NOVEL WEB Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Gains!
Chapter 11: Gains!
(Author's Note: Please Vote and collect the story!)
After leaving the shop, Kinoshita Genichi and Minato Namikaze walked to a quiet spot and stopped. Minato looked at Genichi and pondered for a moment.
Genichi's frankness had surprised him, and he greatly appreciated and was thankful for it. He also understood the hint Futagi Ryusei had given him before leaving. Moreover, Minato had no intention of taking the Rasengan from Genichi for free. After Hiruzen's suggestion, he had already prepared himself for this.
However, the idea of taking Genichi as a disciple had not crossed Minato's mind. He was only fifteen or sixteen years old himself, hardly the age to be taking on students. Guiding Genichi, of course, was not a problem. Minato was more than happy to exchange ideas with the highly imaginative Genichi, who did not seem like a five or six-year-old child at all.
He was very mature. After their recent conversation, Minato had already begun to see Genichi as an equal.
Thus, after a moment's thought, Minato smiled and said, "Genichi, your talent is immense, your thinking is sharp, and you have a great sensitivity for ninjutsu."
"However, although I am a Jonin now, I don't have enough experience to be your teacher, so I cannot accept you as my disciple."
"Of course, you are always welcome to come and discuss ninjutsu with me. As it happens, I also have some knowledge when it comes to Water Release."
Genichi was not surprised. He quickly said, "Minato-senpai, in that case, I won't be polite."
Minato waved his hand. "Just call me Minato-niisan."
"Also, while I can't take you as my disciple, I can introduce you to my master, Jiraiya-sensei."
"Of course, I can't guarantee whether Jiraiya-sensei will accept you or not."
Genichi was secretly overjoyed and quickly bowed. "Thank you so much, Minato-niisan." Since he was told to call him big brother, he wouldn't be shy about it.
Minato smiled. "No need to thank me, it's nothing."
"Now then, this is for you."
As he spoke, Minato took a small scroll from the ninja tool pouch on his back. "The Rasengan is an excellent ninjutsu. I can't just take it for free."
"These are the Water Release ninjutsu I've mastered. While they might not compare to the Rasengan, they should be suitable for you."
Genichi rubbed his hands together and, after only a second of feigned hesitation, took the scroll from Minato. "Minato-niisan, I won't be polite then."
Seeing his expression, Minato couldn't help but laugh. "Go on, take a look. If you have any questions, you can ask me anytime!"
Genichi nodded and eagerly opened the scroll in his hands.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
Genichi was no stranger to this jutsu; he remembered many people using it, like Kakashi and Darui. His deepest memory of it was from the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. Others would spit out water that formed a descending column for defense, similar to Kakuzu's Water-Style: Water Encampment Wall. Tobirama's Water Formation Wall, however, involved spitting out a current of water that would circle around the user, forming a hollow pillar of water that provided defense from all sides. Genichi clearly remembered him using this jutsu during his fight with Hiruzen.
Besides Tobirama's unique variation of the jutsu, there were also his hand seals. Tobirama had likely only used two or three seals. The normal sequence for Water Formation Wall was Tiger -> Snake -> Tiger -> Snake -> Tiger -> Snake. This was the version Genichi was looking at now.
For Tobirama's two-seal version, Genichi vaguely recalled the first seal being the "Zen" (前) seal from the Kuji-kiri. The following seal looked like two seals, but he couldn't find a perfect match among the twelve basic seals, nor in the Kuji-kiri. It was possibly the "Arbitrary Seal" (壬印, Jin'in), a custom seal that could only be used when one had mastered a jutsu to perfection, like the cross-seal Naruto used for his Shadow Clones.
However, after his recent research into hand seals, Genichi had another theory: the second seal in Tobirama's Water Formation Wall was likely a combination of the "Zai" (在) seal and the basic "Snake" seal. He decided he would try to research this in the future. If he could perform it with two seals, there was no need to use six. Most importantly, it would be unique and look cool!
...
Looking at the B-rank jutsu, Water Formation Wall, a hundred thoughts had already raced through Genichi's mind. He continued to unroll the scroll.
A second jutsu appeared.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
Seeing this jutsu, Genichi's eyebrow couldn't help but twitch. The forty-four hand seals Zabuza used in his fight against Kakashi were truly the stuff of legends.
Minato noticed his small expression and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Is there a problem with the Water Dragon Bullet jutsu?"
Genichi smiled. "Since it's a B-rank ninjutsu, I just thought the hand seals would be more complex."
Also, the version Minato had given him used four seals, which should be the version from Tobirama and Kosuke Maruboshi. If it had been Zabuza's version... he really wouldn't have wanted to learn it.
Minato naturally didn't understand the hidden joke in Genichi's words and smiled. "The seals for the Water Dragon Bullet aren't inherently complex, but they aren't simple either. This is the version simplified by the Second Hokage."
"Ryusei-sensei said you have a great talent for seals and a high affinity for Water Release, so I chose this one."
This is good, this is very good!
The two then exchanged some more of their views on Water Release before Minato finally left. Before leaving, however, he gave Genichi his home address and reminded him that he could trade the Rasengan with the village for another jutsu of the same rank. This confirmed for Genichi another source of obtaining ninjutsu.
After Minato was gone, Genichi opened the scroll again to look at the two jutsu.
Trading the Rasengan for two B-rank Water Release jutsu seemed like a loss on the surface. But in reality, his gains were much greater.
For example, his friendship with Minato, which meant he could frequently go to him for guidance. And behind Minato, there was Uzumaki Kushina. Furthermore, Minato had promised to introduce him to Jiraiya. While it wasn't guaranteed that Jiraiya would take a liking to him and accept him as a disciple, just meeting him and establishing a connection was a resource in itself.
Hidden within this was a network of relationships.
"I have to maintain these relationships well."
"This 'genius' persona is really useful."
"Of course, the most crucial part is... mutual benefit!"
Without any benefit, a genius? "What does that have to do with me?"
As for why Minato didn't offer an A-rank Water Release jutsu in exchange, Genichi was almost certain it was because Minato hadn't mastered the Water Severing Wave. In his memory, Minato had never used ninjutsu like Water or Wind Release. With the Flying Thunder God Technique, he had no need for them; the Rasengan was the perfect match.
"So, he must have just begun to master the Flying Thunder God, which is why he urgently needed to develop a jutsu that would perfectly complement it."
"It really makes one envious!"
Genichi slowly closed the scroll. He now had three Water Release jutsu. Water Shockwave, Water Formation Wall, and Water Dragon Bullet. Two offensive, one defensive.
So, should he trade the Rasengan to the village for the A-rank Water Severing Wave, a jutsu with sharp offensive power?
After considering it for less than a second, Genichi vetoed the idea.
Because he knew he would never be able to master that jutsu. It wasn't that he didn't trust his own intellect, but he didn't trust his own chakra reserves.
(End of Chapter)