location: Root Headquarters

Danzo was carefully reading the intelligence his subordinate had brought him.

"So Uchiha Lihuo hasn't only become Konoha's youngest Genin, he's also become Lord Orochimaru's student."

He spoke slowly, and no one knew what scheme he was cooking up.

He raised a hand slightly, and a Root shinobi appeared at once.

"Go and retrieve all the files on Uchiha Lihuo."

"My lord, the Third Hokage classified the files on Uchiha Lihuo and Hatake Kakashi as top secret. We don't have permission to access them."

"Sarutobi Hiruzen..."

Danzo's voice was thick with suppressed anger, as if he couldn't accept his old friend's decision.

"Then go to Orochimaru and tell him to bring Uchiha Lihuo to Root without fail!"

At those words, the Root operative couldn't help showing his embarrassment. Even Danzo could sense the dilemma hidden beneath his mask.

"Speak your mind."

"Yes. Lord Orochimaru explicitly refused Root's decision to recruit Uchiha Lihuo."

"He... he also said..."

"What did he say? Don't stammer!"

"He also said that he and you are merely partners, and asked you not to overstep your bounds."

Bang!

Danzo slammed his arm down hard on the table.

"Outrageous!"

Table: (･_･;

"Hey, man, how rude can you be? The Raikage gets angry and slams a table, and he can smash it. You slam a table, and you just hurt your arm."

"So you got angry, and that's all you did."

But Danzo, in the throes of his fury, naturally didn't care about any of that. He immediately went to argue with Sarutobi Hiruzen, but ultimately returned empty-handed.

Meanwhile, Lihuo's becoming the youngest Genin also caused a huge stir in the Uchiha Clan. The Hawk Faction, in particular, all felt they'd made the right investment.

Uchiha Ting wasn't the only one. More Hawk Faction elders pitched in, some offering money and others ninjutsu, all determined to win Lihuo over!

Even Uchiha Setsuna, still in prison, sent someone to convey his goodwill.

And thanks to his keen eye for talent, Ting's standing within the Hawk Faction and the Uchiha Clan as a whole rose sharply.

Not only that, the Dove Faction also sent Lihuo a generous "commendation" overnight.

This time, Lihuo really felt as if he'd made a fortune.

"Is this what it feels like to be a good student and get a scholarship? This is great," Lihuo thought.

As he counted up his gains, Lihuo also received an invitation from Minato.

Minato had seen Lihuo use the Rasengan during their match, and wanted to discuss the development of hand-seal-free ninjutsu with him.

Lihuo readily agreed. After all, he hadn't gotten to give Minato a headpat during their battle, so naturally, he had to seize this opportunity.

He'd been coveting the Flying Raijin Jutsu for ages!

"Lihuo, could you show me your hand-seal-free jutsu again?"

At a training ground somewhere in Konoha, Minato looked at Lihuo with eager curiosity.

"Of course, but..."

"What is it, Lihuo? If you're uncomfortable with it, just say so."

"It's a jutsu I developed through painstaking effort..."

Lihuo put on a troubled expression, though inwardly he was delighted. Teaching Minato his own jutsu was just too much fun.

Seeing Lihuo "looking troubled," Minato actually looked ashamed.

"Sorry, Lihuo. I was being presumptuous." With that, he turned to leave.

Lihuo: (;￣O￣)

"No, no! I meant I wanted to charge extra! I want more money!"

Minato: (･_･;

"You should've said so, Little Lihuo. What do you want?"

Lihuo's eyes shifted slightly as he thought it over.

If he asked for a headpat outright, Minato might grow suspicious.

There were plenty of clever shinobi in this world, and Minato was one of the few truly brilliant ones.

If he let something slip, someone with ulterior motives might uncover his secret.

At that thought, Lihuo immediately came up with a plan.

"I want that jutsu you use to flash around."

"Oh? You mean the Flying Thunder God?"

Minato looked like he understood.

"Well... I'm afraid that'll be difficult. First, you need to have a talent for space-time ninjutsu. Second..."

"To be honest, Lihuo, the Flying Raijin Jutsu is a forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage. Even I don't have the authority to decide who can learn it."

Lihuo spoke unhurriedly, as if he'd expected Minato to say that.

"That's fine. Please test my space-time talent later, Minato-senpai. If I have the talent, could you ask Lord Hokage for me?"

Seeing how sincerely Lihuo wanted to learn, Minato stopped hesitating and agreed.

As for testing his space-time talent? What a joke. After the headpat, he'd have everything!

"There's one more condition. Could you let me pat your head?"

