To Hajime, Namikaze Minato was not an enemy.
At least, not for now.
And Hajime had no intention of treating him as one, either.
On the contrary, in his eyes, Namikaze Minato was a highly promising commander.
As a senior, and as a man who would one day become Hokage, it was only right to nurture his juniors.
If one wished to stand tall in Konoha, they needed many allies.
In this world, power and influence mattered.
So, Hajime generously demonstrated the Rasengan.
And from the very first glance, Minato fell in love with this jutsu.
No hand seals, and it contained tremendous power.
It was the perfect technique to pair with Flying Thunder God.
Jiraiya shared the same opinion. While Minato was still a little shy about asking, Jiraiya had no such qualms and shamelessly grinned, "Hajime, since you've shown it, that means you're planning to teach it to Minato, right?"
Hajime dispersed the Rasengan and smiled. "Minato has a great talent. One day he'll surpass the old guard and has the qualities of a Hokage. He's worth nurturing."
That was the truth.
Minato quickly bowed his head modestly. "You flatter me, senpai!"
Hajime laughed and shot back, "What, Minato, don't you want to become Hokage?"
Minato scratched his head awkwardly. "Well… of course I want to be Hokage, senpai!"
Hajime nodded. "Then that's all there is to it."
"Keep at it. I've got high hopes for you!"
"I've got two more days to teach you. If you can't master it by then, you'll have to wait until we're back in Konoha."
With that, Hajime nodded to Tsunade and turned to leave the tent.
Jiraiya quickly said, "Go on, now's the perfect time. I need these two days to rest and heal anyway."
Minato nodded, gave a respectful bow, and hurried after Hajime.
In the forest.
Hajime began teaching Minato the Rasengan.
Of course, being on the battlefield meant there were no water balloons or rubber balls available.
But Hajime also believed Minato's talent didn't require such tedious steps.
So, he directly imparted the core principles of Rasengan training.
And sure enough, Minato was a true genius. His comprehension was exceptional—far above Uzumaki Kushina.
Beyond just teaching Rasengan, Hajime also discussed Body Flicker techniques and space-time ninjutsu with him.
Naturally, Minato wasn't yet qualified to pass on the Flying Thunder God technique.
And Hajime didn't pressure him or try to force the jutsu out of him.
He also understood very well that mastering Flying Thunder God in just a few days was practically impossible.
This became even clearer as they delved into its theories and mechanisms.
So, if he wanted to solidify his own Teleportation status, Flying Thunder God wasn't the path.
He needed to find a different route.
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two days passed.
In a forest filled with craters and torn ground, Hajime smiled at Minato. "You've basically completed the Rasengan. The next step is to further compress the chakra and focus the rotation toward the center. That'll greatly boost its power."
"After that, just keep practicing until it becomes second nature. Then you can execute it instantly to pair with Flying Thunder God."
Minato nodded immediately, then bowed. "Thank you for your guidance, Hajime Senpai."
Hajime smiled. "No need to be so polite. I've learned a lot from these two days of working with you as well."
"Alright, take care on the battlefield."
With that, Hajime turned and left.
Minato watched his departing figure and couldn't help but reflect with admiration:
"Senpai's generosity is truly admirable."
"And his space-time talent is incredible. I'm sure one day he'll master the Flying Thunder God technique too."
...
After parting ways with Namikaze Minato, Hajime went to find Jiraiya.
"Summoning Technique and Reverse Summoning Technique?"
Jiraiya looked at Hajime in surprise.
Hajime nodded. "If I want to research space-time ninjutsu, I need to start with these two—they're relatively common and easier to approach."
Jiraiya chuckled, "The Summoning Technique is indeed one of the most widely used space-time ninjutsu, and it's not particularly difficult."
"No problem at all."
"But ideally, you should have a summoning beast perform the technique with you. Otherwise, it can be extremely dangerous."
Back when Jiraiya first learned the Summoning Technique, he had recklessly used it and ended up in Mount Myōboku.
That had been sheer luck.
He'd been young and clueless back then, and now he certainly didn't want Hajime to die from the same mistake.
Forming hand seals, Jiraiya continued, "Reverse Summoning is actually the same jutsu as the Summoning Technique. The method of use is identical."
