Sarutobi Reiji only smirked and dug into the meal. When he finished, he looked up, eyes serious.
"This is my first original jutsu," he said solemnly. "I'm entrusting it to you. Treat it with care."
A dark line popped on Minato's forehead, but he stayed quiet, waiting to see what Reiji would do.
Reiji's smile thinned. He activated the Duel Arena.
There were still about five hours until midnight. The plan was simple: teach Minato the Sexy Technique, then beat him once—banking a daily win. Only the first battle of any day counted; everything else was just a friendly.
With a thought, Reiji pulled Minato into the Arena.
"The sun's down already. Let's train here tonight," Reiji said.
"Alright," Minato nodded.
Reiji explained the mechanics. At its core, it was a transformed, weaponized Transformation Technique. With Minato's talent, two explanations and one demo were enough.
"Sexy Technique!"
With a puff of smoke—Minato turned into a female Reiji. Slender, curvy… dangerously revealing.
"You idiot! Don't transform into me!" Reiji yelped.
One punch later, Minato dropped the form, sheepish. "Didn't you say familiarity is key? I know you best."
"Die!" Reiji roared, lunging with a kunai.
"You actually brought a weapon?!" Minato bolted.
They chased each other across the vast stone plain—one fleeing, one pursuing—until Reiji cornered him. Leaning on the "Seventh Hokage–stacked" physique from his template, he slipped a stab through and won.
"Finally caught you…" Reiji panted, collapsing. The world flipped; both boys blinked back into the room, breath still ragged. The Arena didn't cause real fatigue, but the snap from motion to stillness left them dazed.
"I'm not falling for your tricks next time!" Minato huffed. He'd come expecting a lesson, not an ambush with weapons.
"It's late. Crash here," Reiji said.
"Mm." Minato pulled two futons from the closet with practiced ease. They'd known each other for years; sleeping over was normal.
"Alright then—good night." Reiji flopped onto the bed. Minato shook his head, lay down, and quietly vowed revenge—the difference between a friend and a brother-in-arms.
Morning. Reiji surfaced from his "morning zoning-out" to a knock.
"Coming." It was always Minato—up early, often with breakfast.
"Here, this is yours," Minato said, handing over a bag.
"Minato, you're the best," Reiji grinned. "If only you were a girl—"
"Huh?" Minato froze, danger-sense tingling. "I—uh—need to grab something from home! See you at school!" He fled.
Reiji shrugged, packed up, and ate on the way to the Academy.
He mulled the system. Twenty wins per month → ten recruitment scrolls. Every ten-pull guarantees one Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan Sasuke fragment. Twelve a year… about eight years to complete. Manageable—if he kept the wins flowing.
Reality wasn't a matchmaking ladder. He could spar Minato; if the quota slipped, he'd "help train" a few bottom-ranked classmates and stack victories—while looking like a paragon of the Will of Fire.
Classroom. Minato was already seated.
"Yo, Minato," Reiji said, dropping into the three-person desk's middle seat.
"Hey, Reiji."
The third seat: a spiky-haired boy.
"This spiky kid… looks kind of familiar," Reiji frowned.
"Bastard!" the boy snapped—Inuzuka Ryo, glaring. "I'm your greatest rival on the path to Hokage! And you forgot me?!"
"Ah, sorry—just woke up," Reiji apologized. The tension eased.
"Hmph. Remember it: Inuzuka Ryo—your future Hokage! When I become Hokage, you'll be my advisor, got it?"
From the alley across the Academy, a masked watcher folded a ROOT-marked slip: Target confirmed—move at dusk.