Minato Namikaze: Does Lord Third Want to Train Another Alt?

The next morning, Setsuna finished meditating and got out of bed.

There were two ways to cultivate "qi." One was "moving practice," pushing the body beyond its limits—what his previous life called "refining essence into qi." The other was "still practice," focusing on spiritual cultivation and drawing closer to nature through meditation. Master Roshi was a representative of the latter.

In terms of physical strength, he was actually no weaker than a grandmaster like Master Roshi. After all, youth had the advantage in a fight. But when it came to cultivating "qi," the difference between them was like heaven and earth. After more than three hundred years of cultivation, Master Roshi's qi had become powerful enough for him to destroy the moon with a Kamehameha. Setsuna's qi, at most, could only blow apart a mountaintop.

In Setsuna's view, that little bit of qi was better used for Bukūjutsu. His body was enough for ordinary combat, and if he truly needed a ranged attack, he could use low-consumption, single-target piercing techniques like the Dodon Ray.

Even so, Setsuna had not relaxed his training in "qi." A martial artist who could not trade energy blasts was not a qualified martial artist.

After loosening up his body, Setsuna went out for his morning run again. These routines had practically been carved into his blood.

When Setsuna ran to the nearby training ground, he happened to meet a boy walking on his hands. The boy was four years younger than him, but from a ninja's perspective, he was already Setsuna's senior—none other than the young Might Guy.

"Big Brother Setsuna, great! I saw that you didn't come train yesterday, and I was worried you'd given up. But I knew it—our youth will never end!" Guy said as he held out his right thumb while upside down. He grinned broadly, his gleaming white front teeth practically reflecting light.

"I wasn't feeling well yesterday, so I stopped for a day. I'll have to make up for it twice as hard today." Setsuna smiled faintly. For Might Guy, it had only been one day. For him, it had been a year.

Whenever he traveled between worlds, one year in another world equaled one day in the main world. When he was in the main world, the flow of time returned to normal. Of course, it was not exactly one-to-one; different universes naturally had different rates of time flow.

As for just how great those differences were, Setsuna did not know either. Perhaps he would only find out after completely mastering the Myriad Worlds Pearl.

Hearing Setsuna's explanation, Guy was so moved that tears welled in his eyes. "With your physical condition, Big Brother Setsuna, anything that could interrupt your training must have been a serious illness! Yet even such a disease could only stop you from training for one day! Is this the scorching heat of youth? It keeps us from ever stopping our march forward!"

Setsuna had long grown used to Guy's dramatic reactions. Smiling, he asked, "Don't you need to go out on missions with your team?"

Although Guy and Rock Lee had similar experiences, there were actually major differences between them.

Guy had failed the Ninja Academy entrance exam and only entered after taking a makeup test. Yet after entering the academy, he graduated in just two years. Though he still could not compare to Kakashi, graduating from the Ninja Academy at seven years old was enough to call him a genius. Clearly, he was not untalented in ninjutsu; he simply preferred Taijutsu.

To put it in Ryuken Ishida's words from Bleach, Guy had no interest, while Rock Lee had no talent.

Hearing Setsuna's question, Guy spoke with some sadness. "During a mission, my team leader was caught in an ambush and died. My other two teammates were seriously injured as well. The team I belonged to has already been disbanded, and I have to wait for the village to assign me a new one. So I'll have time to train lately."

Setsuna's expression turned somewhat serious. It was uncommon for a Jonin to die during peacetime. Whether it was Hidden Cloud Village's invasion last night or Guy's instructor dying, both seemed to signal that war was drawing near.

At the same time, in the Hokage's office.

"Minato, thanks to your 'close protection' of Kushina, Hidden Cloud Village's scheme has failed once again." Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled faintly, his kindly expression carrying a trace of lecherousness.

"I just happened to run into her." Minato Namikaze was slightly embarrassed. He had been visiting Kushina's home more often, but that could hardly count as "close protection." He still had ninja missions to carry out.

"Haha, I know, I know." Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled happily. He had always admired Minato, and he was even more pleased to see Minato and Kushina get together. It would make for a fine tale like the First Hokage and Lady Mito.

"Still, you hit them a little too hard. Their bodies were in pieces, so handing them back will not look very good." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head with a sigh. "Although Hidden Cloud Village is in the wrong here, that Raikage has never been a reasonable man. You should be careful of Hidden Cloud Village targeting you for a while."

Minato smiled and shook his head. "Lord Hokage, those three Hidden Cloud ninja were not killed by me."

"Not you? Could Tsunade have returned?" Hiruzen Sarutobi perked up. "I was wondering why you suddenly started using Taijutsu."

"It wasn't Lady Tsunade either." Minato organized his thoughts. "You may have heard of him as well. The oldest student currently at the Ninja Academy—Chiaki Setsuna."

"Chiaki Setsuna?" Hiruzen Sarutobi froze. Of course he knew him.

Although Setsuna had no talent for ninjutsu, his diligence put many ninja to shame. In a sense, the morning runs of Setsuna and Guy had even become part of the village's scenery.

Naturally, Hiruzen Sarutobi admired Setsuna's hard work. He believed that such diligence embodied the Will of Fire. Therefore, although some academy teachers had previously suggested expelling him, Hiruzen Sarutobi had stopped them all.

But no matter how he thought about it, he found it difficult to connect Setsuna with a powerhouse capable of defeating Hidden Cloud ninja.

After all, the three dead Hidden Cloud ninja had been one Jonin and two Chunin. That level of strength already counted as an upper-tier force in a ninja village. How could they possibly have been defeated by a Ninja Academy student with no talent for ninjutsu?

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's confusion, Minato explained, "He defeated them with pure Taijutsu."

Hiruzen Sarutobi still could not help doubting him. "Only Taijutsu?"

"His Taijutsu is strong. Truly strong!" Minato nodded emphatically. "In a one-on-one fight, there's a high chance I wouldn't be his match either."

Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help sucking in a breath. He knew Minato's strength very well. For Minato to say something like that was enough to demonstrate Setsuna's power.

"You're telling me this because you want me to make an exception and let him graduate?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

"Yes. It would be a waste for such an outstanding ninja to remain in the academy." Minato nodded, then added, "But I hope Lord Hokage can conceal the fact that he killed those Hidden Cloud ninja. He may be strong, but Hidden Cloud Village's dirty methods are impossible to guard against."

"Then Hidden Cloud Village will target you instead," Hiruzen Sarutobi reminded him.

"I have the Flying Thunder God Technique. It won't be so easy for them to target me." Minato smiled.

"You still need to be careful. The Flying Thunder God Technique isn't invincible." Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into memories. His teacher, the Second Hokage and creator of the Flying Thunder God Technique, had died at the hands of pursuing Hidden Cloud ninja while covering their escape.

"Still, if there isn't enough proof to convince others, making an exception and letting him graduate may not necessarily be a good thing for him." As Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, he suddenly tapped the desk with his pipe and smiled. "I'll have my useless younger son fight him. It will not only prove his strength, but also make Asuma rein himself in a little and stop being so arrogant."

Minato's eyes widened. Thinking of the Hidden Cloud ninja who had died miserably at Setsuna's hands, a thought could not help surfacing in his mind. Did Lord Hokage want to train another alt?