Chapter 3 - Minato's Loving Lunch
"It seems I need to go learn Medical Ninjutsu and see if I have any talent in that area."
For Tsunade to accept him as a disciple, putting aside the fact that he is male, he would only have a chance if he possessed extraordinary talent in Medical Ninjutsu.
To become a Medical Ninja, one first needs extremely precise Chakra control.
Li Yao had no problem with this; his Chakra control was 100%, whether in terms of precision and subtlety or in terms of immense power.
Secondly, whether one can condense Medical Chakra that can bring dead fish back to life is also very important.
In his previous life, someone on the internet said that Medical Chakra is a special Chakra extracted from neutral Chakra, specifically the life-aspect of Yang-attribute.
The key lies in whether one can extract Yang-attribute Chakra.
Li Yao also didn't know if he could extract this.
Finally, it comes down to a flexible mind and the ability to understand and absorb medical knowledge.
In this regard, as an undergraduate in a medical major in his previous life, Li Yao should have a slight advantage.
However, the world is different now, and much medical knowledge needs to be updated and transformed.
"In any case, I must be prepared for a long period of persistence."
"No matter what, I must learn Medical Ninjutsu, and I must succeed in becoming Tsunade's disciple."
Li Yao secretly encouraged himself in his heart. Becoming Tsunade's disciple was not only to learn the Yin Seal and Medical Ninjutsu; joining the Hokage's line of disciples was also crucial.
In Konoha, to become Hokage,
the key is not whether one can gain the support of the villagers.
The key lies in whether one belongs to the Third Hokage's line of disciples.
Looking at the Hokage after the Third Hokage, whether it was Tsunade, Kakashi, or Naruto, all came from the Third Hokage's line of disciples.
Even the acting Hokage Danzo, in a sense, could be considered a person from the Third Hokage's lineage.
So, putting aside all sorts of reasons, the fact is that the position of Hokage has never deviated from the crucial factor of the Third Hokage's lineage.
If Li Yao wanted to compete for the position of Hokage, he would have to become Tsunade's disciple; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to compete with Minato.
"Ding…"
As the dismissal bell rang, the first Chakra condensation class of the morning ended.
The quiet classroom instantly turned into a joyous ocean.
The Chakra condensation class, where one couldn't speak or move, was very painful for the active little kids aged five or six.
As soon as class was over, everyone eagerly stood up and interacted with others.
Only Li Yao remained immersed in the joy of condensing Chakra.
After all, the powerful pleasure brought by the continuous filling of Chakra within his body was too stimulating, making him unable to stop and deeply engrossed.
"Yao…"
Minato murmured in his heart, his peripheral vision on his friend, his expression growing colder.
The longer he observed, the more certain he became that his friend had a problem.
Currently, the Chakra within his friend's body was still rapidly increasing.
This indicated that his friend was still condensing Chakra, and this speed of Chakra condensation, far exceeding that of ordinary people, was definitely not something his friend had possessed before.
Moreover, condensing Chakra is actually mentally exhausting.
Usually, after one class, one's mental focus would become less concentrated, and the speed of Chakra condensation would decrease.
Even for him, if he continued to condense Chakra after focusing on it for a whole class, the speed of Chakra condensation would decrease, just not as much as for others.
But his friend now, in his perception, his friend's Chakra generation speed had not changed at all; it had maintained the initial rate of increase.
This powerful mental focus could not be his friend's.
"Who is it?"
"Or what exactly happened?"
Minato pondered, unable to draw a conclusion yet as to whether his friend himself had a problem or if he was being controlled by someone else.
"Kimura Yao, stop, the Chakra condensation class is over."
The Ninja Teacher came to Li Yao's side, frowning as he reminded him, "Continuing to condense will cause harm to your body and mind."
He understood that this child wanted to become stronger because of his parents' situation.
However, excessive mental exertion to condense Chakra would cause harm to both the body and mind, and in severe cases, it could even lead to permanent damage.
That would be more loss than gain.
Hearing someone call Kimura Yao's name, Li Yao opened his eyes and saw his classmates curiously looking over and his teacher looking at him with a serious expression. Only then did he realize that the first class of Chakra condensation had ended.
Not wanting to appear too unusual, Li Yao immediately bowed his head to the Ninja Teacher and apologized, "I'm sorry, Teacher, it won't happen again."
"Don't be in a hurry; reasonable effort is the fastest way to improve your strength." The teacher nodded, offered a few words of encouragement, and then turned and left.
"Yes, Teacher!"
Li Yao nodded along, watching the teacher leave, and breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
He was still a bit worried about having too much interaction with others, especially adult Ninja.
"Yao, you're much more focused on condensing Chakra today than before." Minato still wore a gentle smile, his tone carrying a casual curiosity as he subtly probed Li Yao.
Li Yao didn't think much of it and casually laughed, "To become Hokage, I naturally have to work hard to make myself better."
Minato smiled back, "Then I also need to work harder."
"Together."
"Together."
The two smiled at each other, looking like a pair of loving best friends.
The ten-minute break quickly passed. Minato didn't probe Li Yao much, and Li Yao was happy with that, not feeling anything amiss.
