"Huff… huff!"
On the back mountain of Konohagakure, Minato Namikaze lay spread-eagled on the ground, breathing heavily as the chakra within his body had been almost completely drained.
Today, he had not practiced basic training.
Instead, he continued practicing high-speed movement.
This was a training method he had developed entirely on his own through experimentation. No one had ever taught him such a technique.
As exhaustion overtook him, his eyelids gradually grew heavy.
In his dream, the image that lingered in his mind was still that mysterious woman with long red hair.
Her face was turned slightly to the side, and her entire figure appeared hazy and indistinct.
Only her red hair stood out clearly.
"Don't leave me!"
The quiet forest echoed with Minato Namikaze's sudden shout as he abruptly sat up.
He felt moisture at the corner of his eyes.
His fingers brushed the corner of his eyelid, and he lightly touched the moisture with his tongue.
The taste was bitter and salty.
Only then did he realize—
he had been crying.
"What's happening to me…?"
Minato Namikaze murmured softly.
He didn't even know exactly what he had dreamed about. All he felt was a heavy pressure in his chest, accompanied by a dull pain.
The tears had flowed out on their own.
He ran a hand through his bangs and covered his forehead, trying to calm himself down.
As a ninja, one had to maintain a clear and steady mind at all times.
Yet he found that he simply couldn't do it.
The strange feeling lingered deep within him, impossible to suppress.
"Could it have something to do with Kushina?"
Minato Namikaze speculated silently.
The red hair of the woman in his dream looked exactly like Kushina's hair color.
However, the woman in his dream seemed much older than Kushina Uzumaki.
Thinking back to the strange events of that day—the repeated appearance of the red-haired woman in his mind and the way he had nearly lost control when protecting Kushina Uzumaki—there had to be some connection between the two.
Unfortunately, Minato Namikaze's knowledge was still limited.
He had no way of explaining the mystery.
He decided not to dwell on it further and instead began examining his body.
What he discovered startled him once again.
Although his chakra reserves had not increased dramatically like they had the previous night, the chakra he had completely exhausted had already recovered by more than half.
Minato Namikaze was stunned.
In the past, recovering that much chakra would have required at least several hours of focused meditation—possibly even longer.
Yet now, all he had done was sleep for a short while.
And his chakra had recovered as if he had trained for hours.
This recovery speed and method had nothing to do with training anymore.
Even if Minato Namikaze were a jonin-level ninja, such rapid recovery would still be impossible.
He was certain of one thing.
Ever since his chakra had suddenly increased the previous night, something inside his body had changed.
In the ninja world, some individuals were born with extraordinary potential.
Hidden powers sometimes existed within them from birth.
For example, the Hyuga and Uchiha clans of Konoha possessed powerful eye techniques beyond the reach of ordinary people.
The Byakugan.
The Sharingan.
These abilities did not manifest immediately at birth. Instead, they awakened later through training or specific external circumstances.
Aside from eye techniques, there were many similar phenomena within the ninja world.
These powers were known collectively as—
Bloodline Limits.
For those who possessed such abilities, their bloodline powers might awaken suddenly under certain conditions, dramatically increasing their strength.
Minato Namikaze didn't know whether his situation belonged to this category.
His parents had both been ordinary civilians, not ninja, and they certainly hadn't belonged to any famous clan.
For now, he decided to keep this matter secret.
After all, it had only been a short time.
He needed to observe things a little longer.
With that thought, he slowly stood up and adjusted his stance.
Whoosh!
Chakra gathered in his legs before erupting outward in an instant.
Minato Namikaze's figure turned into a blur.
With his golden hair flashing through the air, he looked like a streak of golden light.
He came to a smooth stop more than ten meters away from his starting point.
Turning slightly to glance behind him, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Minato Namikaze was gradually adapting to his newly increased strength.
Today, he had gained much greater control over his high-speed movement technique.
The amount of chakra required had also decreased significantly.
If a Konoha ninja had witnessed this scene, they would certainly have been shocked.
The high-speed movement method Minato Namikaze had independently developed had already surpassed the level of techniques that a genin could normally control.
This was—
The Body Flicker Technique.
In the days that followed, the image of the red-haired woman continued to appear occasionally in Minato Namikaze's mind.
Every time it happened, it seemed to be somehow connected to Kushina Uzumaki.
After the events of that day, the relationship between Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki gradually became closer.
Naturally, much of that progress was thanks to the efforts of Mikoto Uchiha, who frequently helped bring them together.
As for Akasaka Yu, the boy Minato Namikaze had injured earlier, he had not returned to the Ninja Academy for several days.
Although Minato Namikaze never spoke about it, he knew the truth himself.
His physical abilities had already reached the level of a true genin.
Akasaka Yu had taken a full-force strike fueled by Minato Namikaze's anger.
Naturally, he would need time to recover.
During that week of classes, Kushina Uzumaki's strengths and weaknesses gradually became clear.
She was completely terrible at theoretical lessons.
She couldn't even remember the most basic explanations about the nature of chakra.
However, that didn't mean she lacked talent.
On the contrary—
Kushina Uzumaki showed remarkable aptitude when it came to chakra refinement.
Not only that, her physical stamina was extraordinary.
Ninja Academy students were required to practice both theoretical studies and chakra refinement.
They also regularly trained their bodies through physical exercises.
Most students complained endlessly during these workouts.
But Kushina Uzumaki seemed completely tireless.
Her stamina and endurance were astonishing.
Even Mikoto Uchiha, who came from the prestigious Uchiha clan, and Minato Namikaze—whose abilities had already reached genin level—were secretly amazed.
Every day after school, Minato Namikaze would still notice the hidden figures around Kushina Uzumaki.
However, he never followed them again.
He already understood that those people were there to protect her.
Although he had his own suspicions about Kushina Uzumaki's identity, he knew that such matters were far beyond his current reach.
As long as he could see Kushina Uzumaki at school each day, he was already happy.
A week later, Akasaka Yu finally returned to class.
Minato Namikaze immediately apologized to him.
But the only response he received was a vicious glare.
"Namikaze Minato… this isn't over between us."
Akasaka Yu spat the words out angrily.
However, he didn't dare attack Minato Namikaze.
He knew very well that he was no longer a match for him.
One morning, Shirota Hon entered the somewhat noisy classroom.
As soon as he appeared, the students quickly returned to their seats.
His gaze lingered briefly on Minato Namikaze before he looked away and spoke.
"Students, today's lesson plan has been temporarily changed."
"We will have a special instructor coming to the Ninja Academy today."
When Shirota Hon spoke, even his own expression showed a slight ripple of excitement.
However, the students who didn't know the details seemed largely uninterested.
To them, it hardly mattered who was teaching.
A lesson was still a lesson.
But the next words that came out of Shirota Hon's mouth instantly changed the atmosphere in the classroom.
The young students' faces filled with astonishment.
"Today's special instructor…"
"…is a direct disciple of the Third Hokage."