Minato paused for a moment, a warm smile spreading across his face as he extended his arm, bumping fists with Shenshu.

  "Big Brother Shenshu, I look forward to learning from you in the future," Minato said with a grin.

  Shenshu raised his eyes and took a long look at Minato. At his age, to possess such strength—there was no doubt that he was a true genius. Even the Uchiha cn’s talents had been defeated by Minato. As for Jiraiya…

  cough cough.

  Jiraiya lightly cleared his throat, sensing a subtle hint in Shenshu’s words that only the two of them would understand.

  With a speed so fast neither of them could even react, Jiraiya appeared next to Shenshu. He squatted down, wrapped his arm around Shenshu’s neck, and pulled him forward, away from Minato.

  "Kid, show me some respect in front of my disciple!"

  Jiraiya’s expression darkened, and there was a trace of a "threat" in his tone.

  His past wasn’t something most people knew about, but Shenshu’s sister was well aware. And so, Shenshu knew everything there was to know about Jiraiya’s history. Furthermore, due to the connection with the First Hokage, Shenshu had a good retionship with the Third Hokage as well, and both he and his sister had received care from the Third.

  Shenshu, however, wasn’t intimidated by Jiraiya’s threat. He grinned, clearly not one to shy away from trouble.

  "Heh, I know you’ve always had a thing for my sister. If that’s the case, you can’t avoid me, you know?"

  "I was just kidding," Jiraiya’s expression changed instantly, his tone now much more conciliatory. "So, what do you want?"

  Shenshu casually shrugged, "Simple. Teach me a B-rank jutsu."

  Jiraiya’s eyes narrowed. A B-rank jutsu was far beyond the reach of a genin, not just because of the skill required but also due to the immense chakra needed.

  But Shenshu had the bloodline of the Senju cn, meaning his chakra reserves were much greater than most other ninjas.

  "Why not ask Orochimaru or Tsunade? Haven’t they been your instructors?" Jiraiya asked.

  Shenshu rolled his eyes, "I asked Orochimaru, but he turned me down. Later, I found out that it was my sister who specifically told him not to teach me. She said I was too impatient and that I wasn’t ready for such high-level techniques."

  "Tsunade’s right," Jiraiya replied. "You haven’t even graduated from the academy yet. Why rush to learn such difficult jutsu? Wait until you’ve completed some missions after graduation. When Tsunade sees you’re ready, she’ll teach you."

  Shenshu scowled, clearly unimpressed. "Time waits for no one. My dream is to become Hokage. I don’t have time for trivial tasks. I pn to ask the Third Hokage for a high-level mission as soon as I graduate."

  He sneered at the thought of following Tsunade and Jiraiya’s "proper" method of growth. He knew that even if he graduated, he would start with low-ranking missions. That wasn’t the kind of growth he was looking for.

  "But if I teach you recklessly, Tsunade will kill me…" Jiraiya’s lips twitched. If Tsunade found out that he had taught Shenshu a jutsu against her wishes, the consequences would be catastrophic.

  "If you don’t teach me, don’t expect me to acknowledge you. You’ll never catch my sister’s eye!"

  Shenshu turned his head defiantly, only to find that Jiraiya had already grabbed Minato and was leaping over the backyard wall.

  "Let’s talk about this another time!" Jiraiya called back as he disappeared.

  Shenshu clenched his fists in frustration, but he knew there was no way he could catch up to Jiraiya’s speed...

  "Teacher, won’t there be trouble if we just leave without saying anything?"

  Minato looked somewhat helpless as he found himself in the middle of another "hasty retreat." It hadn’t even been a full day since he became Jiraiya’s disciple, and yet he had already experienced this kind of situation twice.

  At least this time, it wasn’t as ridiculous as the st one.

  "If we don’t leave now, things will get even more troublesome," Jiraiya replied. He clearly didn’t want to deal with Shenshu any longer.

  Teaching wasn’t the problem—it was teaching against Tsunade’s wishes that was the issue.

  Minato hadn’t overheard the conversation between Jiraiya and Shenshu, nor did he know what Shenshu, the usually amiable senior, had said to make Jiraiya react so flustered.

  But it was probably something reted to his sister... After all, Shenshu alone couldn’t have been a threat to Jiraiya.

  "Alright, kid. Stop guessing," Jiraiya said as he noticed Minato deep in thought. He quickly interrupted before Minato could get any ideas.

  If the kid figured out the truth, Jiraiya’s authority as a teacher would be completely undermined.

  But as Jiraiya thought about Shenshu’s request and looked at Minato, an idea began to form in his mind.

  "Minato, do you want to learn a jutsu?" Jiraiya suddenly asked.

  Minato hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

  "I knew it... You didn’t ask me earlier because I said I’d let you develop your strengths first, right?"

  The reason ninjas were called ninjas was partly because of ninjutsu, and the ability to learn stronger techniques was something every ninja dreamed of.

  Minato, of course, was no exception.

  "The reason I didn’t teach you before was because of your chakra reserves and the need to understand when to use jutsu. If you don’t know when to apply them, it can be dangerous—just like with Uchiha En," Jiraiya expined.

  Minato’s chakra, for his age, was not insignificant, but using ninjutsu in battle could only provide a limited boost in power. If used incorrectly, it could lead to accidents, as happened with Uchiha En almost injuring his cssmates.

  Minato nodded thoughtfully. He understood that Jiraiya was just looking out for him, and that’s why he had held back.

  "However, you’re different from Uchiha En. Even when facing someone you dislike, you know how to control yourself... And you’re my disciple, so if you only know the Clone Jutsu, then that’s a reflection of my inadequacy as a teacher."

  Minato’s eyes lit up at the words.

  "Jiraiya-sensei, are you going to teach me a jutsu?" Minato asked eagerly.

  "Yes," Jiraiya said with a grin, "And the jutsu I’ll teach you is one that, even if you don’t fully grasp the timing, you still won’t hurt anyone."

  Minato’s curiosity piqued. "Does this jutsu somehow differentiate between enemies and allies?"

  Jiraiya smiled at his eager expression, then answered, "The jutsu I’ll teach you is called Summoning Jutsu."