Rinrin!
From somewhere deep within a dense forest, an extremely sharp and piercing sound tore through the air.
This immediately drew sidelong glances from numerous Konoha ninja stationed in the nearby valley. However, over the past month or so, everyone had grown accustomed to hearing such sounds multiple times each day.
Any ninja with even basic chakra perception could sense a terrifying chakra fluctuation within it.
Boom!
Suddenly, another explosion erupted from the origin of the sound.
The Konoha ninja found this completely unsurprising.
...
Within the forest, Minato's body slammed clumsily into a giant tree, and the force cracked the trunk in several places.
He cast yet another wary glance toward the scarred ground about ten meters away — a crater several meters across.
"This is proving quite challenging," a voice murmured from deep within Minato's soul.
Minato nodded in agreement but soon smiled. "If an S-rank Ultimate Art were something so easily developed, wouldn't we have already succeeded?"
The other voice did not argue back. In his previous life, Minato had spent three years developing the Rasengan. Before his death, he experienced the Great Ninja World War, then later became Hokage — these successive events left him little time for further jutsu development.
Still, he occasionally found moments to practice, although every attempt ended in failure.
Developing an S-rank Ultimate Art required at least five years of continuous study and practical application.
The total accumulated time he had invested in developing the Rasengan was far shorter than that.
"You must be careful with your hands... Right now, this incomplete technique focuses its damage entirely on you. The wind-natured chakra, subtle enough to escape visual detection, damages your meridians while gathering the technique."
"Even though Minato's body had fused with Nine-Tails' chakra, giving him incredible healing powers, if you keep up this intense training, even if you succeed within two months, your hands won't be able to gather chakra for at least another month afterward."
Since the Rasengan was still incomplete, its harmful potential remained limited. But once perfected, its power would increase exponentially — as would the self-inflicted damage.
Minato had never before considered that further development of the Rasengan might hurt himself.
Even so, the development of the Rasengan couldn't stop, because he had promised Tsunade and the others that he would complete this ninjutsu within two months and help Sakumo destroy Liufei's Metallic Puppet.
"Let's go again!"
So, with his chakra nearly spent, Minato got back to training.
As soon as he spoke those words, chakra surged within him. Soon, the weariness faded completely from his bright blue eyes, replaced by a brilliant gleam.
Chakra, red like blood, slowly coated his entire body, occasionally forming bubbles of chakra like water vapor.
A solid chakra membrane formed around Minato once again. His pupils transformed again into vertical slit-like eyes.
Buzz.
Once again, Minato formed the Rasengan in his palm. With renewed focus, he resumed training.
...
"Huff! Huff!"
Leaning against a tree, Minato caught his breath heavily.
Swish!
Light footsteps sounded from the forest behind him. Minato didn't even need to look—he already knew who it was.
The figure landed gracefully onto the scarred clearing. Her eyes—sharp and dark like polished obsidian—flickered with brief surprise before she turned sideways and spotted Minato leaning against the tree.
"You're here," Minato said, meeting Mikoto's gaze.
Mikoto gave a slight nod, then approached him and retrieved a package from her pouch, placing it gently in his hands.
Minato peeled away the greasy paper wrapping, instantly invigorated by the rich aroma.
"Thanks."
Looking at the roasted rabbit before him, Minato thanked Mikoto and began devouring it hungrily.
"He's here again."
As Minato ate, a voice echoed inside him. Without showing any surprise, he simply nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
At that very moment, hidden behind a massive tree dozens of meters away in the forest, Fugaku Uchiha masked his chakra while watching Mikoto and Minato.
"Actually, you don't have to come every day," Minato said, lifting his gaze toward Mikoto after sensing Fugaku's presence trailing behind her.
Mikoto let out a soft laugh. "That won't work at all. Kushina made it very clear to me before I came here that I had to take good care of you. Otherwise, just wait until we return to the village—I'll be in serious trouble."
"She could actually make things pretty rough for me if she wanted to," Minato replied with a smile. Obviously, they were only teasing each other.
The way Mikoto acted around Minato wasn't just because Kushina had asked her to—she truly cared about him as a close friend.
Before Kushina even entered the academy, Mikoto and Kushina had already become very close friends.
"Still… you should also keep an eye on the people around you once in a while."
After the joke, Minato gave Mikoto a small smile.
Upon hearing this, Mikoto hesitated slightly, not quite grasping his meaning.
Minato didn't elaborate further. Considering Mikoto's current age, she naturally wouldn't give much thought to matters between boys and girls. At most, she might feel a vague sense of confusion.
Fugaku, though, was different—he followed Mikoto around every day. He was several years older than her, and as the young heir of his clan, he was far more mature for his age.
With his skills, he could shadow Mikoto every day without her ever noticing.
"I'm off now. There's another mission this afternoon. You should also train with some self-restraint."
After staying briefly, Mikoto left.
Once she was well out of earshot, Minato gave a small smile toward a spot deep within the forest.
"Fugaku-sempai, you don't have to worry. Me and Mikoto are just really good friends..."
Dozens of meters away, Fugaku, who had been about to leave, couldn't help but glance back again.
...
...
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