Kakashi was discharged from the hospital after just two days.
As time passed, by mid-March, Konoha Ninja Academy entered its graduation season.
Sarutobi Asuma, Yūhi Kurenai, Uchiha Obito, Nohara Rin, and others all graduated early.
Having spent over a year in the tranquil environment of Konoha Hospital, Shūichi keenly sensed something unusual.
The ninja world seemed to be getting busier.
The day after Asuma and the others graduated, Shūichi brought a scroll to Minato Namikaze's house, only to find Kushina Uzumaki there alone.
Kushina welcomed Shūichi inside with a smile. "Minato's taking care of his new Genin team, but he should be back soon."
Shūichi pondered this.
Even though he had altered some things, the relentless wheel of fate still rolled on.
But some things were, indeed, different.
...
"Let's start by studying some sealing techniques!"
"I found a very interesting one," Kushina said, pulling out a scroll that seemed to have been left untouched for quite some time, interrupting Shūichi's thoughts.
As Shūichi carefully examined the scroll after it was opened, his eyes immediately narrowed.
This technique... Shiki Fūjin!
"Kushina-san, this technique... it's quite dangerous!" Shūichi remarked.
Kushina nodded, smiling. "Yes, it's indeed dangerous, just like the Four Symbols Seal."
"But it's also fascinating. It allows for the sealing of souls."
"I remember that Konoha has a secret technique that allows for the separation of the spirit from the body. Such jutsu are extremely rare in the ninja world and worth studying."
What she didn't mention was that her interest in this sealing technique stemmed from a desire to see if it could be used against the troublesome fox inside her.
Shūichi nodded in agreement with Kushina's words.
Indeed, while this was a self-sacrificial sealing technique, it held significant research value.
So, the two of them began studying the eerie Shiki Fūjin together.
Shūichi prepared lunch, and it wasn't until after 3 PM that Minato finally returned home, carrying a group photo.
When Shūichi took a look, sure enough, it was a picture of Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, and Nohara Rin.
Placing the photo frame next to the one of him, Minato, Shisui, and Sanyō, Shūichi asked, "Minato-sensei, it seems like the situation in the ninja world is becoming more unusual lately."
Minato nodded. "The major ninja villages have been more active. The village's manpower is starting to run thin."
Kushina was taken aback. "It's already reached that point?"
Minato explained, "It's not just the movements of the other villages. The increased number of missions is also a factor."
Shūichi understood. This likely had to do with the economic development, political exchanges, and even conflicts between the major countries.
Additionally, after the Second Great Ninja War, the world was likely at its peak recovery period.
While the ninja wars were mostly battles between shinobi, they still caused significant damage to the livelihoods of civilians.
Just look at the Land of Rain. It was devastated during the Second Great Ninja War and still hasn't fully recovered.
There are countless ninja organizations.
It's reminiscent of the armed groups from his previous life—how do those who don't produce anything sustain themselves?
And let's not assume the moral standards of ninjas are that high—not everyone is like Naruto.
Pillaging and looting are common occurrences.
Even Shūichi couldn't guarantee that Konoha's ninjas wouldn't rob civilians during wartime.
Such a situation inevitably disrupts societal production and stability.
The Land of Fire was fortunate not to have been invaded by outsiders, so it avoided significant destruction.
Leaving aside the Second Great Ninja War, even the recent conflicts between Konoha and Sunagakure in the Land of Rivers had their impact.
When both sides engaged in battle, the affected towns would surely be in a state of panic, with rising prices and declining commercial activity.
This doesn't even account for the direct impact on civilians and the destruction of towns by the fighting.
...
After a brief explanation, Minato Namikaze turned to Shūichi and said, "Shūichi, your days at Konoha Hospital might be coming to an end."
Shūichi nodded. "I understand."
He had already anticipated this.
Given the strength he had demonstrated and his talent in ninjutsu, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi possibly let him remain as a simple medical ninja hidden away in Konoha Hospital? If he were the Third Hokage, he'd also push him to the limit.
Minato then revealed, "The Third Hokage mentioned that you might be assigned to undergo special training in the Root division before eventually joining the Hokage's Anbu."
At the mention of Root, Kushina Uzumaki immediately frowned. "The guys in Root, especially Danzo, are quite troublesome."
"Besides, I heard from Lady Tsunade that you had a conflict with Danzo before."
Minato quickly reassured her with a smile, "It's been common practice for Anbu members to receive training in Root for a long time, so there's no need to worry."
"And since it's personally arranged by the Third Hokage, there won't be any issues."
He then looked at Shūichi. "Of course, Shūichi, you'll still need to stay vigilant when you're there."
Shūichi smiled confidently. "Minato-sensei, Kushina-san, don't worry. I can handle it."
If he dared to lodge a complaint before, now he wouldn't hesitate to fight back directly!
After discussing this matter, Shūichi quickly brought out the scrolls he had with him.
First was the sensory ninjutsu scroll Minato had given him earlier, which he returned.
The second was a scroll that Shūichi had copied himself, containing his modifications to the technique and the hand seals, as well as his insights from his training process.
When Minato saw the scroll, he smiled. "It seems you've completed the training for this technique, and in just a year—impressive!"
But as soon as he opened the scroll containing Shūichi's training insights, his expression became serious.
Kushina, curious, came over to take a look and exclaimed, "Shūichi, you've modified the technique and Minato's hand seals?"
Shūichi humbly replied, "Just some minor adjustments."
But Minato sincerely praised him, "This isn't just a minor adjustment—it's an improvement."
"Shūichi, your understanding of this technique has surpassed mine and even that of the Second Hokage."
Kushina gave him a thumbs up. "Impressive!"
