Chapter 27: Nawaki Senju

"Senpai?" Minato muttered to himself.

"Yes, he's someone who has the same thoughts and dreams as you, and is currently a student at the Ninja Academy, just like you," Jiraiya said, looking at Minato. He had learned everything about Minato from the Third Hokage.

Minato was momentarily taken aback, but then a smile gradually appeared on his young face, along with a hint of anticipation.

"However, unlike you, the reason he has these thoughts is because this Konoha Ninja Village was founded by his grandfather, so what he admires is not so much the Hokage position, but rather his grandfather," Jiraiya explained. This person, however, had not inherited his predecessor's will at all.

The only thing he had inherited was his grandfather's bad habits.

"You're referring to Nawaki-senpai, aren't you?" Minato deduced from the information provided by his teacher, as Nawaki was quite famous in the Ninja Academy.

Just being the grandson of the First Hokage was already astonishing enough, not to mention that his grades had always been the highest in his class. It was said that he was about to graduate from the Ninja Academy and become a true shinobi.

"This kid is quite famous, huh?" Jiraiya remarked.

Minato was not surprised at all that his teacher knew Nawaki-senpai, because Nawaki's sister, like Jiraiya, was a student of the Third Hokage.

Although a woman, she possessed extremely powerful abilities and was now a renowned strong shinobi in the village.

She was known as the Princess of the Senju clan, Tsunade!

The Senju clan was once led by the First Hokage and was the most powerful clan in Konoha when it was founded, surpassing even the Uchiha and Hyuga clans.

However, for some reason, the Senju clan gradually faded from the public eye, and according to Minato's knowledge, it seemed that many members of the Senju clan had moved to other parts of the Land of Fire about a decade ago.

The reason for this was not made public.

Therefore, there were not many Senju clan members left in Konoha, but this did not prevent the villagers from revering the members of this clan. This reverence was completely different from the feeling of awe towards the Uchiha clan.

All of this stemmed from the Ninja God who founded Konoha in turbulent times.

The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju!

"Nawaki is about to graduate from the Ninja Academy, and with the First Hokage as his goal, he strives to be the best in everything. That's why, after we parted ways yesterday, I was specifically asked to help him with special training," Jiraiya said, but to Minato, it sounded like his teacher didn't have much confidence in his words.

Although Minato didn't know the reason for his teacher's behavior, he had nothing to do in the afternoon due to his teacher's rules and couldn't force himself to train, so he wanted to meet this senpai.

After lunch, Jiraiya took Minato to a large courtyard.

This was the home of Nawaki and Tsunade, once belonging to the prestigious Senju clan, which was on par with the Uchiha clan in terms of wealth.

Although Minato lived alone in the courtyard left by his parents, there was no comparison between the two places.

When they arrived at the backyard of Nawaki's house, a boy around ten years old with brownish-yellow hair was practicing taijutsu. His movements were extremely agile and clean, and in Minato's opinion, even stronger than Uchiha Homura.

The young boy naturally noticed the approaching duo and stopped his movements, turning around.

Nawaki's appearance was not particularly handsome, but he gave off a very spirited and lively impression.

Upon closer inspection, he bore a slight resemblance to the First Hokage's rock-like features.

"It's Brother Jiraiya," Nawaki said, not particularly surprised to see Jiraiya, but rather directing his gaze towards Minato standing beside him.

"You're...Minato Namikaze?" Nawaki's words carried a hint of uncertainty, as he had never actually seen Minato before.

Minato was slightly taken aback, as the two had never met, so how did the other recognize him?

However, after his encounter with Uchiha Homura, Minato's name had spread throughout the Ninja Academy, and even higher-ranking students like Nawaki had heard of him.

Minato's rare hair color and outstanding appearance, combined with his age, were the reasons why Nawaki could identify him.

"Hello, Nawaki-senpai," Minato said politely.

Upon hearing this, Nawaki also smiled and said, "Hello."

Then, he looked at Jiraiya and said, "My sister isn't home today, so you've wasted a trip, Brother Jiraiya."

Jiraiya's expression changed, but because Minato was present, he laughed and said, "I didn't come to see Tsunade. I heard you're about to graduate, so I came to see if I could help you in any way."

However, Nawaki said, "Thank you, but I'll ask Brother Orochimaru for help instead."

Jiraiya's face immediately twitched, and Minato finally understood why his teacher had been so confident earlier.

It seemed that Nawaki-senpai had not requested his teacher's help with special training at all, and the Brother Orochimaru mentioned by Nawaki was also a student of the Third Hokage.

Reportedly, he was an even more talented genius than Jiraiya and Tsunade, and was considered by the Third as the best candidate to become the Fourth Hokage.

However, since Nawaki-senpai did not seek out his teacher, why did Jiraiya insist on coming?

"But why were you and Minato Namikaze together?" Nawaki did not dwell on this topic further, but rather expressed surprise that Minato and Jiraiya knew each other.

As far as he knew, Minato Namikaze was from an ordinary background, while Jiraiya was a jonin of Konoha, just like his sister. There was no apparent reason for them to be acquainted.

"Could it be..." Nawaki suddenly had a guess about the relationship between the two.

However, it was said that this Minato Namikaze was very powerful, unlike a newcomer. Even the higher-ranking students who had witnessed his fight with Uchiha Homura felt ashamed of their own abilities.

Jiraiya seemed to sense Nawaki's thoughts and said with some pride, "Indeed, Minato is my disciple."

"I see," Nawaki said, slightly surprised. Then, looking at Minato, he smiled and said, "Come to think of it, I was also taught by Brother Orochimaru and my sister. I wonder who is stronger, your master Jiraiya's disciple or mine?"

Minato was momentarily taken aback, and then Nawaki quickly approached him and said, "Minato Namikaze, let's have a sparring match. Let me see the strength of the top Rookie."

(I don't really want Nawaki, who shares the same dream to become the Hokage, to die.)

(End of chapter)