As the sun set, many parents began to pick up their children and head home.
Naruto trudged back, his yellow hair drooping, his face still streaked with fresh tears.
The scene of Sasuke easily defeating him with his Sharingan that afternoon replayed in his mind like a movie. Sasuke's triumphant smile, the whispers of the surrounding children, and his own pathetic fall to the ground all filled him with both grievance and indignation.
As soon as he entered the living room, Naruto saw Minato sitting on the sofa reading a book, his white Hokage robe draped over a nearby hanger.
He could no longer hold it in and threw himself into Minato's arms, crying loudly, "Dad! Sasuke bullied me! He awakened his Sharingan and knocked me down in an instant! Please teach me a powerful Ninjutsu, I want to defeat him!"
Minato put down his pen, gently patted Naruto's back, and soothed him with a gentle voice. "Naruto, be good, don't cry anymore. Sasuke's Sharingan is a Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha clan. You are still young, and your body hasn't fully developed yet. Learning too powerful Ninjutsu can easily lead to injuries, and what if you accidentally hurt other children?"
Naruto looked up, his face covered in tears, his eyes red. "But I can't beat Sasuke, and he laughed at me. I don't care, I just want to learn powerful Ninjutsu. Dad, will you teach me Flying Thunder God? Flying Thunder God is so fast. With it, I can definitely defeat Sasuke."
Minato smiled helplessly and patted Naruto's head. "Flying Thunder God requires Advanced Fuinjutsu, Advanced spatial talent, and strong sensory abilities. You can't learn it yet. Listen, first train your body well, lay a solid foundation in Taijutsu. When you get a little older, dad will definitely teach you powerful Ninjutsu. By then, not to mention Sasuke, even stronger opponents, you will be able to defeat."
He deliberately changed the subject, hoping Naruto would give up the idea of learning Ninjutsu for now. But Naruto didn't buy it at all, clinging to Minato, shaking his arm one moment, then lying on his lap and acting spoiled the next.
He kept muttering, "I want to learn Ninjutsu... I must defeat Sasuke... Dad... Dad!"
Minato was so pestered that he had no choice but to find an excuse to hide in his study.
Seeing that his father refused to teach him, Naruto could only turn around and look for his mother, Kushina.
At this time, Kushina was preparing dinner in the kitchen. Seeing Naruto's aggrieved look, she quickly put down the vegetables in her hand and pulled him over to ask what had happened.
After listening to Naruto's tearful complaints, Kushina lovingly wiped away his tears and frowned, saying, "Minato is really something, how can he be so perfunctory with a child? Naruto wants to learn Ninjutsu because he wants to become stronger, what's wrong with that? Come on, mom will take you to him."
Kushina pulled Naruto to the study door and pushed it open directly. "Minato! Naruto wants to learn Ninjutsu, how can you not teach him? He needs encouragement right now, and your excuses will only make him more frustrated."
Minato put down his pen and looked at Kushina helplessly. "I'm not refusing to teach him, I'm afraid he'll get hurt if he doesn't learn properly, and even more afraid he'll hurt other classmates."
Kushina walked to Minato's side, hands on her hips, and said, "Then can't you teach him slowly? Naruto inherited your talent, he will definitely learn well. Besides, if you don't teach him, what if he secretly practices on his own and something goes wrong?"
Naruto nodded, pulling on Minato's sleeve, and whispered, "Dad, I'll learn well, I won't get hurt, and I won't hurt other children, just teach me."
Minato looked at Kushina's determined eyes, then at Naruto's expectant look, and finally compromised. "Alright, I'll teach you the Shadow Clone Technique. But you have to promise dad, you must practice under my and mom's supervision, and you cannot use it privately, understood?"
Naruto immediately jumped up excitedly, nodding vigorously. "I understand. Thank you, dad. Thank you, mom. But I want to learn powerful Ninjutsu, is the Shadow Clone Technique powerful?"
Minato then explained the principle of the Shadow Clone Technique to Naruto, "The Shadow Clone Technique is a B-rank Ninjutsu, usually only Jonin can learn it. It requires evenly distributing your Chakra to create clones with physical bodies that can fight. Your Chakra reserves are enormous, so as long as you learn this technique, you should be able to create many Shadow Clones."
Naruto blinked, a little uninterested. "B-rank Ninjutsu? Only Jonin can learn it? But can Shadow Clones defeat Sasuke? He has the Sharingan, he can see my movements."
Minato smiled and explained, "Of course it can. One of you can't beat him, but what about five of you, ten of you? Think about it, if you create several clones and attack from different directions, even if Sasuke can see the movements, he won't be able to keep up."
Naruto's eyes instantly lit up after hearing this. "Oh right. With a few more of me, I can definitely defeat Sasuke. Dad, teach me quickly."
Minato began to demonstrate the hand signs for the Shadow Clone Technique.
"First, make the hand sign: Ram... then evenly distribute Chakra throughout your body and then release the Chakra..."
As he spoke, he made the hand signs. A white puff of smoke flashed, revealing seven Minatos around him.
Naruto watched excitedly and immediately tried to imitate him. But as soon as he made the hand signs, his Chakra went out of control, and not a single Shadow Clone appeared.
"What's going on? I did exactly what dad said." Naruto sat on the ground, a little dejected.
Over the next few days, Naruto practiced the Shadow Clone Technique every day in the small courtyard at home, but each time, either his Chakra distribution was uneven or his hand sign speed was too slow, and he never managed to successfully create a clone. Gradually, he began to lose patience and sat aside, kicking stones.
Just then, Minato walked over and said with a smile, "Naruto, are you planning to surrender to Sasuke? Are you going to avoid him from now on?"
As soon as he heard "Sasuke... surrender...", Naruto immediately perked up and scrambled to his feet.
He clenched his fists and said, "I won't surrender! I will definitely learn Shadow Clone and defeat Sasuke!"
After saying that, he started practicing the hand signs diligently again, and although he still made mistakes, he never said "give up" again.
Kushina would occasionally come to the small courtyard and watch Naruto's serious expression.
She said with satisfaction, "Minato, I told you Naruto could stick with it. His unwillingness to give up is exactly like yours back then."
Minato smiled and nodded, his gaze falling on Naruto. "Naruto's talent is naturally very good, it's just that his Chakra control is a bit poor. I should teach him how to climb trees with Chakra first."