Shūichi smiled, "I only achieved this by standing on the shoulders of the Second Hokage and you, Minato-sensei."
Looking at the name of the technique on the scroll, Minato smiled. "The Earthen Listening Technique—the name is unique and fitting."
He thought for a moment and then asked, "Shūichi, do you plan to submit this to the village?"
Shūichi nodded. "Minato-sensei, I've been studying time-space ninjutsu recently, so I'd like to exchange this with the village for some time-space ninjutsu."
Kushina smiled upon hearing this. "Seems like you're aiming to learn the Flying Thunder God technique in the future."
Shūichi didn't hold back. "The Flying Thunder God is extremely difficult, so I want to prepare by learning the fundamentals now."
Minato readily agreed, "That's no problem. The Third Hokage won't refuse."
"As for time-space ninjutsu, I recall that the Second Hokage developed a technique called Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, which also involves time-space elements and offers further applications in summoning."
Shūichi immediately decided, "Minato-sensei, I'll go with that one!"
The difficulty of acquiring the "Time-Space Envoy" tag was higher than expected because the Reverse Summoning Technique wasn't recognized, as it was deemed too similar to the standard Summoning Technique.
Instead, the Summoning Seal, which combined the Summoning Technique with spatial sealing, was acknowledged by the tag system.
...
After deciding on the jutsu to exchange, Shūichi handed Minato Namikaze one last scroll with a smile and said, "Minato-sensei, this one is a gift for you."
"For me?" Minato took the scroll, curious.
Kushina Uzumaki asked, "Is it a jutsu?"
Minato had a sudden thought and said in surprise, "Shūichi, could this be an advanced form of the Rasengan?"
Shūichi grinned, keeping up the suspense. "You'll know once you open it, Sensei."
Minato and Kushina opened the scroll together, and the first thing they saw was the name of the jutsu.
"As expected…" Minato marveled, "You never cease to amaze me, Shūichi!"
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken…"
Kushina remarked, "It's shaped like a shuriken? Can this jutsu be thrown like one?"
Shūichi gave her a thumbs-up: "Worthy of being the woman who can become Hokage in the future!"
Kushina beamed with pride, not even realizing that Shūichi had said 'woman' instead of 'kunoichi.'
Minato had fully unrolled the scroll and was reading it, awe-struck. "This is a brilliant concept!"
"You've taken the Wind Release nature transformation and the shape transformation to their limits—this is a true S-rank Wind Release jutsu!"
Kushina commented, "Shūichi, this is the second S-rank jutsu you've developed, isn't it?"
Shūichi held up three fingers. "To be precise, it's the third."
"Incredible!" Kushina turned to Minato. "Minato, has anyone in Konoha's history ever achieved what Shūichi has at his age?"
"Shūichi just turned nine!"
Minato replied seriously, "Indeed, no one has."
"Even the Second Hokage, who developed numerous jutsu and forbidden techniques, hadn't achieved this much at Shūichi's age."
"Shūichi, after the Third Hokage, you might also be called the Ninjutsu Professor!"
Shūichi shook his head modestly. "The Third Hokage mastered all five elemental jutsu. I've only mastered Fire Release and Wind Release so far."
Just as he said this, he felt a reaction from the tag system within his mind.
Kushina, not noticing, encouraged him, "That's already an amazing achievement. You've got decades ahead of you—you'll definitely surpass the Third Hokage!"
She then put her hands on her hips, laughing boldly. "I'll be the future Fourth Hokage, and Shūichi, you'll be the Fifth!"
Shūichi nodded repeatedly, thinking it was a pretty good idea.
…
On his way back from Minato's home, Shūichi immediately checked the newly appeared tag on his system's tree.
"As I thought," Shūichi smiled to himself.
Tag: Ninjutsu Professor
Condition to Obtain: Collect all five elemental mastery tags (Wind Release, Fire Release, Lightning Release, Earth Release, Water Release).
Effect: Increases ninjutsu talent by 100%, chakra nature transformation talent by 100%, chakra shape transformation talent by 100%, and physical constitution by 100%. What ninjutsu, other than Kekkei Genkai, could possibly challenge you? None!
Hiruzen Sarutobi was known as the The Ninjutsu Professor, and rightly so. Besides the five elemental jutsu, he was also proficient in genjutsu and sealing techniques.
He had developed many jutsu, such as the Telescope Technique, which could be considered a sensory jutsu, and the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, which was incredibly efficient with ninja tools.
However, the system's Ninjutsu Professor Tag was even more astonishing.
With this Tag, even the most challenging space-time ninjutsu would no longer be a problem.
But the difficulty of obtaining this Tag was no small feat. Currently, Shūichi had only unlocked Wind Release Master and Fire Release Master.
"There's no room for complacency!" Shūichi sighed inwardly but felt more determined than ever.
Surviving the Third Great Ninja War and taking down Danzo—these were goals that required substantial strength!
And these were just his short-term goals.
With these thoughts, Shūichi quickened his pace.
…
The next day, Shūichi received the scroll for the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags technique from Minato.
As for the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, Minato didn't ask whether it should be submitted to the village, as this jutsu was entirely original, unlike the Earthen Listening Technique.
Of course, Shūichi could use the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken to exchange for jutsu from the village, but there was no need for that just yet.
Moreover, some things had to be kept as a trump card.
The S-rank difficulty was high, but the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken Shūichi had developed was not the incomplete version that Naruto created but a complete version with a clear path for gradual mastery.
Shūichi didn't believe that, besides himself and Minato, no one else in Konoha could master this technique.
It's understandable if the Third Hokage couldn't, but if Danzo, that old fox proficient in Wind Release, mastered this jutsu, wouldn't it be laughable to fight him later?
(End of Chapter)
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