"Sensei, I've noticed that dad seems a bit weak, even weaker than before I transferred Chakra to him last time."
Naruto hesitated for a long time before saying this to Shinji.
Shinji was startled and couldn't help but speculate.
Could it be because Minato was the one leading the sealing this time?
Did his spiritual imprint dissipate a bit?
However, Shinji didn't say it directly. Instead, he patted Naruto's head and said, "He's probably just too tired. After all, he is just a Chakra entity. He'll be fine after some rest."
"Really?"
Naruto was delighted to hear this. After all, before coming out, he could feel that Minato was different. But he couldn't quite explain what that difference was.
Shinji wasn't sure either, so he could only say, "Yes, you need to work hard to become stronger. I think the Fourth Hokage can still sense everything about you while he rests."
But how could a Chakra entity get tired?
"Let's go, I will take you home first."
After speaking, Shinji took Naruto and walked out of the house.
—
The next day.
His disciples were on holiday, but Shinji didn't give himself a break.
Instead, he came to the Hokage Office and approached Hiruzen to hear the explanation of some jutsu formula. After all, although he remembered the Ninjutsu in the Scroll of Seals, he needed to understand them to use them. All the Ninjutsu recorded there were either high-level Ninjutsu or forbidden jutsu.
However, with Hiruzen right in front of him, he naturally didn't need to spend time pondering over each one. Moreover, it seemed Hiruzen had slowed down some of his affairs these past two days and wasn't that busy.
Shinji sat beside Hiruzen, watching him puff smoke, and asked, "Sensei, Jiraiya-Jiraiyas Needle Jizo, according to its description, should be a B-rank Ninjutsu. Why did you still let him write it in the Scroll of Seals?"
Among the Sannin, Tsunade only added the Yin Seal into the Scroll of Seals, she didn't even write down her Chakra Enhnaced Strength.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, recorded his insights and methods for enhancing the power of jutsu.
Only Jiraiya was different, his hair secret techniques were all written there.
One was B-rank, and the other was A-rank. Logically, they shouldn't have been recorded in the Scroll of Seals
"Heh heh, Shinji, based on your understanding, what do you think of Jiraiya's two jutsu formulas?"
Hiruzen didn't explain immediately. Instead, he asked Shinji for his understanding of these two jutsu.
Shinji answered, "They are very impressive. Not only Nature Transformation, but even Shape Transformation needs to reach a high level of mastery to use."
"The most important point is that they can be activated instantly, which, if used well in combat, can achieve good results."
As Shinji spoke, he couldn't help but admire Jiraiya in his heart.
They say Minato's Rasengan without hand signs is the ultimate in Shape Transformation, but if it weren't for Jiraiya's help, Minato probably wouldn't have been able to develop it within two years.
Jiraiya's hair Ninjutsu is a high-end Ninjutsu that combines both Shape and Nature Transformation.
Needle Jizo was only classified as a B-rank Ninjutsu because the user can't move while it's active. However, this doesn't mean Jiraiya's Ninjutsu is ineffective.
"Indeed, Jiraiya's hair secret technique, though it sounds like a joke..."
At this point, Hiruzen couldn't help but laugh.
After all, who would develop Ninjutsu in the direction of hair?
"This was a move Jiraiya came up with during the Second Great Ninja War, due to the complexity of the battlefield and after seeing the Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven."
"The first time he used it, it achieved good results. He used Nature Transformation to give his hair metal-like hardness and toughness. And with precise control of Shape Transformation, he arranged the hair strands into a dense needle array, forming a 360-degree defense without blind spots."
Hiruzen held his teacup and meticulously explained the main features of Needle Jizo to Shinji.
Shinji nodded.
It was almost exactly what he had guessed. It could provide instant defense, and if used at the right time, it was a Ninjutsu that combined offense and defense.
Hiruzen patiently instructed, analyzing the Ninjutsu for Shinji with all his insights.
"Actually, this Ninjutsu was classified as B-rank not only because it was difficult to move while activated."
"Another point is that it requires maintaining a high-density Chakra output, demanding extremely high endurance, making it unsuitable for prolonged battles."
"However, this doesn't mean this Ninjutsu is easy to learn."
"Some forbidden jutsu in the Scroll of Seals are even easier to operate than Jiraiya's Ninjutsu."
Shinji nodded.
He had many thoughts about Jiraiya's two Ninjutsu.
Although his physical body, due to Yang Chakra, recovered much faster than others, defense was his weakness.
Yang Release Nintaijutsu was a no go as he couldn't sustain it's cost for long. Moreover, he couldn't yet cover his entire body with Yang Chakra.
Jiraiya's Ninjutsu, whether in practicality or operability, was the optimal choice for him at this stage.
Hiruzen seemed to have thought of something and asked Shinji, "By the way, Shinji, regarding summoning beasts, do you have any thoughts about my Enma?"
As the teacher of the Sannin, his three disciples all had their own destinies, and the three Sage Regions all accepted them. His Enma had never been contracted by anyone. Now that he had a disciple like Shinji, it had to be passed down.
"Uh..."
Shinji looked conflicted when he heard this, rubbing his nose as he said, "Sensei, actually, my clan has a summoning scroll, but the requirements for contracting are too high."
Shinji had received a summoning scroll as a reward last time and the condition for contracting was to reach the level of an Elite Jonin. So, he wasn't very interested in Enma.
After all, if the requirements were that high, there was no reason the summoning beast would be weak, right?
"High contracting requirements?"
Hiruzen didn't doubt it, as some summoning beasts indeed had requirements for contracting.
Shinji said, "Yes, it seems the requirement passed down from our ancestors is that one needs to have jonin level strength."
Hiruzen was stunned to hear this. This wasn't just high, it was excessive.
Apparently, the Aratani clan had been an auxiliary clan of the Senju since ancient times, and since the First Hokage's time, he had never heard of any Aratani having jonin level strength.
Thinking of this, Hiruzen no longer pondered and nodded, saying, "Alright, it seems I can only wait to see if Konohamaru can take over in the future."
Shinji nodded and began to ponder Jiraiya's Needle Jizo again.
Knock knock—
Shinji got up to open the door.
Seeing the person outside the door, Shinji paused.
"Captain Kakashi?"