Konoha – Training Ground Seven
The rain had just stopped.
Clouds parted above, and the air carried the damp, earthy scent of freshly turned soil.
Hiroki wasn't training here.
Instead, the one occupying Training Ground Seven was Jiraiya's disciple—Minato Namikaze.
Tsunade had wanted to personally gauge Hiroki's level, but she couldn't bring herself to spar with a ten-year-old. In the end, she turned to Jiraiya and insisted he bring his own students so the children could be compared side by side.
Orochimaru raised no objections.
So now, Jiraiya led the way into the training ground, with Tsunade and Orochimaru following behind. A few steps back, Tsunade's younger brother Nawaki trailed along with his head lowered.
Nawaki hadn't wanted to come. He'd been in the middle of his own training.
But Tsunade had dragged him here anyway, claiming it would be "good for him to interact with peers his age."
"Huh… Jiraiya-sensei? You're back already?"
Minato stood at the center of the field, adjusting his breathing calmly.
Sunlight reflected off his bright blond hair, giving it a faint glow. His expression was gentle, polite, and composed beyond his years.
He casually slipped a specially made kunai back into his tool pouch. Every movement was smooth, efficient—no wasted motion, no tremor.
Around him, dozens of wooden target posts had been cleanly severed at the midpoint. The cuts were perfectly smooth, as if sliced by an invisible blade of wind.
"That's right! I'm back!" Jiraiya laughed.
"How's training? Having fun?"
"Yes," Minato replied with a small smile, nodding politely—almost like an adult humoring a child.
Jiraiya waved it off. "How's your chakra nature training?"
"I've basically mastered it," Minato said confidently.
"I can reliably infuse chakra into kunai and shuriken. Please watch."
Tsunade and Orochimaru stayed silent, observing.
Minato formed a quick hand seal.
Two shadow clones appeared.
He inhaled—
And vanished.
Not just the original body, but both shadow clones disappeared almost simultaneously.
Body Flicker.
And an exceptionally fast one.
Tsunade's and Orochimaru's pupils constricted. Even they had trouble tracking that instant movement.
In the next heartbeat, three Minatos reappeared, forming a triangle around a wooden stake.
Then—gone again.
Shuriken suddenly flashed through the air, piercing the stake.
A split second later, three kunai followed—each guided by a slender hand, slicing cleanly through the wood as if it were soft tofu.
The stake split apart.
Jiraiya burst into laughter, slapping his thigh in delight.
He turned proudly toward Tsunade and Orochimaru.
"Did you see that? That's my disciple! Basic Body Flicker combined with chakra infusion—and those shuriken are practically invisible. Amazing, right?"
He stroked his chin smugly.
"I'm thinking of sending Minato into ANBU for a couple of years. After that, he'll be ready to lead A-rank—maybe even S-rank—missions. A true genius."
On the sidelines, Nawaki clenched the blue crystal necklace at his chest.
His knuckles turned white.
His eyes were fixed on Minato, dazzling at the center of the field like the sun itself.
Another one…
His cheeks puffed slightly in frustration.
Another child far more talented than him.
Hiroki already felt unreachable—and now Minato too?
They'd graduated at almost the same time.
So why was the gap so overwhelming?
Nawaki hadn't even been able to follow Minato's movements.
If he'd been on the field just now, a kunai would've been at his throat before he even realized Minato had moved.
His head lowered.
Does that mean… I'll never become Hokage?
A warm hand pressed firmly onto his shoulder.
Tsunade had noticed.
She shot Jiraiya an irritated glance before crouching down to meet Nawaki's eyes.
"Don't listen to that idiot," she said gently.
"Nawaki, people like Minato are extremely rare. One in a million. His reaction speed and spatial sense are gifts—you don't compete with that."
Her voice softened.
"You're a Senju. Your chakra reserves and vitality are your strengths. Train steadily, and you won't lose to him in the long run."
"But…" Nawaki hesitated, biting his lip.
"What about Hiroki? He's also—"
That image resurfaced in his mind.
Black tendrils.
The Rain Country border.
Kakuzu defeated.
