"Developing a ninjutsu?"
Sakumo paused briefly at those words, surprise flashing across his eyes before he composed himself.
Minato creating his own technique clearly surprised him—but not all that much.
If someone else had developed a ninjutsu at age eleven or twelve, Sakumo might have been greatly amazed.
But when it came to the boy standing in front of him, he didn't find it particularly surprising.
After all, Minato had already delivered more than his share of shocks—Sakumo was starting to get used to it.
"It's this one."
Minato said, then raised his palm and formed a Rasengan in his hand.
Sakumo wasn't seeing the Rasengan for the first time. During the Suna ninja ambush earlier, he had witnessed Minato using it to crush one of Chiyo's puppets into pieces.
He felt a slight inner tremor at the sheer force contained within the Rasengan.
Still, he hadn't expected this technique to be independently developed by Minato.
Then he showed a mix of surprise—not because Minato had created a new ninjutsu, but for the first time, he clearly saw how the Rasengan took shape. Just now, Minato had simply raised his right hand.
A technique that requires no hand seals!
That's exactly why Sakumo looked so shocked. He stared at the Rasengan for nearly half a minute before finally speaking.
Then he exclaimed in amazement, "To have achieved such mastery over chakra shape transformation… truly impressive!"
This time, it was Minato's turn to be taken aback. Although he knew this man—who would later become known as the "White Fang of Konoha"—was formidable, for him to discern the essence of the Rasengan in mere seconds marked him as exceptional.
However, this further confirmed Minato's belief in Sakumo's ability in developing ninjutsu, reaffirming that telling him about his own technique development had been the right choice.
"This… how long did it take you to complete?" Sakumo asked next.
Hearing this, Minato hesitated briefly before replying, "Three years..."
What Minato referred to was naturally the time he spent developing the Rasengan back in his previous life.
"You started developing jutsu before you were even eight? That's unnerving…"
Minato received another evaluation from Sakumo similar to what Nawaki had previously given him.
In response, he could only give an embarrassed smile.
"Have Jiraiya and the others learned about you developing this technique?" Sakumo, recovering from his shock, asked curiously.
Minato shook his head and replied, "This technique was completed recently, so I haven't told my teacher yet."
Nodding after hearing this, Sakumo remained silent briefly.
"And I think this technique isn't fully complete yet either… you're the first person I've told." Minato added again.
"Well then, it's quite an honor." Sakumo smiled lightly, then questioned, "Though I've actually seen you use this technique before. Its power is immense, and since it only involves shape transformation, no hand seals are needed at all. Once mastered, it can be executed almost instantly. In that regard, it's already quite complete, isn't it?"
Sakumo evaluated the Rasengan based on the two most critical aspects of ninjutsu — power and stability. He actually thought it was already pretty polished and couldn't quite grasp what Minato meant by "not yet perfected."
"That's true," Minato agreed. "If up against an average jonin, the speed and power of the Rasengan would naturally be enough." He then shifted his tone. "But when facing techniques at the level of Tsuchigawa's Stone Giant from Iwagakure or Chiyo's Chikamatsu Collection, it still seems somewhat lacking."
Although Minato had barely mastered both the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God Technique, matching the level he'd achieved in his past life with the latter wouldn't be possible in a short time. Without coordination with the Flying Thunder God, the Rasengan's lack of power would inevitably become apparent.
Even if Minato could now identify openings in opponents at Tsuchigawa's or Chiyo's level, without the Flying Thunder God, he couldn't achieve that element of surprise which brought victory.
In fact, getting close to such an opponent would itself be extremely difficult.
"You're actually aiming this high," Sakumo said, genuinely surprised.
Minato had set his sights on countering techniques like the Stone Giant and the Chikamatsu Collection — those truly elite-level jutsu.
The Stone Giant was a secret ninjutsu passed down within Iwagakure, while the Chikamatsu Collection was the masterpiece of the First Puppet Master, Monzayemon.
For an eleven-year-old boy to aim for such heights with his own technique...
It went without saying — Minato's vision was immense.
Hearing this, Sakumo couldn't help but smile, pleased. After all, it was inspiring to see a junior ninja hold such lofty goals.
And Sakumo himself believed Minato had what it took to reach that goal.
"So then... What exactly are you planning?"
Sakumo asked immediately. Since Minato had just mentioned improving an existing technique, he must have already thought about how to refine the Rasengan further.
Minato replied promptly, "I want to incorporate Nature Transformation into the Rasengan."
"Combining Shape Transformation with Nature Transformation?" Sakumo asked in surprise. All ninjutsu ultimately revolved around these two types of chakra transformation. Techniques capable of utilizing both simultaneously were unheard of — at least as far as Sakumo knew.
Minato's idea was extremely ahead of its time.
However, the difficulty was tremendous. If he actually succeeded, it would undoubtedly be an S-rank ultimate art — a high-level technique whose power would increase exponentially.
Then he understood why Minato had been so willing to share his work with him.
Because Sakumo himself specialized precisely in chakra Shape and Nature Transformation.
Even so, he'd never considered combining the two.
"Senior Sakumo, you're an expert in this field. I really hope you can give me some advice," Minato smiled.
Nodding, Sakumo unsheathed his chakra-infused tanto behind him, and instantly, a brilliant blue glow began to shimmer along the blade.
Chakra flowed onto the sword's surface, transforming into lightning natured energy, then...
"Zzzzt!"
The chakra light transformed into arcs of electricity, coiling around the blade with a roaring sound.
Sakumo's approach was to enhance the power of these two transformations through a chakra-conductive medium—in other words, a Chakra Tanto.
Then he fell silent in thought. For a moment, the forest once again grew quiet, aside from the occasional rumble of thunder.
Minato wasn't anxious either. He stood aside patiently, thinking over possible solutions himself.
Sakumo stared at the Chakra Tanto in his hand, then slowly lowered it. A sudden spark lit up his eyes before he turned to face Minato.
Minato, who possessed Sensor abilities, sensed Sakumo's change immediately and snapped back to attention, joy showing in his eyes. By the look on Sakumo's face, Minato could tell he'd already come up with an idea.
Looking at him, Sakumo said, "What I specialize in is using the Chakra Tanto as a medium to amplify the effects of these two transformations. As for your current situation—your Ninjutsu and personal capabilities—it's nearly impossible for you to directly layer nature transformation over shape transformation. So, you'll need to find your own medium."
"The specific method involves sacrificing one characteristic of this technique—the instant-cast feature."
With his sharp mind, Minato quickly caught on to what Sakumo was implying and asked,
"Your meaning is… I should perform this technique with both hands?"
...
...(to be continued.)
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