Pre-Exam Special Training

"So there was a story like that behind it!" Menma said with a sigh.

"So your mother and I are very happy that you can join Kakashi's team!" Minato said with a smile.

"Not yet, at least," Menma said dejectedly.

"Teacher Kakashi said there'll be a team-entry test. Only if I pass can I become his subordinate.

"Well, anyway, it'll probably test things like teamwork, bonds, and friendship. As long as I perform a little better, there shouldn't be any big problems, right?"

"No!" Minato sternly interrupted Menma.

"Kakashi has only one standard for choosing his subordinates: they must be strong enough!

"Of course, for newly graduated Genin like you, the assessment may be a little more lenient.

"But if you go in with a casual attitude, you'll definitely be eliminated!"

"How could this be?!" Menma's expression changed drastically. "But apart from the Three-Body Technique, I don't know anything else!"

"It's fine. Dad took three days off, and starting tomorrow, I'll give you special training! You should be able to improve a lot!" Minato patted his chest, clearly confident.

"Mhm, Mom will provide logistical support too!" Kushina voiced her support as well.

"Okay! Tomorrow, you have to teach me a super powerful Ninjutsu. I'm going to knock Teacher Kakashi flying!" Menma shouted excitedly.

"Hahaha, how could that possibly be done? Even your dad can't beat Kakashi! It's good to be ambitious, but don't keep having dreams like that!" Minato said with a hearty laugh.

"That's true, hahaha..."

Late at night, in the Hokage Office, Kakashi was reporting to Danzo.

"Kakashi, how were the three subordinates you met today? Those three are the best Genin of this class."

"Yes. Sakura Haruno is thoughtful and has clear goals.

"Sasuke comes from a powerful clan and is very strong. They're both good children.

"As for Menma... how should I put this?" Kakashi replied.

"If he can stay true to his original aspirations, his future achievements may very well surpass even yours, Lord Hokage!"

"Oh? It's rare to hear such high praise from you.

"Is there something special about that child, Menma?" Danzo grew interested.

Kakashi then repeated Menma's dream about Fire Fly and the sun from that afternoon.

After listening, Danzo said nothing. He rose and slowly walked to the window, facing the night beyond the Hokage Building. After a long silence, he finally sighed.

"What an incredible dream!"

To be honest, Danzo had lived for many years. He had experienced three Shinobi World Wars and witnessed countless Ninja choosing to sacrifice themselves for the village.

But as he grew older, his heart had gradually been eroded by power and desire, and his faith in the Will of Fire had slowly wavered because of interests and checks and balances.

But after hearing Menma's words today, Danzo's long-buried passion was awakened.

He seemed to see the spirited First and Second Hokage smiling at him, as if they were both affirming and reproaching him.

They reproached him for forgetting his original aspirations before, yet affirmed him for finding himself again now.

"Kakashi, teach these children well! Their future is in your hands!"

Danzo gazed at the lights of countless homes outside the window as he earnestly entrusted the children to Kakashi.

"Please rest assured, Lord Danzo. I definitely won't disappoint your expectations. I'll train these children into capable Ninja!"

Kakashi made his solemn promise.

After hearing Kakashi's words, Danzo nodded, then waved a hand to dismiss him.

"Thank you, Lord Danzo!" Kakashi left those words behind before departing.

It should be this old man thanking you, Danzo did not respond. He merely stood before the window.

Konoha remained peaceful tonight.

Early the next morning, Minato brought Menma to the forest outside the village.

As a Tokubetsu Jonin, Minato had work to do as well. His daily task was to patrol the safety of Konoha's surroundings.

So after failing to get the day off, he used public duties for private purposes and brought Menma to his workplace.

After instructing the three Chunin under his command to patrol separately, Minato brought Menma to a clearing in the woods.

"Hey, Dad, won't bringing me here to train affect your work?"

Menma was quite puzzled by Minato slacking off. In his view, Ninja should all be serious and meticulous, doing everything by the book and wholeheartedly completing their missions.

"It's fine. Your dad is a Tokubetsu Jonin!

"If I didn't even have this much privilege, I might as well be a Chunin!"

Minato looked immensely pleased with himself. Back then, he had asked his teacher Jiraiya to pull some strings just to escape endless missions. Relying on his specialty as the "only person capable of independently using the Konoha Flying Raijin Formation," he had barely managed to rise to Tokubetsu Jonin.

Seeing Mizuki, who had been promoted to Chunin alongside him, still diligently working at the Ninja Academy, while his seniors Izumo and Kotetsu continued guarding the gates day after day regardless of wind or rain, he felt his choice had been incomparably wise.

What Minato did not know was that Konoha had its own considerations.

Though he was mediocre in strength, he had a good wife!

Leaving aside Kushina's identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, she herself was skilled in sealing techniques. Her Kekkei Genkai and elite Jonin-level strength were also worth Konoha paying a great price to win over.

Even Minato becoming Jiraiya's disciple had only happened because Danzo humbly begged Jiraiya, and Jiraiya finally agreed.

Facing Menma, Minato raised one finger and said:

"Dad promised before that once you became a Genin, I'd teach you a Ninjutsu: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

"Dad will demonstrate it once first, then explain the key points of this Ninjutsu in detail."

