"Let's call it... Light Escape? Hmm... or Flash Escape?"
Minato pondered for a moment, feeling that neither quite captured the essence.
Suddenly, he remembered the origin of this ability, and his eyes lit up. "How about: Dimensional Flash Landing—Hope of Konoha—"
"Enough, Minato! Just call it Light Escape."
Tsunade raised her hand to cut him off, rubbing her temples with a headache-inducing exasperation.
This guy... he has such a bizarre talent for naming things!
Guess nobody's perfect, huh?
Minato chuckled awkwardly. His memories from his past life still influenced him deeply, but he'd lived this life for a reason too.
To be honest, he even felt his naming skills had improved significantly, thanks to the cultural influence of his previous life.
"What really matters isn't the name, but the ability itself, right?"
Tsunade was utterly exasperated by Minato's clueless reaction. "Do you even understand this Bloodline Limit?"
Minato nodded. "I have a basic understanding. It's a very powerful ability, but I've never had a suitable opportunity to develop it."
"And what exactly is the ability?" Tsunade pressed.
"Just as the name suggests: light," Minato replied carefully. "The specifics still need to be explored."
He didn't understand optics, but fortunately, Devil Fruits were notoriously subjective.
For example, sunlight and lasers operate on completely different principles, yet Kizaru managed to develop his ability based on sunlight.
According to this theory, even phenomena like the aurora and X-rays could potentially be harnessed, as they fundamentally belong to the concept of light. This is different from abstract concepts like "the Milky Way is a river," and even more so from the Devil Fruit, which inherently allows for conceptual extensions.
The Glint-Glint Fruit was his primary combat method in the early stages, a power he was destined to manifest.
But exactly how it manifested was entirely up to him. He would never reveal life-saving trump cards like elemental transformation to anyone.
During the six months since his memory awakened, he had been holed up at home, cultivating relentlessly.
In the original story, Naruto only mastered tree-climbing and water-walking after graduating from the Seventh Class. Minato, however, mastered both in just ten minutes.
His first action after learning water-walking was to begin cultivating the Rasengan.
This was the only ninjutsu in the original story that provided detailed cultivation steps, and it was also the technique he himself had created.
The cultivation of the Rasengan was divided into three stages.
The first stage involved making chakra swirl chaotically within a water balloon until it bursts.
The second stage involved enhancing the power of the chakra's rotation until it bursts a rubber balloon.
The third stage, building on the second, involved maintaining stability, with the standard being that the balloon must not be damaged.
In the original story, Naruto used Shadow Clones as a shortcut, but this sacrificed the technique's mobility. However, thanks to Naruto's approach, Minato also found a clever way to cultivate it.
Using Shadow Clones to help him practice forming the Rasengan, Minato would always dispel them at the last moment. By repeatedly training his hand to adapt to the chaotic rotation of chakra, he managed to master the one-handed Rasengan in just three months.
During this time, Minato also confirmed that chakra attacks were ineffective against opponents who had transformed their bodies into elemental forms.
Physical attacks were useless, chakra attacks were useless, and the Sharingan could counter illusions. The only things he needed to worry about were seals and the immortal techniques and chakra inherited from the three sacred lands.
"Two Bloodline Limits... and one of them is even Wood Release. Just thinking about it gives me a headache," Tsunade sighed wistfully.
Based on her understanding of Konoha's higher-ups, once they learned Minato possessed Wood Release, their first instinct would be to secure this power for themselves.
If he were like Nawaki, a hot-headed fool with a single-minded obsession to become Hokage, it might be manageable. But Minato clearly wasn't the type to be manipulated.
From their brief interaction, it was clear this young man possessed an independent and mature mindset, along with the shrewdness to see through the core of any issue. He was practically immune to brainwashing.
The "Will of Fire" rhetoric favored by the Third Hokage would have no effect on Minato. After all, he dared to question even the Hokage himself, unlike ordinary people who naturally filter reality through the lens of authority.
As for forced brainwashing...
This method isn't as terrifying as people imagine, nor is it as powerful.
Forced brainwashing typically only works on individuals with weak self-awareness and limited understanding of the world. The primary targets are usually children or those with low levels of education.
Moreover, the subject of brainwashing must remain under constant control. If they are allowed to find their own identity and develop doubts or rebelliousness against the brainwashing rhetoric, the process will completely fail.
For those with clear understanding, unless there's some illusionary technique capable of forcibly altering their perception, brainwashing will backfire.
"Never mind, come with me. Since this involves Wood Release, Grandma will probably want to see you."
Tsunade stood up and beckoned with her finger. Minato paused, glanced at the dishes on the table, and left a Shadow Clone at home to wash them.
