"Go ahead, ask me anything."
Jiraiya said, assuming Minato would bring up questions related to training, and readily agreed.
Minato, however, hesitated slightly at this moment because the answer he sought might be a secret currently beyond his reach.
Still... he truly wanted to know the truth.
Jiraiya noticed his expression and immediately narrowed his eyes, soon recalling something.
"Sensei Jiraiya, since you know I managed to evade the Anbu directly serving the Third Hokage, then surely you also know the reason behind this incident?"
Minato asked. What he could confirm was that before his teacher's last visit to teach at the Ninja Academy, he hadn't known Kushina's name—otherwise he wouldn't have asked about it in the first place.
But since he knew Minato had evaded the Anbu, he must already understand the whole story.
Upon hearing these words, Jiraiya's face tightened, yet Minato didn't continue questioning, as it seemed his teacher already understood his question.
"After all..." Jiraiya left his sentence unfinished—he originally intended to say that Minato indeed had noticed something unusual about Kushina's identity.
Then, fixing his gaze on Minato, he said, "You want to know why that girl named Kushina Uzumaki is protected by the Anbu directly serving the Third Hokage?"
Minato nodded swiftly, his deep blue eyes betraying a swirl of emotions.
Because right now, an indescribable feeling welled up from within him, as if the answer he pursued might deeply sadden him.
"You should realize that if you've figured out how important Kushina is to the village, you'd also understand that secrets of this level aren't meant for lower-ranked ninja to inquire about," Jiraiya added.
Minato remained silent, murmuring, "I understand, Sensei Jiraiya."
His teacher's implication was clear—currently, he simply wasn't qualified to learn about Kushina's true identity.
Such a level of intelligence involving Anbu protection probably wasn't even widely known among some Jonin in the village.
And although Sensei Jiraiya clearly knew the truth, he wouldn't share it with him—at least not for now.
After all, keeping secrets was one of the most basic traits a ninja needed to have.
Noticing Minato's dejected expression, Jiraiya stepped forward and patted his shoulder, saying, "Although I can't tell you anything for now, I'll do my best to train you. I believe it won't be long before you're qualified to hear this answer directly from the Hokage himself."
"Directly from the Hokage?" Minato mused aloud. Though he'd seen the Third Hokage a few times, it had always been from afar.
Jiraiya smiled and said, "He's definitely eager to see how you grow. And when you reach a certain level, even if you yourself don't seek him out, he will come to see you."
"In other words, what I need to do now is continuously grow stronger!"
Knowing this, Minato now had a powerful motivation driving his training. His eyes blazed with unwavering resolve once more.
"I appreciate all your efforts, Sensei!" Minato said.
...
"Now, tell me," Jiraiya began with a question, "do you understand what your greatest advantage as a ninja should be?"
Minato nodded without hesitation. "Speed."
Previously, he hadn't been clear about his strengths, but from his battle against Yan Uchiha, he now had an answer.
His Shuriken Jutsu couldn't match that of someone born into the Uchiha clan like Yan, and as for Ninjutsu in general, it went without saying — he had only truly mastered The Three Basic Ninjutsu that he'd taught himself.
He had learned them secretly by sneaking around during the senior students' lessons.
Though this was already enough for an Academy student, it no longer satisfied Minato.
To reach the answer he sought, he needed to become stronger.
"Exactly," Jiraiya said with a light smile. "Improving a ninja's strength lies in recognizing one's own advantages and maximizing them. Take the Sharingan and Fire Release Technique of the Uchiha clan or the Byakugan and Gentle Fist of the Hyuga clan — these are natural gifts. Those ninja from the Uchiha and Hyuga clans follow these inherent powers in their training."
"A ninja with Wind Nature Chakra naturally finds it easier to master Wind Release techniques. If you force him to train in a nature transformation technique incompatible with his affinity, then it would simply be a waste of time and energy."
"So you're saying I should focus solely on developing my speed?" Minato asked.
"Precisely. A powerful ninja not only requires strong techniques but also must possess foundational physical abilities that match up. These are the areas you should focus your training on right now."
"Foundational abilities?"
This was the first time Minato had heard such a concept. After all, before meeting Jiraiya, the strongest ninja he had ever seen was Moto Kouda.
And Chunin was considered nothing more than a common rank in the Ninja World — far from true strength.
"Physical speed, Hand Seal speed, and reaction speed — in short, reflex speed. Then come tactical intelligence and combat experience... The latter two need to be honed through real battles. For you at this moment, those are still far away. What you should focus on are the first three."
"The reason I had a [Shadow Clone] fight you just now was precisely to test these three abilities. To my surprise, not only do you have all three, but your tactical awareness and combat experience are also completely unlike those of a mere Academy student." Jiraiya added.
"Hehe." Minato chuckled and scratched his head. Truthfully, even he wasn't sure where those abilities had come from.
They just came naturally to him.
"Besides The Three Basic Ninjutsu, who taught you the [Body Flicker Technique]?" Jiraiya continued, intrigued. There were many unknown aspects about Minato.
"My [Body Flicker Technique]?" Minato blinked in confusion.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and elaborated, "The high-speed movement you used at the end of your duel with Yan Uchiha — that was the [Body Flicker Technique]. You didn't even realize it?"
Minato gasped, "I really didn't know it was the [Body Flicker Technique]... I thought it was just something I picked up during training..."
Hearing this, Jiraiya couldn't help but open his mouth in shock.
"Ninjutsu he mastered on his own..." Jiraiya had heard of such things before, but this was the first time he actually witnessed it firsthand.
If he told that guy, the Third Hokage, about these events, he'd probably be overjoyed.
A genius who could create jutsu independently and perfectly inherit the Will of Fire...
Truly a once-in-a-generation prodigy. If they let someone like this slip away, it might be nearly impossible to find another one.
"Alright... now we'll begin with basic training." Jiraiya forced himself to swallow before speaking.
...
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