On the Ninja Academy's training ground, Minato Namikaze finished his training for the day, gasping for breath.
He was about to pick up his bag and go home when he noticed a tall, white-haired man sitting cross-legged next to his bag, arms crossed, watching him with an amused expression.
A look of surprise flashed in Minato Namikaze's eyes. Soon, he remembered what Kushina Uzumaki had said that morning. Could it be that he had been chosen? Thinking this, he approached with a nervous heart and asked, "Is this ninja-sama waiting for me?"
A hint of surprise flickered in Jiraiya's eyes: "How are you so sure I'm waiting for you?"
"I heard my teacher mention it before. It must be that my performance has earned your recognition, sir."
Jiraiya's expression suddenly changed, his face darkening as he looked at Minato Namikaze and said coldly, "Then you're mistaken. Your talent, boy, is too outstanding, so I must eliminate you, lest you become an enemy of our Sand Village in the future."
As he spoke, Jiraiya pulled out a kunai, intending to slit Minato Namikaze's throat. However, facing Jiraiya's sudden attack, Minato Namikaze remained motionless, quietly watching Jiraiya.
Just as the kunai was about to touch Minato Namikaze's neck, Jiraiya stopped his movement and then looked at Minato Namikaze with dissatisfaction: "What, kid, are you scared? Can't move?"
"No, if you, Ninja-sama, wanted to kill me, you could have done so long ago. I probably wouldn't even have time to react. Why wait until my training is over?" Minato Namikaze looked at Jiraiya calmly. He admitted there was an element of gambling involved, but he was willing to trust his judgment.
Moreover, the opponent's strength was far superior to his own; even if he tried to escape, he would be instantly killed.
Jiraiya was stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter: "Hahahaha, you're good, kid, really good! Old man Jiraiya approves of you!
How about it? Interested in becoming my disciple, Lord Jiraiya? I'm the Hokage's disciple, you know."
Jiraiya realized he had truly found a treasure. Not only was the boy exceptionally talented with strong learning abilities, but his observation and analytical skills were comparable to Orochimaru's. This was practically a combination of himself and Orochimaru. If he could teach a disciple more outstanding than Orochimaru, would that mean he was superior to Orochimaru?
"Lord Jiraiya?" Minato Namikaze was stunned for a moment, then bowed with delight: "Teacher Jiraiya."
"Hmm, you're a good kid. Let's go, Teacher Jiraiya will treat you to a meal. I'll start teaching you tomorrow afternoon!" Jiraiya's large hand pressed down on Minato Namikaze's blond hair. And surprisingly, it felt quite nice.
"Thank you, Teacher Jiraiya!" Minato Namikaze's eyes were filled with joy. He hadn't seen Jiraiya truly fight, but he believed the other party was a strong individual, and a disciple of the Hokage at that. So, he should be able to quickly grow stronger under his guidance.
As for the other party deceiving him?
Minato Namikaze didn't think there was any need for that. Lies always get exposed eventually, and besides, Kushina Uzumaki seemed to have mentioned the name Jiraiya before.
He figured there would be no mistake.
........................
Time flew by like a white colt passing a crevice; half a month had passed in the blink of an eye. Uchiha Hikaru had not received any guidance from so-called masters, and his strength was still progressing at a steady pace.
Through the battle space, Uchiha Hikaru realized his shortcomings; he needed a powerful ninjutsu.
Currently, within the Uchiha clan, there was no inheritance for Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation or Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction, not even Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique.
Uchiha Hikaru had once subtly probed Uchiha Yohei, only then learning that some ninjutsu traditions were only passed down to clan leaders and were not recorded in ninjutsu scrolls but were transmitted orally.
When Uchiha Madara left Konoha, he did not leave those ninjutsu behind.
This made Uchiha Hikaru very regretful; ordinary Fire Release clearly couldn't compare to Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation. He wondered if these ninjutsu might drop when he encountered Uchiha Madara in the battle space in the future.
Of course, if Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation really dropped, Uchiha Hikaru would probably cry himself to death. Wouldn't Madara's dōjutsu and dōjutsu be better than these ninjutsu?
Uchiha Hikaru set his sights on Chidori. He could naturally research Rasengan as well, but he had never seen a Tailed Beast Bomb, making research on Rasengan inconvenient. Chidori, however, was different.
But researching Chidori, how could it be easy?
Don't let Kakashi's ability to research a ninjutsu like Chidori at 12 years old fool you; Hatake Sakumo himself was an excellent Lightning Release user, and Kakashi had likely already mastered Hatake Sakumo's insights into Lightning Release, using them to research Chidori.
Uchiha Hikaru still needed to put in more effort to achieve this, but fortunately, he still had plenty of time.
However, Minato Namikaze's changes had not escaped Uchiha Hikaru's notice. His strength was progressing rapidly, like a shriveled sponge quickly growing.
It was obvious that Minato Namikaze had met Jiraiya, which was well within Uchiha Hikaru's expectations. Minato Namikaze was just that kind of person; he had good talent, and as long as someone could provide him with the right platform, Minato Namikaze would grow rapidly at a visible rate.
This day, Uchiha Hikaru was meeting up with Uchiha Mikoto, planning to go home and continue researching Lightning Release nature transformation, when Kushina Uzumaki called out to them: "Hikaru-kun, Mikoto, my grandmother wants to invite you for dinner. Are you free today?"
"Your grandmother? Is it Mito-sama?" Uchiha Hikaru never expected this; Uchiha Kagami had only met Mito Uzumaki a few times.
Of course, this could also be due to the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Yes, Grandma Mito wants to see you. After all, you're my friends, and she cares about me quite a lot." Kushina Uzumaki felt a bit strange about meeting parents, but she also hoped that Uchiha Hikaru and Uchiha Mikoto would go and meet her family.
Uchiha Hikaru and Uchiha Mikoto exchanged glances, then nodded. Uchiha Hikaru said to Kushina Uzumaki, "Then we'll trouble you."
Uchiha Hikaru felt it was better not to tell his family about meeting Mito Uzumaki.
It was hard to guarantee that those at home wouldn't get some unnecessary ideas.
He'd tell them after meeting Mito Uzumaki. To be honest, Uchiha Hikaru was a bit nervous about meeting Mito Uzumaki; he wondered if she would be able to detect the Indra chakra within him.