"You really rely on Shadow Clones a lot, don't you? Be careful you don't overwork them."
Tsunade's lips curved into a smile, her appreciation for Minato growing.
If it were me, she thought, I might let the dishes pile up until they stank. But fortunately, I have a brother to boss around.
Minato smiled warmly, packed up the trash, and followed Tsunade out the door.
As they approached the Shadow Rock, a red building came into view. Its familiar architecture immediately identified it as the Hokage Building of Konoha.
Minato's eyes widened. "You live here?"
Tsunade shook her head. "My grandmother lives here."
She pointed to a building beside the Hokage Building, resembling a copper wok with a massive spherical object at its peak. (According to Minato's Legacy, this was Mito's residence, containing the seals that enhance the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques.)
The moment they entered the building, two masked Anbu ninja materialized before them.
"Lady Tsunade," they greeted respectfully.
Their eyes shifted to Minato. "And this is..."
"None of your concern. Don't get on my nerves!" Tsunade waved dismissively, her tone impatient.
The Anbu said nothing further and quietly withdrew. Minato suspected his file would soon find its way onto the Third Hokage's desk.
They reached a room. Before Tsunade could knock, an elderly voice called from inside:
"It's you, Tsunade. Come in."
Tsunade's lips curved into a smile as she pushed the door open.
"Grandmother!"
On the bed, an elderly woman dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono sat up, gazing affectionately at Tsunade.
Her gaze then fell on Minato, and she couldn't help but smile. "This child is...?"
"Hello, Grandma. I'm Namikaze Minato," Minato said politely.
"This brat's a new student this year, a prodigy. He came to me for help with something."
Tsunade gently tapped the back of Minato's head. "This is my grandmother, the wife of the First Hokage. You should call her Lady Mito."
"Or just Grandma is fine," Mito replied with a warm smile.
Mito scrutinized Minato carefully, a nostalgic look in her eyes. "This warm, familiar chakra... it's truly uplifting. Little Tsunade, you must teach him well and pass on this power..."
While ordinary sensory ninja might not detect Minato's Wood Release, Mito, as Hashirama's wife, recognized the similarity between his chakra and her husband's at first glance.
Combined with her usually scatterbrained granddaughter suddenly arriving with an unknown child, it wasn't difficult to deduce that Minato possessed the Wood Release.
Chakra never lies. This child's chakra is warm and kind—he's a good kid.
"But... I don't really have anything to teach him. This brat has another special Bloodline Limit..."
Tsunade sounded uncertain. She had only become a Jonin a few years ago.
Teaching ordinary students was one thing, but facing someone like Minato—a dual-Bloodline Limit genius who could hold his own against the Hokage's son in his first battle—left her feeling unprepared.
In her opinion, Minato's talent far surpassed her own, and there wasn't much she could actually teach him.
"A true powerhouse requires many qualities, and ninjutsu is only one of them," Mito said with a smile, shaking her head. "The real question is whether you're willing to mentor him."
"Mentoring? It's just babysitting, isn't it?" Tsunade scoffed, her lips curling in disdain. But after glancing at Minato's adorable face, she huffed softly. "Kid, do you want to become my disciple?"
"Then I'll be counting on you, Teacher Tsunade," Minato replied with a beaming nod.
"Don't get too excited yet."
Tsunade secretly savored being called "Teacher," though her expression remained stubbornly aloof. "I'm very strict! First and foremost, you must respect your elders! For example, you'll need to prepare delicious meals for me every day! Of course, you don't need to worry about the cost..."
"Okay, I'll do my best," Minato said, nodding vigorously. Cooking for himself anyway, an extra mouth to feed was no trouble at all.
Mito watched the two, her gaze softening. "I'll talk to Monkey about it. Don't worry. This old woman is still in good health and should last a few more years."
"Grandma—"
Tsunade's expression darkened. "You're worrying us again with talk like that."
Mito smiled but said nothing.
As a distinguished member of the Uzumaki Clan and wielder of the Yin Seal, which allowed her to store Chakra, she could instantly regain her youthful appearance and maintain peak physical condition if she wished, rather than appearing so frail and aged.
But ever since her husband, Senju Hashirama, passed away, she had never regained her youthful form. The person who had made dressing up worthwhile was gone.
Now, she had only two missions:
First, to ensure Tsunade and Nawaki grew up safely.
Second, to train the next generation of Nine-Tailed Jinchūriki and safely pass on the power her husband entrusted to the village.
Speaking of which, Tsunade would soon turn twenty, and Nawaki would soon graduate from school. It was time to start planning the training of the next Jinchūriki...
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