Jiraiya: This Kid Takes After Me

"This boy is Minato Namikaze, a ninja born to a civilian family. His reflexes, ability to analyze a fight, and capacity to learn are all exceptional. In less than a year at the academy, he's gone from the class's Dead Last to above average. He can hold his own even against ninja from established families." Hiruzen Sarutobi was full of praise for Minato Namikaze. "Oh, and he ranks first in theory by a huge margin. Perfect scores across the board."

"Perfect scores? Haha! This kid takes after me! He takes after me!" Nothing struck a chord with Jiraiya quite like a Dead Last rising up to beat the geniuses. He loved that kind of story.

Besides, Minato Namikaze got perfect scores in theory. Wasn't that just like him?

Idiot. Orochimaru shot Jiraiya a contemptuous glance. How the hell does this kid take after you? Weren't you a Dead Last when you joined our team?

Jiraiya had since proved his potential, but Orochimaru still struggled to understand why Teacher Sarutobi had chosen him in the first place. Back then, the guy hadn't seemed especially remarkable.

Of course, Jiraiya had now proved his worth.

"Jiraiya, if you're interested, keep an eye on Minato Namikaze." An idea stirred in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind. He had originally planned for Minato Namikaze to become the final member of Orochimaru's team.

But if Jiraiya was interested, making Minato Namikaze his student would be a fine choice too.

Of his three students, Orochimaru was the one he had the highest hopes for, but Jiraiya was the one he liked most.

"He's got a solid foundation! A very clever kid. Look, he's challenging Uchiha Yi now." Jiraiya watched Minato Namikaze knock the Sarutobi Clan's child out of the match, then challenge Uchiha Yi. A smile tugged at his lips. The courage to challenge someone stronger—he was exactly the same. Jiraiya liked him already!

Minato Namikaze might not have put on the best performance there, but he was the one who appealed to Jiraiya most.

Orochimaru and Tsunade both turned their attention to Uchiha Yi, curious to see what the boy would do.

From what Teacher Sarutobi had said, Uchiha Yi far outmatched his opponent. Would he crush Minato Namikaze to show off his strength, as other Uchiha might, or give him a chance to show what he could do?

That came down to personality. Neither choice was necessarily wrong. Orochimaru, for one, would defeat his opponent without hesitation.

Uchiha Yi stepped onto the field and smiled at Minato Namikaze. "I didn't expect you to challenge me so soon."

"I know my limits. I'm no match for you or our Uzumaki classmate." Minato Namikaze spoke without a trace of self-pity. "But if I fight anyone else first, I won't have the strength left to challenge you."

"I see." Uchiha Yi formed the Seal of Confrontation toward Minato Namikaze and waited for him to make the first move.

He and Minato Namikaze usually got along well. There was no need to prove his strength by beating him as quickly as possible. Besides, as an heir to the Will of Fire, how could he be so heartless?

After returning the Seal of Confrontation, Minato Namikaze closed in on Uchiha Yi as swiftly as ever and launched a kick at his face from a tricky angle.

Smack! Uchiha Yi caught Minato Namikaze's attack with ease. A light sweep of his hand sent him flying.

Minato Namikaze spun through the air and landed steadily. Then he formed hand seals in a measured rhythm, drew a deep breath, and shouted, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A rapidly spinning gale burst from his mouth and swept toward Uchiha Yi.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique." Uchiha Yi formed hand seals far faster than Minato Namikaze and spat out a massive fireball to meet the gale.

"His hand seals are so fast!" Tsunade couldn't help exclaiming.

She wasn't a ninja known for the speed of her hand seals, but Uchiha Yi had just surpassed her.

He might even have been faster than Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded appreciatively. "The speed of a ninja's hand seals doesn't necessarily reflect their strength. Truly powerful ninja can even simplify them, like the First and Teacher Tobirama.

"But Uchiha Yi is already faster than the vast majority of ninja. Seiichiro tells me he's been practicing one-handed seals too. I haven't seen him use them, so I don't know whether he's mastered them yet."

Jiraiya picked his nose. "One-handed seals? That's nothing. Let's see him form seals with both feet, like me!"

Tsunade's and Orochimaru's faces darkened at once. What normal person formed seals with their feet?

If you're so capable, try forming seals with your toes!

"Still, Minato Namikaze is genuinely talented. He's done almost everything he can," Orochimaru said, watching him with admiration.

He felt Minato Namikaze was much like himself. Given an opportunity, the boy would seize it and astonish everyone.

With Hiruzen Sarutobi's guidance, he would surely become a powerful ninja.

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Minato Namikaze display his abilities to the fullest with Uchiha Yi's cooperation, then nodded in satisfaction. Uchiha Yi's strength was no surprise to him. He even suspected his son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, might not be Uchiha Yi's match, let alone Minato Namikaze.

Yet Minato Namikaze was improving rapidly as he fought Uchiha Yi. That was remarkable.

It might be a shame to entrust such a clever child to Jiraiya.

What if I give him to Orochimaru instead?

But Orochimaru clearly had no intention of competing with Jiraiya for the boy. Oh well. I'll let things take their course.

Tsunade stared intently at Uchiha Yi. The longer she watched him, the more familiar he felt, almost as if she were looking at Nawaki. But Uchiha Yi wasn't Nawaki. She could only attribute the feeling to his unusual warmth.

She had sensed the same thing in someone else: her grandfather, Hashirama Senju. But Uchiha Yi was an Uchiha!

"Tsunade, what do you think? Yi is impressive, isn't he? Have you decided to become his master?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked when he saw her staring at Uchiha Yi.

Tsunade's expression grew conflicted. "There isn't much I can teach him. Is it really all right to entrust a genius like that to me? Jiraiya and Orochimaru would both suit him better."

"No, you're the best choice. You're a Senju, and he's an Uchiha. It may cause some trouble, but it's what's best for him." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Tsunade earnestly.