Suspicion

His body was divided into black and white halves, his upper body wrapped in leaves like a Venus flytrap. He was one of the hidden bosses of the future: "Zetsu."

"I really want to just kill that brat whose origins I can't figure out." A vicious, low voice came from Zetsu's mouth.

"Come on, isn't this pretty good? Things need a little change now and then, or they get boring." Zetsu spoke again, but this voice was completely different from the last.

"Heh heh, the way you are, you'll leave behind trouble sooner or later! But forget it. He probably can't stir up much trouble, so let him keep barely hanging on for a while."

"Now that the plan has succeeded and the Rinnegan has awakened once more, shouldn't we go back and report first?" White Zetsu's voice rang out again.

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Just make a clone like you did earlier and send it back to report."

"Huh?! That's such a hassle. I still have to use the Transmutation Technique, and you know that takes time."

"Time? We have no shortage of that."

After Black Zetsu finished speaking, a white shadow slipped away from beneath his feet.

Inside Jiraiya's shabby wooden hut.

"Hiss... Ow, ow, ow... Crazy woman, can't you be gentler?!" Feng Xun, who had already awakened, lay on a damp straw mat and bared his teeth at Tsunade, who was applying medicine to him.

Bang!!!

Tsunade slammed a fist onto Feng Xun's head and snapped, "What? You don't appreciate me treating your wounds?"

Tsunade's gaze was fierce. As she spoke, her palm somehow returned to Feng Xun's head, as though she would teach this reckless brat a lesson with her fists if he dared say no.

Feng Xun shuddered and hurriedly said, "How could that be? You're my master. How could I possibly be unwilling?"

After seeing Tsunade's smug expression, Feng Xun added, "Right, how's Nagato? And what about Yahiko and the others? Aren't they here?"

"Nagato? You mean that red-haired brat?"

When Feng Xun nodded, Tsunade could not help recalling what Jiraiya had told her earlier.

"Tsunade, it looks like after you return, you'll need to tell Sensei that I won't be able to go back anytime soon."

Tsunade frowned. Looking at the still-sleeping Minato, she hesitated before asking, "Is it because of that red-haired brat? Do you really believe those eyes can save the world?"

"I suppose so." Jiraiya sighed. "You know about that prophecy. I think this child is the person I've been looking for."

After speaking, Jiraiya looked toward Yahiko and the other child, who were caring for Nagato, and continued, "Besides, these children are all pursuing their dreams. They're well suited to inherit the Will of Fire!"

"Boring." Tsunade curled her lip. "So how long are you planning to stay here? Don't tell me you plan to never go back."

"How could I?" Jiraiya made an exaggerated expression. "I'll teach them how to survive in this world, but after that, it'll be up to them."

"Is that so?" Tsunade neither agreed nor disagreed.

"Oh, and if possible, I'd like to ask you not to tell anyone this child's secret," Jiraiya suddenly said.

"I understand. I'm not so tactless that I'd go around broadcasting someone else's secret."

After all, that secret concerned the child's life.

Tsunade added silently.

"Crazy woman... Hey? Hey?" Feng Xun waved a hand in front of Tsunade.

"Huh? What is it?" Tsunade came back to her senses.

"What do you mean, what is it? I was asking about Nagato and the others." Feng Xun was speechless.

Could this be Tsunade's hidden airheaded side?

"Them? They're in the house next door."

"Next door? Is there even a house next door?" Feng Xun remembered that there had only been one small wooden hut when he arrived.

Tsunade waved a hand grandly. "I thought the room was too small, so I had that idiot Jiraiya build another house beside it."

Feng Xun's mouth twitched. Right now, all he wanted to say to this crazy woman was, "Amazing, Master!"

"Then where are my brother and the others?"

Feng Xun realized that only he and Tsunade remained in the entire room.

At his question, Tsunade said resentfully, "Those two little brats ran off to that idiot Jiraiya's place to ask him about ninjutsu."

Feng Xun froze when he heard that, then asked in disbelief, "My brother went too?"

In his view, although Minato liked ninjutsu, he should have been taking care of his little brother at a time like this. Didn't he see that Feng Xun had nearly been skewered like a candied hawthorn?

It would have been fine if Feng Xun had not brought it up, but after he did, Tsunade began complaining like an elderly grandmother. "Don't mention your brother. If he hadn't suggested going to Jiraiya's and said he wanted to consult him about developing a new technique, that little brat from the Uchiha clan wouldn't have followed along."

"A new technique?" Feng Xun was puzzled. When had his brother started considering developing a new technique?

Wait, could it be the Rasengan?

Feng Xun's eyes suddenly widened. Although he knew Minato would create that famous spinning ball in the future, Minato seemed to be only ten years old now, didn't he?

Earlier than Kakashi creating Chidori at twelve? But then Feng Xun suddenly understood. The original story said that Minato took three years to develop the Rasengan. Even if he started now, he would need to be at least thirteen before he developed this ninjutsu that was superficially A-rank but actually possessed limitless potential.

But with him around now, how could the Rasengan's birth possibly still take three years?

Feng Xun decided that later, he would probe Minato for details. If he really was developing the Rasengan, Feng Xun would lend him a hand. If possible, he would even change its name.

After all, Minato's naming sense was truly appalling.

Mm, decided. From now on, Minato's Rasengan would be called "Invincible Cosmic Giant Rasengan."

Naruto's ultimate move would be called "Wind Release: Invincible Cosmic Giant Shuriken."

"Brat, what are you thinking about? Why are you grinning so sleazily?!" Tsunade suddenly slapped the back of Feng Xun's head, snapping him out of his unrealistic fantasy.

"Right, I heard from Yahiko and those other brats that you originally defeated that Stone Ninja. How strong was he?" As she spoke, Tsunade's expression turned serious.

Although Feng Xun did not know why Tsunade cared so much about that Stone Ninja, he answered truthfully.

"In terms of strength, he was probably at the level of a Special Jōnin. Judging by his chakra reserves, he should only have been at Chunin level, but his mastery of techniques had absolutely reached Jōnin level. That said, if he hadn't kept focusing on Yahiko and the others afterward, I wouldn't have been able to beat him."

Wait, he had kept his eyes on the three children?

After recalling the plot, Feng Xun finally realized.

The original story said that the three children had accidentally encountered a Stone Ninja back then, and the Stone Ninja had wanted to kill them. But judging from what happened today, it had not been an accident at all. Instead, it seemed to have been deliberately arranged by certain people.