At Konoha Training Ground 3, Toru and Kurenai found a secluded spot in the bright sunshine and began training.
Kurenai's first training goal was genjutsu.
Genjutsu was the Yuhi Household's specialty. Although the Yuhi Household wasn't a clan of shinobi, it was still a renowned genjutsu school in Konoha, with techniques passed down through generations.
By the time the tradition reached Yuhi Kurenai, it had been passed down for at least three or four generations.
Yuhi Kurenai had inherited her father's talent for genjutsu, but Yuhi Shinku was busy with work and rarely had time to teach her personally.
Yuhi Shinku had also recognized Toru's talent, especially his aptitude for genjutsu.
So when Toru brought Kurenai to train, Yuhi Shinku specifically asked him to help Yuhi Kurenai practice their family's genjutsu.
Toru readily agreed. After all, this gave him a perfectly good reason to practice the collection of genjutsu Yuhi Shinku had given them.
"We'll start with the Illusion Clone Technique. Uncle Shinku demonstrated this genjutsu to me himself, and it's also recorded in the collection my father left me. I've already mastered it, so I have some experience and insights I can share with you."
Toru began teaching. They might have called it training together, but in practice, Toru did most of the teaching while Kurenai did the learning.
Still, teaching benefited them both, and Toru could deepen his understanding as he taught.
Besides, Kurenai was a very well-behaved student. Even though Toru was a year younger than her, she didn't look down on him at all. She treated him completely as her genjutsu teacher.
This was largely thanks to her personality and Toru's long-standing reputation as a genius.
"The Illusion Clone Technique is just what it sounds like: you create an illusion to confuse your opponent. The principle is simple. You project your chakra into your enemy's visual senses..." Toru began teaching genjutsu hands-on.
Kurenai studied very attentively, but Toru wasn't as focused as she was.
As he taught, demonstrated the Illusion Clone Technique, and explained its tricks and techniques, he was also keeping a quiet eye on everything happening at Training Ground 3.
The training ground was very quiet. Aside from Toru and Kurenai, there wasn't another soul there. In the vast open space, the only sounds were the chirping of insects and birds in the grass and trees.
"Namikaze Minato should be here soon."
Toru had been keeping track of the time. Minato should have finished reporting the mission to the Hokage by now. If his conversation with Kushina had been true, he should already be on his way to Training Ground 3.
Toru had been eagerly anticipating that mysterious ninjutsu, which hadn't yet been fully developed.
Sure enough, before long, Namikaze Minato's handsome figure appeared at Training Ground 3, accompanied by someone else.
The man was clearly quite a bit older than Minato. He had long white hair tied back in a ponytail and wore a brown undershirt beneath a red outer robe. A mole sat on the left side of his nose, and red markings ran beneath both eyes. All in all, he was unmistakable.
"Judging by his chakra, he's even stronger than Namikaze Minato. Could he be one of the legendary Konoha Sannin?" Toru was a little shaken.
By Toru's reckoning, Minato was stronger than Fugaku and Yuhi Shinku, and now this man was stronger than Minato. Toru had seen two top-tier fighters in a single day.
Toru believed that even if these two weren't the strongest in the world, they couldn't be far off.
He knew that above the Konoha Sannin stood the Hokage, and that there were five Kage in all, recognized throughout the Shinobi World.
Jiraiya was probably not much weaker than a Kage.
Kurenai noticed Toru looking at the two newcomers and stopped what she was doing. "That's Lord Jiraiya, one of the Sannin."
Toru nodded and pretended nothing was amiss as he continued guiding Kurenai's training.
Minato and Jiraiya noticed Toru and Kurenai too, but didn't pay much attention to the two children.
The vast Training Ground 3 was big enough for two groups to train without disturbing each other.
"How far have you gotten with that new technique?" Jiraiya asked casually. He was very invested in his student's progress and had high hopes for him.
Minato awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I haven't made much progress, so I asked you to come today and help me break through."
Jiraiya nodded. "You've been developing this new technique for three years now. I really should come help you. Don't worry, leave it to me."
Jiraiya thumped his chest, brimming with confidence, while Minato grinned foolishly.
After a while, the two finally got down to business.
Minato grew serious. He held his right wrist with his left hand, while his right hand was raised, palm up and slightly cupped.
Toru's attention was drawn over again. Thanks to the Six Eyes, he could sense Minato's every move, including the movements of his hands.
"Is he practicing? He isn't using Hand Seals. Could it be a jutsu that doesn't require them? So that's possible..." Minato's actions left Toru astonished. Until now, he'd never encountered a jutsu that could be performed without Hand Seals.
A mass of chakra formed out of thin air in Minato's hand and began to spin. As it rotated faster and faster, it gradually took the shape of a bright blue chakra sphere.
When Minato saw the new technique take shape, a delighted smile appeared on his face. But the chakra sphere in his hand began to wobble.,
Minato's expression instantly turned grave. He didn't dare let his guard down for a moment, while Jiraiya watched him as if facing a formidable enemy.
But the chakra sphere started wobbling more and more wildly, even vibrating at a high frequency.
Just then, Jiraiya shouted a warning. Minato understood at once and slammed his right hand into the ground.
BOOM!!!
Amid a cloud of dust, the ground was blasted open, leaving a crater nearly a meter deep and three meters wide—big enough for several people to lie down in.
Toru was amazed that such a small chakra sphere could cause so much damage. He hoped Minato would finish refining the technique soon, so he could copy his homework.
The force of the blast sent Minato tumbling onto his back. After glancing helplessly at the crater, he got back up and continued training.
But the results weren't encouraging. Minato blasted several more craters into the ground, yet still couldn't control the shape of the chakra sphere.
Minato and Jiraiya weren't the only ones getting anxious. Toru was getting anxious too.
But worrying wouldn't help, so Minato and Jiraiya decided to take a short break.
Sitting on the ground, Minato leaned back on his hands and sighed. "It's so hard to control..."
"You can't get it to form, and then it explodes and everything. You just can't get it stable..." Jiraiya said as he walked over to Minato.
"So which direction should I go in?!" Minato anxiously asked Jiraiya, the teacher he had always regarded as a father.
"I don't know..." Jiraiya fell silent for a moment. After thinking it over for a long while, he continued, "That doesn't necessarily mean you're doing it wrong. I've always imagined extracting chakra while rotating it to the right, because my hair whorls to the right."
"I heard that it's easier to extract chakra if you follow the direction of the whorl on your head. If that's true, then this jutsu might also..." As he spoke, Jiraiya leaned in to inspect Minato's hair whorl.
Minato muttered, "That's just superstition, isn't it?"
"You've got two whorls on your head, one turning left and one turning right..." Jiraiya's expression turned helpless.
Minato let out a startled cry. "Huh—!!!!!"
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