The following morning...
"Happy birthday, Naruto."
The moment Naruto entered the sealing space after waking up, Minato—who had clearly been waiting for him—walked over and handed him a notebook.
A notebook...
Judging by appearances alone, it looked far less impressive than a single kunai.
And today is your death anniversary...
You’re giving me a birthday present.
Should I burn some offerings for you too?
The corners of Naruto’s mouth twitched as he silently grumbled to himself.
Even so, he accepted the notebook.
"...Thank you."
A warm smile spread across Minato’s face.
Then he looked at Naruto expectantly.
Finding his reaction a little strange, Naruto sat down and opened the notebook.
Minato’s handwriting was remarkably neat.
For convenience, the first few pages contained a table of contents listing every technique alongside its corresponding page number.
Naruto skimmed through it.
The table of contents alone filled several pages.
The notebook contained an astonishing number of techniques.
It was practically a miniature version of the Scroll of Seals.
What surprised him even more...
Some of the techniques listed weren’t among the abilities the System had extracted from Minato.
"You know all of these?"
Naruto looked up curiously.
Minato scratched the back of his head.
"Some of them..."
"I only learned the training methods."
"I never had the chance to fully master them."
After saying that, he hurriedly added,
"But the ones I have mastered..."
"They’re all extremely powerful."
Naruto nodded.
He understood immediately.
The System only extracted abilities Minato had actually mastered during his lifetime.
Techniques he merely understood in theory didn’t count.
Even so...
Minato had thoughtfully written them down anyway.
A faint warmth stirred in Naruto’s heart.
He turned past the table of contents.
The first Chapter covered...
The Chakra Extraction Technique.
Naruto carefully pretended to read through it.
Soon, he frowned.
The notebook only described the cultivation method.
There were no personal notes.
No explanations.
No annotations.
That’s odd.
Minato wrote everything so neatly that he even included a table of contents.
Why would he leave out the most important explanations?
At that moment...
Minato knew it was finally his time to shine.
"Naruto."
"Chakra is created by combining the physical energy generated by the body’s 130 trillion cells with the spiritual energy accumulated through experience and training."
"When learning for the first time, it’s easiest to think of it in three steps."
"First..."
"Calm your mind and try to sense your physical and spiritual energy."
"Second..."
"Guide both forms of energy."
"Third..."
"Combine them."
"For beginners, simply sensing those two energies usually takes several days."
"Successfully extracting chakra often requires anywhere from one to several months."
"So don’t rush."
"At first, both forms of energy are incredibly faint."
"If you can’t completely calm yourself..."
"You won’t be able to sense them."
"So take your time."
Naruto stared at him.
Then...
He slowly raised a finger...
And tapped the notebook.
Now he understood.
The notebook lacked annotations because...
Minato had deliberately left himself room to explain everything in person.
What a schemer.
Seeing Naruto’s suspicious look, Minato awkwardly scratched his head.
...He figured it out.
To be fair...
One reason he had omitted the annotations really was because he wanted to teach Naruto personally.
But there was another reason.
Time.
He had wanted to finish recording every technique he knew before Naruto woke up.
One night simply hadn’t been enough.
Writing only the cultivation methods saved precious time.
Then he could explain the finer details whenever Naruto asked.
That way...
He could enjoy the simple happiness of his son seeking guidance from his father.
Wasn’t that...
Twice the happiness?
Naruto looked away.
He closed his eyes and pretended to meditate.
One...
Two...
Three...
Alright.
No point pretending anymore.
An enormous surge of chakra suddenly erupted from Naruto’s real body outside the seal.
"Hiss—!"
Minato, who had just been about to sit down himself, nearly stumbled.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Already?!
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
The amount of chakra Naruto had extracted...
Already surpassed the total chakra Minato possessed when he was alive.
That’s impossible!
After the initial shock...
An overwhelming wave of joy flooded Minato’s heart.
As expected of my son!
Behind them...
