"The first mission—river cleanup!"
Unrolling a D-rank mission scroll, Namikaze Minato led Team Three toward a shallow river just outside the village (Konoha was huge, after all, with plenty of open land).
Each of the three students carried a bamboo basket on their backs and a pair of trash tongs in hand.
All of them looked… utterly dumbfounded.
Especially Kakashi. At six years old (he'd entered the Academy at five), the basket he carried was nearly as tall as he was. By contrast, Uchiha Shien towered over him by a full head.
But of course, no one said anything about him resting or taking it easy.
Because ninja didn't make exceptions based on age.
When one possessed chakra, size and age didn't mean you were harmless.
"Now, watch closely. As long as you continuously and evenly release chakra from the soles of your feet… you can stand on the surface of the water."
As Minato spoke, he calmly walked straight onto the river. His posture was steady and natural, as if his feet were stepping on solid ground.
Water walking!
Another core chakra control technique.
Once a ninja mastered this, they could fight on water, traverse rivers, and even use the terrain to their advantage.
Konoha's training system really was impeccable.
Young genin not only had jonin instructors to guide them, but their mission structure also provided real-world experience. No wonder the village had survived multiple Ninja Wars— with not just numbers, but true quality on its side.
"Yes, Minato-sensei!" ×3
The trio began their training.
Their results, but were very different.
Kakashi was as steady as a rock— you'd never think he was only seven.
Yamanaka Koji wobbled at first but managed to stabilize himself after a few seconds. Clearly, he'd practiced before.
Someone's taught him already? Minato frowned slightly.
Because the Academy never taught this technique. Controlling chakra like this wasn't part of the curriculum— for ordinary students with minimal chakra reserves, learning control was secondary to simply building chakra first.
Splash!
Uchiha Shien went headfirst into the river.
"Uchiha Shien!"
Kōji rushed to help—but he forgot that he himself was barely standing upright. Splash! The two of them plunged into the water together.
"Kakashi," Minato said gently, looking at the silent white-haired boy who stood still on the water's surface,
"you're teammates. In times like this… shouldn't you lend a hand?"
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
He knew all too well what had happened to Kakashi's father, and how Danzo had been trying to mold the boy into a weapon for Root. It was exactly because of that that the Third Hokage had entrusted Kakashi to him personally— not just as a squad member, but as a true disciple.
There was a difference.
A student was someone you trained. A disciple inherited your will—and your everything.
As long as Kakashi was under his wing, Danzo wouldn't dare make a move.
And as for Uchiha Shien, the Hokage's instructions to "observe him closely" likely carried another layer of meaning. If Minato took the boy in as a disciple too, it would mean absolute protection.
After all, there was no safer place in the ninja world than beside a Kage-tier master.
"…!"
Kakashi said nothing.
He was still trapped in the darkness left by his father's death. If it had been Obito or Rin, he might've moved to help— but Uchiha Shien and Kōji, newly assigned teammates? Not yet.
This was the real shinobi world— not the anime version where everyone on the "good side" was endlessly compassionate.
Thankfully, this particular section of the river was calm and shallow, designed for beginners to train.
So, no danger at all.
Cough, cough!
Clambering onto the bank, Uchiha Shien spat out several mouthfuls of river water. He'd swallowed a few gulps by accident—thankfully, it was clean enough.
"Uchiha Shien, are you all right?"
Kōji, drenched head to toe, asked in concern. He was puzzled— Uchiha Shien had taught him and Honda Taka the tree-walking and water-walking methods before, under the pretense of "Uchiha training." How could he suddenly forget?
"I'm fine," Uchiha Shien waved it off weakly.
In truth, his chakra control had gone haywire because of the sudden increase in his chakra reserves. Like someone whose strength had just multiplied overnight— it took time to readjust.
Once he understood the cause, it was an easy fix.
By the time they completed the river cleanup—Konoha's classic D-rank grunt work—it was already noon. After lunch by the riverbank, Minato finally began the day's real training.
"Kakashi, you're still in a growth stage. I'll be focusing on honing your combat experience rather than teaching new techniques."
"Yes, sensei."
Kakashi nodded curtly. He lacked neither skill nor ninjutsu—only experience. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been blocked so easily by Taiyi during the test.
"Kōji, your fundamentals are solid. I'll teach you a C-rank ninjutsu—Wind Release: Gale Palm. Would you like to learn it?"
"Yes! Thank you, Minato-sensei!"
Kōji's composure cracked, replaced by barely contained excitement.
Having a jonin instructor truly paid off.
And this was just a squad leader. If one became an official disciple, the master's entire jutsu repertoire could be inherited.
No wonder the bond between master and disciple often surpassed that between father and son.
Of course, the shinobi world had its grim pattern— students killing their teachers.
The Third and Orochimaru. Orochimaru and Sasuke. Nagato and Jiraiya. Minato and Obito…
Notice a trend? Most of the Hokage line met their ends by their pupils' hands.
Still, that was mostly a "Hokage family curse." Other teacher–student pairs weren't quite so tragic.
"Uchiha Shien," Minato turned next,
"I'll teach you a C-rank fire-style technique—Fire Style: Flame Bullet."
This wasn't favoritism. He didn't need to teach Kakashi new jutsu— the boy's late father, the White Fang, had left him more than enough.
"Thank you, Minato-sensei!"
Uchiha Shien couldn't hide his joy.
Ninjutsu had always fascinated him.
Until now, he'd only managed to obtain the Summoning Jutsu on his own— this would be his first real offensive jutsu.
Only after starting did he realize just how difficult learning a ninjutsu truly was.
It wasn't about memorizing hand seals. The real challenge lay in controlling the chakra flow within one's body— forcing it through precise pathways at just the right speed.
In anime, people learned jutsu in minutes. In reality? Not a chance.
If ninjutsu were that easy, most genin wouldn't struggle their whole careers without ever mastering a C-rank technique. Even among chunin, many could only use one or two.
Weeks, months—even years—were normal.
Of course, having a teacher made things much faster.
And having lots of chakra made it faster still.
Kōji, for example, could only attempt the Gale Palm a few times before his chakra was drained dry. Uchiha Shien, on the other hand, could try several dozen times before exhaustion.
The more chakra you had, the faster you learned.
It was the same principle that let the future "orange knucklehead" master an A-rank technique in a single night— sheer chakra volume equals unlimited retries.
Uchiha Shien's situation was similar. Even though his chakra was only several times that of Kōji, his progress was tens of times faster. Within half a day, he'd reached proficiency that would've taken Kōji a month.
Even Minato couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise.
Of course, the true reason was the Essence of Nature serum— refined from what would one day become the "Fusang Tree." Naturally, it boosted his affinity with fire-style chakra dramatically.
By dusk, Uchiha Shien had already barely mastered the Flame Bullet technique.
Impressive, though not quite protagonist-tier. After all, the future "Crown Prince" learned an A-rank jutsu in under half an hour. Half a day for a C-rank one? Not too shabby for a transmigrator.
(Still… maybe a bit embarrassing.)
As the sky turned red, Uchiha Shien wrapped up his solo training and prepared to head home.
His dream was still to "lay flat."
But now that people like Danzo were watching him, self-preservation came first.
He refused to be the kind of ninja who could only accept fate when danger struck.
However, just as he was passing through a patch of woods— he suddenly heard movement ahead.
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