Leaving Uchiha Hane's house, Uchiha En recalled Uchiha Hane's attitude just now and couldn't help but sigh internally, "This must be the privilege of a genius!"
If he were still an unknown Genin, it would be uncertain whether Uchiha Hane would even bother speaking to him today! Let alone show such a gentle attitude.
Moreover, Uchiha En also greatly needed the title of 'genius.' If he wanted to control the Uchiha Clan and become its leader later on, he needed sufficient prestige within the clan.
Starting as a genius was the best choice. Transitioning from a genius to the Uchiha Clan's strongest member was far more reasonable than an originally unknown person suddenly appearing to seize the position of Clan Leader.
It's not wrong to act low-key, but you can't be low-key about everything. When it's time to show your edge, you must show it, otherwise, you won't be able to obtain more resources, and ordinary clan members won't choose to stand with you.
Geniuses have privileges, and Uchiha En neither wanted to nor would he give up this privilege.
This was also the main reason Uchiha En came directly to find the Uchiha Clan's high-ranking members today. By comparison, the Sharingan's exclusive Genjutsu was not as important.
"Senior En, how long will you be staying in the Village this time?"
"Not for long, only a few days. I'll be going on a mission after three days, and once I return from the mission, I'll likely head straight to the battlefield."
Shisui looked a little disappointed upon hearing this.
Uchiha En smiled, patted his shoulder, and said, "You can come find me anytime during these few days."
"Then I will have to bother you, Senior!"
Meanwhile, at a training ground in Konoha, Jiraiya was sparring with his favorite disciple, Minato Namikaze.
After the two sparred tentatively, Jiraiya felt a bit of pressure, while Minato Namikaze maintained his usual calm expression.
As Minato Namikaze's teacher, Jiraiya understood his disciple very well; he knew that Minato Namikaze was a very humble person.
The calmer Minato Namikaze acted now, the greater his progress had been recently!
Thinking of this, Jiraiya no longer hesitated. He formed hand seals and unleashed Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld. The ground beneath Minato Namikaze instantly turned into a muddy swamp, burying his feet and slowly dragging him down.
Seizing the advantage, Jiraiya showed no mercy. He summoned a Toad from Mount Myōboku. Working together, the Toad used oil and Jiraiya used Fire Release, sending a wave of fire straight toward Minato Namikaze.
Since Minato Namikaze's feet were trapped in the swamp, he couldn't dodge. The only way to escape was the Flying Thunder God Technique. Jiraiya knew this well and kept his eyes on Minato Namikaze, waiting for him to throw a flying thunder god kunai.
And Minato Namikaze did exactly that. His flying thunder god kunai cut through the wave of fire and shot straight toward Jiraiya.
Seeing this, Jiraiya shook his hair, intending to use the Wild Lion's Mane Technique to capture Minato Namikaze once he teleported.
But what Jiraiya hadn't expected was that Minato Namikaze's flying thunder god kunai suddenly multiplied into dozens of blades as it flew toward him!
"That's the Old Man's shuriken Shadow Clone!"
"It's not just that!" As soon as Jiraiya finished speaking, Minato Namikaze instantly jumped to the flying thunder god kunai closest to Jiraiya's left!
"Too naive!" Jiraiya flicked his hair, instantly wrapping up both the Kunai on the left and Minato Namikaze.
"Jiraiya-sensei, it seems I've won!" Minato Namikaze, immobilized by the Wild Lion's Mane Technique, said with a smile.
Jiraiya was stunned by the remark. Shouldn't he be the one with the advantage? Minato Namikaze was trapped and couldn't throw a Kunai; by all accounts, he should be the winner.
However, before Jiraiya could voice his confusion, Minato Namikaze, who had been immobilized moments ago, vanished, and then a cold Kunai was pressed against Jiraiya's neck.
"Minato, how did you do that?" Jiraiya asked, completely bewildered.
"This is Flying Thunder God Stage Two, which I developed based on the Flying Thunder God Technique."
"Flying Thunder God Stage Two? Minato, it seems your mastery of this Jutsu has already surpassed the Second Hokage."
"Sensei, you flatter me! I'm still far from reaching the level of the Second Hokage! But I should have won this spar, right?"
"That's not necessarily true!" As soon as he finished speaking, with a 'poof,' Jiraiya turned into a log.
"Substitution Jutsu! When did you form the hand signs!"
"Just now, when I trapped you with the Wild Lion's Mane Technique! Luckily, I had a backup plan, otherwise, I really would have lost this time!"
"As expected of Jiraiya-sensei!"
"To be honest, Minato, I can no longer defeat you now that you've developed Flying Thunder God Stage Two. If you want to leave, I can't stop you, but you can't defeat me at your current level either!" Jiraiya said while forming three hand seals consecutively.
Looking at the Swamp of the Underworld and Jizo Needle beneath Jiraiya's feet, and his long white hair dancing in the wind, Minato Namikaze condensed a ball of blue Chakra in his right hand, but it quickly dissipated. It was just a spar between teacher and disciple, there was no need to use such a killing move.
And without using that Jutsu, Minato Namikaze knew that even if he instantly teleported using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he wouldn't be able to penetrate Jiraiya, who was protected by the Wild Lion's Mane Technique.
If Jiraiya had any other special methods to force him into the Swamp of the Underworld, where the Jizo Needle was hidden, he would be severely injured even if he didn't die.
Thinking of this, Minato Namikaze put away his Kunai and decisively conceded defeat: "Jiraiya-sensei, you win!"
Jiraiya frowned upon hearing this. "Minato, did you hold something back? I clearly noticed Chakra condensing in your right hand just now."
"As expected, I can't hide anything from you, Jiraiya-sensei? My hand-seal-less Ninjutsu is complete," Minato Namikaze said with a smile.
"The Jutsu inspired by the Tailed Beast Ball? What is the name of the Jutsu?"
"Originally, I gave this Jutsu a very cool name, but Kushina rejected it. She decided for me that this Jutsu would be called Rasengan."
"Rasengan, huh? That name is relatively normal," Jiraiya muttered to himself.
"Jiraiya-sensei, would you like to learn this Jutsu? I feel like it suits your fighting style very well."
After thinking for a moment, Jiraiya accepted his disciple's kind offer.
Hand-Seal-less Ninjutsu could indeed greatly diversify his combat methods.
Afterward, Minato Namikaze told Jiraiya the training method for the Rasengan.
Jiraiya had already known about the Jutsu Minato Namikaze was developing, and now seeing the completed version, Jiraiya felt he wouldn't need long to master it.
"Minato, how many days can you rest now that you're back in the Village?" Jiraiya asked, changing the subject.
"Three days. After three days, I'll be going on a mission with Senior Shibi and the Uchiha Clan genius, Uchiha En."
"Wait, you said the Uchiha Clan genius, Uchiha En? Do you know this kid?" Jiraiya asked.
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