After saying that, under Menma's attentive gaze, Minato spread his feet shoulder-width apart.

His hands rapidly formed the Tiger-Ram-Dragon seals before his chest. Then his chest swelled, and he quickly exhaled toward Menma.

Menma only felt a fierce gust carrying Minato's breath rushing straight at him. His face was blown out of shape, and his hair was swept backward.

But aside from that, nothing happened.

That was it? That was it?!

Menma's mouth twitched. He truly could not think of any use for this Ninjutsu other than serving as a hair dryer for the enemy.

How had Danzo used this move to blow five Jonin to death back then?

Was it because his breath was stronger?

As if he had seen Menma's thoughts, Minato hurriedly explained:

"Dad was only demonstrating it just now, so I deliberately controlled the power.

"This is the kind of Ninjutsu where the more Chakra you put into it, the stronger it becomes."

"Really? I don't believe you." Menma Namikaze was possessed by Chen Luyu at that moment.

"Of course it's true! If Lord Danzo used this move, its power would be no less than that of a massive hurricane!"

Seeing Menma's doubt, Minato hurriedly used Danzo as an example. "And Great Breakthrough is the most basic Wind Release Ninjutsu.

"Many other Wind Release Ninjutsu, such as Wind Release: Wind Blade and Wind Release: Wind Cutter, were developed based on it!

"It's also one of the ten Ninjutsu that Chunin must master!"

Only then did Menma take it seriously and continue listening to Minato's explanation.

"Alright, now Dad will explain the key points of this technique in detail.

"First is hand seals. The order is Tiger-Ram-Dragon. Make sure to finish them within two seconds."

As Menma listened to Minato's explanation, he tried forming the seals himself.

"Then mobilize the Chakra inside your body. While forming the seals, gather as much Chakra as possible in your lungs and throat."

Menma nodded to show that he understood.

"Finally, take a deep breath and exhale quickly. While exhaling, rapidly infuse Chakra into the air.

"The more Chakra you infuse, the more powerful Great Breakthrough becomes!"

Menma indicated that he understood, then his expression sharpened. His hands rapidly formed seals, his body gathered a large amount of Chakra, and he inhaled deeply before exhaling swiftly.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A whirlwind suddenly appeared and shot toward Minato.

Minato's expression changed. He immediately raised his fingers in a sword seal and suddenly vanished, dodging Menma's technique at the last possible moment.

Menma's Great Breakthrough crossed more than ten meters in an instant and struck a tree at the edge of the clearing.

With a bang, the tree, as thick as an adult's waist, shook violently as though it had been struck by a massive hammer. Nearly half its leaves were shaken loose.

Menma was fairly satisfied with the technique's power.

"Hmm, using less than one-twentieth of my Chakra produced this effect. The power isn't bad.

"But since this was my first time using Ninjutsu, my Chakra control wasn't precise enough. Only a small portion was infused into the Ninjutsu, while the rest dissipated inside my body.

"My hand seals were also too slow, and the casting windup was too obvious. An enemy could easily dodge it.

"I can keep improving in those areas later."

Minato, who had escaped disaster with Flying Thunder God and was now sitting on the ground, was utterly shocked upon seeing the Ninjutsu's power. He even began questioning his life.

Who am I?

Where am I??

What did I just do???

Oh, right. I was watching Menma use Ninjutsu.

But can someone tell me what the hell is going on with that power?

Did I teach Wind Release: Great Breakthrough just now, or Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere?

Menma looked with satisfaction at the tree's miserable state, then turned around to look for his father, intending to ask for his opinion.

When he turned around, he found Minato sitting beneath a distant tree, staring at him with lingering fear.

Menma was completely baffled, then suddenly understood.

That technique had been aimed at his dad just now. If his dad had not dodged quickly, he might have been injured.

Menma scratched his head awkwardly and apologized to Minato.

"Sorry, Dad. Next time, I definitely won't use Ninjutsu in your direction!

"But Dad, you're way too pathetic. You were so scared that you sat on the ground."

Minato barely recovered from his shock. He stood up, dusted off his backside, and said with feigned calm:

"Well, it really was a little sudden just now. Dad didn't expect you to succeed on your first try. Looks like you're quite talented!"

As he spoke, Minato stepped forward to carefully inspect the tree's miserable condition, then turned back to Menma.

"As for why Dad was sitting on the ground, it wasn't because you scared me. It was because of one of Dad's Ninjutsu."

"What Ninjutsu?" Menma asked curiously.

"This Ninjutsu is called the Flying Raijin Technique. It's a space-time Ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage.

"This technique lets the user instantly move to a designated location. Currently, Dad is the only one in Konoha who has learned it!"

Minato said smugly, "But this technique has a flaw: the user can't control their posture.

"After using it, they also can't control which direction they're facing, so it has little practical value in battle."

Was the Flying Raijin Technique in this world really that useless?

Or was Minato in this world simply too useless?

It should be the latter!

Menma's mouth twitched, leaving him speechless.

"I really don't know what the Second Hokage's purpose was in developing this technique. If it's only for escaping and transporting intelligence, the cost is far too great," Minato muttered unhappily.

Hey, hey, hey. If the Yellow Flash heard you say that, he'd make you, his alternate-universe counterpart, pay the price even if he had to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!