Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

After calming his emotions, the Third took a blissful puff from his pipe. "You've certainly given me quite the surprise, young Seiki!"

Seiki shook his head modestly. "Actually, I only provided inspiration and ideas. Everything else was completed by Minato-nii."

The Third smiled. Of course he understood the difference between simply providing ideas and actually executing them.

"What did you want to exchange for again?"

"[Eight Gates]!"

"[Eight Gates], huh..." The Third paused as his right hand stopped searching inside the drawer. "Why the sudden interest in exchanging for a Taijutsu skill?"

Seiki gave a prepared explanation calmly. "Actually, Lady Tsunade told me long ago about the importance of Taijutsu, but I hadn't really paid much attention back then..."

The Third's expression turned slightly complicated. According to records from Anbu, Seiki's Taijutsu had been described as extremely fierce and brutal—perhaps even more so than some Genin specialized in Taijutsu.

And he claims he achieved all that without really focusing on it?

"Well, geniuses are different," the Third mused with a slight nod.

Just like himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who started learning Fire Release techniques yet somehow mastered the other six elemental natures along the way.

"However, during the night when Cloud Village launched their attack, my lack of Taijutsu skills caused both Sister Kushina to lose control and put Asuma in danger. That's when I truly realized my past mistake."

"If you want to save others, you must first ensure your own safety. And to ensure your own safety, you must become someone with absolutely no weaknesses!"

The Third's lips twitched slightly. Wasn't that going a bit too far?

No weaknesses meant excelling in every possible aspect.

But such balanced development often resulted in either omnipotence—or mediocrity.

"Still, geniuses will be geniuses," the Third comforted himself again.

"As for why I chose [Eight Gates] specifically, it's because Might Duy once mentioned that opening the Opening Gate can remove cerebral restrictions and allow the body to perform at 100% capacity."

"At that time, I couldn't help but wonder—if the Opening Gate can eliminate brain limitations, could it also be used to spark inspiration?"

"Cough... cough!" This time, the Third genuinely choked. You're using a technique meant for combat... to boost creativity?!

"However, genius or not... this time I really can't understand what you're thinking! Even I—Hiruzen Sarutobi—wouldn't dare attempt something so reckless!"

Thinking further, the Third carefully chose his words. "Opening the gates is extremely dangerous—at the very least, someone like you should never try it now."

Seiki looked dejected. "I understand."

Still worried, the Third warned, "Unless one day you attain the same power as the First Hokage, never even think of doing this again, understand?"

"So even having Sage Mode as a prerequisite isn't enough? Tsk, someone like me with mediocre talent truly struggles to gain any real insight!" He sighed inwardly and then nodded firmly. "Uncle Hiruzen, I won't take such risks."

The Third gave another approving nod. "Then would you like to choose a different jutsu instead?"

Seiki remained silent for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I don't need anything else right now."

"Also, when I exchanged for the Eight Gates, I had another thought — whether practicing Taijutsu could help inspire new ideas when I hit a wall studying Genjutsu and Medical Ninjutsu."

Sarutobi tapped his pipe on the table. "The essence of any technique ultimately involves chakra, hand seals, meridians, nature transformation, and shape transformation. Theoretically speaking, what you're saying is possible."

"You probably want to ask why those teachers at the academy never mentioned these things to you students?"

I wasn't going to ask that...

Seiki inwardly made a sarcastic remark, then earnestly replied, "It's because of differences, right?"

Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe, creating swirling clouds of smoke. "Indeed, differences between people do exist. Some people can't even remember all twelve hand seals, let alone combinations between them. In such cases, expecting them to draw inspiration across disciplines is simply impossible."

"Even for geniuses, specializing in one field is already extremely challenging. Only a rare few can truly enter this domain!"

Seeing the pride in Sarutobi's eyes, Seiki suddenly understood — he finally realized why Sarutobi was talking so much "nonsense."

The First Hokage's Wood Release, the Second Hokage, the inventor of kinjutsu... and him, the Third, who was known as the jutsu professor with seven chakra nature mastery.

Actually, that was an incredible achievement, but few people recognized it.

He occasionally wanted to hear a bit of praise now and then too!

"No wonder Asuma always says his father, Sarutobi, is secretly romantic," thinking this, Seiki exclaimed appropriately, "It's really that tough? Then who in Konoha has managed to do it?"

Smiling happily, Sarutobi said, "Hehe, old man like me might have some minor insights in this area!"

"I heard adults say that Uncle Sarutobi can use jutsu with seven chakra natures. So, does that mean you've mastered every type?"

"More or less. At least, I can use all A-ranked jutsu currently available in Konoha."

"Hoarding forbidden techniques?" Immediately this thought flashed through Seiki's mind, and he quickly reprimanded himself, "How could I think that way? Hokage clearly risks his life to practice jutsu from the Scroll of Seals just to protect Konoha! Therefore, if I become Hokage someday, I must also learn from the Third Hokage..."

Excitedly, Seiki said, "Amazing! Even the First Hokage couldn't achieve something like this! Uncle Sarutobi, could you please guide me in this aspect?"

Smiling broadly, Sarutobi answered, "I can only share with you some personal experiences I've summarized — such as similarities and differences in chakra and hand seals between different techniques, or their variations in shape and nature transformation. As for everything else, you'll have to explore it yourself."

After finishing his boasting, Sarutobi finally remembered his official duties. He cleared his throat and retrieved the Scroll of Seals from his drawer.

"With your previous experience exchanging for the Flying Thunder God, you should already be familiar with the procedure. After recording the Eight Gates, I'll personally apply the sealing technique for you."

Naturally, Seiki understood. Without a sealing technique, important strategic resources could be extracted from a shinobi under torture.

While he could understand it, the feeling of being sealed was still extremely unpleasant.

...

As he stepped out of the Hokage building, dusk had already settled over the village.

Looking at the building's reflection, Seiki murmured to himself, "My strength has always been in learning, analyzing, and even building something new from what's already there. It's not that my talent is lacking—it's just that the cost-effectiveness of developing a new jutsu is far too low!"

"With the concept I provided, Nine-Tails' demonstration, and Minato Namikaze's talent, it still took two whole months to create the Rasengan! In the original story, Minato even spent three years perfecting this technique!"

"If I waste my time on this kind of thing, the best I could hope for is to match The Second—he'll never be enough to fulfill my ambitions! My aspirations are too grand, but my current abilities fall far short of supporting them. To achieve that... Hmm, seems like I've grown a bit impatient. Getting lost in dreams too far off just makes you lose sight of the road right under your feet."

Seiki took a deep breath, pulled his thoughts together, suppressed his ambition, and walked into the distance.

"My next step should probably be the Scroll of Seals. Although I have some ideas already, there are still many limitations preventing me from putting them into practice. Maybe it's time I took things a little slower."

Meanwhile, inside the Hokage office, The Third gazed absentmindedly at the Scroll of Seals nearby.

"[Using the Eight Gates to release brain restrictions and stimulate inspiration?] Heh, truly a bold and intriguing idea. Perhaps it's exactly this kind of creative thinking that allowed him to develop a technique like the Rasengan at such a young age!"

"But will this method actually work? Hmm… Well, the first three gates are within the safe zone anyway. Might as well give it a try."

"For the safety of the village, taking a risk like this is definitely worth it..." With a sense of noble resolve, The Third placed his right hand onto the Crystal Ball. "This time, I must succeed in improving the Telescope Technique!"

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