Minato had inherited the powers of his action figures.
It made him a little regretful. If he had known this would happen, he would have stuffed a Goku or a Superman figure into that box.
But looking back, he also felt lucky.
Since the rule seemed to be "you become who you cosplay," he was just glad he hadn't dressed up as Ken Kaneki or Eren Yeager. That would have been... unpleasant.
If he hadn't awakened his memories from his past life, he probably would have followed the original Naruto storyline: die tragically right before the main plot starts, leave behind the legacy of the "Fourth Hokage," and leave his poor son to be bullied by the entire village.
But thankfully, he had cheats!
The Kizaru figure gave him the powers of the Glint-Glint Fruit from the One Piece universe.
There was no need to explain how broken the Glint-Glint Fruit was. The user could transform into light particles, and the passive "elementalization" meant he could phase through almost any physical attack.
In a ninja world without Haki or Sea Prism Stone, he might not be invincible, but he was definitely safe.
The Hashirama Senju figure awakened Wood Style magic, and the Madara Uchiha figure unlocked the Sharingan eyes.
After six months of training to control these powers, Minato was sure of one thing: the figures didn't just give him abilities. They were changing him on a deeper level.
For instance, his energy reserves were growing rapidly every day, and his eye power was getting stronger.
He even tested his healing by turning off his elemental phasing and cutting his hand with a knife. The wound healed in the blink of an eye.
Also, the moment he awakened his eyes, they evolved straight into the Mangekyo Sharingan (Kaleidoscope Eyes). Even Indra, the direct son of the Sage of Six Paths, hadn't been that overpowered. The only explanation was the "Creation of All Things" power.
All these signs pointed to one conclusion: he had likely inherited the energy of Asura and Indra through those two figures.
(Note: The original story doesn't explicitly use the concepts of "Sage Body" and "Sage Eyes" this way, but a detailed explanation will be provided later.)
Even though he didn't know a single Wood Style spell yet, and using the Kaleidoscope Eyes carried the risk of blindness...
Having both powers meant he held a ticket to becoming the strongest.
And until he reached his full potential, the Glint-Glint Fruit would keep him safe.
Influenced by his modern worldview, this Minato had a similar personality to the original, but his core was completely different. He definitely wasn't going to walk down the same tragic path!
Minato looked away from the crying boy, Naoto, feeling even more motivated to get stronger.
The entrance exam had four parts: Energy Refining, Throwing Stars, Physical Coordination, and Combat Sparring.
The main goal wasn't really the score—most civilian kids didn't even know how to refine energy yet. The goal was to spot potential. Of course, getting a good score didn't hurt.
The coordination test was an obstacle course. For Minato, it was a walk in the park.
Rolling, jumping, sprinting—he moved like a yellow flash, finishing the course effortlessly.
"That kid... his coordination is incredible, too..."
Not far away, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been watching Minato closely, looked impressed.
"Heh, heh, heh. He's fast, too. Both his running speed and his reaction time."
Orochimaru chuckled, his voice raspy. "No signs of formal training. He broke the record Shinnosuke just set using raw talent alone. Watching your son get beaten so easily... I wonder, does that sting a little, Sensei?"
"Hahaha! Honestly? I hope he faces more setbacks like this."
Hiruzen laughed heartily. He knew better than anyone that his son, Shinnosuke, had average talent.
The world was never short on geniuses. As the Hokage, he knew that well.
But the Leaf Village hadn't seen a truly generational talent in a long time.
It had been over a decade since the First Great Ninja War, and the world was getting more unstable.
If you counted a generation as ten years, the village was starting to look a little thin on talent after the generation of his three students.
Among the new kids, the Hyuga brothers, Hiashi and Hizashi, were talented, but their clan was too rigid. They were stuck in the Gentle Fist style, which limited their potential.
Fugaku Uchiha was decent, but not amazing. Plus, he was a bit older—technically, he belonged to Jiraiya's generation.
Tsunade's little brother, (Nawaki)... energetic kid, but average talent.
To normal people, these kids were geniuses. But if you really compared them to the legends who fought at the Valley of the End just twenty years ago...
Hiruzen knew what true power looked like. He still had a healthy sense of awe for the past.
