The training field was quiet, as it was still early morning. Minato and I were sitting on the wooden railing surrounding the clearing, the two of us watching the sun slowly rise from the east while we were waiting for Jiraiya-sensei to show up. 'Surprisingly,' he was late... Or just testing our patience.
"You know," I muttered, leaning back a little, "one day we're going to become legendary shinobi… Even better than the Sannins. And I will make sure that the historians will still write down in our tales that our teacher was late to every single meeting he ordered for us to attend."
"I'm sure Sensei would argue against that." He chuckled, shaking his head.
"He can argue, but it's true, isn't it?" I asked, grinning, but he just shrugged.
"Try telling him that." He said with a smile as he leaned forward slightly, checking the treeline, but saw no movement. "So," he asked a bit more quietly, "have you made any progress?"
"Hm?" I glanced at him with an eyebrow raised, "You mean with what?"
"You know very well," He said, running his hand through his hair, "We both read the Seal and the actual technique. And I also know you have been grilled by Fugaku-san, day in and day out. I bet you picked up more than bruises!"
"Yeah." I smiled, but then shook my head, "That's why I barely had time to train in the technique. I didn't want to show it off, especially not in front of him. I need my own secrets..." I exhaled slowly, because even though I think Fugaku liked me and I had a surprisingly good opinion about him, considering the possible future for the Clan... I had to be ready.
"Still, you used your Sharingan to analyze the formula, didn't you?" he asked, "I was waiting for us to compare notes, because I also perfected what we had designed so far."
"Reading it and understanding it is still different," I said, watching his eyes. "But yeah, Nidaime's writings have helped a lot. Reading Tobirama's instructions was much more... Well, clearer. Super organized. Once I understood the chakra flow pattern, it wasn't as complicated as listening to your explanation or watching you draw up the seals. I have to say, you have a lot to improve in that regard; you overexplain things and ramble!"
"I can't deny that," Minato laughed, rubbing the back of his head, "But I know what you mean... In my head, it's much clearer, but when I try to explain, it becomes a bit complicated."
"It sounds insane," I joked, elbowing him. "It's… structured insanity."
"I will take that as a compliment."
"So," I continued, looking at him, "how far did you get?"
"I asked first but... oh well." He answered as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a kunai. It was getting closer to what I remembered as the handle was wrapped in a small paper tag, sealed with an intricate formula, but it wasn't the three-pronged variant yet. As for his seal, it wasn't like what we read in the Scroll of Seals, the one that the Hokage let us examine, but it wasn't that different either. It had incorporated what we learned in Uzushiogakure, too; I could already tell that much.
"You finished it?" I raised an eyebrow while asking, watching how he twirled the kunai between his fingers.
"Almost."
"Almost?"
"I simplified the formula." He began, "I also experimented with the markings too, and I think I created something very... dangerous."
"Fun!" I grinned, hopping down the fence, "Come on, after all this, you have to show me," I said, pulling him off too.
"With how it is, after bringing the two together, I realized what the Second Hokage was trying to do." Minato began explaining while walking a few steps into the clearing before turning back toward me. "He was capable of transporting himself through space, but he wanted more than just streamlining it! And to do that, this is the key," he explained, holding up the marked kunai. "The seal acts as an anchor point in space."
"Right," I nodded, "We talked about it. Skip to the results."
"Observe," He smiled, and then he tossed the kunai.
I watched as it flew through the air and embedded itself in a tree trunk about twenty meters away. Minato closed his eyes for a brief second, and then his fingers formed a single hand seal. The moment his chakra moved, my Sharingan activated instinctively as I watched the flow of his chakra carefully. It condensed around his body, swirling, almost like a Rasengan or a whirlpool, then collapsed inward, and for a split second, Minato vanished and instantly reappeared beside the kunai. There was no sound, no delay, and I could not read him at all. I wasn't surprised, because I was expecting him to do it... But now I understand why Tobirama developed it. My eyes couldn't keep track of it, not even if I knew how it worked. Minato pulled the kunai from the tree and casually tossed it back toward me, and just as I was ready to catch it, he did it again, appearing right before me, his hand already holding the kunai, grinning.
