While Chiba was calculating to himself, in the courtyard, Uzumaki Mito spoke again.
“Tsunade, go and get the five Ninjutsu scrolls for Wind Release: Vacuum Wave, Vacuum Sphere, and Great Breakthrough, as well as Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique and Great Dragon Fire Technique, and bring them to little Minato.”
“Ah… I have to make another trip?”
Tsunade’s mouth twitched, her face full of annoyance, but in the end, she did not disobey her grandmother’s wishes and helplessly turned back into the inner room.
A moment later, she walked out carrying five brand-new scrolls and casually handed them to Minato.
“Thank you, Grandma Mito! Thank you, Lady Tsunade!”
Minato quickly stood up to express his respectful thanks, his eyes filled with joy.
“You’re welcome. Just cultivate well and don’t waste this opportunity.”
Tsunade waved her hand dismissively, her eyes darting slightly before she immediately looked at Uzumaki Mito and spoke up.
“Grandma, there’s nothing else here, right? If not, I’m going to head out. There’s a pile of things at the hospital waiting for me to deal with!”
“You, honestly.”
Uzumaki Mito saw through her little scheme and chuckled helplessly.
“What hospital business? Do you think I don’t know you? Fine, go ahead.”
As she spoke, she looked at the two young men in front of her again, her expression becoming increasingly gentle and kind.
“From now on, this is your second home. Feel free to come by and visit whenever you’re free.”
“If you have any doubts about your cultivation or hit any bottlenecks in Ninjutsu, you can come ask me anytime. Grandma is always here.”
As she grew older, she had long since grown indifferent to conflict and grew particularly fond of these lively, hardworking juniors.
Looking at them was like seeing the Senju Clan of the past.
“Yes! We’ll remember that!”
Chiba and Minato nodded heavily, responding obediently.
“Then, Grandma Mito, we’ll take our leave!”
“Go ahead.”
Uzumaki Mito waved with a smile, watching them leave.
Afterward, the two followed behind Tsunade and left the Senju Clan Compound together.
Just as they stepped out of the clan compound gate, Tsunade immediately stopped and waved at the two of them casually.
“Alright, you two are free to do whatever. I’m heading out.”
After speaking, she glared fiercely at Jiraiya, who was grinning from ear to ear at the side, then flashed away, leaving directly without a hint of hesitation.
“Hehe.”
Jiraiya scratched his head and gave a silly laugh, his gaze falling on the thick stack of Ninjutsu scrolls in their arms, and he couldn’t help but tease them.
“It seems Lady Mito really treats you like family. You’ve had quite the haul this trip.”
After the joke, the playfulness on Jiraiya’s face vanished, his expression turning suddenly serious as he gave a solemn warning. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“However, I must remind you: don’t bite off more than you can chew.”
“Since you’ve received so many Ninjutsu at once, don’t rush to practice them all. Pick one or two to master first, and improve steadily. Understand?”
This was the hard-earned experience he had gained along his journey, and it was also the safest way for every ordinary Ninja to cultivate.
He sighed inwardly, thinking that this was the benefit of having a powerful backer.
Thinking back to his youth, there was no such massive amount of Ninjutsu available for him to choose from.
Just being accepted as a disciple by the Third Hokage had already been a tremendous stroke of fortune.
Just then, Minato spoke with some hesitation, pointing to Chiba beside him.
“Teacher… that advice of yours doesn’t seem to apply to Chiba.”
“He learns things extremely quickly, has a photographic memory, can draw inferences about other cases from one instance, and can even improve Ninjutsu on his own. The situation of ‘biting off more than one can chew’ simply doesn’t exist for him.”
Jiraiya: “…”
The air went silent instantly, and the situation became quite awkward.
Fortunately, Jiraiya was thick-skinned enough.
He instantly composed his expression and waved his hand solemnly.
“Ahem, well, this kid is an exception!”
He looked at Chiba and said helplessly, “You are a total exception. Just do as you please. If you encounter any bottlenecks or difficulties, go straight to your master, Tsunade.”
He then turned his head to look at Minato and warned him again.
“Minato, although your talent is great, you are ultimately within the normal range. Do not be impatient or greedy for too much. Steady progress is the right path.”
“Understood!”
Minato nodded solemnly, without a hint of objection.
He knew in his heart that Jiraiya was genuinely looking out for him.
With his current foundation, practicing five Ninjutsu at once was indeed counterproductive.
Focusing deeply on one or two in the short term, and polishing his Chakra nature transformation and shape transformation, was the fastest path to becoming stronger.
These principles were things Chiba had specifically analyzed and broken down for him just yesterday, and he had kept them firmly in his heart.
Seeing that he was sensible, Jiraiya’s brows relaxed, and he laughed heartily.
“Very good! Teacher is in a good mood today. Let’s go! My treat, we’re having grilled meat!”
“Really? That’s great! Thank you, Teacher Jiraiya!”
Minato’s eyes lit up instantly, and he was filled with excitement.
Grilled meat in Konoha was expensive, and they usually lived frugally, so they couldn’t bear to spend money on it.
Chiba also smiled and said, “Thank you, Uncle Jiraiya!”
Jiraiya was instantly unconvinced and protested with a resentful look.
“I’m only nineteen, in the prime of my youth! If you’re not going to call me Lord Jiraiya or Senior, at least call me Big Brother, right? ‘Uncle’ is just too old-fashioned!”
The two couldn’t help it and burst into laughter together.
…
After finishing their satisfying meal of grilled meat, at dusk, Chiba and Minato returned to Chiba’s residence together.
As soon as they entered, Chiba looked at Minato with a solemn expression.
“Minato, there’s something I want to ask of you.”
“Hmm?”
Seeing Chiba so rarely serious, Minato immediately suppressed his smile and asked earnestly, “What is it? Just tell me. Between us, as long as I can do it, I won’t hesitate!”
Looking at his best friend’s sincere and open demeanor, Chiba felt a warmth in his heart and didn’t beat around the bush, speaking directly.
“I’m also very interested in Wind Release and Fire Release Ninjutsu. Could you lend me the Ninjutsu scrolls you got today so I can make a copy?”
“Don’t worry, as for my Lightning Release Ninjutsu, as long as you want them, I will copy them all for you. We’ll share our resources.”
“At the very least, we can both practice the Lightning attribute, so it won’t conflict.”
Minato was slightly stunned upon hearing this, but then nodded without hesitation, immediately taking out all five brand-new scrolls from his arms.
“Why wouldn’t that be okay! Take them all!”
“When I go home later, I’ll bring my Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique scroll for you to copy as well.”
Changing his tone, Minato’s face showed a bit of hesitation and seriousness, and he couldn’t help but advise him.
“However, Chiba, I have to say one thing.”
“Your cultivation talent is peerless, but I’ve heard that practicing a Chakra attribute you don’t have an affinity for yields half the results with double the effort and is extremely draining.”
“You can study it, but please don’t waste too much time on it.”
“If you find that it’s slowing down your cultivation progress, you must stop in time, okay?”
“If you don’t promise me that, then I can’t give you these scrolls.”
“I don’t want to delay your path of cultivation because of me.”
Minato’s expression was extremely solemn, his eyes sincere, without a hint of jest.
Looking at his best friend’s genuine concern for him, warmth surged in Chiba’s heart, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Don’t worry, don’t I know myself? I wouldn’t do something as foolish as losing the big picture for the sake of small gains.”
“If it really becomes counterproductive, I will definitely stop immediately.”
“Besides, we are together every day, cultivating together. Even if I really get carried away, don’t I have you to keep an eye on me?”