"Does this mean I have to face all three of you at once?"
Seeing the predatory excitement dancing in Tsunade's eyes, Minato pointed at himself, his voice laced with a well-practiced uncertainty. "Just me?"
"Don't worry, Orochimaru and I won't take the initiative to attack," Tsunade promised, beckoning him forward with a sharp wave. "Enough chatter. Show us what you've got!"
"Understood."
Minato drew a Kunai, his expression instantly shifting into a mask of professional calm. "Then... please excuse me!"
The moment the words left his lips, he vanished. He reappeared directly in Jiraiya's guard, thrusting the steel blade toward the man's abdomen without a shred of hesitation. His movements were clinical, devoid of the hesitation one might expect from a child.
Jiraiya's expression tightened. He parried Minato's wrist with a practiced flick and snapped a front kick toward the boy's chest. Minato braced to dodge, but Jiraiya was faster—he transitioned the stomp into a fluid sweep that sent Minato tumbling backward.
"You should have dodged toward my blind side," Jiraiya coached, his tone uncharacteristically stern. "By dodging inward, you gave me the leverage to pivot. If you'd stayed outside, I wouldn't have been able to apply that much force, and you could have found a flaw."
"Thank you for the guidance," Minato said, steadying himself.
He rushed Jiraiya again. This time, his charge seemed reckless, almost desperate. The three legendary ninjas felt a flicker of confusion; they knew the boy was smarter than this. Why was he charging three high-level opponents head-on?
The answer came in the form of a flash. An incredibly dazzling, blinding eruption of light exploded from Minato's body. It was as if a miniature sun had suddenly been birthed in the center of the training ground.
"Gah—!"
Jiraiya's world turned white. His eyes burned, and tears welled up instantly as he clutched his face. Despicable brat! The three of them cursed under their breath, utilizing Body Flicker to retreat blindly. As he moved, Jiraiya's hands blurred through seals. "Doton: Doryuheki!"
A massive earthen wall rose between them and the light source. Behind the barrier, they waited for the stinging pain to subside, their ears straining for the slightest sound of movement.
"He's behind the wall," Orochimaru hissed, his voice carrying a thin veil of irritation.
"Don't get worked up over a child's trick," Tsunade said, though her laugh was forced. She was just as annoyed, but as the boy's teacher, she had to maintain some semblance of dignity.
"Oh? Then look over there," Orochimaru pointed.
Tsunade looked and saw Nawaki kneeling under a nearby tree, sobbing into his hands. The kid had been a bystander and still got blinded by the blast.
Tsunade: "..."
"Why isn't he moving?" Jiraiya whispered, leaning against the wall. He could track Minato's heartbeat and the faint scuff of his sandals on the dirt.
Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed through the stone. Tsunade's instincts screamed. "Retreat!"
Jiraiya and Orochimaru didn't wait for an explanation. They surged backward just as several thick, wooden trunks burst through the solid earth wall, coiling toward their ankles like hungry vipers.
"Nani?!"
Jiraiya's eyes widened as he spat out three Flame Bullets, shattering the encroaching wood. He stared at Minato in a daze as the boy stood there, branches slowly retracting into his arm.
"It's actually... Wood Release?!"
Seeing the Mokuton in action, the complexity in Orochimaru's heart vanished, replaced by a dark, obsessive fervor. He possesses two Bloodline Limits? Someone can actually hold two at once? A sliver of forbidden ambition took root in his mind. If a body could hold two, why not three? What would happen if every power in the world was fused into a single vessel? He turned to Tsunade, his gaze burning. "This is why you took him in, isn't it?"
Tsunade nodded. Even if she couldn't use it, she was a Senju. No one was more qualified to guide a Mokuton user. "The Scroll of Seals has the jutsu, but those are public property. If I teach him, it's a family Legacy."
"Subarashii—" Orochimaru licked his lips. "Tsunade, let's discuss something. I want in on his training."
"Don't even think about stealing my disciple," she warned.
"Stealing? We're teammates, aren't we?" Orochimaru smiled thinly. "I simply appreciate his potential."
"Fine," Tsunade snorted. "You can help teach him, but I am his only Master."
Orochimaru nodded, satisfied. He didn't need the title. He just needed proximity—and maybe a few small experiments down the line.
"I've never seen Wood Release before," Jiraiya noted, rubbing his chin. "Doesn't seem like much besides some trees. What's the catch? Entanglement? Impact?"
"Wood Release has a massive suppressive quality," Tsunade explained flatly. "It absorbs the target's Chakra. Just like the dirty thoughts in your head, Jiraiya; once it touches you, it'll drain you until you're a dried-up husk."
Jiraiya shivered. "That is... terrifying."
"Absorbing Chakra..." Minato murmured.
Under their watchful eyes, Minato walked to the edge of the clearing and placed his palm against a vibrant, leafy tree. Within seconds, the green faded. The leaves withered and fell, and the trunk turned a sickly, brittle yellow.
"You call that 'to a certain extent'?" Jiraiya shouted. "He can drain plants?! If he's in a forest, his Chakra is basically infinite!"
Tsunade swallowed hard. She had never heard of Mokuton draining life force from the environment like that. Minato, however, wasn't surprised. He felt he could have drained the tree in a single heartbeat if he really tried.
He paused, then funneled a bit of Chakra back into the wood. The tree instantly surged back to life, turning lusher and thicker than it had been before. For a split second, Minato felt a strange sensation—as if the tree itself was whispering its thanks.
Could Hashirama hear the trees? Minato wondered. He looked back at the three Sannin and offered an apologetic, sheepish smile.
"It really does absorb Chakra. I guess I'll have to be careful with it in the future."
That smile was warm, radiant, and seemingly innocent—like a pure white lotus blooming in a muddy pond.