"Ha...ha!"
On the hill behind Konoha, Minato lay sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily from extreme chakra exhaustion.
Today's training hadn't been basic practice — he had continued refining high-speed movement techniques, a method he'd discovered himself through cultivation rather than any jutsu taught by others.
His eyelids grew heavier. In his sleep, an image remained stubbornly in his mind — that of a woman with long red hair, her face turned sideways and her figure extremely blurry.
The only clear detail was her red hair.
"Don't leave me!"
Suddenly sitting upright, Minato shouted into the quiet forest. He felt something wet at the corners of his eyes. Brushing them away with his fingers, he briefly touched his fingertip to his tongue.
It tasted extremely bitter and salty. Only then did he realize he had been crying...
"What's wrong with me..."
Minato murmured to himself. He couldn't even remember exactly what he had dreamed about, yet he still felt a heavy ache deep inside his chest.
Tears spilled out on their own.
Running his hand through his bangs to cover his forehead, Minato tried to calm himself down. As a ninja, he needed to maintain a clear head no matter where or when.
But surprisingly, he couldn't do it. This strange feeling wouldn't go away — coming from deep within his heart, irresistible.
He secretly wondered if it had something to do with Kushina. After all, the woman in his dream had the same fiery red hair. However, the woman in his dreams appeared significantly older than Kushina.
Recalling his abnormal behavior today when the red-haired woman constantly surfaced in his mind, followed by his rage over Kushina's situation, there must certainly be some connection between these two...
Unfortunately, his current knowledge was limited, making it impossible to explain all these connections.
He stopped dwelling on it and turned his attention to how he felt physically — which shocked him all over again.
Although his chakra reserves hadn't grown significantly as they had last night, most of his exhausted chakra had already recovered.
Speechless, Minato realized that previously it would have taken him several hours, perhaps even longer, to refine his chakra to this level.
Yet now, after merely taking a nap, his chakra recovery matched several hours worth of refinement.
Such speed and method of recovery were just mind-blowing. Even though his chakra was still at genin level, this kind of recovery rate already exceeded that of an average jonin.
This had nothing to do with ordinary cultivation anymore. Minato was certain that starting from last night's sudden chakra increase, something significant must have changed within his body.
In the ninja world, some individuals possessed extraordinary talent, being born with hidden powers far beyond normal people. For instance, Konoha's Hyuga and Uchiha clans both possessed a unique dojutsu inaccessible to ordinary people.
[Byakugan] [Sharingan]
These abilities weren't present from birth but awakened through later cultivation or specific external conditions.
Besides dojutsu, there are many other such phenomena in the ninja world, known to the world as...kekkei genkai.
For a ninja who possesses a kekkei genkai, their bloodline abilities might awaken suddenly under certain external conditions, leading to a dramatic increase in power.
Minato currently didn't know whether his case fell into this category. His parents were ordinary civilians without any ninja background, nor did they come from any prestigious family.
He decided to keep this matter secret for now, since the time frame was too short. He wanted to observe further for a while longer.
Thinking to himself, he slowly stood up and turned around.
Whoosh!
Chakra gathered in his legs before erupting violently. Minato's figure became a blur. Because of his long golden hair, it appeared as if a streak of golden light had flashed by.
His figure came to a smooth stop at a position over ten meters away where he had been earlier. Slightly tilting his head sideways, he cast a glance behind him, then a faint smile gradually formed on his face.
Minato had already started to adapt to this sudden surge of strength. Today, he'd become much more skillful at this high-speed movement method, and the amount of chakra he consumed had significantly decreased.
At this moment, if any Konoha ninja happened to be present, they would surely be astonished.
Because this high-speed movement technique Minato discovered on his own had already surpassed the level of technique an average genin could master.
[Body Flicker Technique]!
...
In the days that followed, the image of that scarlet-haired girl kept surfacing in Minato's mind, always seeming connected to Kushina in some way.
After that day's incident, their relationship had gradually become closer. Of course, Mikoto's efforts in bringing them together played a part. As for Yu Akasaka—the one Minato injured—he hadn't been seen at the Ninja Academy for several days now.
Although Minato didn't say anything, he knew very well in his heart that his current overall abilities were definitely no worse than those of a real genin. Yu Akasaka wouldn't recover quickly after receiving one of Minato's furious strikes.
During that week of classes, Kushina's characteristics gradually revealed themselves. She completely sucked at theoretical courses—she couldn't even remember the most basic concept of chakra itself...
That didn't mean she lacked talent, though. Her chakra control was coming along surprisingly well—and her physical strength was off the charts.
Freshmen at the Ninja Academy didn't just have to study theory and chakra control—they also had regular physical training and workouts.
Most students grumbled about the workouts, but Kushina acted like she didn't even know what tired was. Such exceptional physical strength and endurance made even Mikoto from a prestigious family and Minato, whose abilities had reached genin-level, silently amazed.
Every day after school, Minato always sensed someone lurking in the shadows near Kushina, but he never followed her again because he knew these people were there specifically to protect her.
Although he had some suspicions about Kushina's status, he realized it was clearly beyond his reach at the moment.
As long as he could see Kushina at school every day, he was already very happy.
One week later, Yu Akasaka finally appeared in class. Minato quickly apologized to him, but all he received in return was a very venomous glare.
"Minato Namikaze, things between us won't end like this!" Yu Akasaka spat out fiercely. However, he didn't attack Minato directly because he clearly knew he wasn't his match.
In the morning, Moto Kouda strode into the rather noisy classroom.
As soon as they spotted him, the students instinctively returned to their seats.
His gaze lingered on Minato for just a moment before he withdrew his eyes and said, "Students, there's been a slight change to today's schedule... Today, we have a special guest teacher coming to give lessons at the Ninja Academy."
As Moto Kouda spoke, even his expression showed slight fluctuation.
Unfortunately for them, the oblivious students showed little interest. To them... whoever came to teach might still be some sort of torment.
But Moto Kouda's next sentence completely changed the atmosphere of the entire classroom. Surprise lit up all their young faces.
"The special guest teacher today… is a direct disciple of the Third Hokage!"
...
...
Favor collection, recommendation votes, and clicks are greatly appreciated!!!
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!