Poof!
A small toad was summoned by Jiraiya.
Afterward, he released the summoning and began teaching Hajime the parts beyond just the hand seals—
The Contract.
Only by forming a contract with a summon beast could one use the technique to call forth that specific creature.
Otherwise, blindly using the Summoning Technique might teleport the caster to who-knows-where—it was very dangerous.
The summoning contract essentially served as a link between the ninja and the summon beast, allowing for precise positioning.
As a thank-you for Hajime teaching the Rasengan to his disciple Minato, Jiraiya pulled out his own scroll and opened it, allowing Hajime to observe the most crucial part of the summoning formula.
"There are also summoning scrolls sold in the village. The templates are more or less the same."
Hajime carefully studied the summoning formulas on the scroll.
They were complicated, but not incomprehensible.
"Good thing I've studied sealing techniques… there's quite a bit of seal theory involved here."
Half an hour later, Hajime bid farewell and left.
Back in his cabin, Hajime reorganized his understanding of the basic principles of the Summoning Technique and began simplifying:
"The summoning scroll functions as a bridge—it links the ninja and the summon, shortens the distance, and simplifies chakra sensing."
"That's why it requires blood or at least some residual chakra from both parties."
Then, Hajime recalled how Naruto had used a summoning scroll to summon a clone from Mount Myōboku during his fight with the Six Paths of Pain.
That had been a method devised to counter the time limit of Sage Mode.
"And the Six Paths of Pain… one of them could use summoning to call the others directly to his side."
"In a sense, the Six Paths of Pain are a unique kind of clone."
Hajime analyzed carefully: "And Nagato's Six Paths don't require a summoning scroll as a bridge—not because their summoning technique is more advanced, but because all of their chakra originates from Nagato himself."
"They're connected through black rods formed by Yin-Yang Release. Their chakra is networked—Deva Path can even channel the powers of the others directly."
Narrowing his eyes, Hajime found his direction:
"Perhaps I should start with myself and my clones."
"Use summoning and reverse summoning to achieve instant movement between the main body and clones in different locations."
"Shadow Clones might be difficult, but Wood Clones are different."
Hajime had never stopped exploring the secrets of Wood Release and Hashirama's cells.
Especially techniques like White Zetsu's Spore Technique, and Yamato's similar tracking jutsu that involved planting seeds inside enemies—both were key areas for exploration.
Although he hadn't yet developed a true Spore Technique, he had made progress with seed-based tracking.
"Wood Clones are special by nature… if I can create seed-based tracking like Yamato, then developing the Spore Technique is just a natural progression."
"A seed, nourished by an enemy's chakra, growing into a Wood Clone…"
Hajime stood tall. "In other words… I already share a uniquely close link with my Wood Clones. I just never explored it before."
He formed hand seals, and a Wood Clone sprouted from his body.
Whoosh!
The Wood Clone vanished from the cabin using the Body Flicker Technique.
Hajime lowered his eyes and focused on sensing—
Just like he could sense the vines he created from his Wood Release.
"There it is…"
His eyes snapped open, and his hands moved rapidly.
Summoning Technique!
As the seals completed, the summoning formula instantly formed beneath his feet.
Poof!
A burst of smoke—and the recently departed Wood Clone reappeared, forcibly summoned back.
"It really works!"
Hajime was overjoyed.
Of course, he knew that reaching this stage so quickly wasn't due solely to his own talent, but rather thanks to the passive boost from his Teleportation status.
"I may not be able to master Flying Thunder God in a few days, but that doesn't mean I can't develop a relatively simple, personalized space-time ninjutsu."
"As for whether I can permanently unlock the Teleportation state—that's important, yes—but not urgent."
Hajime calmed his eagerness to solidify the Teleportation status and instead focused entirely on developing this new jutsu.
"The problem is, the Summoning Technique has too many hand seals. It's not suited for fast-paced combat or quick movements like space-time ninjutsu should be."
"I need to simplify the hand seals."
And Hajime quickly committed to that next step.
Moreover, he was confident he could simplify the seals in a short time—
Because he was using Wood Clones.
…
A night passed in the blink of an eye.
