Chapter 20: Recruiting a Disciple
"Thank you, Master Jiraiya!"
Minato's voice trembles with sobs, and Jiraiya can see the joy in his blue eyes.
At this moment, Minato Namikaze looks like a seven-year-old child.
"Yes, no matter how strong his heart is, he is just a child after all."
Jiraiya sighs in his heart. He learned from the Third Hokage that Minato's parents were killed by bandits during a business trip.
Such a young child has to face life alone.
To achieve his level, not only talent, intelligence, and wisdom are required, but also a strong heart.
This kind of strength is often built on primitive fragility, and only those who have experienced it can understand it.
Jiraiya smiles at the weeping Minato and says, "No need to thank me. Eat quickly; barbecue is more fragrant when it is freshly grilled."
He points the chopsticks in his hand at the barbecue on the plate in front of Minato.
Minato quickly restrains his emotions. He can't bear the outburst just now.
He vaguely remembers this feeling, which is the warmth of being cared for by his loved ones.
"Jiraiya, why are you treating me?" Minato follows Jiraiya's words, quickly finishes the grilled meat on the plate in front of him, and asks.
"Really, I've told you that you have too many questions." Jiraiya waves the chopsticks in his hand and explains, "Didn't you tell your teacher that everyone in the village is like a family? In this case, you and I are both part of this family. Do you need a reason to be good to your family?"
Minato's eyes flicker, and he is obviously stunned by Jiraiya's answer.
"Okay, eat quickly. It's so troublesome for me to treat you. I don't know how much trouble you will make me worry about in the future."
Jiraiya puts another piece of freshly grilled meat on Minato's plate and smiles, shaking his head.
"In the future?" Minato catches the details of these words, and his eyes narrow slightly.
"I know you have a lot of questions, so eat quickly. I will explain everything to you later. Now it's time to eat," Jiraiya says, then ignores Minato and eats his meal.
Since Jiraiya has already said that he will explain it to him later, Minato doesn't ask any more questions. Deep in his heart, he really likes this kind of atmosphere.
A smile appears on his delicate and gentle face.
Jiraiya glances at it out of the corner of his eye, and a slight smile appears on his lips.
About an hour later, after dinner, under Jiraiya's guidance, the two come to the seventh training ground in Konoha Village.
The seventh training ground is specially constructed for the ninjas in the village and is only open to ninjas, so freshmen of the ninja school like Minato are usually not qualified to enter.
However, with Jiraiya's guidance, it is not a problem for Minato to obtain permission to enter.
Under the night sky, a breeze blows with a slight chill. For ninjas, cold resistance is also a necessary skill, because the environment when performing tasks is not optional.
The two stand in the field, Jiraiya folds his arms and leans on a wooden stake, while Minato stands not far in front of him.
"Now, I can tell you why I followed you and what I said at the dinner table just now."
Jiraiya looks down at Minato, his face straightens, and he says, "Because I want to take you as my disciple. So, you should know why I do this."
Hearing this, Minato's expression instantly becomes extremely shocked, and he mutters to himself in disbelief, "Take me as your disciple!!"
"Why, you don't want to?" Jiraiya adds.
"No… it's not that."
Minato hurriedly denies it. Putting aside Jiraiya's identity as a disciple of the Third Hokage, he himself is definitely the top enforcer in this village. Being able to become his disciple is what many ninjas dream of. As the saying goes, a good teacher produces a good disciple. Becoming Jiraiya's disciple has the most direct guarantee of becoming strong. But Minato knows that a person like Jiraiya would never easily take anyone as his disciple, let alone propose it like now.
He even followed Minato for this purpose, probably to observe him in advance.
But there must be some reason.
"Hehe, you probably don't understand why I suddenly asked you to be my apprentice. In fact, it was the Third Hokage who asked me to let you be my disciple."
Jiraiya laughs. He believes that if Minato Namikaze has the mind, he can probably guess some clues.
Minato suddenly remembers that not long ago, on the first day of Kushina's school, he had followed several Anbu who were directly under the Hokage.
And everything that happened when the Anbu were carrying out the mission would be reported to the Hokage. Minato should not know so much about the information about the Anbu, but he himself doesn't know why. He always feels that this kind of thing is familiar.
It is as if he has been the Hokage.
Minato doesn't realize these things yet.
"From the time you defeated Akasaka Yu, to what you said to Shirota-sensei later, and you escaped the Anbu directly under the Third Hokage, all of this was enough to make him interested in you. He even felt that you had inherited the Will of Fire of the First Hokage, so he wanted to train you to become a talent and asked me to be the one who trained you."
Minato never thought that something he didn't consider a big deal would actually attract the attention of the Third Hokage.
"So, Master Jiraiya would care about me so much just because of the Third Hokage's order?"
Minato's expression flashes a little sadness, but he doesn't find it difficult to accept.
In fact, he should be glad that he has such an opportunity. After all, to realize his dream, he has to do it alone.
Jiraiya hears this and says, "That was indeed the case at the beginning. After all, I was a little reluctant to take a kid I had never heard of as my disciple. It was not until I observed you for a while that I found that both your talent and your behavior are quite in line with my style."
Minato doesn't know what Jiraiya is referring to specifically. He thinks that they are all trivial matters.
However, for an excellent ninja, talent is certainly important. But if a person has a bad heart, no matter how powerful he is, he is just a disaster.
Minato knows how to take the feelings of those around him into consideration at a young age, and this is more precious than anything else.
Jiraiya looks at the short and thin figure in front of him and asks slowly, "So, are you willing to take me as your teacher?"
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