[In Kushina Uzumaki's recollection, she was once abducted by three shinobi from the Hidden Cloud Village.]
[To carry out a mission involving infiltrating Konoha and kidnapping someone, these three must have been fairly high-ranking.]
[Young Minato tracked them down using just a single strand of Kushina's fallen hair.]
[Using only taijutsu, he swiftly took down the enemy and rescued Kushina.]
[Then followed it up with a "princess carry" that completely captured her heart.]
[In terms of strength, intellect, and emotional intelligence—he had all three in spades.]
Group Chat
[Jiraiya]: Hahaha! Honestly, I only had that fated encounter at Mount Myōboku thanks to Lord Third teaching me the Summoning Technique!
[Orochimaru]: So what if I delve into research? @You-Old-Lady-Trying-To-Look-Young: Are you coming back or not? I can't wait to start studying the Twelve Cursed Seals!
[Kushina Uzumaki] @ [Minato Namikaze]: Ahhh, I still remember! That's exactly how you won me over!
[Minato Namikaze]: If you had another chance to choose… would you still pick me?
[Kushina Uzumaki]: Of course! No matter how many times I could choose, I would never regret it!
[Naruto Uzumaki] @ [Kushina Uzumaki] @ [Minato Namikaze]: Dad! Mom! I want to find someone like that too…
[Kushina Uzumaki] @ [Naruto Uzumaki]: Silly son, haven't you already found her? @Hinata Hyuga
[Hinata Hyuga]: …/blushes
[Naruto Uzumaki]: What are you guys talking about?! Actually, the one I really like is—
Konoha – Chūnin Exam Arena
Sakura rushed over and covered Naruto's mouth.
Naruto: "Sakura, what are you doing?"
Sakura: "This is footage of the Fourth Hokage—your dad! Shouldn't you be paying attention? You've never even seen him with your own eyes, right?"
Naruto: "Thanks, Sakura!"
With that, Naruto turned and focused intently on the screen.
He knew far too little about Minato Namikaze. Now that he had the chance, he wanted to absorb everything he could.
The footage continued:
[But at this point in time, Minato was still just an ordinary shinobi. What truly propelled him into the spotlight was the Second Hokage's space-time technique—Flying Thunder God.]
[You've probably noticed—space-time ninjutsu is practically the most broken category in all of Naruto.]
[From Obito and Kakashi's Kamui, Madara's Limbo: Border Jail, to Kaguya's Amenominaka—all of them are top-tier trump cards.]
[Most of these techniques require the Mangekyō Sharingan or even the Rinnegan to perform.]
[Though the Flying Thunder God isn't a dojutsu-based ability, only two people have mastered it independently.]
[Its creator, the Second Hokage—Tobirama Senju—and the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze.]
Upon seeing this, reactions across the ninja world were a mixture of excitement, confusion, and awe.
The ones most emotionally conflicted were none other than the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Group Chat
[Tobirama Senju]: Hahaha! Minato, you owe me for this one!
[Minato Namikaze]: Thank you, Lord Second.
[Tobirama Senju]: Thank me for what, exactly?
[Minato Namikaze]: For creating the Flying Thunder God—it's been incredibly useful.
[Tobirama Senju]: Hahaha! @ [Hashirama Senju]: Nii-san! Aren't I awesome? /begging-for-praise
[Hashirama Senju]: Onii-chan, you're amazing! Your jutsu gave Konoha an outstanding Fourth Hokage!
[Tobirama Senju]: Thank you, nii-san! When I'm resurrected, I'll teach all my techniques to Naruto—Konoha's hope for the future!
[Naruto Uzumaki]: Me?! Whoa! Lord Second, really?!
[Tobirama Senju]: Of course it's true!
[Naruto Uzumaki]: But I've already decided to become Pervy Sage's apprentice!
[Tobirama Senju]: That's fine. Jiraiya is my student's student. If I teach you directly, there's no problem!
[Jiraiya]: What about me, Lord Second? Don't forget me!
[Kushina Uzumaki] @ [Naruto Uzumaki]: Naruto! Look here!
[Naruto Uzumaki]: Mom! I'm here! What is it?