"You..." My mouth slowly curved into a grin. "Bastard…"
"This is not all," He rolled the kunai between his fingers proudly, "This is the dangerous part." He said, nodding towards where the tree was, and flung the kunai, only for it to disappear just as he did a moment before, then reappear, half-embedded in the trunk itself, shattering and splintering its bark.
"Ouch..." I hissed, inhaling cold air, watching it vibrate in the tree while standing next to Minato, "You could kill with this, without your enemy ever realizing what was what and why he has a hole in his chest."
"It has limitations..." Minato scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed and sheepish, "I still need to refine the chakra efficiency… and it needs a mark... but yes... something like that."
I just let him be while I looked at the sealing formula on the kunai's handle, nodding my head. Yes, I understood that because, efficiency-wise, I was also a bit lacking. As for me, I simply didn't have enough chakra to use it constantly, and I don't think Minato had it either. We simply needed to grow more, to accumulate more chakra through training and aging.
"Your turn."
"..." I raised an eyebrow, looking back at him, "You sure?"
"Are you saying you are better at it than me?" He asked, getting excited at once.
"No," I shrugged. "I have difficulty putting down the marks, but..."
Truthfully… I could have used it weeks ago, right after Jiraiya-sensei had given us the opportunity to take a look at the original and study it. My eyes decoded it; the only thing left was to understand it all. And... After I did learn it, I was waiting for Minato to make a move, because this jutsu belonged to him, to the Yellow Flash... I had already pushed things a lot, and if I want to keep the timeline familiar so I can anticipate events, I can't take too much away from him, nor can I go ahead and change everything up. I can only save them from a future I know is going to happen, but if I change it too much, the whole thing may blow up in my face.
"But?" He asked, seeing me fall silent. Getting drawn back to the present, I simply smiled at him and...
Thunk.
"Whoa!" I heard him cry out while I was rubbing my forehead because I managed to reappear next to the treetrunk, where the kunai was, headbutting the bark. Ouch. "You didn't even put down a seal of your own!" He yelled, running over, while I stopped my eyes from spinning, and grabbed onto the kunai, pulling it out.
"I don't need it when I know where this one was," I said as I tossed him the kunai.
"You used mine?" He asked, surprised, looking back and forth between the weapon and me.
"Yeah," I nodded, "I can see it well, and after one look, I can understand your seals and start sensing them. Even if I can't make my own the way I want, I can sense them all. And I can use them."
"Cool! I can't do that!" He grinned, "I was visiting Kushina, trying to teach her the technique, and she can create the seals at will, but I could not even try to use them for my own. But if you can..."
"I am surprised you aren't barred from visiting her..." I murmured, looking at him with a twitching eye.
"W-why would I?" He asked, feeling shocked.
"You are teaching her how to escape her 'prison.' Think, stupid! Think!"
"She is not imprisoned..." He muttered, pursing his lips, making me shrug and shake my head.
"That's up to interpretation."
He was about to say something, but then, we both felt it, and a moment later, finally, Jiraiya-sensei had arrived. There was a blur of white hair and red markings that landed in the clearing, scattering the leaves, showing that he knew he was late and was actually hurrying over to meet us.
"You are still late, Sensei!" I yelled out as we began rushing over to him.
"I know," Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, looking between us and the damaged tree, "Are you resorting to vandalism now to chase away your boredom?" He asked as his eyes drifted to the kunai in Minato's hand. "Or are you writing secret love letters to each other?"
"We are not as creative as you, Sensei," I shot back with a joke of my own, while Minato was looking for his words and thoughts on how to defend himself.
"What did you two idiots do while I wasn't here?"
"Morning exercise," Minato said while we exchanged a glance.
"Yeah?" Jiraiya-sensei snorted, "Since when does morning exercise require seals?"
"Ah… well…" Minato coughed awkwardly, while I pretended I was counting clouds.
"I told you two not to practice it openly." He said as he walked over to the damaged tree and inspected the mark Minato's kunai had left behind. We watched as his fingers brushed the impact, recreating everything we did in his head. "...Damn." He turned slowly, looking at Minato. "You actually did it. The marks here are going from inside to outside, as if something pushed the bark out from within."
"Um... yeah..." Minato nodded, watching as Jiraiya crossed his arms, studying him carefully.
"And you?" He then looked at me, to which I answered with a shrug.
"I can use it."
