"Master Jiraiya!"
That familiar voice belonged to Master Jiraiya, whom he hadn't seen in over half a year.
According to Minato's knowledge of history, the great ninja nations were now entering a period of brewing war. The Second Great Ninja War had initially erupted precisely here in the Land of Rain.
This small country caught between the Nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth was destined for tragedy.
Fortunately, despite its size, the Village Hidden in the Rain contained one man standing at the pinnacle of the ninja world—Hanzo, the Salamander.
The title of "Sannin" originated from him.
While Master Jiraiya had been away, he must have been on a mission in the Land of Rain.
That world-shaking battle was drawing dangerously near.
After calling out, his teacher showed no intention of stopping his jutsu. It seemed he wanted to test how much Minato had grown during the six months he'd been gone.
On top of a swamp, even ninja-skilled chakra-adhering techniques struggled to maintain stable footing, so Minato couldn't just descend recklessly.
Still, for someone as battle-hardened as himself, handling such a situation was simple enough.
Minato instantly threw several kunai into the air without applying too much force.
At the same time, gravity pulled his body downward.
The kunai landed on the swamp but didn't sink immediately, sticking partially above the surface.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Taking this opportunity, Minato stepped rapidly across several kunai, using them as footholds to escape the swamp area and land upon the wall of a courtyard on another street.
Minato kept his guard up, stretching out his still-weak chakra perception.
A white shadow instantly appeared behind Minato, delivering a heavy punch whose impact against the air produced a whooshing sound.
Minato knew that with his current speed and reflexes, keeping up with Master Jiraiya's movements remained impossible.
In a flash, he crossed his arms in a defensive stance.
[Boom!]
A heavy force suddenly surged through both arms, making his bones creak.
If not for his body being boosted by the Nine-Tails' chakra, that single blow would've shattered both his arms.
His familiar teacher's face soon appeared before Minato.
With a bitter smile, he said, "Teacher, long time no see. Your punches sure are heavier than ever."
Minato tried to dissipate that force but failed. He could only retreat backward along the wall for more than a dozen steps. Fortunately, the courtyard wall was quite long, so he didn't fall down completely.
"Hearing from the Third, you became a genin half a year ago. I'm simply checking whether you truly deserve that rank," Jiraiya said with a smile.
Minato was stunned, then asked, "Just for this?"
That punch from his master earlier could probably incapacitate any genin—and perhaps even take down a chunin instantly...
"You barely blocked half my power, but your reflexes were sharp. Looks like you haven't gone soft in the last six months."
"Although he said that, Jiraiya was actually quite astonished by Minato's rapid growth. In just six months, the boy's reaction speed and movements were already nearly comparable to those of some Jonin in the village.
Even when he took Minato as his student, he had expected that day might come eventually.
"Now, let me see how far your Ninjutsu has progressed," Jiraiya said.
As he spoke, Master Jiraiya's hands had already begun forming hand seals. Just from the first three seals alone, Minato could already identify which technique it was.
Immediately, he also started forming seals. Although his speed still fell short of his teacher's, it wasn't far behind either.
[Water Release: Suiran no Jutsu!]
Master Jiraiya expelled a high-speed water stream from his mouth. Obviously, due to space limitations, he wouldn't use any technique with tremendous destructive power here.
However, for Minato who had just resisted one of Jiraiya's attacks, the impact of Suiran alone was enough to throw him off balance.
[Lightning Release: Raikō Ma!]
Minato's technique was completed at this moment too. Lightning chakra began to swirl in his palm.
Then he directly spread both palms open, placing them right in front of the incoming water stream.
Minato's technique had almost no offensive power, yet it was more than enough against Suiran.
Because water conducts electricity; the electric current in Minato's hands would travel through Suiran's water stream and attack Jiraiya.
Seeing this, Jiraiya immediately ceased releasing his technique.
"Cunning little brat," he scolded with a smile, yet his face was filled with satisfaction.
Which teacher wouldn't be happy seeing their student excel?
Minato smiled slightly too, stopping his Raikō Ma as well.
In the world of Ninjutsu, techniques counter each other—no matter how weak a technique appears, it still holds its purpose.
And what determines that purpose isn't the jutsu itself, but rather the ninja wielding it.
"Teacher, it's been a long time," Minato bowed respectfully to Jiraiya, as humble as ever.
Whether in the past or now, he always held profound respect for his master because it was thanks to him that he became who he is today.
"It sure has been. You've grown quite a bit taller too," Jiraiya chuckled, then added, "Still, we should find another place to talk. Standing on someone else's courtyard wall chatting isn't very proper."
Minato nodded. The two went their separate ways afterward. Following Minato's suggestion, the master-disciple pair arrived at Minato's residence.
Jiraiya wore black funeral attire—the ceremony for Mito's passing was approaching—and Minato needed to return home to change clothes as well.
After changing, Minato even prepared breakfast for Master Jiraiya, receiving an 'not bad' evaluation.
Minato gave an awkward smile. Since becoming Hokage, although he often cooked for Kushina, he rarely received positive feedback.
Their cooking skills simply existed in different dimensions.
Afterward, the two parted ways briefly. Officially, Minato was still a Ninja Academy student and needed to gather at school first.
Ninja Academy.
All students wore black mourning clothes, gathered at the main entrance.
Minato once again saw Yan Uchiha, someone he hadn't encountered in ages. Yan was also staring in Minato's direction, his dark eyes brimming with battle-lust.
Clearly, he still longed for a final showdown against Minato.
Later, hundreds of students were led to the funeral grounds.
The place was already packed with people, yet completely silent — not a word was spoken. Heads bowed low, eyes heavy with grief.
In the crowd, Minato cast his gaze forward and spotted Mito's photograph placed prominently at the center.
This gentle old man had spent his entire life, side by side with his partner, building and defending the village.
Minato closed his eyes for a moment, then gave a deep bow before the photo.
When he opened them again, he glanced downward and saw a frail, tiny figure kneeling on the ground, surrounded by over a dozen ninja.
"Kushina…"
...
...(to be continued.)
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