Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya

On the Ninja Academy playground, Minato Namikaze finished his training for the day, panting from exhaustion.

He was about to pick up his schoolbag and head home when he spotted a burly, white-haired man sitting cross-legged beside it, arms folded as he watched Minato with an amused look.

Surprise flashed through Minato's eyes. Then he remembered what Kushina Uzumaki had said that morning. Had he been chosen? Nervous, he stepped forward and asked, "Are you waiting for me, sir?"

A curious look crossed Jiraiya's face. "What makes you think I'm waiting for you?"

"My teacher mentioned something about this earlier. I thought my performance might have earned your approval."

Jiraiya's expression abruptly darkened. He stared at Minato and said coldly, "Then you thought wrong. You're far too talented, kid. I have to get rid of you before you grow up to become an enemy of Sunagakure."

Jiraiya pulled out a kunai and swept it toward Minato's throat. But faced with the sudden attack, Minato did not move. He simply watched Jiraiya.

The kunai stopped just short of Minato's neck. Jiraiya frowned at him. "What's wrong, kid? Scared stiff? Can't move?"

"No. If you wanted to kill me, you could have done it long ago. I probably wouldn't even have had time to react. Why wait until I finished training?" Minato looked at Jiraiya calmly. He knew he was taking a gamble, but he trusted his judgment.

Besides, the man was far stronger than he was. Even if Minato ran, he would be killed in an instant.

Jiraiya froze, then burst into hearty laughter. "Hahahaha! Not bad, kid. Not bad at all! I, the great Jiraiya, approve of you!

"How about becoming my student? I'm the Hokage's student, you know."

Jiraiya realized he had struck gold. The boy was talented and quick to learn, while his powers of observation and analysis rivaled Orochimaru's. He was practically a blend of Jiraiya and Orochimaru. If Jiraiya trained a student who surpassed Orochimaru, wouldn't that prove Jiraiya was better?

"Lord Jiraiya?" Minato stood stunned for a moment, then bowed with delight. "Master Jiraiya!"

"That's right. You're a good kid. Come on, I'll buy you dinner. We'll start your training tomorrow afternoon!" Jiraiya planted a large hand on Minato's blond hair. It felt surprisingly nice.

"Thank you, Master Jiraiya!" Minato's eyes shone with joy. He had never seen Jiraiya fight, but he believed the man was strong. Jiraiya was Lord Hokage's student, too. Under his guidance, Minato should be able to grow stronger quickly.

What if Jiraiya was lying to him?

Minato saw no reason for him to. The lie would be exposed eventually. Besides, Kushina Uzumaki seemed to have mentioned Jiraiya's name before.

There was probably no mistake.

The days flew by. In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. Uchiha Yi had received no guidance from a master, but his strength continued to improve at a steady pace.

The Battle Space had shown Yi where he fell short. He needed a powerful ninjutsu.

The Uchiha Clan no longer had any teachings for Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame or Fire Style: Majestic Flame Destroyer—not even the Dragon Flame Song Technique.

Yi had tried to draw the answer out of Yohei Uchiha and learned that certain ninjutsu could only be passed down by the clan leader and a select few. There were no scrolls recording them; they were taught by word of mouth.

When Madara Uchiha left Konoha, he had not left those ninjutsu behind.

Yi found that deeply disappointing. Ordinary Fire Release techniques clearly could not compare to Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame. He wondered whether he might obtain those ninjutsu if he encountered Madara Uchiha in the Battle Space someday.

Of course, if Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame really was what he got, Yi might cry. Wouldn't Madara's Eye Power or dōjutsu be far better than those ninjutsu?

Yi turned his attention to Chidori. He could study Rasengan too, of course, but he had never seen a Tailed Beast Bomb, which made researching Rasengan difficult. Chidori was different.

But developing Chidori was easier said than done.

Kakashi might have developed a ninjutsu like Chidori at twelve, but Hatake Sakumo was an accomplished Lightning Release ninja. Kakashi had probably already learned everything his father knew about Lightning Release and used that knowledge to develop Chidori.

Yi still had a great deal of work to do before he could reach that point. Fortunately, he had plenty of time.

Meanwhile, Yi had noticed the change in Minato Namikaze. Minato's strength was growing rapidly, like a dry sponge soaking up water.

Yi did not have to think hard to know that Minato had met Jiraiya. He had expected as much. Minato had talent; given the right opportunity, he would grow stronger at a pace anyone could see.

One day, Yi met up with Uchiha Mikoto, intending to go home and continue studying Lightning Release nature transformation. Kushina Uzumaki stopped them. "Yi, Mikoto, my grandma wants to invite you both to dinner. Are you free today?"

"Your grandma? Lady Mito?" Yi had never expected this. Even Kagami Uchiha had met Mito Uzumaki only a few times.

Of course, that might have been because of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Yeah. Grandma Mito wants to meet you. You're my friends, after all, and she cares about me a lot." Kushina felt a little strange about introducing them to her family, but she did want Yi and Mikoto to meet her grandma.

Yi and Mikoto exchanged a glance, then both nodded. Yi said to Kushina, "Sorry for the trouble."

Yi felt it would be best not to tell his family about the visit to Mito Uzumaki.

There was no telling what unnecessary ideas some of them might get.

He would tell them after meeting Mito Uzumaki. To be honest, Yi was a little nervous about seeing her. He did not know whether she would sense Indra's Chakra inside him.