"No, impossible! How could this be? If the Fourth Hokage is Minato-sensei, then that means… the Fourth Hokage will die in the future!" Nohara Rin's voice trembled as her eyes widened in disbelief.
"But there are only four Hokage faces carved into your Hokage Rock, and no Fifth at all!"
"You're lying to me!!"
After a moment of stunned silence, she suddenly shouted, angry and anxious like a frantic little lion. She really couldn't believe it—if this were true, then what kind of tragedy would befall Konoha?
If even the Hokage had died… how far would this brutal war go? Could it be that Konoha was invaded by other great ninja villages?
"After the Fourth Hokage, the Third Hokage resumed his position. So the village is still under the rule of the Third Hokage. There's no Fifth Hokage yet." Ishikawa's calm words were short but heavy, making Rin's eyes widen even more.
"The Third Hokage… is still alive?" Without thinking, Nohara Rin blurted out what would be considered near-treasonous words at the current time.
In her understanding, a new Hokage was appointed only when the previous one died.
After the First Hokage passed, the Second took over. After the Second died, the Third succeeded him...
But now, the Third Hokage didn't die—yet the Fourth took over? And the aged Third even lived long enough to return to power 14 years later? While the young and powerful Fourth died early? What kind of timeline is this?!
"This is the reality. If you still doubt it, I can take you out and show you." Ishikawa stood up, stretched his numb limbs, and pointed toward the door.
"No need for that! Then… can you tell me how Minato-sensei died? As the Fourth Hokage, he shouldn't have gone on dangerous missions." Nohara Rin quickly shook her head and asked, concern in her eyes.
Since Ishikawa dared to reveal this much, she was convinced it must be true. And what she needed to know now… was the reason behind Minato's death!
Even if Ishikawa didn't know the full truth, surely such a major event like the Hokage's death would've been made public. That would be enough for her to use as a reference.
Ishikawa didn't hide anything. His expression grew somber as he slowly explained, "It happened eleven years ago, on October 10th, during the 48th year of Konoha. The Nine-Tails attack. The legendary Nine-Tailed Demon Fox appeared inside the village..."
"The Nine-Tails?!" Rin gasped in horror, the blood draining from her face. Her mind instantly conjured up the destruction and terror such a creature would bring.
As someone raised during wartime, she knew all too well what tailed beasts represented—walking calamities, weapons of mass destruction.
Ishikawa nodded silently again, his eyes reddened. "That night, Konoha lost the Fourth Hokage—our hero—and countless elite ninjas. Many of us became orphans overnight because of that tragedy..."
"So… it was the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that killed Minato-sensei?" Nohara Rin clutched her chest as her breath became shallow. It felt like a heavy weight was pressing against her heart.
The Nine-Tails was the strongest of all the tailed beasts. Minato's death now made sense—he had likely sacrificed himself to protect the village.
"Then… did the village ever find out why the Nine-Tails went berserk? Who was the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki?" Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Rin steadied her nerves and asked the next critical question.
If she could learn the identity of the jinchuriki in advance, she might be able to take precautions and prevent that future tragedy...
"I don't know. That's all I've heard." Ishikawa shrugged and spread his hands with a helpless look. What a joke—how could a civilian genin like him know that kind of classified intel?
Even Nohara Rin, Minato's own student, didn't know that Kushina Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. How could someone of his background possibly know?
"Ah… I overstepped." Realizing her mistake, Nohara Rin nodded apologetically.
Even though she didn't know the exact details or the identity of the jinchuriki, just knowing when and where the Nine-Tails would attack was already priceless intelligence!
Three years from now… on October 10th. She had to find a way to stop the Nine-Tails before then.
"Heroes are always admired, especially those who saved the village like the Fourth Hokage!"
Seeing the conversation drifting off-topic, Ishikawa took a deep breath and brought it back around.
"I don't have any family inheritance, so I once naively tried to study the Rasengan based on a few scattered rumors. Although I didn't succeed in the end, I do have a general theory for you to reference. Well, it's at least better than practicing completely blindly..."
"???" Hearing Ishikawa's overly confident tone, Nohara Rin's rising hope immediately began to crack.
It took Minato-sensei three years to develop the Rasengan—an unmatched A-rank ninjutsu.
And now this civilian Genin, who still had to ask her for tips on chakra control, dared to claim he had insights into it?
"Well, then tell me your theory." Seeing Ishikawa's serious expression, Rin thought for a moment and finally nodded, deciding to hear him.
Even if she didn't expect much from it, she figured it wouldn't hurt to give him a little face. After all, she had just gained important information from him—some goodwill should be shown.
"First, take a look at this." Seeing her agree, Ishikawa turned and took out a water ball from a cardboard box nearby.
It was a small toy he used to kill time when bored—but now, it finally had a purpose.
"To be honest, I've never seen a Rasengan in person! So I used this to imagine what it might be like." At first, Ishikawa's words made Rin's heart sink again.
But as she looked at the small water ball in his hand, something about it made her pause.
"In my view, the Rasengan is like turning chakra into a water ball. But chakra, being intangible, can't be grasped—just like this water can't be held directly in your hand."
"So if you want to grasp the water—or the chakra—you need something to support it like this ball provides shape for the water inside."
"So that's what it means!" Almost as soon as Ishikawa finished speaking, realization dawned on Rin.
If one could first create a chakra shell to stabilize the chakra, then it wouldn't scatter, and it might become possible to compress and control it!
He had thought of all this just from legends alone? Genius. This guy might actually be a genius...
"Then what next? How do you form a chakra shell? How do you compress the chakra steadily?" Remembering her own clueless approach, Rin felt embarrassed and asked again, with newfound seriousness.
"And then? And then... there isn't anything else..." Ishikawa blinked in surprise.
"Miss Rin, this is just a half-baked guess from a clueless Genin. It's for reference only!"
"Do you really think a technique developed by the Fourth Hokage is something that can be reverse-engineered so easily?"
Looking at his wide-eyed innocence, Rin's newfound enthusiasm deflated almost instantly, leaving her speechless for a moment.
Well... she had been too naive.
'Don't worry. I'll guide you step by step to master it. And during that time, we'll gradually deepen this super space-time bond.' Watching Rin turn away in disappointment, a small smile crept onto Ishikawa's face.
He wasn't a fool. What benefit would there be in revealing the Rasengan training method outright?
Giving away something so absurd without a proper foundation would only raise suspicions. This was already pushing the limits of reason—if he acted any more recklessly, he was bound to fail.
Stay calm. Always act steadily!!