The boy Orochimaru valued.
The boy the Third Hokage was willing to gamble everything on.
"Hiroki?"
Tsunade's brow furrowed instantly.
She had seen Hiroki during Jiraiya's earlier test.
A kid relying on a strange bloodline ability.
If not for that power, how could Sensei possibly allow him anywhere near a plan involving Hanzo?
—And that brat had actually agreed to it.
Her irritation flared.
If he'd just stayed in the village and studied properly, she would've helped him—for Nawaki's sake if nothing else.
"That kid is… unusual," Tsunade said sharply.
"But Nawaki, think carefully—how much of that power is truly his?"
She straightened, arms crossed.
"Copying techniques. Relying on strange abilities. Sneak attacks. Yes, that makes someone dangerous quickly—but it's a castle built in the air."
"If his information leaks, the entire ninja world will adapt. What happens then?"
Her voice grew firmer.
"A ninja's real strength comes from fundamentals—chakra control, nature mastery, discipline, and will."
"The more he relies on tricks, the faster he'll collapse against someone truly solid."
"A month?" She scoffed.
"He'll be lucky if he can even stabilize that borrowed power."
"Hm… a castle in the air?"
A low, hoarse voice interrupted her.
Everyone turned.
Orochimaru had approached without a sound.
His pale skin looked almost sickly under the lights. Golden, slit pupils gleamed with faint amusement.
"Tsunade," he said calmly,
"don't let prejudice blind you."
He glanced briefly at Minato, nodding in approval, then back to her.
"Yes, Minato is a genius."
"But Hiroki is walking a path you've never seen."
He extended his tongue slightly, licking his lips.
"Enough speculation. Come."
"Hiroki is already waiting."
Without further explanation, Orochimaru turned and walked away.
"Go see for yourselves," he said over his shoulder,
"what 'reality' actually looks like."
Orochimaru's Underground Laboratory
The heavy metal door opened.
A mix of antiseptic chemicals, machine oil, and scorched chakra flooded the air.
Jiraiya and Tsunade fell silent instantly.
The underground space was brightly lit.
At the center—
Hiroki was not meditating.
He was fighting.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three figures moved in perfect coordination.
One original.
Two shadow clones.
On the left, a clone faced rapidly moving targets.
"Substitution."
"Clone."
"Transformation."
The most basic academy techniques.
But—
No hand seals.
Tsunade stiffened.
Then came the middle clone.
Its right arm was wrong.
A mass of black, writhing tendrils—Kakuzu's Earth Grudge arm.
Nawaki sucked in a sharp breath as memories surged back.
"Earth Grudge: Umbrella."
The tendrils exploded outward, forming a massive black shield. Thousands of blades struck it, clanging uselessly.
The defense didn't drop.
It transformed.
"Earth Grudge: Spear."
The shield condensed into a three-meter black lance.
One thrust.
The steel puppet was pierced clean through.
Then—
The spear softened.
"Earth Grudge: Activation."
It became a whip, snapping outward, coiling around two more puppets—
Crack.
Metal twisted and collapsed.
Jiraiya's mouth hung open.
But Tsunade was staring at the real Hiroki.
Shirtless.
Standing still.
A mechanical arm swung wooden rods into his body—chest, abdomen, limbs.
Bruises bloomed. Skin split.
Hiroki didn't flinch.
No seals.
Green chakra flared.
Wounds healed instantly.
Tsunade's breath caught.
Palm Mystic Technique.
No—
Something beyond it.
Automatic. Perfect. Precise.
Her mind raced.
Cells responding on their own.
Chakra output self-regulated.
No conscious control.
This was—
Creative Regeneration.
The technique she had only theorized.
"How…?" she whispered.
Hiroki finally noticed them.
He waved for the machines to stop. The clones dispersed.
He exhaled, skin returning to normal.
He checked the numbers in his mind.
[Remaining extractable chakra: 3 cards]
Worth it.
He straightened and looked at them calmly.
"You're here."
Then, evenly:
"So… shall we begin the next stage?"
"Teach me everything you can."
"All the ninjutsu you have."
"Within one month."