Kurama lazily lifted one eyelid.
Even he looked surprised.
The chakra Naruto had just extracted...
Already amounted to nearly one-tenth of what Kurama currently possessed.
And Naruto was only...
Three years old.
"...That wasn’t hard."
Naruto opened his eyes and casually raised an eyebrow.
Without even realizing it...
He had just shown off spectacularly.
Minato coughed awkwardly.
"...Well..."
"Naruto..."
"Chakra isn’t permanent."
"If you don’t use it, it’ll gradually dissipate."
"So from now on, only extract as much chakra as you actually need."
"You’re still growing."
"Don’t overwork your body by drawing out too much."
He hurriedly changed the subject.
Otherwise...
What if Naruto casually asked,
"How long did it take you to learn chakra extraction?"
How was he supposed to answer that?
The Yellow Flash still had his pride.
"I understand."
Naruto nodded.
Deciding to spare Minato’s dignity, he didn’t pursue the subject.
Instead, he turned to the next page.
The Twelve Basic Hand Seals.
Minato’s eyes brightened once again.
"My turn."
"Most ninjutsu require hand seals to guide the flow of chakra."
"So before learning techniques, you first need to master the twelve basic seals."
"The illustrations might not be very clear."
"I’ll demonstrate them."
As he spoke, Minato smoothly formed each seal.
Rat.
Ox.
Tiger.
Rabbit.
Dragon.
Snake.
Horse.
Ram.
Monkey.
Bird.
Dog.
Boar.
Naruto copied the sequence once.
Before Minato could say a word...
His hands began moving faster...
And faster...
Until—
Done.
Six hand seals in a single second.
Minato stood there in stunned silence.
As if he’d just seen a ghost.
Naruto calmly turned the page.
The Three Basic Techniques.
He glanced over the instructions.
Poof!
A cloud of smoke appeared.
Naruto transformed into a miniature Kurama.
Poof!
Another puff of smoke.
This time...
A second tiny Kurama appeared beside the first.
Sure enough...
Naruto still liked Kurama the best.
As for the Substitution Technique...
Since it required a prepared substitute such as a log...
He couldn’t practice it inside the seal.
Behind him...
Kurama lazily opened one eye again.
A smug grin slowly spread across his face.
See?
Naruto likes me more.
Otherwise...
Why didn’t he transform into Minato?
Heh.
Feeling immensely pleased with himself, Kurama shot Minato a triumphant sideways glance.
The training continued.
Wind Release.
Fire Release.
Water Release.
Lightning Release.
Yin Release.
Yang Release.
Naruto had perfectly inherited every chakra nature possessed by both Minato and Kushina.
As a result...
Nearly every elemental ninjutsu in the notebook followed the exact same pattern.
He read it once.
He understood it.
He practiced it once.
He mastered it.
By the end of the morning...
Naruto had already learned more than half the techniques recorded in the notebook.
Even the Rasengan...
A technique that had taken Minato three years to create...
And Jiraiya three full days to master...
Was casually performed by Naruto after reading a single page.
Eventually...
Even Minato became numb.
Not even the Flying Thunder God Technique escaped.
Minato demonstrated the Flying Thunder God seal and its space-time movement only once.
Naruto copied everything flawlessly.
Not only did he master it...
He wielded it with astonishing ease.
Even more outrageous...
He could freely teleport using Minato’s own Flying Thunder God markers.
By that point...
Minato no longer felt the slightest satisfaction from teaching his son.
Wasn’t it supposed to be—
The son eagerly asking questions.
The father patiently explaining.
The child gradually improving under his guidance.
Instead...
As long as Naruto possessed the cultivation method...
He seemed capable of mastering anything on his own.
Aside from demonstrating a few particularly complicated techniques...
Minato barely had anything left to teach.
Then another thought suddenly crossed his mind.
This is my son.
My son is a once-in-a-lifetime genius!
His frustration vanished instantly.
In its place...
Only overwhelming pride remained.