[Kushina Uzumaki]: Nothing—I just wanted to @ you.
[Madara Uchiha]: I can't believe the scroll even knows about my Limbo: Border Jail technique. Almost no one knows about that!
[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki]: Pfft. That's nothing. Have you seen my Amenominaka?!
[Sage of Six Paths]: I call foul—why isn't my Chibaku Tensei mentioned in the comparison?!
The Sage of Six Paths was frustrated.
Chibaku Tensei was the sealing technique that had sealed Kaguya for generations—shouldn't that be worthy of mention?
[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki] @ [Sage of Six Paths]: Ungrateful child! Are you proud of that jutsu?! You know what you used your Chibaku Tensei for, don't you?
[Sage of Six Paths]: Mother, I'm acknowledging your strength. That's what makes my jutsu so impressive!
Moon's Core
Kaguya clenched her teeth in fury.
Her unfilial son's words made her angry—yet amused at the same time.
Then, a sly glint appeared in her eyes.
This… might be an opportunity!
[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki] @ [Sage of Six Paths]: Ungrateful child! Do you dare compare sealing techniques with me?!
[Sage of Six Paths]: Mother, don't waste your energy. I'm not a fool. No matter what you say, I'm not letting you out or agreeing to any duel.
[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki]: Coward! Didn't you always claim to be so powerful? Yet you don't even dare face me in a sealing match? What kind of weakling are you?!
[Sage of Six Paths]: For the sake of the ninja world, I don't mind being a coward.
[Kaguya Ōtsutsuki]: Tch!
Kaguya looked utterly annoyed.
She hadn't expected her son to not only resist her bait but publicly call himself a coward.
Clearly, her plan to goad him into a duel to gain her freedom… was a complete failure.
She'd need a new plan.
Would she have to rely on Black Zetsu again?
Or wait until her name showed up on the list?
Then maybe… she could use the reward to escape.
The footage resumed:
[Minato didn't learn the Flying Thunder God directly from Tobirama—after all, Tobirama was ambushed and killed by the Gold and Silver Brothers near the end of the First Great Ninja War, before Minato was even born.]
[Even Hiruzen Sarutobi—called the "Professor of Ninjutsu"—never mastered it. Nor did Orochimaru, who stole countless forbidden jutsu for his experiments.]
[Despite near extinction, Minato managed to not only learn it but surpass even its creator in mastery.]
[He even developed a technique based on it: the Spiraling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Three.]
[The Flying Thunder God allows instantaneous teleportation, essentially folding space itself.]
[Much like Sasuke's Rinnegan-based "Switch" technique—it's true instantaneous movement.]
Group Chat
[Izuna Uchiha]: Hahaha! Tobirama, aren't you embarrassed? Your Edo Tensei got perfected by Orochimaru and Kabuto, and your Flying Thunder God was refined by the Fourth. Aside from inventing stuff, you're not much use, huh?
[Tobirama Senju]: Izuna, at least I can create jutsu. What have you ever done—followed Madara around calling him "Nii-san" all day?
[Izuna Uchiha]: And weren't you doing the same with your "Nii-san" Hashirama all the time?
[Tobirama Senju]: That's because we had a good relationship!
[Izuna Uchiha]: Then I can't have a good relationship with my Nii-san?
[Tobirama Senju]: You're just a tagalong!
[Onoki – Third Tsuchikage] @ [Hiruzen Sarutobi]: Weren't you supposed to be the most versatile Hokage in Konoha's history? How come you couldn't even learn Flying Thunder God?
[Fourth Raikage – A] @ [Hiruzen Sarutobi]: So this is your so-called strongest Hokage? Hahaha! Maybe Konoha's Hokage rankings go from weakest to strongest!
[Not Tsunade's Baby Ninja]: Honestly, I gotta say this—I don't accept that. In my heart, the weakest Hokage is that old woman. @Trying-To-Look-Young-Old-Lady
[Trying-To-Look-Young-Old-Lady – Tsunade] @ [Not Tsunade's Baby Ninja]: Whether I'm the weakest or not isn't up to you. But one thing's for sure—you're definitely the most childish Mizukage in history!
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