This was Jiraiya's way of testing Minato Namikaze, though he himself hadn't expected much, and he could already tell as much.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, he was still just a new student at the Ninja Academy. Even if he had acquired the basic qualities of a Genin, to Jiraiya, that didn't amount to much.
He himself, along with Motoi and others, had already become true ninja by the age of six. By the time they were Minato's age, they had already experienced life-and-death battles.
However, the test he had set up seemed extremely difficult even for an ordinary Genin. Yet, Minato Namikaze had already noticed it—something not even Yan Uchiha, born into a clan of prodigies, had realized.
In short, Jiraiya was quite satisfied with the disciple assigned to him by the Third Hokage.
Today's lesson had also been his own initiative, specifically designed to test Minato Namikaze's talent. Originally, he had further preparations planned, but now it seemed unnecessary.
From brief observation alone, Minato Namikaze had already displayed every quality required of a ninja: keen observational skills, sharp discernment, and most importantly, a calm and unassuming nature.
With such traits, he was fully qualified to graduate from the Ninja Academy and officially become a true ninja.
Yet, he seemed to be hiding his abilities within the school, which went against what would typically be expected of a child his age who possessed such talent. For Minato to act this way, there must be a reason.
However, such maturity simply didn't seem fitting for a seven-year-old...
Still, gradually, Jiraiya shifted his gaze away from Minato and fixed it on Kushina.
From the moment he arrived here, he had sensed it—the girl's chakra fluctuations were unusually strong, even surpassing those of Minato Namikaze and Yan Uchiha. But her chakra felt somewhat different.
That wasn't the kind of chakra an ordinary person would possess.
Precisely for this reason, he had intentionally approached Mikoto and Kushina at the start—to confirm whether his sensing ability had been accurate.
"That's enough for today's demonstration. I have other matters to attend to. I'll take my leave," Jiraiya said, and with that, his figure vanished directly before everyone's eyes.
Moto Kouda, Motoi, and others exchanged glances, then led their respective classes back into the classroom. Jiraiya had taught them the Three Basic Ninjutsu, though many students still hadn't quite grasped it, so teachers like them would have to explain the techniques in more detail.
Before learning any ninjutsu, one must first understand the characteristics of the technique itself and the corresponding hand seals. Although Jiraiya had deliberately slowed down while demonstrating the hand seals, plenty of people naturally failed to memorize them properly.
Among these individuals was a clearly frustrated Kushina.
...
The Hokage Tower stood in a central area of Konoha Village. Near the top of the structure was a large, unmistakable kanji symbol representing "fire." This was where the Hokage conducted official business, symbolizing the Hokage's authority within Konoha and across the entire Land of Fire.
Jiraiya appeared before the building, and after a few quick leaps, he reached the entrance. He strode inside with practiced ease, navigating the halls until he arrived at a specific door.
Just then, the door happened to open.
Out stepped an attractive man with long, light purple hair.
The two locked eyes, and the man greeted him with a smile. "Jiraiya, here to see the Third?"
The man was Dan Kato, also a Jonin like Jiraiya.
"Yeah," Jiraiya simply replied with a nod. They passed each other, and the door closed behind him as he entered.
Inside the room, the first thing that caught one's eye was a large desk buried beneath towering piles of paperwork. A Hokage commanded great respect, but also bore immense responsibility.
Honestly, if he had to deal with all this paperwork himself, it would drive him nuts—worse than even an S-rank mission.
The Third Hokage slightly lifted his head, then resumed working on the documents in front of him. Without looking up, he said, "You're here."
Jiraiya grabbed a seat near the desk and waited for the Third to ask more.
"Have you seen that boy already?" the Third asked.
Jiraiya nodded.
The Third scribbled something on the document, placed it atop a stack on the left, exhaled deeply, and finally looked up. "How about my choice of apprentice for you?"
A faint smile touched the Third's face. Jiraiya raised one of his white eyebrows. "He's definitely a promising kid, though maybe not quite up to my level back in the day."
At that, the Third only smiled slightly before saying, "So you're satisfied then. Good. I'll leave him in your hands; how you train him is entirely up to you."
"Obviously, you don't need to tell me that." Jiraiya smirked.
Then he locked eyes with the Third. "Is there something else you're hiding from me?"
The Third hesitated briefly upon hearing this.
"That red-haired girl on Minato Namikaze's team has some very unusual chakra," Jiraiya stated. Although he couldn't immediately identify which clan her chakra belonged to, he was certain she hailed from an extraordinary bloodline.
The Third's expression subtly changed—details that Jiraiya did not miss.
"So I still couldn't hide it from you, huh..."
Deliberately removing the Anbu around Kushina had been meant to avoid raising Jiraiya's suspicion. His former student had unknowingly grown into someone who could impress even him.
The Third stood, picked up the pipe resting on his desk, lit it, and took a puff.
Smoke drifted from his lips, slowly spreading until the entire Hokage office was filled with it.
After a moment of silence, the Third finally spoke. "Originally, this wasn't something you were even supposed to know—it's far too entangled, potentially affecting Konoha Village's stability and the peace among the Five Great Ninja Nations. But since you are my disciple, and equally an inheritor of the Will of Fire, telling you won't be a problem."
He started by stressing how serious the matter was. Upon hearing this, Jiraiya's expression also turned solemn.
"That girl's name is Kushina Uzumaki," the Third then said slowly.
"Someone from the Uzumaki clan?" Jiraiya showed an expression of astonishment. The Uzumaki had once been an allied nation of Konoha village. Their people were born with incredible vitality and an immense amount of Chakra.
That explained why he found Kushina's Chakra somewhat unusual.
However, the Uzumaki clan no longer existed in the world. Because their expertise in sealing techniques was regarded as a threat by other ninja nations, they were attacked collectively and destroyed.
So, surviving members of the Uzumaki clan were scattered across the globe.
After learning Kushina's identity, Jiraiya had already formed a guess in his heart. Yet when the Third confirmed it, his pupils still couldn't help but constrict slightly.
"And she... will be the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"
...
...
Please support this story! A follow, like, or click really means a lot!
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!