A bit overconfident!
This thought crossed both Seiryū and Jiraiya's minds, but it wasn't something appropriate to say in front of Minato.
They decided to save him some face and let Kushina be the one to scold him later.
Pop...
With a soft sound, the spinning chakra ball in Minato's hand began to dissipate. He scratched his head. "Looks like it still needs some refinement…"
Although it had taken shape and its power had increased, it still wasn't perfected.
It needed further development.
A ninjutsu that didn't require hand seals shouldn't end up needing them. And needing a clone to maintain stability? That would be absurd… Jiraiya sighed. "This is already a huge step forward, and it's all thanks to Seiryū…"
Seiryū remained modest. "Even without me, Sensei and Senpai, you both would have thought of it eventually."
Minato, smiling warmly, replied, "Don't be too modest. Without you, we wouldn't have come to this conclusion so quickly."
"Oh, I really am amazing, truly worthy of being the number one genius in the Ninja Academy!" Since they had already said so much, Seiryū felt continuing to downplay his contribution would just be insincere.
Even though he was just a plagiarist.
But since he had transmigrated, not plagiarizing anything would be a waste of that identity.
His grades in literature hadn't been great, so borrowing from famous literary works to culturally overwhelm the Naruto world wasn't realistic. That would have been a dream.
But borrowing ninjutsu? That was totally fine.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with it!
The genius persona had to be maintained.
Only then, when Seiryū later "developed" various "ninjutsu," would people not suspect him or dissect him like an alien.
After all, geniuses are always a little different. Seiryū had to maintain that image consistently.
What is the Third Hokage as a ninjutsu professor? He, Seiryū, would be the same. The Third was respected because he knew many jutsu. Seiryū would be respected because he "developed" many jutsu.
Whose value was greater? That didn't even need to be said.
So, becoming Jiraiya's disciple and gaining that Hokage lineage identity came with tremendous benefits… Seiryū looked at Jiraiya and spoke. "By the way, Sensei, can I learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu that Senpai just used? I think this jutsu would be really helpful for my training!"
Clone Jutsu and Shadow Clone Jutsu were different.
Clone Jutsu only created an illusion identical to the user's body. It was used to mislead the enemy and had no physical form.
Shadow Clone Jutsu, on the other hand, produced clones with physical bodies.
Each clone had its own consciousness independent from the main body, possessed a certain level of durability, and when dispelled, the clone's memories and experiences would return to the caster.
Clone Jutsu was one of the Three Basic Jutsu, and of course, Seiryū had already mastered it.
But what he wanted to learn was the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which produced tangible clones.
With Jiraiya and Minato present, this was the perfect opportunity to learn it—maybe even the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Don't be misled by how the original story showed the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu being used with just one hand seal. Without knowing the chakra flow through the body's meridians, you couldn't perform it at all!
"Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Diligent, motivated, and exceptionally talented—what teacher wouldn't love a student like that? Jiraiya felt that taking Seiryū as a disciple was one of his best decisions.
He smiled and nodded. "Shadow Clone Jutsu is a B-rank ninjutsu. It's not hard to learn. Since you want to learn it, as your teacher, of course I'll teach you."
It was true that shinobi should grow step by step, but after everything just now, he realized that geniuses couldn't be judged by common sense.
Although Shadow Clone Jutsu was B-rank, it was a relatively basic technique that most shinobi could use.
It wasn't a forbidden or secret jutsu. So, if Seiryū wanted to learn it, as his teacher, there was no reason to refuse.
Seiryū smiled. "Then I'll be counting on you, Sensei."
Jiraiya laughed heartily, pleased. "Haha! No need to be so polite. You're my disciple. If I don't teach you, who will?"
Even the Old Man had fully approved of him taking Seiryū as a disciple, praising him for finally doing something proper.
He had also learned from his own teacher that Seiryū, who was ninety-nine percent likely to be a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, might be groomed to become the next Jinchūriki… Although he didn't entirely agree with that idea, he didn't have a better solution. Jinchūriki were crucial to Konoha, and he couldn't change the Old Man's decision.
Besides, Kushina hadn't been a Jinchūriki for long, so there was no need to worry about that yet. It was something to think about in the future. No need to rush…
Seiryū nodded slightly. "Indeed, that's a teacher's responsibility."
Jiraiya chuckled. "You rascal…"
Minato smiled as well. "Then let's both do our best. You train the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and I'll continue refining this new jutsu."
Seiryū replied, "Okay."
Although Shadow Clone Jutsu was a B-rank technique, it wasn't hard to train. In fact, it was easier than some C-rank jutsu that required nature transformation.
In the original work, Itachi used Shadow Clone Jutsu to slack off in the Academy when he was just a kid.
Even Naruto could instantly learn the much stronger Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu when he went all out.
The same applied to Seiryū.
He already had the foundation of Clone Jutsu. At its core, Shadow Clone Jutsu was just a more precise distribution of chakra based on Clone Jutsu, with only minor adjustments to the chakra flow route.
There really wasn't much difference.
For Seiryū, whose chakra control was excellent, this was a piece of cake.
Jiraiya merely explained the key points of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and Seiryū successfully summoned seven shadow clones on his very first try!
Looking at the seven clones, Seiryū nodded. "As expected of me. Summoning the Seven Warlords of the Sea on the first try! Including myself, that makes the Eight Warlords!"
Now that he had learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he could start training seriously.
As for the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, there was no need to rush. He could plan for that later.
With Jiraiya as his teacher, there was a decent chance he could eventually learn that forbidden jutsu.
For now, the standard Shadow Clone Jutsu was enough. After all, it had only been around three months since he started refining chakra. Even with his special physique, his chakra reserves hadn't yet reached the level where he could use them freely...
Summoning seven clones on his first try. If he gets more proficient, he'll be able to create a dozen or more. To have this much chakra at his age… he's definitely from the Uzumaki clan... Jiraiya wasn't surprised. If Seiryū, a genius, couldn't do this, that would've been stranger.
What caught his attention was Seiryū's chakra reserves.
This age, this chakra amount, that hair color—if someone told him Seiryū wasn't from the Uzumaki clan, he wouldn't believe it...
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)