He took a sharp breath, and his long white hair suddenly surged as if it had come alive, turning into sweeping white lashes that struck all three Shadow Clones at once with clean, decisive force.
"Poof! Poof! Poof!"
All three Shadow Clones exploded into white smoke and vanished.
But Jiraiya froze for a moment.
All three were clones? Then where was the real body?
Before he could think further, a massive Fūma Shuriken came spinning in from his blind side at incredible speed, slicing through the air with a piercing howl.
Izumi Uchiha had thrown it, and its timing and angle had perfectly caught the instant after he swept away the clones, before he had regained his balance.
"Tch—these little brats work together pretty well!"
Jiraiya twisted his body into an extremely contorted posture, forcing himself to dodge sideways with the strength of his waist and abdomen.
The Fūma Shuriken grazed past his waist, tearing through the air behind him!
That was close. It nearly cut the bell cord.
Jiraiya was about to praise them for their quick reactions when he saw the corner of Izumi Uchiha's lips curl upward.
She gave her wrist a slight flick, and the thin wire wrapped around the tail of the Fūma Shuriken snapped taut—
"Manipulated Shuriken Technique!"
Pulled by the wire, the Fūma Shuriken carved an arc through the air, sharply reversing from behind Jiraiya and slashing once more toward his lower back with its spinning momentum!
Jiraiya's pupils contracted. With no time to turn around, he could only force chakra into his legs and leap upward, sending himself bouncing into the air in an utterly ridiculous pose.
The Fūma Shuriken flashed beneath his feet.
"Close, close..." Jiraiya sighed in relief, looking down from midair. "But you're still too—"
The word "young" caught in his throat.
Because in the midst of its return flight, the Fūma Shuriken exploded into a puff of white smoke with a poof, then transformed into a person.
Spiky golden hair, blue eyes, and a hand already reaching for Jiraiya's waist—
Smack.
The bells were snatched away in one swift motion.
Minato Namikaze landed with the two jingling bells in hand, then took three steps back to widen the distance.
Wearing his signature little-sun smile, he waved his prize at Jiraiya. "Jiraiya-sensei, I got the bells!"
Jiraiya landed on the ground, looked down at his empty belt, then looked up at the bells in Minato's hand. He stood there in a daze for quite a while.
Then he burst out laughing.
"You really are something, kid!" He strode over and roughly ruffled Minato's hair.
"You used the Transformation Technique to turn into a Fūma Shuriken, then dispelled it during the second spin to snatch the bells—did you come up with that tactic on the spot?"
"Hahaha, it's a tactic Mirai and I came up with when we used to spar!" Minato said with a smile, pointing at Mirai behind him. "He told me to focus entirely on waiting for an opening, while Izumi was responsible for creating one."
Jiraiya turned to glance at Mirai Uzumaki.
The red-haired kid had his hands in his pockets, his face calm and expressionless.
The tactic was certainly good, but the key had been Mirai Uzumaki's Adamantine Sealing Chains. They had put the greatest pressure on Jiraiya, preventing him from thinking too much.
"Not bad. You've got something there." Jiraiya nodded, then abruptly changed the subject. "But—you got the bells, sure, yet I said only two people could pass at most.
There are three of you and two bells. Discuss it among yourselves. Who's dropping out?"
The excitement from snatching the bells instantly cooled by half.
The three looked at one another. Minato lowered his head to look at the bells in his hand, then looked at Mirai and Izumi, frowning.
Then he spoke first. "Um... I think, since we're graduating early anyway, there are still some things I haven't fully mastered. I should be the one to drop out! I can go back to school and train for a while longer."
He scratched his head, his smile still as gentle as ever. "Once I've gotten better, I'll come find you all again."
Izumi glanced at him, then coolly added, "I'll drop out. I don't want some dirty old man as my teacher, and I'm from the Uchiha Clan. Joining the Police Force would be fine too."
A dark line appeared across Jiraiya's forehead. "...Hey, how am I dirty?"
Unfortunately, faced with three pairs of bright, piercing eyes, Jiraiya lacked confidence.
Mirai Uzumaki smiled. It really was developing just like the original story.
The bell-grabbing exercise was nothing more than a test of whether a ninja possessed the spirit to sacrifice for their teammates.
In other words, teamwork.
He raised his hand. "Forget it, I'll drop out instead. Kushina just got assigned to Tsunade's team, and she's probably bored out of her mind. I can go keep her company."
Seeing all three of them competing to withdraw, Jiraiya wore a gratified smile.
These three little ones really would make fine disciples!
He laughed heartily. "All right, all right, stop arguing. Congratulations, all three of you have passed!"
"Huh?" Minato and Izumi froze at the same time.
Mirai had expected it already, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly upward.
"The bell-grabbing test was really a test of your unity and willingness to sacrifice."
Jiraiya held up three fingers. "If your strength isn't enough, you can train. If your talent isn't good enough, you can polish it. But a selfish ninja, no matter how strong, is still a menace.
All three of you were willing to give the opportunity to someone else—so you passed this test."
He reached out and patted the three of them on the shoulders. The force was light, yet it carried the weight of recognition.
"Team 7 is officially established! From today onward, you are Konoha's Genin."
Mirai fell into thought. Somewhere in the unseen currents of fate, it was Team 7 again?
"Tomorrow at eight in the morning, gather at the entrance to the Hokage Building. I'll take you to receive your first mission."
After saying that, Jiraiya turned and headed for the door. Halfway there, he looked back and added, "Oh, and remember to bring a packed lunch tomorrow. The mission site might be a little far."
He waved his hand, and his white-haired figure disappeared at the end of the corridor.
The training ground fell quiet for a while.
Minato looked down at the bells in his hand. "So... what do we do with these?"
"Keep them as souvenirs," Mirai said casually.
Izumi silently dusted off her sleeve and walked outside without expression.
When she reached the doorway, she paused briefly and tossed back a sentence without turning her head. "Don't be late tomorrow."
Early the next morning, Mirai, Minato, and Izumi gathered at the entrance to the Hokage Building.
The three stood in a row, full of energy, their forehead protectors polished to a shine. They looked entirely like they were about to carry out some earth-shattering mission that day.
Then they waited from eight in the morning until eleven.
The sun climbed overhead, and the sunlight scorched the ground until it burned.
Minato had been smiling at first, but later he started squatting on the ground and drawing circles.
Izumi leaned against the wall, going from expressionless to expressionless with a trace of impatience.
Mirai remained calm. He found a patch of shade, leaned against a tree, and closed his eyes to rest.
Would anyone really expect someone who had been late yesterday not to be late today?
Next time, I'll take another nap before coming out, he silently decided.
Before you continue