Training in Summoning Technique came to a temporary end there.
After that, Minato gave the two of them some guidance on ninjutsu and taijutsu.
This was mainly aimed at Rin.
The current Rin had a much better setup than she did in the original story at this point. Combined with teaming up with Yuu and Obito, there was basically no suspense about whether she could pass the exam.
But from a practical combat perspective, her fighting system was still a little thin. What she could truly rely on was only Monster Strength and two or three Water Release techniques. She had also learned Jiraiya's two hair-related techniques, but she hadn't trained them to proficiency yet. As for regular taijutsu and throwing skills, those didn't need much explanation.
Yuu planned that once he finished the bet with Tsunade, he would find a way to learn her Strength of a Hundred Seal, and bring Rin along too.
The Strength of a Hundred Seal could solve the chakra shortage problem to some extent. Once mastered, Rin's overall strength could rise another level.
"Speaking of which…"
Yuu had always been a little puzzled by one thing.
In the original story, how exactly had Nohara Rin become the Three-Tails jinchūriki?
Logically, the first requirement for a jinchūriki was an enormous amount of chakra. Even if one wasn't from a major clan like the Senju, Uzumaki, or Uchiha, one should at least possess Kage-level chakra. But Rin clearly didn't fall into that category, so theoretically, she shouldn't have met the conditions to become a jinchūriki.
Could Rin's ancestry also be traced back to some major clan?
Or…
Had Kirigakure and Madara intended her to be a one-use bomb from the beginning, with a temporary seal that only needed to last until it detonated inside Konoha?
There was no way to know.
Fortunately, the war between Kirigakure and Konoha was already in the later stage of the Third War. Before that, Yuu had plenty of time to think things through.
…
The day passed quickly.
Evening.
Yuu and Rin finished training and parted from Minato at the training ground exit.
At that moment, Obito, who had been drilled by Uchiha Fugaku for an entire day, dragged his exhausted body back like a dead dog. But when he saw Rin, he forced himself to look energetic. Just as he was about to boast about his results, he noticed Shiro.
"Huh, where did this puppy come from?"
"Ah? A summoning beast? This thing? It's more like a pet!"
Hearing that evaluation,
Rin looked a little unhappy. "Obito, how can you say that? This is a ninja dog from the Inuzuka clan. Haven't you seen Tsume-senpai's Kuromaru before? Shiro will become that strong in the future too!"
How should one put it…
In Rin's eyes, this tiny puppy carried a special meaning. After all, it was Yuu's first "summoning beast," and half of its custody had then been transferred to her. It was like the shared crystallization of the two of them… no, more like a keepsake. Its meaning was extraordinary.
Even if the little thing's aptitude was truly average and it couldn't become a ninja dog, that didn't matter. They could simply raise it as a member of the family.
"Ah, sorry, sorry, my bad!"
Obito quickly changed his tune. "Now that I look again, this little thing is actually pretty unique… What does it eat? Does it drink milk? I'll go buy some for it later."
"That's not necessary."
The conditions for raising ninja dogs were a bit more complex than for ordinary dogs. Their diet needed to be more refined, and they had to occasionally eat special secret pills to better improve their intelligence and chakra. Inuzuka Hideki had already written all this down on paper. Yuu and Rin only needed to follow it.
After that,
Yuu casually asked about Obito's training.
At the mention of this, Obito immediately perked up.
"Haha, you guys have no idea. Clan Head Fugaku is really strong. I used to think he became clan head through connections! He taught me so many things: ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu… I feel terrifyingly strong now!"
"Is that so? Want to spar someday?"
"Uh… in a few days. I still have training tomorrow."
Obito dodged.
Confidence was confidence, but Obito still had some idea of his own level, and even more of Yuu's level. Although Yuu had never shown his full strength in front of him, his achievements—capturing Pakura alive and repeatedly frustrating Suna—were real. Even Kakashi was somewhat inferior, let alone him.
However…
Yuu's weakness was not having a kekkei genkai, while Obito had awakened the Sharingan. According to what Fugaku told him, the ninja world's evaluation of an Uchiha with the Sharingan was: "One-on-one, flee without exception." As long as he could learn to use these eyes properly, surpassing Yuu was only a matter of time!
When that happened, surely even Rin would look at him with admiration… Just thinking about it made him a little excited.
"Alright, stop grinning like an idiot over there."
Yuu's voice interrupted Obito's fantasy. "Minato-sensei said he's treating us to ramen. We're missing one. Hurry over."
"Oh! Coming!"
Obito quickly followed.
That night, the four members of Team Minato gathered at Ichiraku Ramen. On average, each person ate two and a half bowls, and they also ordered four bottles of cola.
Rin knew the source of Raw Cola.
But Minato and Obito had not attended that family dinner, so only now did they learn that Raw Cola had actually been created by Yuu and Tsunade together. They immediately looked surprised. Obito even shouted that he wanted to smuggle two crates from Yuu and take them home to drink.
"This stuff has limited production right now. Do you think it's cabbage, that I can casually get two crates? Three to five bottles is more like it."
Yuu tactfully refused.
"…That's fine too, I guess."
Obito said listlessly.
After that, Minato bought two extra bottles of cola, planning to bring them back for Kushina to try.
Yuu also took the opportunity to express his wish to attend another "Kushina small class," which Minato casually agreed to.
Sealing techniques had to be learned. After all, they were one of the underlying codes of the Naruto world. Whether he used them or not was one thing, but he definitely had to know them. Otherwise, things could become troublesome at critical moments.
After leaving Ichiraku Ramen, the four parted ways and each returned home.
There was no need to describe the family chatter after returning home.
Over the next few days,
Yuu and the others continued training under Minato and Uchiha Fugaku. Kakashi occasionally appeared as a sparring partner.
Yuu activated the shadow clone accelerator.
His real body trained with Rin under Minato, practicing regular ninjutsu and the newly learned Summoning Technique.
His clone, meanwhile, found a training ground far from people and practiced the trump-card ninjutsu that couldn't be used casually, such as Cell Activation Technique and Light Flame Bullet.
As Jiraiya had said before, intelligence was a ninja's lifeline. Konoha currently appeared safe, but who knew where a White Zetsu or a Root informant might be hiding? In particular, Obito's surroundings were definitely under special watch. So to preserve his intelligence advantage, Yuu had to put in extra thought.
~~~
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