"Hey, kid. Not only are you learning my jutsu, but are you starting to copy my hairstyle too?"
Under the sweltering summer sun, Minato and Tatsuma were standing on the surface of a river, focusing intensely on two things at once: maintaining their hair activation and staying afloat. Suddenly, a pair of hands clapped onto their shoulders, and a voice boomed in their ears.
Splash!
Startled, both boys plunged into the water. Their hair, which had been tied into defiant ponytails, instantly retracted into their usual short styles. The two of them thrashed around in the water, momentarily forgetting that they actually knew how to swim.
"Hahaha! You two still have a long way to go!"
Two large hands hoisted them out of the river and onto the bank. Finally catching their breath, the boys looked up to see their visitor.
"Lord Jiraiya?" "Lord Jiraiya, you're back!"
Jiraiya grinned at the two "drowned rats" before him. "Yeah, I've got a few days off. By the way, that thing with your hair just now—did you figure that out on your own?"
Minato nodded and looked at Tatsuma. "Tatsuma suggested it. He called it a way to master high-difficulty ninjutsu by breaking the process down into different stages for targeted practice."
"Haha, Minato was actually the first to realize the logic," Tatsuma added quickly, waving his hands. While being praised felt good, he felt he couldn't take credit for something that wasn't entirely his own invention.
Jiraiya rubbed his chin, looking intrigued. "Tell me more."
Tatsuma and Minato gave a brief explanation of the Modular Learning Method they had developed over the last six months. Jiraiya nodded repeatedly. "As expected of geniuses like me—you've got good heads on your shoulders. Your understanding of Needle Jizo and Wild Lion's Mane is spot on. Breaking them into stages really does lower the barrier. Come on then, show me what you've got."
Following Jiraiya's lead, the two exchanged a look and formed the Ram seal. In an instant, their hair began to grow rapidly.
Jiraiya watched in disbelief. As a Jonin, he could see exactly how refined their chakra control was to facilitate such rapid growth. Forget their Academy classmates—even most Genin and some Chunin couldn't match the precision these two were displaying.
Minato had activated roughly half of his follicles, while Tatsuma—thanks to his recent "ponytail" training—had pushed his activation to nearly three-quarters of his scalp.
Once they finished the demonstration, Jiraiya reached out and ruffled their wet hair. "Your chakra control is incredible, and your taijutsu isn't bad either. Why haven't you applied for early graduation? At your age, wouldn't you want to show off and earn the admiration of your peers?"
Tatsuma shook his head. "That sounds great in theory, but we haven't actually learned a single ninjutsu that requires chakra yet. All we know are the Escaping Technique and the Cloak of Invisibility."
"Eh?" Jiraiya blinked. "With your talent, you haven't learned the basics?"
Minato explained with a helpless shrug, "The Transformation Jutsu is scheduled for next semester. Substitution and Clones are the semester after that. Apparently, there are more jutsu and Genjutsu later in the curriculum."
Jiraiya finally realized the problem. These two were brilliant, but even the finest cook cannot make a meal without rice.
He hadn't understood immediately because back when he was at the Academy, the system hadn't been fully standardized. Moreover, he, Orochimaru, and Tsunade had been picked as disciples by Hiruzen Sarutobi very early on. Jiraiya had access to plenty of jutsu back then—he'd just been too much of a slacker to learn them, unlike Orochimaru.
Jiraiya's grin returned. "It's not necessarily bad to graduate a bit later. Graduating early means leaving the protection of the 'great tree' and having to grow strong on your own very quickly. Still, it's better if you learn the basics sooner. I'll handle the jutsu scrolls; you just focus on training."
"We couldn't, Lord Jiraiya," Minato protested. "Ninjutsu scrolls are too expensive. We don't want you spending your own money on us."
Jiraiya waved him off. "How expensive can low-level scrolls be? Just treat me to a few trips to the bathhouse once you've become elite shinobi."
"Wait... are bathhouse trips as expensive as ninjutsu scrolls?" Minato asked, genuinely shocked. He remembered the bathhouse being free for children under ten.
Jiraiya let out a booming laugh. "A trip to the bathhouse can be very expensive, kid. You're too young to understand."
Suddenly, Jiraiya noticed Tatsuma's look of quiet realization. He felt a prickle of alarm. "Tatsuma-kun, do you happen to know why it would be expensive?"
"Probably because of... the extra services?" Tatsuma said, choosing his words carefully. "Just soaking in the water is cheap, but if you add other things..."
Jiraiya gave him a wicked, testing grin. "And what 'other things' might those be?"
Minato looked at Tatsuma with intense curiosity. Tatsuma coughed into his hand. "Well... you know, back-scrubbing, massage, tea and meals served right in the bath... those kinds of things usually cost extra, right?"
Minato nodded, satisfied with the explanation. Jiraiya ruffled Tatsuma's hair again, offering the same sentiment Tsunade had months prior: "You're far too precocious for your own good!"
Jiraiya's expression turned serious. "By the way, keep this Modular Learning Method to yourselves. Don't spread it around."
"Why?" Minato asked. "If it helps ninja master difficult jutsu faster, wouldn't it be better if the whole village learned it?"
Jiraiya shook his head, his tone uncharacteristically somber. "It's effective, and that's exactly the problem. This method has no barrier to entry. If everyone in the village knows it, it won't be long before our enemies find out. If Konoha can use it to lower the difficulty of learning jutsu, so can the other villages. A shinobi needs to keep a trump card or two, understood? Anyway, enough about that."
Jiraiya's mood brightened instantly. "One more thing. I just came from sensei's office—Lord Third, not your Academy teacher."
At the mention of the Hokage, Minato's attention snapped to full alert. Tatsuma played along, putting on a look of focused interest.
"A student was dropped from your class recently," Jiraiya said with a wink. "Are you curious to know who's filling the vacancy?"
Minato and Tatsuma immediately looked disinterested. They had expected news of international conflict or village politics; instead, it was just school gossip.
"Hey! This is no small matter!" Jiraiya protested. "Shimura Danzo nearly had a falling out with the Third over this!"
That piqued Tatsuma's interest, and even Minato looked back, waiting for the punchline. Jiraiya, seeing he had their attention again, whispered, "I heard a kunoichi from another country is coming. She's a kinsman of Lady Mito herself. But I'm warning you both—stay back. Don't go looking for trouble."
"Looking for trouble? Why?" Minato asked. Wouldn't welcoming a new classmate be the right thing to do? Especially if she was from another country, shouldn't they help her integrate into the Leaf?
Tatsuma, however, had a pretty good idea of what Jiraiya meant. Jiraiya didn't elaborate, merely offering a cryptic piece of advice. "Just treat her like any other classmate. It's fine to be polite, but don't be too enthusiastic. Otherwise, people might think you have ulterior motives."
"You mean... don't act like you do around Lady Tsunade? I get it," Tatsuma said, nodding solemnly.
Jiraiya nodded along in agreement for exactly one second before the realization hit him. He delivered a swift, stinging flick to Tatsuma's forehead.
"You brat! You little brat! Who says I have 'ulterior motives' with Tsunade?! And where the hell are you hearing these things? Talk!"