It could only be said that Minato, with his sincere and gentle smile, was too easy to gain others' trust.
The second class was the fire will class. Everyone had a fire will book, and the class was also about the fire will.
However, throughout the entire class, Li Yao felt it was more like the Third Hokage's personal autobiography class.
Because all the content in the fire will book consisted of the Third Hokage's deeds from childhood to adulthood.
In other words, the fire will was explained through the Third Hokage's deeds.
To some extent, the fire will was the will of the Third Hokage.
"No wonder the Third Hokage was praised as the strongest Hokage in Konoha in the original work."
Li Yao sighed in his heart. This was like directly writing one's will into mandatory college entrance exam knowledge; it was impossible for people not to acknowledge his title as the strongest Hokage.
At the same time, it could subtly enhance the Third Hokage's prestige among the many Ninja and civilians of Konoha.
The Third Hokage truly deserved his reputation as the Hokage with the strongest political mind.
This move… was excellent; I must remember it.
Li Yao chuckled to himself, deciding that in the future, he too would write his own fire will book and make everyone in Konoha inherit his fire will.
After the fire will class, the third class was the Ninja Tool knowledge theory class.
It mainly introduced and explained the usage of various Ninja Tools in the Ninja World and corresponding tactical skills.
Today's topic was about the five Hidden Villages' application of kunai combined with elastic steel wire and springs to create kunai traps, as well as the knowledge of forming related tactics by playing Exploding Tag.
It was explained in great detail, taking into account factors like the geography and climate of the Five Great Nations.
Li Yao approached it with an attitude even more serious than during his third year of high school in his previous life, actively absorbing the knowledge imparted by the Ninja Teacher on the podium.
After all, this knowledge might save his life in the future.
He couldn't afford to not take it seriously.
The Ninja Tool knowledge theory class was quite long; after it ended, there were no more classes, and it was time for lunch break.
Lunch break was at school, not at home, similar to most schools in his previous life.
Generally, one would come to school in the morning and only return home after classes in the afternoon.
"Yao, let's eat together."
Minato took out and opened his large lunchbox, inviting his friend to eat lunch together.
"This… wouldn't be good." Li Yao feigned modesty.
He only now realized that he seemed to be the only one in the entire class who hadn't brought a lunchbox; everyone else had brought their lunchboxes for lunch.
It wasn't his fault; for the past few days, he had been in a state of nervous panic from arriving in a strange world.
Plus, he didn't have the habit of preparing his own lunchbox in his previous life.
So, this morning, he had only brought himself to class.
"Let's share. I specifically brought enough for two." Minato smiled and handed a pair of chopsticks to Li Yao.
Seeing the two pairs of chopsticks already prepared in the lunchbox, Li Yao instantly understood that Minato had indeed prepared lunch for him in advance.
At this moment, the conversations of several female classmates in the class also proved that Li Yao's thoughts were correct.
"So that's it!"
"No wonder Minato-kun has been carrying a large lunchbox these past few days; it was for Yao."
"This is too gentle, too handsome, Minato-kun!"
Several girls were captivated by Minato's personal charm, their eyes sparkling.
"It seems Minato started… carrying the large lunchbox when…"
Someone noticed that the time Minato started bringing a lunchbox was the day the news of Kimura Yao's parents' deaths arrived. Combining this with the current scene, they all knew why Minato had been carrying a large lunchbox these past few days.
It was to prevent a day like today when Kimura Yao didn't bring a lunchbox.
Why wouldn't Kimura Yao bring a lunchbox?
Because Kimura Yao, whose parents had both died and who had no other relatives to help him, would certainly not prepare his own lunchbox.
At such a young age, Minato's sensitivity to human affairs was so profound; how could he not be admired?
"It's so good to have a friend like Minato-kun!"
Someone looked at Li Yao with envy in their eyes, clearly also yearning for the friendship between Minato and Kimura Yao.
Hearing this, Li Yao, who understood everything, was deeply moved. He looked at Minato with sincere eyes and said with heartfelt gratitude, "Thank you, Minato."
After speaking, Li Yao took the chopsticks from Minato's hand. Minato smiled and said, "We're friends, aren't we?"
Li Yao nodded heavily, "Yes, we are friends."
At the same time, Li Yao also heavily declared in his heart: Yes, we are friends. The outcome of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attack will definitely not be repeated. I swear, I will absolutely not let that two-faced Obito succeed.
Minato's thoughtfulness truly touched Li Yao; this was a friend with whom he could genuinely entrust his life.
Li Yao cherished this friendship greatly.
He wanted to become stronger and change everything.
"Eat."
Minato pushed the open lunchbox between them, his expression showing no abnormality, his smile as approachable as ever.
Li Yao, immersed in his emotion, didn't even notice that what was in the lunchbox was sashimi sushi rolls. He picked one up with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth.
Instantly, the raw fishy smell of the sashimi combined with the strong sour vinegar taste assaulted Li Yao's taste buds.
Or rather, it instantly assaulted Li Yao's past life memories of aversion and discomfort towards sashimi and sour vinegar.
Li Yao's brows furrowed instantly, his throat tickled, and he wanted to spit it out.
Fortunately, at the crucial moment, he held back and forced himself to swallow it.