Chapter 29: Summoning Technique

Minato's expression wavered for a moment before a gentle smile spread across his face. He extended his arm and bumped fists with Nawaki.

"Big brother Nawaki, please continue to guide me," Minato said with a smile.

"For Jiraiya-brother to have a student like you, I wonder if you're the lucky one or if he is?" Nawaki looked Minato over.

At his age, to already possess such skill was undoubtedly the mark of a true genius. Even a prodigy from the prestigious Uchiha clan had fallen to Minato.

As for Jiraiya back in the day...

"Ahem." Jiraiya cleared his throat, catching the undertones only he and Nawaki understood.

Faster than either could react, he appeared next to Nawaki, crouched down, put an arm around his shoulders, and pulled him away from Minato.

"Kid, at least let me save some face in front of my student!" Jiraiya said threateningly.

While others may not know Jiraiya's embarrassing past, Nawaki's sister Tsunade was well aware. So Nawaki also knew quite a bit about Jiraiya's history.

Moreover, due to the First Hokage's connections, Nawaki had a good relationship with the Third Hokage, who looked after him and Tsunade.

Unfazed by Jiraiya's threat, Nawaki smirked. "Heh, I know you've always liked my sister. So you can't avoid me on this."

"I was just joking around," Jiraiya's expression instantly changed to something almost obsequious.

"What do you want?" He could tell Nawaki had intentionally baited him.

"Simple, teach me a B-rank ninja technique," Nawaki stated.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. B-rank techniques were beyond a genin's scope, not just due to difficulty but also the required chakra reserves.

However, as a member of the Senju clan, Nawaki possessed greater reserves than the average shinobi.

"Why not ask Orochimaru and Tsunade? Haven't they been guiding your training all this time?" Jiraiya questioned.

Nawaki frowned. "I did ask Orochimaru-brother, but he refused me. I later learned it was because Sis had specifically instructed him not to. She said I was too hasty and not ready for such an advanced technique."

"Tsunade is right. You haven't even graduated from the Academy yet. Why learn such a difficult technique? Wait until after you graduate and complete missions for a while. Once Tsunade acknowledges your abilities, she'll naturally teach you," Jiraiya reasoned.

"Time won't wait for me. My dream is to become Hokage. Who has time for those trivial missions? After graduating, I plan to request high-rank missions directly from the Third Hokage himself," Nawaki said disdainfully.

He felt following Tsunade and Jiraiya's methodical approach would hinder his growth as a future Hokage.

Even after graduating, he'd only receive the lowest-rank missions initially, something he couldn't tolerate.

"But if I teach you without Tsunade's approval, she'll kill me," Jiraiya grimaced, imagining the unthinkable consequences if Tsunade discovered he had defied her wishes.

"And if you don't teach me, forget about me ever accepting you with my sister!" Nawaki threatened in return.

He turned his head only to find Jiraiya had already pulled Minato away, leaping over the backyard wall.

"We'll talk another time!" Jiraiya called out as he made his exit.

Nawaki fumed, knowing he couldn't catch up to Jiraiya's speed.

"Master, is it okay for us to leave without saying anything?" Minato asked, exasperated by their second abrupt "escape" in the day he'd become Jiraiya's student, though less ridiculous than the first.

"Staying would have caused bigger problems," Jiraiya explained, not wanting to get entangled with Nawaki any further.

Teaching him was unacceptable, but so was refusing.

Minato hadn't overheard Jiraiya and Nawaki's conversation and didn't know what the kind Nawaki had said to rattle his teacher so much. It probably involved Nawaki's sister, as Nawaki alone shouldn't pose a threat to Jiraiya.

"Alright, no need to guess," Jiraiya cut off Minato's pondering, knowing the perceptive kid might deduce too much, undermining his authority as a teacher.

However, recalling Nawaki's request and looking at Minato, an idea formed in Jiraiya's mind.

"Minato, would you like to learn ninjutsu?" he asked.

After a moment's hesitation, Minato nodded.

"I figured as much. Since I said I'd let you develop your natural strengths first, you haven't asked me about it, right?"

Part of what made ninja "ninja" was their mastery of ninjutsu, so learning powerful techniques was every shinobi's dream, Minato included.

"The reason I haven't taught you ninjutsu is twofold," Jiraiya explained. "Firstly, your chakra reserves, and secondly, the danger if you don't understand when to properly use techniques, like what happened with Uchiha Homura previously."

For Minato's age, his chakra levels were considerable but still limited the combat advantage ninjutsu could provide. Misused, it could lead to situations like Homura nearly injuring his own classmates.

Minato understood - his immaturity was the reason, and Jiraiya had his best interests in mind.

"However, you're different from Homura. Even against someone you dislike, you know restraint. As my student, it would be negligent of me as a teacher to only know the Body Flicker Technique."

Jiraiya stated as Minato's eyes lit up with anticipation.

"Master Jiraiya, are you going to teach me ninjutsu?" Minato asked excitedly.

"Yeah, and the technique I'll teach you is one where even if you lose restraint, you absolutely cannot harm others by mistake," Jiraiya grinned confidently.

Minato wondered if ninjutsu could truly distinguish friend from foe.

Noticing his curiosity, Jiraiya smiled before revealing, "The technique I'll teach you is called the Summoning Technique."

(End of chapter)