After laying out an absurdly long map of Yan, Lihuo finally revealed his true intentions and asked the question he cared about most.

"Huh? A headpat? Of course, but why..."

Before Minato had time to react, Lihuo patted his head the instant he agreed.

Hey! That was a perfect headpat!

"Ding! Headpat an A-Rank Ninja: Minato Namikaze [Young]"

Lihuo didn't check the rewards yet, since he still had to keep his promise.

"Minato-senpai, watch closely."

Lihuo opened his palm, and a pale blue chakra sphere appeared in it at once.

The faint whirring caused by the rapidly spinning chakra revealed the jutsu's tremendous destructive power.

Seeing the technique again, Minato immediately knew it was the perfect jutsu for him!

"Minato-senpai, would you like me to explain how it works?"

Committed to providing excellent service, Lihuo thoroughly explained the jutsu's training method, along with its strengths and weaknesses.

As he explained, Lihuo couldn't help marveling at Minato's incredible talent. He only had to offer a few pointers for Minato to understand immediately, even drawing further conclusions on his own.

And even though Lihuo had read the original story, he still couldn't answer Minato's questions.

"Little Lihuo, this jutsu takes shape transformation to the utmost limit."

"Could you add chakra nature transformation to it?"

That question stirred up a lot of feelings in Lihuo.

Every Naruto fan knew that in the original story, after creating the Rasengan, Minato had once considered adding chakra nature transformation to it. But he'd died young, leaving Naruto to complete it.

It was one of the great regrets among Naruto fans.

"Of course. But I can't demonstrate that here."

(Though you could ask Orochimaru. He got hit by it, so he knows. whispers)

After that, Lihuo told Minato about the Big Ball Rasengan and the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, and also explained the method Naruto used in the original story to form the Rasengan with Shadow Clones.

"Be sure to be careful. The Wind Style: Rasenshuriken not only has tremendous destructive power, it also damages your own chakra pathways."

"Don't use it unless you've found a suitable way to avoid that damage," Lihuo told Minato seriously.

After all, he didn't want to ruin a genius's future through a moment of carelessness.

Minato nodded to show he understood. The two of them talked from morning until evening, enjoying every minute of it.

At last, Lihuo added,

"This jutsu is called the Rasengan. Don't go giving it some random name!"

Although Minato would be the one with the real right to name it, Lihuo truly didn't want a childhood memory of his to become "Light Wheel Popsicle Inspiration Spiraling Self-Tooth Jiraiya Double-Style Ball."

Minato smiled at that. Finally, after clearing up all his questions, he thanked Lihuo sincerely.

"Thank you, Little Lihuo."

Lihuo smiled.

"Actually, I should be thanking you."

Minato hadn't forgotten his promise. He offered to test Lihuo's space-time talent.

And now, Lihuo finally opened his system rewards.

"Ding! Headpat an A-Rank Ninja: Minato Namikaze [Young]. Choose three of the following rewards."

"God-tier Naming Talent"

"Greatly Enhanced Space-Time Talent"

"Flying Raijin Jutsu"

"Greatly Enhanced Affinity"

"Greatly Enhanced Reaction Speed"

Good grief! These were all great rewards!

"Except for the first one." (whispers)

Without a moment's hesitation, Lihuo decisively said,

"System, I choose 'Greatly Enhanced Space-Time Talent,' 'Flying Raijin Jutsu,' and 'Greatly Enhanced Reaction Speed.'"

"Rewards are being granted!"

A piercing pain struck at once, making Lihuo let out a muffled groan despite how accustomed he was to the pain of enhancements.

Before long, the pain gradually faded, and the enhancements were complete.

Lihuo had now completely mastered the Flying Raijin Jutsu, including how to create and use its formula.

His proficiency was already on par with Minato's and the Second Hokage's!

The boost to his reaction speed wasn't obvious, but Lihuo knew that reaction speed was crucial when using the Flying Raijin and the Rasengan. It couldn't trigger a counter, but it could prove invaluable at a critical moment!

The enhancement to his space-time talent was even more comprehensive, because it strengthened every jutsu related to space-time!

First, the Flying Raijin Jutsu's range had increased.

Second, as his space-time talent was greatly enhanced, Lihuo had sensed the Fivefold Rashomon!

This was the jutsu the First had used to defend against Uchiha Madara. However, if Lihuo tried to summon the Fivefold Rashomon, he wouldn't be able to manage it even if all his chakra were drained.

All in all, every jutsu related to space-time had been greatly enhanced!

Just then, Minato had also finished preparing to test Lihuo's space-time talent!