Early the next morning, after breakfast, Minato left a Wood Clone to keep an eye on Nawaki, while his main body went to Root again and found his Doraemon-Snake.
When in doubt, find Orochimaru.
Ever since Orochimaru took over Root, this place had practically become his backyard.
Orochimaru had no dissatisfaction with this, and could even be said to be happy about it.
For researchers, exploring unknown fields is like seeking a path in the dark.
And for Orochimaru, Minato's existence was equivalent to a guiding light. Although he couldn't help much technically, he could always bring him new inspiration, or surprises like the pea love story.
"Surveillance-type ninjutsu?"
Learning of Minato's intention, Orochimaru looked up from the experiment.
"Yes, does Senior have any recommendations?"
Minato asked, "The kind that can directly observe."
"The old man has a Telescope Technique, but it needs to be used in conjunction with the Konoha Barrier. In addition, you need to know the target's chakra signature. Even if you learn it, without the permission of the Barrier Team, you can't use it."
Orochimaru shook his head, indicating that he couldn't help. "There are very few direct observation ninjutsu. Konoha only has this one. Who does Minato-kun want to monitor? Why don't I send someone to help you directly?"
"This is a private matter, it might be inconvenient."
Minato thought about it and decided to tell the other party about his tangled thoughts. "It's like this. Nawaki graduated a few days ago, and Sensei gave the First's necklace to Nawaki as a gift."
Orochimaru understood instantly. "Oh? That necklace. I didn't expect Tsunade to give that thing away. But isn't this good?"
Minato smiled awkwardly. "Then Senior should also know about Sensei's weird luck, right?"
"Ah this..."
Orochimaru paused in his experimental movements.
He pondered for a moment, his tone somewhat complex. "Your worry is not unreasonable. As a researcher, I believe in science, but Tsunade's luck is really hard to explain with science. It completely breaks my understanding of probability."
"However, if you are just worried about Nawaki encountering danger, he just needs to use the Summoning Jutsu to reverse summon you to his side through Katsuyu."
Minato said faintly, "What if he accidentally steps on an exploding tag?"
"..."
Orochimaru frowned. With Nawaki's reckless character, this was not impossible.
After thinking for a while, his brows slowly relaxed. "This is not without a solution. Just let him develop the habit of using Shadow Clones to scout the path."
"Besides, I think Minato-kun doesn't need to worry unnecessarily. If you really calculate, the probability of being hit by a meteorite at home is not zero. None of us knows which will come first, tomorrow or an accident. You can't protect him for a lifetime."
"So instead of worrying all the time, why not give him a good special training, let him feel the fear of near-death, so as to develop a habit of caution?"
"Mmh..."
Minato nodded thoughtfully.
Indeed, what Orochimaru said made sense. He was overthinking it.
"Hehehe, trusting companions and whatnot. I didn't expect that one day I would say such things. In the past, this kind of hot-blooded idiot role was played by Jiraiya."
Watching Minato's gradually relaxing brows, Orochimaru laughed.
"Because you are worried about your companion getting hurt, you refuse to trust the power of others... Perhaps geniuses are always conceited. From this point of view, we are the same kind of people, Minato-kun."
Minato grinned, feeling a little embarrassed.
It wasn't that he didn't trust his companion, it was just that Nawaki's record was too ugly—the only named character who was solo-killed by an exploding tag!
If it were Tsunade, he definitely wouldn't worry. At least in the original work, she never lost when gambling with her life.
"Speaking of which, I also have a small favor to ask of Minato-kun."
Orochimaru said, "But it might take up Minato-kun's free time."
"It doesn't matter. I'm quite free recently."
Minato smiled. "Usually, apart from cooking and training, there are no urgent matters."
"Is that so..."
Orochimaru chuckled and clapped his hands gently. "Come in, Neko (Cat)."
Cat?
Minato looked out the door. He basically knew all the members of Root, but didn't remember anyone with the code name Cat.
As soon as Orochimaru finished speaking, the door opened, and a beautiful figure appeared quietly outside the door.
The other party was slightly taller than Minato by half a head, with black hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall. She wore a cat mask, and her figure was upright and graceful. Although her face could not be seen clearly, she faintly carried a calm and gentle temperament.
"She is Neko." Orochimaru introduced with a smile, "My newly accepted disciple, from the Uchiha clan."
"Uchiha?"
Minato was a little surprised. He didn't expect Orochimaru to recruit Uchiha into Root.
"Why did Senior suddenly accept an Uchiha as a disciple?"
"I am the leader of Root after all. Proper work must be done."
Orochimaru said lightly, "If the Uchiha clan continues to be excluded from the core, sooner or later they will become a hidden danger to the village. Now that war is approaching, I must quell internal conflicts first."
"So after negotiating with their patriarch, I chose to open this hole. In exchange, Uchiha will gradually hand over the power of the Police Force and thoroughly integrate into the village."
Orochimaru gestured to the girl at the door.
"Neko is the disciple I selected, outstanding among the younger generation of Uchiha. She became a Chunin at the age of twelve. More importantly, she has a gentle personality, unlike other clan members who are extreme, enough to become a bridge of communication between the village and Uchiha."
"It's just that Root has heavy tasks recently and is short of hands. I'm afraid I can't spare time to teach her personally. When Minato-kun is training, if it is convenient, can you give her some pointers for me? By the way, help me test her current strength."
"Of course."
Minato nodded and looked at the girl at the door. "Nice to meet you, my name is Minato Namikaze. Please give me your guidance."
The girl cast an inquiring look at Orochimaru. Orochimaru nodded slightly. "In Root, Minato-kun's words represent my will."
"I understand."
At the same time, the girl code-named Neko quietly watched the boy in front of her, with a trace of inquiry in her eyes, curious why the other party was so valued by her teacher.
"Mikoto. My name is Mikoto Uchiha. Please give me your guidance."
Mikoto...
Mikoto Uchiha?!
Minato was stunned for a moment, then smiled gently. "I've heard of you. You should be a senior four years older than me, right?"
"I've heard of you too, the genius of Wood Style."
The girl's tone carried a trace of a smile. Minato had used Wood Style more than once. It wasn't to show off intentionally, but because this ability was too convenient.
At first, the Third Hokage would suppress the news, but later found that he couldn't suppress it, so he just let him be. Anyway, no one could do anything to him.
However, ordinary people only knew that the user of Wood Style was named Minato Namikaze, Tsunade's disciple, but didn't know what Minato looked like.
The reason she knew Minato was because his outstanding looks spread more widely than his strength in the school...