In truth, Minato's proposal wasn't made purely on a whim—it also stemmed from political considerations.
Ever since he ascended as the Fourth Hokage, Minato might have appeared to be Konoha's leader on the surface, but in reality, much of the village's power structure was still firmly held in the hands of the previous Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
If Namikaze Minato wanted to truly stabilize his rule, the only viable path was to win over Konoha's major clans.
And among all of Konoha's clans, none was more worth courting than the Uchiha clan.
Thus, proposing to take Ning Feng as a student also carried political weight.
Of course, beyond politics, Minato genuinely wanted Ning Feng's astonishing talent to blossom as soon as possible. After all, geniuses cherished other geniuses the most.
"Number 9, what are you standing there for?" Kakashi urged from the side, barely hiding his envy.
"Hurry up and acknowledge him as your teacher!"
Kakashi knew better than anyone—Minato had once been their instructor. Among all jōnin teachers, there were few who surpassed Namikaze Minato in cultivating ninja talent.
During the Third Great Ninja War, Minato's team had earned immense merit for Konoha.
Uchiha Itachi said nothing, but the fondness in his eyes was unmistakable.
Ning Feng didn't hesitate.
He was lacking a teacher anyway—and becoming the Hokage's disciple would make many things far easier to handle. There was no downside.
"Then from now on, I'll call you Teacher Minato," Ning Feng said with a bright smile.
"Teacher Minato, please guide me!"
"Ha ha ha!" Minato laughed heartily.
"I never expected that after becoming Hokage, I'd still take on a final disciple!"
As he spoke, Minato handed Ning Feng a small money pouch.
"There's some money in here—enough for you to buy plenty of supplies at the ninja shops and take care of your body. Also, I've accumulated quite a bit of experience using space–time ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God."
"These are some notes I wrote casually over the years. I'll give them all to you."
Ning Feng accepted both the money pouch and the notes, nodding heavily.
The value of Minato's notes on space–time ninjutsu was beyond measure.
Afterward, Minato spent another quarter of an hour chatting with Ning Feng, asking after his condition and circumstances.
In the end, Minato set a schedule: every night at eight o'clock, he would personally teach Ning Feng space–time ninjutsu, and Ning Feng was to find him at Kushina's place.
Kakashi and Itachi were openly envious.
Back then, their teacher had to instruct three students at once—nothing like Ning Feng, who would receive one-on-one guidance from the Hokage himself.
After that, Minato, in his capacity as Hokage, naturally praised Kakashi and the others for leading the ANBU squad and successfully completing the mission.
But when it came to Ning Feng, Minato spoke with particular enthusiasm—so proud that he looked even happier than Ning Feng himself.
Before long, Ning Feng left ANBU headquarters.
Since they had just completed a secret infiltration mission into the Hidden Rain Village, they wouldn't be assigned another task for the time being.
Stepping into the bustling streets of Konoha, Ning Feng subconsciously opened his status panel.
Name: Uchiha Feng
Level: 29
EXP: 23,233,112
Rank: Genin
Battle Record:
• Kage-level kills: 1
• Chūnin kills: 34
• Genin kills: 23,412
Combat Rating: A
Chakra: 25,381 (approaching Chūnin level)
Age: 5
Clan: Uchiha
Identity: Younger brother of Uchiha Itachi, older brother of Uchiha Sasuke, classified ANBU member
Teacher: Namikaze Minato
Items: Kunai ×1000, Explosive Tags ×200, Fūma Shuriken ×50
Ninjutsu:
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet
Lightning Release: Lightning Clone
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique
Flying Thunder God Technique
Fire Release: Explosive Flame Formation
…
Taijutsu:
Sword Art: Iai Flash
Uchiha Taijutsu
…
Genjutsu:
Naraku Sight Technique
If he hadn't looked, it wouldn't have mattered—but once he did, even Ning Feng himself was startled.
Especially his battle record—it was dazzling to the extreme. Anyone who saw it would be stunned for a long time.
The only thing that left Ning Feng slightly dissatisfied was the rank indicator: Genin.
It seemed he'd have to wait until the Chūnin Exams to change that.
Just as Ning Feng was pondering how to use this downtime to further increase his strength, a calm voice suddenly sounded without warning:
"Well now, isn't this Uchiha Feng? Fancy meeting you here."
"I just so happen to be lacking some exceptionally gifted youngsters to properly cultivate. I wonder… are you interested?"
The speaker's tone sounded gentle, yet the scheming and malice beneath it were unmistakable.
Ning Feng didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
"So the esteemed leader of the Root Organization, Danzō, has come looking for me. What do you want?"
Ning Feng spoke calmly, his cold gaze settling on Danzō.
Sure enough, standing before him was Shimura Danzō, the mastermind behind countless dark incidents in Konoha.
Beside Danzō, several Root operatives subtly stepped forward, faintly forming an encirclement.
"Like the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato," Danzō said with a cold smile,
"I value talent greatly. I came today to invite Uchiha Feng to visit my Root Organization."
His eyes were venomous, like those of a poisonous snake.
In truth, Danzō had already noticed Ning Feng back when Kushina Uzumaki had nearly been assassinated by Mist ninja.
What he hadn't expected was that in just a few short days, Ning Feng would grow so terrifyingly fast—repeatedly ruining Root's schemes, and even overwhelming Root's reserve prodigies.
Such a seedling—an Uchiha no less—was something Danzō absolutely would not allow to exist outside his control.
"I'm sorry," Ning Feng replied bluntly.
"I have no interest in your Root Organization."
Joining Root might accelerate growth, but Ning Feng had no intention of being bound and manipulated by Danzō's sealing techniques.
In the original story, the fate of Root members was uniformly miserable.
As if he had anticipated this response, Danzō was about to signal the Root operatives beside him—
when Ning Feng suddenly vanished without a trace, as though he had never existed.
"Hm?"
Before Danzō could say anything, one of the Root members beside him collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
Claim early access on Patreon: patreon.com/c/LuneWriter
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:
💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter
🔷 200 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.