Modifying Ninjutsu

That night, the Hokage's Office was brightly lit, and Hiruzen had not yet reached the time to get off work. Piles of documents covered the desk, but this was already the remainder after he had processed eighty percent of them. Roughly calculating the time, Hiruzen figured he should be able to finish them in another two hours. He would have to trouble Biwako to get up in the middle of the night to cook some late-night snacks again tonight... Hiruzen rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighed, and prepared to rest for a moment. Just then, the office door was suddenly knocked on. "?" Hiruzen was slightly stunned. "Come in." Minato pushed the door open, and after closing it, knelt on one knee and leaned forward. "Lord Hokage." "...Oh, Minato." Hiruzen only then reacted. "Right, it is indeed today... Cough, cough." He smiled wryly and shook his head, stood up and walked over to the window, took out a pipe and loaded tobacco into it. "How is it? Has the progress of the past two days been going smoothly?" "Very smoothly." "That's good." Hiruzen lit the tobacco, and the blue smoke was carried into the air by the wind outside the window. "What is your impression of Xue Ge?" "That child is very smart, calm, and mature. From my perspective, although his talent is slightly inferior compared to Kakashi Hatake, he is clearly more suited to the state a ninja should have." "His speech and manners are direct and crisp, and although his personality is somewhat aloof, his various judgments are precise as a result and rarely disturbed by emotions." Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe. "You mean?" Minato straightened his body. "His heart is like a mirror, reflecting things as they truly are. This is more important than anything else." "...Very interesting." Hiruzen put down the pipe. "So, you think highly of him?" "Yes, Lord Hokage. I believe he will become an excellent ninja. With more guidance, he can also become a pillar and mainstay of Konoha in the future." "I have an unrequited request. After Xue Ge graduates in the future, I hope to become Xue Ge's supervising Jonin." Hearing this, a look of surprise appeared in Hiruzen's eyes. "Supervising Jonin?... You actually... value him this much?" "Xue Ge needs guidance," Minato said earnestly. "I can sense that he is actually a quite gentle person." Minato recalled what the two of them looked like while doing missions over the past two days. Although Xue Ge would find D-rank missions very boring, he never complained. Moreover, he spared no effort when helping the villagers. "His aloofness and coldness are perhaps by-products of a terrible situation in his early childhood. If this continues, I worry that the kindness in his heart might be gradually worn away and he will head towards extremes. I have a responsibility to prevent this situation from happening." Hiruzen looked at Minato, his eyes full of gratification. "...I understand, Minato. For Konoha, and also for that child." "However," Hiruzen said with a serious expression, "the position of supervising Jonin is not so easy to hold. You need to be responsible for the ninjas you guide, and you also have to take responsibility for their future growth." "I am certain, Lord Hokage," Minato answered without hesitation. "Good, then leave this matter to me, you can rest assured." Hiruzen nodded and agreed to Minato's request. He took a puff of his pipe and tapped the pipe against the windowsill. "Is there anything else?" "There is." As Minato spoke, he took a scroll from his waist and walked over to Hiruzen's side. Unfolding the scroll, it depicted the hand sealing steps of the Three Body Technique. "The Three Body Technique? What's the matter... Huh?" Hiruzen had still been somewhat puzzled, but suddenly paused and slightly raised his brow. He took another puff of his pipe. He discovered that although the hand sealing steps of the Three Body Technique only had three steps, a whole bunch of notes were written on the side. Quite a few of them were... opinions on modifying the hand seals? "This is Xue Ge's notes," Minato said with a smile. His memory was quite formidable, and he had remembered most of the content Xue Ge showed him. "Xue Ge has unique insights in developing ninjutsu. When I was developing ninjutsu, he also helped me a lot." Minato spoke as he explained Xue Ge's situation to Hiruzen. "I see..." Hiruzen stroked his goat's beard. "I didn't expect that child to have talent in this area as well..." Pondering for a moment, he nodded. "Then leave this matter to me too, I'll go talk to Danzo about it later. You should just follow Jiraiya for more training during this period, you don't need to divide your mind into this." "Yes, Lord Hokage," Minato replied. Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction. He knew that although Minato came from a commoner background, he had always worked hard and had talent. Konoha's future needed young people like them to support it. "Alright, you may go back. Work hard on your training, I am looking forward to your performance." Hiruzen waved his hand, signaling that Minato could leave. Minato gave a salute, then turned and stepped out of the office. He knew Hiruzen still had a lot of work to do and couldn't disturb him here for too long. Walking out of the Hokage Building, Minato looked up at the night sky. Dotted stars adorned the pitch-black night sky. That child had the qualifications to become Konoha's pride. And he himself would do his utmost to help him grow. Minato took a deep breath, and then turned and walked towards his home. He still needed to organize the mission reports of the past two days and prepare for the upcoming training. Watching Minato's figure disappear into the street, Hiruzen emptied the burnt-out ash in his pipe, sat back down in his seat, and continued processing documents. Several hours passed, and when all the documents were processed, his gaze fell on the scroll brought by Minato. After meditating for a moment, Hiruzen began to offer various opinions for modification on the scroll. When it came to his understanding of conventional ninjutsu, Hiruzen even surpassed his teacher, Second Hokage Tobirama Senju. Xue Ge's thinking on developing ninjutsu was indeed relatively novel, but after all, it was still within the framework of conventional ninjutsu. Hiruzen basic understood Xue Ge's train of thought after just looking at it for a while. Moreover, this kind of development direction, which seemed quite special upon closer thought, also aroused Hiruzen's interest. He prepared to use the Three Body Technique to test the waters first. Time quietly slipped away beneath the tip of his pen, and the night scenery outside the window gradually faded. When the east began to show a fish-belly white, Hiruzen finally put down his pen. Exercising his fingers, which were somewhat stiff from long hours of writing, his gaze slowly moved across the scroll, reviewing the fruits of his night's labor. The modification is complete. If it's modified this way, it should be able to conform to... um... Xue Ge's chakra circulation. It's been a long time since I've been this serious... !Oh Hiruzen suddenly felt a chill running down his spine. Looking behind him, it was already bright. Ah... Hiruzen covered his forehead, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He had to think carefully about how to explain it to Biwako after going back, so that she would let him off the hook.