Thinking back to that legendary battle, Hiruzen looked at Minato with a hint of regret.
He was happy a civilian genius had appeared, but it was a shame that he was just a civilian genius without a powerful bloodline.
"Hey, you're Minato Namikaze, right?"
During the warm-up for the final sparring test, Shinnosuke Sarutobi suddenly walked up to him.
"I saw your tests. You seem strong. Want to fight me?"
Shinnosuke crossed his arms and lifted his chin slightly. His tone was a bit arrogant, but not bullying. He didn't seem like he was looking for trouble.
Minato was surprised. He didn't know much about Shinnosuke.
All he knew was that Shinnosuke was the Hokage's eldest son, would eventually become an Anbu Captain, and—just like Minato—would die and go to the afterlife with his wife before the main plot even started.
"Me? I guess..."
"Great, I'll go tell the teacher!"
Before Minato could finish, Shinnosuke ran off excitedly to find the instructor.
The two top-scoring freshmen fighting each other? That got everyone's attention immediately.
The crowd started buzzing, and naturally, the Hokage and his students noticed.
"Ooh, not bad. I thought that kid would just get a big head from all the praise."
Seeing Shinnosuke ask to fight Minato, Tsunade, who had been bored out of her mind, finally looked interested.
"Hmm..."
Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, a small smile on his face. "It's good for him to see the gap in natural talent. Shinnosuke has never really faced hardship. That's dangerous for a ninja."
"You say that, but didn't Minato say he has no combat experience? You trained Shinnosuke yourself, right, old man? And the kid works hard..."
Jiraiya rubbed his chin, disagreeing. He always believed hard work could beat talent.
"If hard work was all it took, there wouldn't be any geniuses," Tsunade scoffed. "Want to bet on it?"
"Hmm?"
Jiraiya's eyes lit up, and a sleazy grin spread across his face. "I wasn't sure before, but since you're betting... it would be rude not to take the other side."
"To be honest, I was thinking the same thing..."
Orochimaru smiled faintly. He actually thought Minato was stronger, but if Tsunade was betting on Minato winning... well, he had to reconsider. Her gambling luck was notoriously cursed.
"You two..."
Tsunade's eye twitched, and a vein popped on her forehead. She turned to Hiruzen. "What about you, old man?"
Hiruzen's mouth twitched. "Well... I have to back Shinnosuke. As his father, it would break his heart if he knew I bet against him."
"Fine, fine, fine..."
Tsunade laughed in anger.
People care most about what they lack.
If someone said she was weak or a bad ninja, she'd just laugh it off.
But say she had bad luck at gambling? That hit a nerve.
"I'm betting on the little blondie! Loser buys barbecue!"
Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Orochimaru: "It's a deal!"
With the Hokage's son involved, the instructor approved the match immediately.
As the two boys made the "Seal of Confrontation" (the traditional pre-fight hand sign), a crowd gathered. Shinnosuke saw his father watching from the front, took a deep breath, and stared intensely at Minato.
"Sorry for hijacking your entrance exam."
"It's fine. I have to fight someone anyway. Though I'm not sure why it has to be me."
Minato's tone was gentle and polite, which made the girls in the crowd swoon and squeal.
"Because of the top rank, obviously!"
Shinnosuke said it like it was a fact. "You and I have the best scores. If I beat you, I'm the top student of this class, and I'm going to keep that title for years!"
Minato tilted his head slightly. "Is that important to you?"
"Uh, I guess? My dad always tells me 'there's always someone better,' but I want to prove to him that I, Shinnosuke Sarutobi, am not inferior to anyone! One day, I'll surpass him and become an even better Hokage!"
Minato nodded. As long as the kid wasn't just being a jerk, he didn't care about the reason.
"I'm ready."
"Alright, begin!"
The referee dropped his arm. Shinnosuke lunged at Minato, swinging a fist right at his face.
It wasn't very fast. It didn't look very strong, either.
Minato had zero real combat experience, but for some reason, Shinnosuke's movements looked full of openings.
Minato tilted his head slightly, dodging the punch. Then, with a loosely clenched fist, he threw a straight jab!
Pow!
A crisp sound. Shinnosuke grunted, stumbled back two steps clutching his eye, and looked at Minato with total confusion.
That was fast!