Chapter 36: Self-Study of Ninjutsu

After Jiraiya's departure, Minato stood there for a long while. Gradually regaining his focus, he turned his attention back to the ninjutsu scroll before him.

What he had told Jiraiya earlier wasn't a joke; it was how he truly felt. For this reason, he needed to acquire the power to protect, as his teacher had advised.

The recent battle with Jiraiya's shadow clone had drained a significant amount of Minato's chakra, making it unsuitable for him to practice ninjutsu immediately. Therefore, he first focused on familiarizing himself with the hand seals of the techniques.

When selecting the ninjutsu types, Minato considered his own chakra nature and strengths. He possessed Fire, Wind, and Lightning chakra natures. For someone like him, who excelled in speed, Lightning Release techniques were undoubtedly the best choice at the moment.

Among the five basic natures, Lightning Release ninjutsu emphasized speed the most, and the ninja from the Land of Lightning were renowned for their unparalleled swiftness in the current Five Great Shinobi Countries.

It was said that the Third Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village possessed the title of the fastest shinobi in the present ninja world. According to rumors, he had mastered a "Ninpo Taijutsu," a technique that combined ninjutsu and taijutsu, allowing him to stimulate and activate his cells using Lightning Release chakra, greatly enhancing his strength, speed, and reflexes.

This was information Minato had learned during his year of training under Jiraiya's tutelage.

Undoubtedly, speed was Minato's greatest asset, and he possessed exceptional reflexes. If he could understand how the Raikage utilized Lightning Release chakra to augment himself, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous boost for him.

However, that had always been a secret technique of the Yotsuki clan from the Hidden Cloud Village, and outsiders were unlikely to be privy to it.

Although he had never witnessed it, Minato had no intention of learning or imitating the Raikage's method, as he estimated that using Lightning Release chakra to stimulate one's body required immense physical fortitude, which was an innate trait not suited for him.

Lightning Release was the most ferocious of the five chakra natures, and that method directly impacted one's own body.

Furthermore, the act of stimulating cellular activity had its limits, essentially tapping into the body's potential.

Rather than exploiting his potential, Minato preferred to continuously improve himself.

However, all of this could only be put into practice after he had attained a certain level of proficiency in ninjutsu. For now, he was merely setting his intentions and defining a direction for himself.

As he began learning ninjutsu, Minato first selected a mere D-rank Lightning Release technique.

Lightning Release: Paralytic Shock!

This was one of the few D-rank techniques recorded in the scroll. Its purpose was simply to release one's chakra and temporarily paralyze the opponent's body.

This technique required the user to be in extremely close proximity to the target.

Generally, no ninja would practice such a high-risk technique, as in close-quarter combat, the enemy would not allow the user to perform hand seals.

Although this technique only required three hand seals, its chakra consumption was relatively low. Even with Minato's current chakra reserves, he could perform it five or six times without issue.

Minato swiftly performed the three hand seals as recorded in the scroll, and a "sizzling" sound emerged from his palm.

In Minato's palm, his chakra had formed a dozen azure electric arcs.

He now understood why few people would master such a technique. Not only was its power negligible, but it also made a noticeable noise.

It was practically useless in combat.

Of course, there were exceptions. For instance, if the user possessed extreme speed, fast enough to catch the opponent off guard, then the paralysis effect could be achieved, leading to victory.

However, rather than relying on this technique, it would be more practical to directly attack the enemy with kunai and inflict actual damage.

Nevertheless, Minato had no expectations for this technique's usefulness from the beginning. He simply wanted to gain an understanding of Lightning Release ninjutsu while his chakra was insufficient for practicing other techniques.

Minato spent nearly an hour at the Seventh Training Ground, practicing the Paralytic Shock technique several times before putting away the ninjutsu scroll. The seals imbued on the scroll were convenient, as it reverted to its original size when rolled up. Minato tucked it into his robe and left.

In the afternoon, he didn't idle away the time. Instead, he continued his basic training, running laps around Konoha.

After completing twenty laps at a leisurely pace, Minato recovered some of his chakra and then resumed studying other Lightning Release techniques.

The next morning, he woke up early for his training, a habit he had maintained for an entire year.

After returning home, preparing a simple yet nutritious breakfast and lunch bento, Minato headed to the Ninja Academy.

His culinary skills had significantly improved thanks to Mikoto's guidance.

Upon entering the classroom, he noticed a familiar figure.

A beautiful head of long red hair, her baby fat had slimmed down, gradually revealing her delicate features.

Compared to when she had first enrolled a year ago, Kushina had undoubtedly changed a great deal. When she noticed Minato's arrival, she quickly made her way to him.

"Good morning!" Kushina said, her cheeks flushed as she clasped her hands behind her back.

Kushina was always full of energy and enthusiasm, and even Minato felt inspired by her demeanor.

After exchanging greetings, Minato walked to his seat, with Kushina following behind him.

"I really want to spar with you in today's practice session," she said excitedly, her words carrying her unique speech pattern.

Minato smiled awkwardly, recalling the nickname she had earned over the past year.

However, in the Ninja Academy's sparring sessions, the pairs were arranged by the homeroom teacher, and each match usually involved more than two students without any level-based grouping.

This meant that even the top-ranked and lowest-ranked students in the class could be paired together, with the aim of encouraging improvement among the lower-performing students.

If they only sparred with those of similar skill levels, how could they hope to progress?

As time passed, more and more classmates arrived, filling the classroom.

The day's lessons began, and Kunio Shindō announced from the podium that today's sparring session would be slightly different from usual.

"Students, today's sparring session won't be limited to our class. Students from three other classes will also join us for practice and progress!"

Upon hearing this, Minato's eyebrows raised slightly, for one of those three classes was Uchiha Homura's class!

(End of Chapter)