Superpower… no, money power!If there was anyone in the ninja world who had the strength to help Akira Sato retrieve the summoning scroll without worrying they'd pocket it for themselves, it could only be one person.
Kakuzu!The future finance manager of the Akatsuki.That man's obsession was money.Which meant — you never had to worry about him betraying a deal involving cash.
As long as Akira paid him and assigned him the mission, Kakuzu would bring back the summoning scroll.And with his Kage-level strength, even if a direct confrontation with the giant lizard of Shouzaki was unlikely to succeed, grabbing the scroll? Absolutely no problem.
Where would the money come from?In the past, Akira might have been troubled by this.But now?He could settle it in a single sentence.
"Rich girlfriend, hungry-hungry, feed-feed.jpg"His fiancée wasn't lacking in money.And there was another benefit to getting funds openly from her: if someone needed to take the blame for obtaining the summoning beast, it'd fall on Uchiha Mei.
Otherwise, even if Akira did find the summoning beast, he wouldn't dare to use it himself.But if it officially belonged to Uchiha Mei and he was just "borrowing" it, then there'd be no issue.
Having sorted out his plan, Akira bid farewell to Hyūga Aotsuki.Of course, there was no system prompt to show her loyalty level skyrocketing, but even without that, Akira could clearly sense the undisguised gratitude and goodwill from Aotsuki toward him.
After leaving the grove, Akira quickly made his way to the nearby training field.
"Akira!"Minato Namikaze, who was giving tips to the other two members of Team 3, called out with a bright smile.He never put on airs, always carrying himself like the warm big brother figure.His personal charisma was off the charts.
Akira didn't need to say it, but both Koji Yamanaka and Kakashi Hatake were already under his influence.Especially the aloof Kakashi — sure, he was still stiff on the outside, but compared to his formerly cold and dead eyes, there was now a faint warmth.
Truly terrifying!Minato's personal charm could rival even that of Orochimaru.
Once everyone was gathered, Minato began checking their progress.Physical stamina, hand seal speed, chakra control…He had to understand all of these to provide targeted coaching.
Normally, this kind of detailed guidance was the responsibility of a personal teacher, not just the squad leader.But even though Minato hadn't formally taken Akira or Koji as disciples, he still gave them his all.
"All right, I can see how hard you've all worked lately!"Clapping his hands to draw their attention, Minato continued,"Koji, overtraining isn't good for your body!"
He first addressed Koji Yamanaka, the team's hardworking overachiever.Not only was Koji maxing out during formal training, but he was also pushing himself hard in private.
In truth, Minato hadn't said everything he was thinking.Overtraining wasn't inherently bad — but you needed sufficient support to recover, like medicinal herbs or secret techniques.Kakashi trained even more ferociously but didn't harm his growth because he had access to abundant resources.
"Yes, Minato-sensei," Koji answered quietly.He understood the logic too.Even though the Yamanaka clan had declined, Koji was aware of these principles.Still, he worked himself to the bone because his two teammates were simply too exceptional; if he didn't push himself, he'd be the one dragging them down.
"Akira, you need to keep improving your close-combat skills. If an enemy spots this weakness, they'll definitely exploit it — you should prepare more close-range tactics for yourself."Minato turned to Akira with a gentle but serious reminder.
With his sharp eyes, Minato had easily seen that Akira's close-combat ability was his weak point, at least compared to his other areas.A ninja didn't need to balance ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu perfectly; they developed along their strengths.But even a genjutsu specialist would shore up their close-combat defenses — sometimes even using it as bait to lure opponents into traps.
So, even though he could tell Akira was leaning toward a ninjutsu-heavy path, Minato still advised him to improve his melee skills.
As for Kakashi, there wasn't much Minato needed to intervene in.
After finishing his reminders, Minato hesitated for a moment, then spoke up."Next month's joint Chūnin Exams — do you want to sign up?"
This was a mission assigned to Team 3 by the Third Hokage himself.
Normally, genin would spend several years honing their skills before applying for promotion.But for some people, those rules didn't apply.
Geniuses!Like Kakashi — straight out of the Academy, his strength already matched a chūnin's.Even Akira and Koji, while not on Kakashi's level, were growing quickly and already stronger than most genin.A squad like this genuinely had the ability to take on the Chūnin Exams.
For the major ninja villages, the joint Chūnin Exams were like a military expo — whoever's genin performed best, their village's reputation soared.And reputation meant everything: from mission commissions to commercial partnerships.
Even the most precious prodigies had to give it their all for this, sometimes even risking their lives.
"Minato-sensei, do you want us to sign up?" Akira asked.
"Yes," Minato nodded.Though it was the Third Hokage and Elder Danzo's decision, he didn't mention that part.
"Then please sign us up, Minato-sensei," Akira agreed without hesitation.With Minato's personality, if it were optional, he would have recommended they wait.But if Minato wasn't saying that, it clearly wasn't an option — so Akira accepted immediately.
Since they couldn't refuse, there was no need to make Minato feel awkward.
"I'll handle the registration, then," Minato smiled, relieved at Akira's straightforwardness. He also offered a promise:"In the coming weeks, I'll personally help you all with special training. If there's anything you need help with, don't hesitate to ask!"
Since Team 3 was being pushed into the joint Chūnin Exams ahead of schedule, they were being compensated with extra support.Even their recent rewards had been influenced by this.Without their notable contributions, they wouldn't have received as many benefits.
Giving them more advantages was part of helping them grow faster and shine in the Exams.
Participating in the joint Chūnin Exams was both a risk and an opportunity.Just like the future "Konoha 12," who gained tremendous benefits from early participation —Naruto received the Mount Myōboku summoning scroll, Sasuke got Kakashi's A-rank Chidori… and so on.
But the dangers were just as real.Because it was a joint exam, there would be genin from other villages, and they wouldn't hold back.There were even some who specialized in hunting down other villages' prodigies.
That's why the joint Chūnin Exams were so dramatic and attracted huge audiences.
As for the upcoming special training, Kakashi didn't care much.The main focus would be on Akira and Koji.Unlike Kakashi, they'd never had access to guidance from someone of Minato's level — so this was an incredibly precious opportunity.
(End of chapter)