As soon as the class ended, Minato was immediately surrounded by the girls in the class.
"Ne, ne, Minato-kun, want to eat lunch together? My mom's bento is really delicious!"
"No, thank you. I brought my own..."
"Minato-kun, where do you live? Want to walk home together after school?"
"Sorry, I'm going back with a friend. It's not convenient..."
Minato's smile was a bit strained. These girls were too direct with their affection. Even he found it a bit annoying.
"Excuse me, everyone. Can you let me through? I need to use the restroom."
"Eh? I wanted to go too!"
"We're going the same way. Let's go together!"
Several girls chirped excitedly. Hearing this, Minato could only brace himself and leave the classroom, surrounded by a large group of girls.
After everyone left, another Minato quietly popped his head up from behind the podium.
"Eh? A clone? You've even mastered the Clone Jutsu?"
Shinnosuke looked surprised when he saw this.
Although Minato had beaten him in taijutsu before school started, he believed he could regain his honor in other areas.
Like Ninjutsu!
As the Hokage's son, he had mastered the Three Basic Academy Jutsus long before school started, and even learned the Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique.
Although the power was small—only enough to light kindling—being able to release a C-rank Jutsu at the age of five was already quite impressive.
Minato nodded. "I learned a little before."
"Damn it, I couldn't beat you in this either?"
Shinnosuke was a little annoyed, but then he got fired up again. "Fight me again sometime!"
"Next time for sure."
Minato responded with a smile and returned to his seat.
"Namikaze-kun is amazing."
Nonō looked at Minato. "I didn't expect you to have already learned the Clone Jutsu. I'm not even proficient at extracting chakra yet."
Minato smiled humbly. "I just have a bit better talent. If you practice diligently, you can do it too."
"Really?"
Nonō looked very happy. "I hope it's like what Namikaze-kun said."
"Just call me Minato."
Minato had a gentle smile on his face. "Is it okay if I call you by your first name?"
Nonō nodded shyly.
According to ninja customs, only close people called each other by their first names.
Of course, there were also fangirls who tried to get close to others by using first names.
But usually, those were girls. If a boy did that, it would be considered harassment. He had to get the other person's consent first.
"I learned some Ninjutsu before enrolling, so if Nonō-san has any questions, feel free to ask me anytime."
Minato wasn't sure if Nonō's appearance was a coincidence or a deliberate arrangement, but he felt he could test the waters a little.
Nonō was a little embarrassed but didn't refuse. "Then thank you very much, Minato-kun."
"You're welcome. Classmates should help each other, right?"
Minato smiled cheerfully. His sunny smile made Nonō's face flush slightly.
...
"Helping each other..."
Hokage Office Building. Hiruzen Sarutobi bit his pipe, his eyes full of gratification.
Wearing casual clothes, he sat cross-legged on the tatami mat. The crystal ball in front of him projected the scene inside Minato's classroom.
A knock on the door suddenly sounded. Hiruzen canceled the Telescope Technique, and the image on the crystal ball vanished instantly.
"Come in."
"Excuse me."
Ikkaku Umino walked into the room and knelt on one knee. "Lord Hokage."
"Ah, Ikkaku."
Hiruzen asked cheerfully, "How is Shinnosuke performing?"
"Shinnosuke's performance..."
Ikkaku hesitated for a moment. "Not very serious. Perhaps because he studied before enrollment, he was distracted during class. Most of his attention was on Minato Namikaze."
"Hahaha, as expected?"
Hiruzen patted his forehead helplessly. "After all, he's still a child. Starting earlier than his peers inevitably breeds arrogance. What about Minato?"
"Very serious!"
Mentioning Minato, Ikkaku's tone carried a hint of admiration. "That child memorized all the knowledge from class. His personality is also very calm, just a bit too gentle."
"Gentle..."
Hiruzen's expression became complicated, reminding him of a certain disappointing disciple of his.
Two days ago, Jiraiya suddenly proposed to go to Mount Myoboku to train for a while.
At that time, Jiraiya felt different from ever before.
He looked downcast and his aura was weak, but his eyes had a bit more resilience and seriousness than in the past.
Hiruzen thought he had suffered some setback, like being rejected by Tsunade.
So after agreeing, Hiruzen called Tsunade over.
He wanted to hear some gossip about his disciples, but he learned from Tsunade that the brat had been emotionally broken by Minato's roasting!
Especially when he heard Minato's phrase "Who cares?" from Tsunade, even he felt his face burning.
This child isn't as gentle as he appears... his aggressiveness is actually quite strong.
Thinking of this, Hiruzen couldn't help laughing out loud. "Ikkaku, how is your Nature Transformation training going?"
"I have mastered Earth Style Nature Transformation, but I still need time to refine it."
Suddenly asked about his training, Ikkaku was a little nervous.
"Hmm... in that case, Ikkaku, I need you to educate that child well."
Hiruzen bit his pipe, pondered for a moment, and spoke slowly.
"To tell you the truth, Minato's talent is so outstanding that even my disciple Orochimaru falls short. That is exactly why he needs correct guidance."
"Eh? Me?"
Ikkaku looked surprised. "Talent even better than Orochimaru-sama... with my ability, I'm afraid..."
"No, that child is Tsunade's disciple. Tsunade will teach him cultivation."
Hiruzen said seriously, "Originally, with your qualifications, you should have been promoted to Special Jonin by now. However, I looked at your previous mission records and found that everyone who has been your teammate has given you very high evaluations."
"Frank, loyal, selfless, serious, upright... This is also the reason I transferred you to the Ninja Academy. I hope you can pass on these precious qualities to the next generation of students, especially Minato."
"This can be considered a bit of selfishness on my part, since Shinnosuke is also in your class..."
"As compensation for affecting your promotion process, I will teach you some Ninjutsu later and guide you to complete the training of your second Chakra Nature Transformation."
Hearing this, Ikkaku's expression turned solemn. "Yes! I will definitely not disappoint your expectations!"
"You don't need to put so much pressure on yourself."
Hiruzen smiled gratifyingly. "Minato's character is still excellent. In comparison, Shinnosuke is the one who needs more worry."
"But no matter which child in the class, I hope you can treat them fairly. Don't let the mission affect the education of other children."
"Yes!"
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