After Jiraiya was sent flying by Tsunade's punch, a yellow-haired kid walking out of the academy stared in shock at the figure falling from the sky.
Driven by a desire to help, and not wanting to see a white-haired uncle fall to his death.
He rushed over and caught Jiraiya.
The momentum was too much.
The two of them crashed to the ground, and to the astonishment of the onlookers...
They landed face-to-face, their lips meeting!
"..."
Their eyes locked.
It was as if the world stood still!
The crowd watched the drama unfold.
My goodness, that man doesn't even spare children!
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey... My first kiss!"
"You damn brat, you've ruined my innocence!"
Jiraiya immediately jumped away, letting out a pig-like squeal, and with tears in his eyes, he started roughing up the yellow-haired kid.
From the Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi: That kiss under the setting sun was my lost youth!
The yellow-haired kid was speechless. I saved you and you're hitting me!
"Ahem, ahem..."
Noticing the stares from the crowd, Jiraiya coughed lightly, showing no sign of embarrassment.
He pulled the yellow-haired kid up, flicked his flowing white hair, and spoke in a deep, powerful voice:
"Young man, what is your name!"
"???"
Such an air of a master!
The yellow-haired kid was dumbfounded. After a moment, he managed to stammer out, "Na...mi...kaze... Minato."
"Namikaze Minato? A fine name."
"No, it's Namikaze Minato!"
"Wow, wow, wow..."
Suddenly, Jiraiya looked as if he had discovered a priceless treasure, exclaiming in amazement, "Incredible, truly incredible! I see a glorious light erupting from the crown of your head."
"Do you know, for someone so young to have such impressive chakra, you are a once-in-a-millennium prodigy of cultivation! Therefore..."
The crowd was stunned, and Minato was even more confused.
Jiraiya's voice dropped to a serious tone:
"I am entrusting you with the mission to punish evil and uphold world peace, alright?"
"Uh... okay."
Minato nodded subconsciously, and then saw Jiraiya stuff a book into his hands.
"This draft of 'Make-Out Paradise' is a priceless treasure. I can see we're bound by fate. In exchange for your wallet, I'll bestow it upon you. No need to thank me."
"..."
Ah, my wallet!!
This white-haired uncle... does he have no shame?
Watching Jiraiya walk away coolly with his wallet, Minato Namikaze was on the verge of tears.
When he took out the book and looked at it, the simple and kind young Minato's face instantly turned bright red!
On the cover was a suggestive illustration.
Below it were the words: Make-Out Paradise Draft!
"Pfft!!"
"Jiraiya!!"
Tsunade, who had watched the entire exchange, her face darkened as she clenched her fists!
BOOM!
At that moment, a massive explosion shook Konoha, and the ground trembled violently.
"What the hell, is Tsunade that strong?!"
Jiraiya was flabbergasted!
She clenches her fist and the world falls apart?
Has Tsunade been hiding her true strength all this time, afraid of making me feel inferior?
But the towering flames in the southeast of Konoha shattered Jiraiya's fantasy and startled everyone.
"Ah, what's that?"
"Hiss, the sky looks like it's been torn open."
Everyone on the streets of Konoha stared at the scene in shock.
The terrifying blue flame tore apart the surrounding land like a volcanic eruption.
A pillar of light shot towards the sky, and you could even see a huge hole punched through the heavens by the column of fire!
Although Lucian's spiritual power was not yet strong enough, his plan was well-executed, unleashing his power with all his might!
First, an announcement...
The King has arrived!
"Who's fighting?"
"That's... the Root base!"
The shinobi of Konoha were all alerted.
Even from a distance, they could feel the scorching heat from that towering pillar of fire, which had raised the temperature of the entire village.
Who was this?
So terrifying!
Jiraiya and Tsunade both rushed towards the direction of the Root base.
At the site of the Root headquarters.
The foundation of Konoha, which lay beneath the village, had been blasted through from below. The area was covered in dense, long fissures, and everything within had been buried.
The spirit flame continued to burn, turning the area into a zone of molten rock.
"BOOM!"
The ground suddenly exploded, and a continuous wall, like a mountain range, burst forth from the earth.
It was Sarutobi's Earth Style: Earth Flow Fortress Wall. The wall, over a hundred meters thick, had bought them a chance to escape the spirit flame.
However.
"Cough, cough..."
The impact of the spirit flame's explosion had left Sarutobi's aura significantly weakened.
He looked at the completely ruined Root base, his eyes somewhat vacant.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing?
I was just happily sitting in my office admiring my "crystal ball," then went to have a few words with Danzo.
And then what?
Danzo is crippled, Root is gone, and I'm injured!
Root, an organization nearly on par with the Anbu, was destroyed. Looking around, he saw few survivors.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's head was buzzing. When he came to his senses, he hurriedly looked at Danzo, whose aura was faint as he convulsed on the ground, looking as if he were about to die.
"Danzo, are you alright?"
"Don't you dare, don't you dare die. If you die, I'll..."
Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could finish, Lucian's slightly mocking voice rang out.
"Tsk tsk, what a nauseating display of 'love'!"
"..."
What an insult. Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened.
Orochimaru gave a strange smile, not caring in the slightest about the injuries he sustained from being blasted away. On the contrary, his interest in Lucian grew even stronger.
"Sarutobi, capture him alive. I want to study every single one of his cells..."
Danzo took a deep breath and opened his eye, suppressing the hatred in his heart. Instead, an uncontrollable greed began to surface.
This child, so young and yet so strong!
It was as if he was back on that day his sensei was surrounded and attacked, the day he was powerless. The day his descent into darkness began...
Everything was because he lacked sufficient power.
He craved power.
"Alright!"
Sarutobi tore off his Hokage robe. His short, yet refined body had held up the sky for Konoha for an entire generation. The God of Shinobi!
Looking at Lucian, Sarutobi felt a pang of pain in his heart.
Such a powerful child.
If I had discovered him first...
Perhaps things would have been different.