After meeting with Tsunade briefly, Hajime departed alone, traveling south from the Land of Rain and entering the Land of Wind.
One day later—
Hajime appeared within Sunagakure, disguised as a wandering merchant seeking to purchase local specialties to resell elsewhere.
Such wandering merchants were a common sight and could blend into Sunagakure with ease.
Of course, anyone entering could also leave, and while in the village, Sunagakure performed periodic inspections to guard against potential spies.
Hajime didn't mind this.
Gathering intel didn't require his real body to act.
Besides his Wood Clones, there was also Yakushi Nono, who had long since gone undercover in Sunagakure.
However, Hajime didn't contact her immediately. Instead, he behaved just like an ordinary traveling merchant—strolling about, browsing wares, and selecting samples.
A genuine peddler.
In truth, while wandering, Hajime was also carefully observing the state of the village.
By dusk—
After dinner, Hajime checked into the cheapest inn he could find.
After washing up, he formed hand seals and sent out a Wood Clone, which slipped into the night and transformed into a Sand Shinobi, infiltrating the Sunagakure hospital.
Soon, he spotted Yakushi Nono, busy at work.
It felt oddly reminiscent of the days back in the Sky Ninja Village.
"She hasn't grown much taller, has she?"
Hajime chuckled to himself, but didn't approach. Instead, when no one was looking, he used the Transformation Technique again—this time as a masked medical-nin.
For two hours, he worked beside her.
When Nono got off duty, Hajime followed her quietly to her residence.
After she entered the bathroom to wash up, he took a seat in the living room, patiently waiting.
A short while later—
Nono appeared, hair still damp, and the moment she saw him, her body tensed. But almost instantly, her face lit up with joy.
"Onii-chan!"
Hajime wasn't in his true form, and replied coolly, "I'm a good guy."
Nono quickly covered her mouth and giggled. "I'm scared to die!"
Hajime released the Transformation Jutsu and scolded, "Intuition is important, but you can't let your guard down."
"Mm-hmm!" Nono nodded repeatedly, then sat beside him and began recounting everything she'd experienced since arriving in Sunagakure.
Hajime didn't interrupt. He simply listened in silence.
Eventually, Nono—exhausted—rested her head on his lap and fell fast asleep.
Hajime sighed softly.
Yakushi Nono was only the same age as Minato Namikaze—just eleven years old—yet here she was, alone, infiltrating an unfamiliar and hostile village.
Suppressing the impulse to change her circumstances, he carried her to her bedroom and let her sleep.
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, Nono woke up and ran barefoot into the living room. Seeing Hajime still sitting there, she exhaled in relief.
"Go wash up," he said.
"Yes!"
She nodded and rushed to clean herself.
Within five minutes, she sat down across from him and began reporting the intel she had gathered during this time—especially recent developments.
After she finished, Hajime said, "So, based on medical supply activity, it seems Sunagakure is preparing for war."
Nono nodded. "But Onii-chan, that seems normal, doesn't it? Sunagakure is currently fighting Amegakure in the Land of Rivers."
"I've also heard many medical-nin will soon be pulled from here to form squads for the battlefield."
Hajime nodded, but said, "Yes, it seems normal on the surface."
"But the key lies in where Sunagakure is sending those supplies."
"They've been slow to respond to Amegakure's occupation of the Land of Rivers. From a geographical standpoint, that makes sense, but their commitment has been too minimal."
Nono offered an analysis: "Maybe they're waiting for Konoha or Iwagakure to pressure Hanzō into pulling back his forces?"
"That's possible," Hajime said. "But it's also possible that Sunagakure is waiting for an opportunity to directly invade the Land of Rain."
Nono blinked. "Why would they do that?"
"To force Hanzō to abandon the Land of Rivers?"
"But why not attack with full force instead? If they enter the Land of Rain, wouldn't they have to face Amegakure's main forces?"
Hajime nodded slightly. Then he said, "Nono, head to work now. I'll see you again before I leave."
Nono nodded, then left reluctantly.
…
Inside a shop, while selecting goods, Hajime paused slightly.
His clone's memories had just returned to him.
After digesting the information for a moment, he handed the selected items to the shopkeeper. "These ones—thanks."
(End of Chapter)
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