Golden Card

Creak—!

The moment Chentian pushed open the gate and was about to enter, he sensed that something was off.

His right hand immediately went to the ninja tool pouch at his waist, where his only weapon lay: a single shuriken.

His heart sank. He was just an ordinary child, and now an orphan besides. Who would come looking for him?

Especially at this critical moment when the Third Shinobi World War was about to end, Chentian could not help but overthink it.

"Don't be nervous. I'm a friend of your father's!"

Before Chentian could make another move, a gentle voice rang out from the courtyard.

Chentian focused his eyes and saw Namikaze Minato, blond-haired and smiling, looking at him.

Standing beside Namikaze Minato was Uzumaki Kushina, her red hair draped over her shoulders.

Chentian immediately relaxed. If it was these two, then although he did not know why they had come for him, there should be no danger.

"Greetings, Jonin Minato, Jonin Kushina. May I ask why you have come to see me?"

Chentian respectfully bowed to them.

In this ninja world, the only rule for staying alive while weak was to never try to provoke someone you could not afford to offend.

After all, not everyone was Uchiha Sasuke, able to pick fights with heaven, earth, and even thin air, yet still live such a cushy life.

Chentian had no older brother like Uchiha Itachi, much less the identity of the Sage of Six Paths' son.

As ninjas, Minato and Kushina naturally noticed Chentian's little movements.

"You seem to know us?"

Kushina crouched down, her slender, jade-white hands continuously kneading Chentian's little cheeks.

She did not actually suspect Chentian; she was simply taking the opportunity to knead his face.

Although Chentian was young, his delicately sculpted little face and barely one-meter height made it impossible for Kushina to look away.

At her words, Chentian was startled at first, but when he noticed Kushina's actions, he calmed down again.

Then he glanced at Namikaze Minato. Minato might be sunny and warm, but he was not as carefree as Kushina. He might start suspecting something because of this.

"I heard my parents talk about you!"

Because Kushina's claws kept deforming his face, Chentian's words came out muffled and unclear.

"Speak properly!"

Kushina froze when she failed to understand him, then kneaded even more vigorously.

Judging by her puffed-up expression, she clearly thought Chentian was deliberately messing with her.

"Ahem! Kushina, Chentian said his parents told him about us. Let him go first."

Seeing the dark lines multiplying across Chentian's forehead, Namikaze Minato covered his forehead with one hand and spoke awkwardly.

Only then did Kushina realize what was happening and reluctantly let go of Chentian's little face.

Feeling that his cheeks had already started going numb, Chentian glared at Kushina in annoyance.

Still, he knew Kushina was just that kind of carefree tomboy, so he was not angry.

He then turned his gaze back to Namikaze Minato, waiting for his answer.

"It's like this: Kushina and I came to take you home to live with us. We have already received Lord Third's approval."

Namikaze Minato stepped forward, gently stroking Chentian's ink-black hair as he spoke.

At the same time, he carefully watched Chentian's expression, afraid that Chentian would refuse.

He had failed to protect his friend on the battlefield. If he could not even give his friend's child a better life, Minato would not be able to face his own conscience.

Yet as he spoke, he saw Chentian's eyes suddenly light up, and his heart settled considerably.

Without waiting for Chentian's answer, he decisively said, "Take a look and see what you want to bring. Kushina and I will wait for you here."

After saying that, he gently pushed Chentian toward the house.

But those words left Chentian completely dumbfounded.

He had only stared blankly because he saw a highest-tier golden card drop from Namikaze Minato. When had he agreed?

That was right. When Minato stepped forward, Chentian saw a golden card drop from him, which was why he had gone momentarily blank.

This was a golden card, the highest-ranked card in the system!

A golden card dropped by Namikaze Minato—Chentian knew perfectly well what it represented.

It had to be, and could only be, the Flying Thunder God Technique!

At that moment, he could not care about anything else. So what if he was being adopted? The card was what mattered.

Following Minato's push, he threw himself toward the card with a smack.

The instant he hit the ground, he had already claimed the card.

Seeing this, Kushina used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Chentian and helped him up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just tripped! I'll go pack right away."

Chentian waved his hands repeatedly, then hurried into the house.

The golden card was already in his hands. Who had time to stand around being sentimental? Checking it inside was what mattered most!

After returning to the house, Chentian could still hear Kushina roaring and Minato pleading for mercy outside.

Thinking about how Minato had taken the blame and gotten beaten up by Kushina despite it being their first meeting, a faint smile appeared on Chentian's little face.

There was not really much to pack. He only had a change of clothes.

As for everything else, it was all stored inside a storage scroll. Chentian only needed to take the scroll with him.

With the mind of an adult and knowledge of the original Naruto story, Chentian knew perfectly well that before long, the Third Hokage would throw him into an orphanage and confiscate this house and its assets.

Following Minato and Kushina was a pretty good choice. It was far better than going to an orphanage.

At the very least, he could take away the wealth his parents had left behind!

Adhering to the principle of not letting that black-hearted old man benefit, Chentian carried out a clean sweep, not even leaving behind a single grain of rice.

From the original story, he had never liked the old man, the Third Hokage.

Out of all the Hokage, he was the weakest, yet he shamelessly gave himself the title of the strongest Hokage.

For the sake of a lousy village chief position, he used every kind of scheme and conspiracy. Instead of thinking about strengthening Konoha, he only knew how to harm loyal and capable people!

With all that effort, why not find a way to open up new sources of income for Konoha and free it from the daimyo's control?

And that was not even the worst of it. The problem was that he shoved every bit of blame onto Danzo while he himself wandered through a garden of flowers without a single petal touching him!

He had displayed the word shameless to perfection!

Though he thought that, Chentian would never say it aloud.

There was no helping it. That shameless old bastard had lived the longest. If Chentian said it out loud, he doubted he would live to see the next day.

After finishing his packing, Chentian finally opened the system.

Minato and Kushina had not followed him inside, but with their strength, they could definitely notice what he was doing.

So after packing, stopping because he could not bear to leave was the best excuse.

[Ding! The golden card is a beginner-level Space Talent. Absorb it?]

"Absorb!"

Although the difference from his guess left Chentian somewhat puzzled, he still absorbed it.

Just like when he had absorbed the Strength Card earlier, a warm current flowed continuously through his body.

The only difference was that this warm current was much greater than before.

After the absorption ended, Chentian clenched his fist hard, but there was no improvement at all.

His system had absolutely no intelligence, so Chentian could only explore its functions little by little on his own.

"Display the system panel!"

[Host: Chentian]

[Strength: 5]

[Speed: 4]

[Constitution: 4]

[Spirit: 22]

[Talent: Space Talent LV3.]

[Skill: Basic Shuriken LV1.]

None of his attributes had changed. The only addition was Space Talent.

The instant he saw that talent, Chentian understood why it was a golden card.

Because it meant that from now on, he could learn all space-type ninjutsu, the most notable being the [Flying Thunder God Technique].

Even as excitement surged through him, Chentian smacked his lips greedily. The lowest level was LV1 and the highest was LV9, but this talent was only LV3. It was not impressive enough!

"Namikaze Minato, you're so weak!"

After picking up the card, his Space Talent had become completely equal to Minato's, so Chentian could not help but sigh.