"Haa… haa… haa…"
Drenched in sweat, Yue leaned against a tree, panting heavily.
On the day after meeting Jiraiya, he and Rina packed their belongings, bid farewell to the villagers, and began their journey toward Konoha.
Since Rina was an ordinary civilian, the trip would take about a week.
During the three days on the road so far, Jiraiya had patiently been giving Yue an intensive crash course on ninja basics.
With such a great teacher, Yue worked exceptionally hard. More than anything, he wanted to understand his own talent. In a world full of prodigies, Wood Release alone wasn't enough to survive.
He remembered the famous saying from his previous world:
"The First Hokage used Wood Release to conquer the world; Yamato uses it for landscaping."
Since he also had Wood Release as his cheat, he absolutely refused to become a glorified groundskeeper.
Right now, he was training to control chakra. Ever since that explosive outburst, Yue could feel chakra flowing through his meridians. Injecting chakra into his feet allowed him to walk on water or run up trees.
Under Jiraiya's guidance, he learned that chakra was like "inner force" from martial arts stories of his previous life, stored in the dantian and requiring proper control.
Yue tried running up one tree after another—sometimes kicking too hard and snapping the tree clean in half.
These three days of training left Jiraiya pleasantly surprised.
The kid, despite his age, possessed the determination of an adult. His chakra reserves were abnormally large, far beyond normal children.
Even more shocking was how precisely he refined chakra and instantly converted it into brute strength, enough to crack trees. And every time he fell and got hurt, his healing speed was monstrous.
He seemed to have inherited the full might of the Senju Clan's bloodline.
"Take a break. Rest properly. We still have to keep traveling later."
Jiraiya looked at the panting Yue and spoke kindly.
"It's okay, Jiraiya-sensei. I want to train a bit more!"
The Third Great Ninja War would begin in about a year. Yue didn't know whether he'd be dragged into it—but strength was the only thing that could keep him alive.
After countless falls, Yue finally mastered climbing trees as easily as walking on flat ground.
"Jiraiya-sensei! Rina! I did it!"
He shouted joyfully.
Jiraiya nodded with satisfaction.
Not as monstrously talented as Minato or Nagato, perhaps—but with a kekkei genkai like Wood Release, this child was destined for greatness.
Rina was also delighted. Her little brother really did have talent as a ninja.
"Since you've mastered that, come test your chakra nature."
Jiraiya took out a chakra test strip.
"Water, Earth, Wind. These are your chakra attributes," he announced.
Wood Release was a combination of Earth and Water. Those two were expected.
But Wind… Yue couldn't help thinking: Am I supposed to learn Rasengan like Naruto?
He had secretly hoped for Lightning Release—no special reason, just because lightning techniques were flashy. Sasuke pre–Sharingan basically lived off cool lightning jutsu.
"I'll teach you a simple Earth Style technique these next few days," Jiraiya said.
He couldn't teach Rasengan yet—the Fourth Hokage hadn't even invented it. And Yue had only just learned chakra control; he couldn't jump straight to high-level ninjutsu.
Jiraiya also didn't know any Wood Release techniques. Those would have to wait until they reached Konoha and Yue could study from scrolls.
"This is a basic defensive Earth Style jutsu. Watch my hand seals carefully—I'll demonstrate once."
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Boom!
A tall earth wall rose rapidly from the ground.
"For the next few days, practice this. I'll also teach you hand seals. Memorize every form, then practice over and over. Seal speed is extremely important for a ninja."
Yue nodded seriously.
He knew that better than anyone.
On the first day, he practiced hand seals repeatedly. Though clumsy, he managed to memorize all of them.
On the second day, he was eager to try Earth Flow Wall. When they arrived at an open clearing, Jiraiya gave him an encouraging look—go ahead.
Yue focused nervously. This was the first real jutsu he had ever learned. Naturally, he wanted to give it everything he had.
He wanted to unleash all his chakra at once.
Even a basic Earth jutsu could reveal his true chakra reserves.
After all—look at Madara wiping out platoons with just a B-rank Fire Style.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
After a slow sequence of seals, Yue pressed his hand to the ground.
The earth trembled lightly.
A massive wall erupted from the ground before him.
Immediately afterward, Yue felt his whole body slacken—like he'd over-exerted every muscle. But seeing the enormous wall, he felt incredibly satisfied.
Jiraiya, however, was stunned.
This kid's chakra volume was already on the level of a chunin.
He had underestimated the terrifying potential of the Senju bloodline. He doubted even Tsunade had this much chakra at Yue's age.
His expectations for the boy's future grew even higher.
A few days later, the trio finally arrived at Konoha. After settling Yue and Rina, Jiraiya immediately went to meet the Third Hokage.
"Teacher Sarutobi, I've brought the child," Jiraiya said respectfully.
"I received your letter. Is he truly as you described?" the Third asked, shocked.
Jiraiya nodded.
"This child seems to have inherited the First Hokage's terrifying talent. Given time, he may well become the next First Hokage."
The Third Hokage stared at him silently for a long moment, then exhaled deeply.
"Bring him to me. I want you to guide him well—help us nurture another extraordinary talent for Konoha."
"I can't teach him Wood Release. That's up to him. I want him to attend the Ninja Academy and slowly deepen his loyalty to Konoha. I'll train him for a few months, but once the Academy starts, I'll leave him to learn there. Afterward, I'll continue my travels—you know that's my path."
The Third nodded reluctantly.
"Very well. Bring the boy to me."