"This child is Minato, a Ninja born to civilians. He possesses excellent reaction ability, combat analysis ability, and learning ability."
"In less than a year after enrolling, he grew from the class's lowest performer to an upper-middle level, and he is no less than some Ninja from established clans."
When Hiruzen mentioned Minato, his words were full of praise.
"Oh, and his theoretical knowledge is overwhelmingly first place, the kind that gets full marks."
"Full marks? Haha, this child is just like me."
The story of an underdog's comeback struck Jiraiya's heart. He loved nothing more than scenarios where underdogs overcame geniuses.
Moreover, Minato got full marks in his theoretical classes, wasn't that just like him?
Idiot!
Orochimaru swept a scornful glance at Jiraiya.
What the hell do you mean, this child is like you?! When you first joined our team, weren't you still the lowest performer?
Although Jiraiya's potential was later proven, Orochimaru found it difficult to understand why Hiruzen chose Jiraiya in the first place, as he wasn't particularly outstanding.
Of course, the current Jiraiya had already proven his worth.
"Jiraiya, if you are interested, you can observe Minato closely."
Hiruzen's heart stirred. Originally, he had planned for Minato to be the last member of Orochimaru's team.
But if Jiraiya was interested, it wouldn't be bad for Minato to become Jiraiya's disciple.
Among his three disciples, the one he most favored was Orochimaru, and the one he liked the most was Jiraiya.
"His foundation is quite good. A very intelligent child. Look, now he's challenging Kazuki."
Jiraiya watched as Minato defeated a child from the Sarutobi clan and then challenged Kazuki.
A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. The mentality of daring to challenge a strong opponent was exactly like his own. He loved it!
Perhaps Minato wasn't the most outstanding performer on the spot, but he was the one who best suited Jiraiya's taste.
Orochimaru and Tsunade both turned their gaze to Kazuki, wondering what this young man would show.
According to Hiruzen, his strength far surpassed his opponents, so at this moment, would he, like other Uchiha, crush his opponent to display his power, or would he give his opponent more opportunities to show their abilities?
This was related to a person's character. Of course, it couldn't be said that either choice was wrong, just as Orochimaru would defeat his opponent without hesitation.
Kazuki walked onto the battle arena and said to Minato with a smile, "I didn't expect you to challenge me so soon."
"I know my own limits. I'm not a match for you and Kushina-san."
Although Minato said this, he showed no sign of inferiority.
Instead, he frankly stated, "If I were to fight anyone else, I wouldn't even have the right to challenge you."
"Is that so?"
Kazuki formed the Confrontation Seal with Minato, waiting for Minato to make the first move.
Not to mention that his relationship with Minato was usually good, there was no need to establish his strength by quickly defeating Minato.
Moreover, he was the inheritor of the Will of Fire, how could he be so ruthless?
After forming the Confrontation Seal with Kazuki, Minato quickly approached Kazuki as usual, kicking towards his face at an extremely fast and tricky angle.
Snap!
However, Minato's attack was easily caught by Kazuki. With a gentle flick of his hand, he sent Minato flying.
Minato's body spun in the air, landing steadily on the ground. Immediately after, He calmly formed hand signs, taking a deep breath.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
A high-speed swirling storm was expelled from his mouth, attacking Kazuki.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.
Kazuki formed hand signs much faster than Minato, spewing out a huge fireball to meet Minato's storm.
"Such fast hand signs!"
This scene made Tsunade let out an involuntary gasp of surprise.
She herself was not a Ninja known for her hand sign speed, and Kazuki's hand sign speed just now had already surpassed hers.
Of course, it might even be faster than Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
Hiruzen nodded slightly, praising, "The speed of hand signs does not represent the strength of a Ninja, and truly powerful Ninja can even simplify hand signs, just like First Hokage-sama and Tobirama-sensei."
"But Kazuki's hand sign speed has already surpassed most Ninja. I heard from Seiichiro that he is also training single-handed hand signs. I haven't seen him use it. I wonder if he has trained it successfully."
Jiraiya picked his nose and said, "Isn't it just single-handed hand signs? It's nothing at all. If you've got the guts, do hand signs with both feet like me."
Tsunade and Orochimaru's faces instantly darkened. Who uses both feet to make hand signs?!
If you've got the guts, use your toes to make hand signs!
"However, Minato is indeed very talented. He has almost done everything he can." Orochimaru looked at Minato with eyes full of praise.
He felt that Minato was the same kind of person as him. If he could have some opportunity, he would definitely seize it and then make a name for himself.
With Hiruzen's guidance, he would surely become a strong individual.
Hiruzen watched Minato, who was fully displaying his abilities with Kazuki's cooperation, and nodded with satisfaction.
Kazuki's strength was within his expectations. He even suspected that his own son, Shinnosuke, might not be a match for Kazuki.
And Minato was rapidly progressing during his battle with Kazuki, which was extremely commendable.
Such a smart child, entrusting him to Jiraiya might be a bit of a waste.
Or, should he entrust him to Orochimaru?
However, judging by Orochimaru's demeanor, he clearly had no intention of competing with Jiraiya. Forget it, let fate decide.
Tsunade stared intently at Kazuki. The more she looked at Kazuki, the more familiar she felt, a feeling similar to facing Nawaki. But Kazuki was not Nawaki. She could only attribute the reason to Kazuki's unique charisma.
Tsunade had seen this in others before, such as her grandfather, Hashirama. But Kazuki was an Uchiha.
"Tsunade, what do you think? Kazuki is very good, isn't he? Have you decided to be his master?" Hiruzen asked when he saw Tsunade staring intently at Kazuki.
Tsunade said with a complicated expression, "I can't teach him much. Is it really okay to entrust such a genius to me? Both Jiraiya and Orochimaru are more suitable for him than I am."
"No, you are the most suitable. You are a Senju, he is an Uchiha. Although this might bring some trouble, this is what's best for him." Hiruzen looked at Tsunade earnestly.
***
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