Minato hesitated for a mont, but ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of a space-ti ninjutsu. Sowhat shyly, he asked:
"Hoshiyomi-sensei … could I learn that jutsu?"
The technique Hoshiyomi used had actually been drawn from his system, so he had no real way of teaching it to Minato. Instead, he put on the airs of a teacher and explained:
"That jutsu was sothing I learned after studying Tobirama-sama's Flying Thunder God Technique. You're still too young. Even if I showed you the principles behind it, it'd be hard for you to grasp. Let's talk about it again after you've gotten stronger."
Minato looked up at Hoshiyomi with admiration in his eyes.
"Sensei, you're holding back because you're worried I might try to rush ahead... and learning a forbidden jutsu too early could be dangerous, right? I understand. Don't worry—I'll keep my head down and train seriously."
Hoshiyomi was a little dumbfounded. That hadn't been his reason at all, but since Minato had co up with such a noble interpretation, he certainly wasn't going to contradict it. Playing along, he put on a wise, approving expression and said:
"I'm glad you understand the heart of your teacher. Go ho and rest well. Tomorrow, I'll check on your recent progress."
...
The next morning, in the courtyard of the Gekkō household.
Hoshiyomi stood with one hand raised, calmly deflecting Minato's attacks. Minato's earlier long-range ninjutsu had been easily neutralized, and now they were moving into close combat.
But if he couldn't land a hit with ninjutsu, close quarters would be even tougher.
Even though Hoshiyomi was only using one hand and wasn't counterattacking at all, Minato still couldn't threaten him in the slightest.
Hoshiyomi even had the leisure to give Minato pointers on his footwork and form:
"Watch your balance—If I had kicked just now, you'd already be on the ground."
"And your strikes—aim with more precision. That last one looked like it was targeting a vital spot, but even if it landed, it wouldn't have been lethal."
Minato was already breathing heavily, but he still listened attentively. These insights—these real combat lessons—were treasures far beyond what they taught at the Ninja Academy.
As he focused on Hoshiyomi's instruction, Minato couldn't help but feel a wave of admiration: Sensei truly is Sensei; he's even more amazing after his breakthrough.
anwhile, Hoshiyomi was feeling just as excited. This Master-Level Swordsmanship was on a whole different level compared to the Advanced Swordsmanship. The most obvious improvent was in his neural response ti.
The breakthrough had boosted not just his swordsmanship skills, but also his physical stats, reflexes, and chakra reserves—all dramatically.
When he was only at Advanced Swordsmanship, his neural response ti was slightly faster than Minato's at that age. But now, it far surpassed him.
This difference beca especially noticeable during their sparring.
Before, when their reaction speeds were closer, even if Minato couldn't keep up with Hoshiyomi's attacks, he could at least use his own reflexes to adjust his angle of attack or defend in ti.
Against a combat genius like Minato, Hoshiyomi had never been able to defend so easily with just one hand.
But now it was different. In Hoshiyomi's eyes, Minato moved as if he were operating at 0.75x speed. The little tricks that used to catch him off guard no longer worked. He could now see through them well in advance.
Seeing that Minato was now gasping for air, Hoshiyomi raised a hand to stop him from continuing:
"That's enough for now, Minato. Take a break—any more training and you'll be overdoing it."
Minato paused at last, then dropped to the ground, panting hard. After accepting the water bottle Hoshiyomi handed him and gulping down a mouthful, he said:
"Hoshiyomi-sensei, I've been thinking a lot since last night… I believe it's ti for to apply for graduation."
"I've already mastered everything they teach at the Academy. What I'm lacking now is real combat experience. I want to follow you to the battlefield and sharpen my skills!"
Hoshiyomi nodded in agreent. He'd been planning to bring it up with Minato after their sparring session, but Minato had brought it up himself.
During their match, Hoshiyomi had already ford a rough evaluation of Minato's current strength. He was well beyond an average chūnin. With his exceptional reaction ti and mastery of the Body Flicker Technique, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a Special Jonin.
Keeping soone with this kind of talent stuck in the Academy any longer would just be a waste of ti.
So, without hesitation, Hoshiyomi replied:
"Sure. Actually, the old man Hiruzen already brought this up to . He asked to take two talented juniors to the battlefield next ti, so they can gain so real experience."
As he said this, Hoshiyomi couldn't help but think of Uchiha Kuugetsu. Glancing at Minato, he casually asked:
"By the way, do you know anything about Uchiha Kuugetsu from your class? I'm quite curious about her. If her talent's promising, I might take her on as a disciple along with you and Kushina."
"That ans when we go to the battlefield, it'll be you and Kuugetsu heading out together."
Minato paused, hesitating for a mont before responding:
"I'm not sure how to put it… on the surface, she doesn't seem all that unusual. Just a girl who's good at Uchiha-style kenjutsu. But I've always had this feeling she's hiding sothing."
Hoshiyomi was intrigued. For Minato—sharp as he was—to say he couldn't see through soone ant this Kuugetsu really was sothing special.
"What exactly happened? Can you tell more?"
Minato explained:
"Kuugetsu is actually pretty inconspicuous in class. She rarely talks to anyone. Even when she's bullied, she doesn't say a word. If she weren't close to Kushina and Mikoto, I probably wouldn't have noticed her at all."
"But there was this one ti that really stuck with . Kushina and Mikoto had both gone to the bathroom, and two boys from our class went over to ss with her."
"I didn't like seeing that. Since she's friends with Kushina, I figured I should step in. I scared the boys off—but as they left, I happened to hear Kuugetsu whisper sothing."
"What did she say?"
"I think it was sothing like… 'Please don't hurt them.'"
"But the thing is—I hadn't even touched them. That's what struck . I asked her what she'd just said, and she claid she hadn't said anything."
"I asked both Mikoto and Kushina about it later, but they just said I was overthinking it."
Minato chuckled at that point.
"Maybe I really was imagining things. After all, Kushina and Mikoto have been around her every day for years, and they've never heard her say anything strange."
"And with how talkative Kushina is—if sothing was off about Kuugetsu, she'd definitely tell ."
Hoshiyomi ntally tuned out Minato's typical Kushina-this, Kushina-that, and instead found his interest in Kuugetsu growing even more.
Speculating wouldn't get him anywhere, though. He might as well go observe her after class today.
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