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Whether it's the Water Formation Wall, Water Shockwave, or Water Dragon Bullet—those three Water Style jutsu all share one thing in common:they can take advantage of their surroundings.
As long as there's water nearby, the chakra cost drops drastically.
But the Water Severing Wave was different.That jutsu had no shortcuts.
Forming a high-pressure water blade strong enough to cut through rock—just thinking about it made Evan's chakra reserves ache.
Evan knew his limits well enough. With what little chakra he had now, one full use of that technique would probably leave him half-conscious.
"I've got plenty of jutsu now," he muttered to himself. "It's chakra that's holding me back."
Frowning, he tucked the scroll under his arm and started walking home.
Increasing his chakra capacity… that was far harder than collecting new jutsu.
He kept thinking as he walked, and by the time he reached home, three possible paths had formed in his mind.
First: Become a Jinchūriki.
Whether it was the Three-Tails or the Nine-Tails, either would skyrocket his chakra—if he could survive the backlash.Not everyone could become a host for a tailed beast.
Especially not him.Let's not even talk about the Nine-Tails…If he were to go after the Three-Tails, he'd first need to master sealing techniques.
Second: Orochimaru.
Body modification, cell transplantation—Hashirama's cells came to mind.Extremely dangerous, of course.
But with his ability to "borrow from the future," Evan could afford to make a few mistakes along the way.
Third: Tsunade.
Specifically, the Yin Seal.
The problem was, he wasn't sure if a man could even learn it.And even if he could, getting Tsunade to teach him would be ridiculously hard.
"Still… effort, Evan. More effort," he reminded himself.
"Gotta stay close to Minato-nii," he thought."If I want to learn sealing jutsu, it'll have to be through him."
Minato's sealing knowledge mostly came from Uzumaki Kushina—well, she was his girlfriend, after all.
Evan knew their current relationship wasn't anywhere near deep enough for that kind of training.He'd have to offer something valuable.
Maybe… create the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken?
He rubbed his temples. With his current chakra levels, that was suicide.
"No, that's too much. Let's scale down—maybe start with a Water Release: Rasengan instead."
"Besides, even the Rasenshuriken concept could make good trade bait."
The Rasengan's structure was so versatile—he could combine it with any element.Wind, lightning, fire, water… Evan was confident they were all doable in time.
That would cover the sealing part.
As for Orochimaru…
"How do I even approach him?"
Evan frowned. He couldn't afford to be passive.Sure, his future-borrowing ability gave him some safety net, but staking his entire life on Orochimaru was suicide.
"I need to develop my own research ability."
That thought gave him a headache. The amount of knowledge required was massive.
"One step at a time," he told himself. "Start with basic medical and human anatomy. Shizune should be able to help with that."
If he could build a cooperative relationship with Orochimaru later—exchange information for knowledge—that'd be ideal.
As he pieced the plan together, the outline grew clearer in his mind.
Days turned into weeks, and soon winter vacation arrived.The year 41 of the Hidden Leaf calendar was coming to an end.
But Evan didn't rest.
Aside from helping out at his family's dango shop, most of his time went into study—medical knowledge from Shizune, anatomy from books, and daily sword-drawing drills.
Then came the Water-Style Rasengan, and two newly learned water jutsu.
He often went to visit Minato, notebook in hand, to discuss his insights.Unfortunately, Jiraiya was still away on missions.
His only real breaks came from sparring with Might Guy and Kakashi—brief, lively duels that kept his training from getting too monotonous.
Winter faded into spring.
One day, Evan showed up at Minato's home with his notes—and a box of his family's five-flavor dango.
He knocked.
The door opened… and Evan froze.
Uzumaki Kushina.
It was the first time he'd seen her in person.
"Ah, you must be Evan! Come in, come in!" she greeted warmly, moving with the easy confidence of someone who clearly ran the place.
"Uh—y-yes, ma'am!"
He followed her in, spotting Minato in the living room.
"Evan, this is Kushina," Minato said, smiling.
Evan bowed quickly. "Hello, Senior Kushina!"
Kushina waved a hand. "No need to be so formal—just call me Kushina-nee."
"Right… Kushina-nee," he said, adjusting fast.
The three of them sat in the living room, chatting over dango.
After reading through Evan's notes, Minato let out a low whistle."Evan, your understanding of these Water-Style jutsu already surpasses mine."
Evan chuckled. "That's only because you don't focus on Water Style, Minato-nii."
True enough. Minato's attention was entirely on sealing techniques these days.He already had enough proficiency in Water Style for his needs—no point in stretching himself thin.Besides, water wasn't his natural element anyway; it was something he'd learned later.
"By the way, Minato-nii," Evan asked, "any progress adding nature transformation to the Rasengan?"
Minato shook his head. "Not yet. I've been buried in sealing research lately."
Sealing jutsu!
Evan's eyes lit up, just as a knock came at the door.
Kushina got up to answer, and a familiar voice called from outside,"Kushina, you living here already?"
Her face turned a little pink. "Jiraiya-sensei! You're finally back—Minato's been waiting for you forever!"
Jiraiya strolled in casually, flashing his trademark grin."So, Minato, what's the issue this time? Trouble with your jutsu development?"
Then he noticed the kid sitting beside him."Huh? And who's this brat?"
Evan stood immediately. "Lord Jiraiya, sir—I'm Evan."
Minato added, "Evan's one of the academy's prodigies."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "A prodigy, huh? How does he compare to you back in the day, Minato?"
Minato laughed. "He's far ahead of me. He created an A-rank, seal-less jutsu at just five years old—the very one I once told you I wanted to develop."
Jiraiya blinked. For a second, his brain stalled.
A five-year-old creating an A-rank jutsu? That was insane.
Then… wait.
Minato formed a sphere of spinning chakra in his palm. "This one—the Rasengan. Evan named it."
Jiraiya's eyes went wide as he stared between the technique and the boy who'd made it.Doesn't even look that impressive, he grumbled inwardly.
Between Minato's and Kushina's explanations, Jiraiya soon pieced together the story.
But as for taking a student… he wasn't exactly in the mood.
"Water Style, huh?" he mused aloud. "Not really my specialty."
Technically, Jiraiya knew all five elemental natures—except maybe Lightning—but Water was definitely his weakest.So yeah, that wasn't a lie.
Evan felt a twinge of disappointment, though he'd half-expected that answer.
Then Jiraiya grinned."Well, I might not take disciples right now, but if you're that eager to learn, I can still teach you a few other tricks."
Evan's eyes brightened immediately. "Really? Then—Lord Jiraiya, could you teach me sealing jutsu?"
That caught everyone off guard.
Jiraiya, Minato, and Kushina exchanged surprised looks.
Sealing jutsu?
That… wasn't what they'd expected from the "Water-Style prodigy" at all.
"..."
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