With a flip of his right hand, a small flower glimmering with faint rainbow light appeared in his palm. Its petals were a misty gray, and its edges were a gradual transparency. The rainbow light emanated from its pistil, making it clearly extraordinary at first glance.
"Brother, what is this?"
"A relatively rare chakra herb. Take it and eat it. This flower seems to contain spatio-temporal power; it will be useful to you."
Minato was a little surprised. Although Torifu often gave him herbs, he hadn't expected him to find something so miraculous. This unknown little flower was clearly very precious at first glance!
However, Minato didn't stand on ceremony with Torifu. They were family, after all.
Directly accepting the Ethereal Flower, which contained spatio-temporal power, Minato felt that after consuming this flower, the speed of his Flying Thunder God Technique would definitely reach a new level!
"Thank you, Brother. Then I'll go consume this flower first."
Just as Minato turned to leave, Torifu called out to him: "Don't go yet. There's something else I intend to give you, but whether you accept it is your own choice."
"Huh? What is it?" Minato was very confused. His brother's words left him a bit baffled.
Torifu pointed in the direction of Yahiko and Konan: "Do you know why that kid Yahiko is so happy?"
Then, with a flip of his hand, a red fruit appeared in his palm. It was a Bloodline Fruit.
"This is a batch of pill-like items I refined. Their effect is to grant the consumer a random Kekkei Genkai."
Torifu's words were calm and gentle, but to Minato's ears, they struck like a bolt from the blue!
A Kekkei Genkai could be obtained by eating a fruit? Don't try to fool me just because I'm unread.
"Brother, you're not kidding, are you? How could such a thing…"
Torifu shook his head: "Of course I'm not fooling you. That's why I'm letting you choose for yourself, to take it or not. This item might distract you from developing your ninjutsu, or leave you no time to further refine your Flying Thunder God Technique."
"However, regarding the Flying Thunder God Technique, with that flower you just received, it should allow you to improve it to its limit."
Minato's mind was in a whirl. He understood every word his brother said, but put together, why did they make no sense? The amount of information was a bit overwhelming at once. He needed to digest it.
After about two or three minutes, Minato finally collected himself.
"Brother, I've been thinking, any Kekkei Genkai I acquire now doesn't seem like it would significantly boost me."
The speed of the Flying Thunder God Technique was enough for Minato to take an enemy's head from a thousand miles away. He could take an opponent's life almost instantaneously. But if he gained a Kekkei Genkai, he would definitely need to develop many new ninjutsu, and the boost it would provide him wouldn't be very significant. It might completely overturn the fighting style he had learned and honed over the years. He couldn't just use the Flying Thunder God Technique to appear and then start forming hand seals to unleash a Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu, could he? That wasn't very realistic…
So, overall, Minato felt that having a Kekkei Genkai wouldn't offer him a significant boost.
After hearing what Minato said, Torifu also agreed. That's why he gave Minato the choice from the start. If he wanted it, he could certainly awaken one for fun, use it as a trump card, or not develop it at all, it wouldn't matter. Minato's refusal was also within his expectations; he wasn't too surprised.
"Alright, perhaps this item can be saved for your son. He might be another genius," Torifu teased.
Minato, hearing this, grew a little shy. He was now at the age of blossoming romance. At fifteen or sixteen years old, it was the peak of his adolescence. Moreover, Kushina had already graduated, and the two of them often went on missions and shopped together. Over time, he developed a different kind of affection for Kushina. Hearing Torifu's words now, it was as if his secret thoughts had been exposed, and his face instantly flushed crimson.
"B-Brother, what are you saying? I'm a long way from having children! Just give it to someone else, don't let it go bad."
How could Torifu not know about Minato's affairs? He was just curious about fate's arrangements. Their destinies should have been almost impossible to intertwine, yet somehow, they still became a couple.
Originally, Kushina had been chosen from the Land of Whirlpools to inherit the Nine-Tails' power because Uzumaki Mito was aging, and by a stroke of luck, she ended up with Minato. In this world, the Nine-Tails was sealed away tightly, and Mito was in excellent health, enjoying all her food.
Yet, a crisis in the Land of Whirlpools brought Kushina to Konoha Village. Sometimes, one truly had to believe in fate. And from his Mistress, he learned that Kushina seemed to quite like Minato as well. However, they were still too young, and she was a bit hesitant about what to do. Torifu, however, felt that it was best to let nature take its course. Too much interference would only spoil it. Torifu had originally thought about trying to set them up sometime, but looking at the situation now, his assistance wasn't needed at all.
Rocking in his lounge chair, Torifu closed his eyes and waved a hand: "Alright, go eat that flower quickly. Come out after you've eaten it and let me see if your Flying Thunder God Technique has improved."
Minato, hearing this, felt as if he'd been granted a great pardon. He immediately ran into the house and shut the door tightly. Yahiko and Konan in the small training ground looked towards Minato's room. They wondered why their Minato-senpai was in such a hurry. But soon, the two of them resumed their competition over gifts and their imaginings of future strength.
Meanwhile, Torifu retrieved the Enlightenment Fruit and the Flame Branch from his ring. The former was a large, pear-shaped fruit, but it differed greatly from normal fruits. The entire Enlightenment Fruit was a semi-transparent emerald green, and faint green energy mist swirled around it. It clearly looked extraordinary.
"As expected of a fruit that can increase cultivation talent. Its style was completely different from other herbs."
He planned to give this to his son. As for cultivation talent, he had already maxed his out. But his son hadn't yet. Although he had previously given Akihara many things to eat, most of them were herbs that increased affinity for elemental chakra. They were nowhere near comparable to this Enlightenment Fruit.
Akihara was only three years old, not yet at the age for training. This period was perfect for him to lay a solid foundation. When he could finally begin training, there was no telling how strong his talent would be! He just wondered if he could be even more monstrous than Torifu was in his youth. After all, destroying a country at twelve years old wasn't something just anyone could do.
However, with the resources Torifu was currently showering upon him, Akihara's talent certainly wouldn't be lacking. Moreover, Akihara also possessed Uchiha bloodline, and would be able to awaken the Sharingan. With the powerful alliance of the Kumotsuru Clan and the Uchiha Clan, that kid Akihara simply couldn't be weak. Now, almost everyone in Konoha Village was anticipating just how talented he would turn out to be.