"Monsters."
"That's a compliment, right?" I asked, pursing my lips.
"Depends on whether you two destroy the village one day or not." He snorted, shaking his head.
"We would never—" Minato began at once, sounding indignant at the idea and accusation.
"I know." Sensei interrupted him by raising a hand. "I'm joking. Mostly."
"We wouldn't!" Minato answered firmly, "Just like you, Sensei, just as the Sannin... We would never do that!"
"I hope..." Jiraiya muttered, apparently... looking sad? Disappointed? Never mind that, I already knew that his hope would be shattered. What happened to him to make him like this... Oh. Ooooh... I totally forgot! I almost slapped myself when I remembered it, of course! Tsunade... I bet she left the village; it should be around now that it happened, finally being unable to handle her depression and just leaving. I can see why he was late, and that he didn't want to bring something like that up.
"Anyway." He clapped his hands, mostly to shake himself out of the feelings he was battling with, "I didn't come here to supervise space-time disasters, so do that when I am not here. I need plausible deniability."
"Sensei..." I began, but then he looked at both of us, turning serious, so I shut up immediately.
"I came to tell you something. You two are entering the Chūnin Exams."
"Yes." We answered at once, because we were the ones who initially asked for it. "And Kushina?" Minato asked after a momentary pause.
"You are the ones entering it." He repeated, "She does not. The elders don't want to risk it."
"Tsk..." I clicked my tongue, and although Minato said nothing, I could tell he was angry about it, too.
"When are they?" Minato asked instead, his tone a bit lower than usual.
"Two weeks, plenty of time to get ready and prepare."
"The exams are here in Konoha?" I asked, "We don't need to travel to another country, yes?"
"That's right." He chuckled, shaking his head, "Especially not in the current climate. None of the big five would want to send their Genins off to the others."
"Then only Konoha will participate..." I murmured, but then I got a surprising answer.
"No, it's not just Konoha Genin."
"Eh?" We both asked at the same time, honestly surprised.
"We've got teams arriving from several smaller shinobi villages." Sensei continued, beginning to count on his fingers. "Kusagakure, meaning the Hidden Grass. Then, Takigakure, The Hidden Waterfall."
I just hope Kakuzu won't come to say hi or something. Not that he would be a Genin, because he is already an old man, one who refuses to die. Naturally, I kept my mouth shut about it...
"Then there is, Amegakure, from the Hidden Rain." Jiraiya continued, stopping a little, and I knew what he was thinking of, but once again, I remained silent. I don't think Konan, Yahiko, or Nagato would show up; they should be too busy establishing Akatsuki... albeit, if my calculations are right, they are still teens, maybe only a few years ahead of us. "And Yugakure," Sensei finished, "from the Hidden Hot Water."
"That's still a lot," Minato nodded slowly, "So it's a regional exam."
"Exactly." Jiraiya's tone turned more serious as he nodded, "But that also means two more things. One is that this event will be Konoha's showcase of power and our influence. The second is..." My eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke it out loud, "Spies."
"You think the larger villages might try something?" I asked, making him shrug.
"Wouldn't surprise the Hokage or me. In fact, we are hosting it like this to catch them if they do. This is why Kushina won't be allowed to participate. I tried, even suggesting letting her be the bait, but... Danzō had stepped in and shot the idea down."
"That alone is suspicious." I chortled, but before I could say more, Sensei raised a hand.
"The Third War hasn't started yet, but everyone can feel it coming. So other major villages might try to infiltrate the exams and light a spark."
"Sooo..." I asked, glancing once at Minato, then looked into Jiraiya's eyes, "What are our orders?"
"Nothing." He said, crossing his hands, "But fly through it."
"Are we to... dazzle the onlookers?" I grinned, watching him nod.
"This is a show of power from our side, so yes." He explained simply, but then warned us, "But my personal suggestion is to hold back a bit. Showcasing the fact that you know Flying Raijin is a bad idea... so use it in secret, or make sure the one you use it against doesn't get to tell about it."
"Ouch..." I inhaled, throwing a look at Minato, "Ruthless..."
"Just make sure to be ready when using it," He said, his tone deadly serious, "If you don't want to deal with the consequences... hold back. Take it as a lesson, because the one who reveals all his cards dies first on the battlefield."