The day after the hot spring trip, Minato heard from Tsunade that Jiraiya had gone to Mount Myoboku for secluded training and apparently didn't plan to return to the Leaf Village for a while.
"Was I too harsh on him?"
In the kitchen, Minato was cooking dinner while Tsunade cleaned the prep dishes next to him.
"Don't worry about it. It's a good thing."
Tsunade chuckled lightly. "That guy is a pervert, but he's not unreasonable. He probably figured some things out and wants to train his mind."
"Train his mind?"
"That's right. A ninja must possess great perseverance and endure what ordinary people cannot. Therefore, mental training is also a very important part."
Tsunade explained patiently, "The ninja path isn't smooth. Hunger, pain, killing, even death—as a ninja, you will inevitably experience these things. So in the future, you will have to undergo this kind of training, too."
"Then why be a ninja?"
Minato asked, "I've never really understood. Water Style can irrigate crops, Earth Style can build houses, and Wind, Fire, and Lightning attributes—even chakra itself—can be used directly as energy sources."
"Ninjas possess abilities that could advance the era rapidly. Why waste time and energy on fighting and killing?"
Tsunade was stunned. She didn't expect Minato to ask such a question.
She pondered for a moment. "It's probably because of hatred..."
"Is hatred born out of thin air?"
Minato asked again, "Person A is jealous that Person C's business is better than his and feels C stole his customers, so he hires Person B to assassinate C. C finds out and hires Person D for protection. In the ensuing fight, B is killed by D. So, Sensei, whose fault is it?"
Tsunade answered without hesitation, "Of course it's A's fault! And B is also at fault for accepting such a mission."
Minato asked again, "Then, Sensei, after B dies, who do you think B's child will hate?"
Tsunade paused and suddenly fell silent.
Thinking of something unknown, her face grew darker, and her mood visibly worsened.
"AHHH—!!!"
After a long while, Tsunade suddenly shouted. She grabbed Minato and rubbed his head vigorously in frustration.
"Where do you come up with all these questions, kid?!"
"Eh? Just making conversation..."
"No casual conversation about this!"
Tsunade pinched Minato's cheeks and pulled them to the sides, looking at him seriously.
"I don't care! People have to take responsibility for their actions! Since you raised this problem, then I'll leave it to you to solve! Yes! Let's make this your final exam before you graduate from my tutelage!"
"Ehh—?!!"
Minato looked shocked.
He just wanted to imply subtly: The ninja system is flawed. The ninja code and the Will of Fire are nonsense to me, and I won't follow the rules.
But what on earth was this woman talking about?
It was like saying, "The world has been unstable recently, especially in the Middle East," and getting the response: "Great, the task of maintaining world peace is yours. Go mediate for them."
"Hahaha~ Just kidding!"
Seeing Minato's shocked face, Tsunade laughed loudly and ruffled his hair.
"But actually, I'm not completely joking. Since you possess the power of Wood Style, your future is destined to be extraordinary. Even if you want to live a quiet life, sometimes you won't have a choice."
"If you are willing to bear people's trust in the future, then perhaps you can consider my proposal from today."
Minato nodded.
Tsunade was right. In the future, he would have family and friends, and trouble would inevitably come knocking.
Sometimes, even if you don't want to, countless people will push you to a higher position.
But it was too early to think about that now...
Two days later, the Ninja Academy opened.
Today was the entrance ceremony for new students.
Early in the morning, Tsunade walked the two boys to school.
As soon as they arrived, Minato heard someone calling his name.
"Yo! Sashiburi da na (Long time no see)! Minato Namikaze!"
Shinnosuke Sarutobi was standing in the line of new students. seeing Minato, he got excited immediately and waved. "Over here, over here!"
"Ohayo..."
Minato nodded calmly, then turned and walked toward the line.
"Hey, don't ignore me, you jerk."
Shinnosuke's face twitched. He leaned in close to Minato and whispered, "I got my dad to put us in the same class. Next time, I definitely won't lose to you!"
"Yeah, good luck."
Actually, even if you didn't ask, he probably would have put us in the same class anyway...
Minato smiled politely and waved to Tsunade. Tsunade turned and left, yawning as she went home to catch up on sleep.
Shinnosuke seemed to want to say something more, but before he could speak, he was suddenly shoved aside, stumbling on his feet.
"Bastard, who..."
Shinnosuke's face changed. Just as he was about to get angry, he saw a swarm of girls surrounding Minato.
"Hello, Minato-kun! I'm Kaoru Koyaba. Please take care of me from now on!"
A sweet, cute black-haired girl sent a friend request to Minato.
"Hello. Nice to meet you." Minato smiled politely.
"Ah—Minato-kun looks so handsome when he smiles!"
"His fashion sense is really good, too..."
The girls chattered excitedly around Minato. Seeing their enthusiastic behavior, the corner of Shinnosuke's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
"You've got to be kidding me. Is this guy seriously that popular?"
Looking at the passionate girls around him, Minato was also a bit overwhelmed.
Fortunately, there were teachers on site to maintain order. Seeing the chaos, a teacher stepped forward immediately.
"Quiet down! Go back to your class lines!"
"Ehh—"
The girls groaned reluctantly but obediently returned to their class lines.
"Is that Senior Tsunade's student?"
The commotion around Minato attracted a lot of attention. In the third-year line, a boy with a pineapple hairstyle looked at Minato from a distance.
"That's right! Shikaku, let me tell you, Minato is super strong! You definitely shouldn't mess with him!"
Nawaki warned seriously. He knew his best friend had always admired his sister.
"I'm not that bored..."
The boy named Shikaku scratched the back of his head, his tone lazy.
He did admire Tsunade, but it wasn't an exaggeration to say the line of men in the Leaf Village who liked Tsunade stretched from the village entrance to the exit.
Even if someone was going to cause trouble, it wouldn't be him. Besides, he was a reasonable person.
Plus, if Nawaki described him as "super strong," it proved that the guy was significantly stronger than Nawaki—someone Shikaku couldn't mess with anyway.
Considering how popular Minato was with the girls, he was definitely a super troublesome guy!
As the heir of the Nara clan, Shikaku was sharp-witted and figured things out instantly.
At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the playground with a group of teachers and began his proud, annual speech—The Will of Fire!