By the time they emerged from the Duel Arena, the sky had already turned pitch black.
After parting ways with Yuki Seisui inside, Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't appeared again. Whatever tests he'd conducted inside the field remained unknown, but when he reappeared, there didn't seem to be anything off about him.
Looking at Seisui, Hiruzen gave a warm smile. "Not bad at all, Seisui. Your kekkei genkai is truly powerful."
"Though it lacks offensive ability, having a personal training ground at your fingertips is extremely useful."
He then turned to the three who had been waiting patiently. "Work hard, all of you. Konoha's future belongs to you."
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
Once the Third Hokage left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Lord Third is really kind," someone said.
Under the starry sky, Minato spoke with determination, "I'm going to become Hokage one day!"
Seisui nodded from the side. "I believe in you."
He knew Minato, the "little sun," was destined to be the future Fourth Hokage. There was no doubt in his mind.
Nara Shikaku sighed and looked up at the stars. "It's getting late. We should head back."
"Yeah."
"We'll come hang out tomorrow, Seisui!" Akimichi Choza said, shoving a handful of chips into his mouth.
"Sure!" Seisui nodded. "Come early, we'll go for a picnic!"
"Awesome! I'll bring more snacks!"
After the two left, Seisui finally pulled out the scroll Hiruzen had given him.
He had no idea what kind of jutsu the old man had passed on.
"That's from the Hokage?" Minato asked, curiously peeking over at the scroll.
"Yeah, he said it was a reward."
Minato looked a little envious. "That's really lucky."
"No worries," Seisui waved his hand. "We'll learn it together."
"Are you sure that's okay?" Minato hesitated. "He gave it to you, not me…"
Before he could finish, Seisui interrupted with a helpless tone. "What's the big deal? Jutsu are meant to be learned."
Then Seisui pulled out another scroll. "Here, this one's for you."
It was the Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere, a basic C-rank ninjutsu they'd practiced earlier.
One of the few techniques Seisui's family had left behind.
"There're some notes from my dad in there too. Take a look when you study it."
During training, Minato had mostly been practicing the Three Basic Techniques, not by Choice, but because as an orphaned civilian, he had no access to ninjutsu.
Seisui, on the other hand, had inherited a few techniques left behind by his parents, both of whom were Chunin before they died in battle when he was three. They had anticipated this possibility and left behind what they could for their son.
Such is the love of a parent.
Besides Vacuum Sphere, there was also Wind Style: Great Breakthrough and a Healing Technique. The Wind jutsu were from his father, Yuki Santo, while the healing one came from his mother, Yuki Yukiko, a medical ninja.
They even left a scroll on chakra extraction techniques.
For civilians, inheriting three full ninjutsu scrolls was nothing short of remarkable.
Minato accepted the scroll without further protest, then looked at Seisui seriously. "I'll return this to you tomorrow."
Seisui just smiled. He had already memorized the technique front to back. He could probably write it out from memory on the spot, word for word. Whether Minato returned it or not didn't matter, though if he told him to keep it, Minato probably wouldn't accept it.
"Alright, now let's see what the Third gave me."
With a grin, Seisui unrolled the scroll.
Minato leaned in curiously.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
Seisui blinked. He hadn't expected the old man to give him that.
A B-rank technique, and one he desperately wanted. He had been wracking his brain trying to figure out how to obtain it.
"That's an advanced clone jutsu, right?"
"Yeah." Seisui nodded, then began explaining.
"The basic clone from the Three Techniques is just an illusion, untouchable, good for visual deception, but useless against sensor-type ninjas."
"But Shadow Clone Jutsu creates actual physical bodies. And when the clone disperses, the memories go back to the original."
"Even sensor types can't tell the difference between the clone and the real one."
Minato's eyes widened. "That's amazing!"
"So you could use it to confuse the enemy… or send the clone as bait!"
"Exactly," Seisui nodded again. "But more importantly, when a clone disappears and sends its memories back, think about using that for training. You get double the results."
"Amazing!" Minato was even more excited now.
"This is a B-rank technique though, Minato."
Seisui tapped Minato lightly on the forehead, then rolled up the scroll. "Let's head to my place. You can copy it there."
"Are you sure that's okay?" Minato asked again, hesitating. "It was a gift from the Hokage…"
He wasn't worried about whether he could learn it, but whether it would cause trouble for Seisui.
"Don't worry, I already said it's fine."
With that, Seisui grabbed his hand and headed home.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the scene unfold through his crystal ball and chuckled.
He knew about Seisui's bond with Minato. Giving him the Shadow Clone Jutsu was his way of passing it to both of them.
It was also a test.
If Seisui had not shared the scroll with Minato, Hiruzen might've begun to doubt everything he'd seen in the Duel Arena.
In a world where even ten-year-olds could go to war, six- and seven-year-olds were not to be underestimated.
But now, it was clear.
This child truly carried the Will of Fire.
Just then, the door opened without a knock. Hiruzen didn't need to look to know who it was.
Only three people in the village could enter his office so freely. And only Danzo would barge in like that.
"Let me have the boy named Yuki Seisui," Danzo said without preamble. "I'll shape him into one of Konoha's roots."
Classic Danzo, straight to the point.
"He's not suited for Root," Hiruzen replied, exhaling a puff of smoke. "Not even for the Anbu."
"He shines too brightly."
"He belongs in the sunlight."
"Hmph. The taller the tree, the deeper its roots must go. That's how it grows strong!"
"Hand him over."
"No. I've already assigned someone to guide him."
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250 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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