Chapter 7 — The Chunin Exam's Secret Weapon
The rumors started quietly, whispered in the back rooms of the Konoha Academy. They weren't about Minato's brilliance, but about his younger brother's terrifying, unpredictable power.
Minato, who had become intensely focused on documenting Aaron's every move, had begun sharing his "observations" with his senior students, including a highly impressionable Genma Shiranui and a skeptical Raidō Namiashi.
The Training Ground Demonstration
Aaron, now five months old, was in the worst place for a baby: the middle of a high-level Chūnin Exam Prep training ground. He was sitting in a custom-built, chakra-dampening playpen, supervised by an increasingly frazzled Kakashi.
Minato stood proudly before his students. "We are now integrating the Namikaze-Uzumaki Repulsion Techniques into your movement drills. Watch and learn."
He held up a small scroll with a crudely drawn picture of a screaming baby. "Genma, I want you to approach the subject and attempt a stealth capture."
Genma, nervous but determined, activated his Body Flicker and crept toward the playpen.
Aaron, bored of his toys and irritated by the constant dust kicked up by the training, saw Genma approaching and mistook his shadow for a large, incoming spider.
He panicked. He tried to crawl backward, but his coordination failed, and he simply flailed his legs, which accidentally lifted his tiny body and caused him to pivot violently, sending his pacifier flying out of the playpen.
Minato went ecstatic. "Did you see that?! The Goo-Gaa Pivot! It's a flawless counter-movement! He uses minimal ground contact to redirect his own mass, creating an escape vector! That pacifier trajectory confirms the force equation!"
Genma, having completely missed his target, stumbled back, genuinely impressed. "Sensei, I never saw a jutsu that focused on reverse momentum..."
Aaron, still distraught, looked at the departing Genma and unleashed his ultimate weapon of pure frustration: "REEEEEEE!"
Genma instantly clutched his ears. "What was that sound? It felt like my very focus was being shattered!"
Minato nodded wisely. "The A-Rank Gag is still a work in progress, but you felt the Repulsion Field. It generates mental dissonance. A perfect anti-stealth defense."
The Chūnin Exam Twist
The true Escalation came a week later, during the actual Chūnin Exams.
A Genin from the Hidden Mist Village, attempting to sneak past the written portion's sensory barrier, found himself face-to-face with a proctor who was clearly distracted.
The proctor was humming to himself, making weird circular hand motions with his pen, and occasionally muttering, "Goo-Gaa… Pivot… Goo-Gaa..."
The Genin, utterly confused, decided to attempt a swift retreat. He tried to use a standard D-Rank Body Flicker, but as he moved, he remembered Minato's ridiculous diagrams.
Wait. The new Namikaze technique! Minimize ground contact! Maximize hip rotation!
The Hidden Mist Genin tried the "Flash Crawl" theory. He contorted his body, attempted a fast, low roll-and-scramble, and ended up just tripping over his own feet, landing with a loud thwack that alerted the proctor immediately.
Comedic Failure!
The proctor, startled out of his "Goo-Gaa" trance, saw the tripping Genin and, recognizing the ridiculous maneuver, immediately arrested him.
"You fool! Don't try to use the Namikaze-Uzumaki Infant Stealth Roll in a formal exam setting!" the proctor shouted. "It's only for open-field reconnaissance!"
The disgraced Genin was escorted out, thoroughly bewildered. "Infant Stealth Roll? What...?"
News of the bizarre new Konoha technique spread like wildfire. The Leaf Village was seen as adapting advanced, absurd strategies based on the movements of a baby who just wanted a cookie.
The New Rivalry
The only person who truly understood the irony was Kakashi. He watched the confusion unfold from a distance, then walked back to the Namikaze home where Aaron was now attempting to eat his own toes (a truly advanced taijutsu move, according to Minato's latest notes).
Kakashi picked up a rattle and shook it, the simple sound a stark contrast to the A-Rank Gags being deployed across the village.
"You're a chaos agent," Kakashi whispered to the baby, a genuine glimmer of dark humor in his eye. "Your failures are stronger than my skill."
Aaron, tired of the entire shinobi world, decided to perform a true, deliberate act of defiance. He had been practicing this one for days.
He focused his willpower, his sarcasm, and his sheer determination. He slowly raised his hand, not to scratch his nose, but to point.
And he pointed, with a single, accusing finger, directly at Kakashi's Icha Icha Paradise book, which was sticking halfway out of his vest.
Minato, walking in, saw the gesture. He beamed.
"There it is! The Namikaze-Uzumaki Sealing Point!" Minato exclaimed, rushing over to hug his brother. "He is marking a target for immediate sealing! He rejects low-level distractions!" Minato promptly confiscated Kakashi's book for "the safety of the mission."
Kakashi watched his book disappear, his eye wide with betrayal. He had been outmaneuvered by an infant.
Aaron smiled, a true, satisfied smile. His accidental mastery of the ninja world had just claimed its first victim.
End of Chapter 7
Next: Chapter 8 — Jiraiya's Newest Research Subject