The first class of the semester was an explanation of chakra.
The second class was to familiarize students with the twelve common hand seals.
Each class was forty minutes long, and there were only these two classes in the morning.
The afternoon also had two classes: literacy and painting.
Minato found this incredible. If you excluded the ninja-exclusive courses, the schedule was almost indistinguishable from elementary school, and the daily courseload was even lighter!
However, although there were few classes, the knowledge taught was comprehensive and full of substance.
The teaching assistant for the hand seal class not only taught the twelve common hand seals but also explained the characteristics of hand seals for the five elemental nature transformations. For example, the last seal for Fire Style is usually the Tiger seal.
They also covered how to train hand seal speed and how chakra flows differently in the body when forming different seals.
This reminded him of the Chunin Exams arc in the original series. While everyone else was cheating, only Sakura was honestly answering the questions—and she actually solved them all!
During the Chunin Exams, Sasuke was set up as the top graduate in overall performance, yet he couldn't solve a single problem on the written test.
It seemed that both the Academy and the village placed more emphasis on a ninja's combat performance.
But Minato felt that theoretical knowledge was definitely not as useless as it appeared in the original story.
Take Orochimaru's Cursed Seal research, for example.
That thing was very similar to the Karma (Kāma) of the Otsutsuki clan—it could even be seen as a budget version of Karma.
This led Minato to a question: Was the original Otsutsuki clan born this powerful?
Probably not.
Hamura Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths' brother, had descendants on the moon whose bloodline should have been quite pure, yet they only manifested the Byakugan.
Therefore, Minato formed a hypothesis.
Perhaps the original Otsutsuki clan was similar to humans, and only through continuous research into chakra did they gradually evolve to their current state.
And their method of evolution was planting the God Tree, using it to absorb natural energy, and refining it into chakra fruit pills. This was information he knew from before he transmigrated.
Could humans follow a similar path?
For example, creating a medium like the God Tree that could absorb natural energy.
Then, through some process, convert natural energy into chakra that the human body could absorb, thereby completing evolution.
Minato felt the feasibility was high!
Later, he could scam... suggest Orochimaru research in this direction.
In fact, Orochimaru was the easiest person in the ninja world to satisfy.
He just wanted immortality. In terms of the chakra system, this wasn't impossible.
Unfortunately, he was blinded by desire, only thinking about stealing other people's bodies.
How could a stolen body be as suitable as a clone body cultivated from one's own cells?
Minato basically ignored the two afternoon classes, his mind filled with ideas for chakra technology.
The bell rang for the end of the school day.
"Class dismissed!"
As soon as the teacher spoke, Minato vanished from the classroom instantly.
He had already experienced how clingy the girls in his class were. If he didn't leave fast, he'd definitely get swarmed again.
He went to the third-year floor and saw that Nawaki and his class were still in session, so Minato left first.
As expected, older students couldn't have just four classes a day like the freshmen.
Minato was just thinking this when he saw a familiar figure at the school gate.
"Sensei Tsunade, why are you here?"
"To pick you up, obviously!"
Tsunade grinned and flicked Minato's forehead lightly.
"I don't need to tell you how special your identity is, right? Not just today, but probably for the next few years, I'll come to pick you up. Even if I'm busy, someone else will come, unless I feel your strength is sufficient to handle certain dangers."
Minato nodded. "Sorry for the trouble, Sensei."
"Your mouth is quite sweet."
Tsunade huffed lightly, the corners of her mouth turning up almost imperceptibly. "Nawaki never got this kind of treatment back then! Shouldn't you repay me properly?"
"What does Sensei want to eat?"
Minato immediately understood Tsunade's meaning.
"Hehe, smart boy~ Besides stir-fry, can you make anything else?"
Tsunade licked her lips. "I've eaten stir-fry for several days now. I want something different."
"How about barbecue?"
"BBQ... doesn't sound very exciting."
"My skills should be pretty good. Want to try?"
"Oh—?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Since you're so confident, fine. I'll give you a chance to show off~"
They looked at each other and laughed.
At the entrance of the school building, Nonō watched this scene from a distance, a hint of envy in her eyes.
Then she quickly suppressed that envy and walked alone towards the edge of the village.
Before long, she arrived at a hidden underground base.
Led by a ninja wearing an animal mask and dressed as an Anbu, she arrived at a room in the deepest part of the base.
"Lord Danzo."
Nonō looked carefully at the man in the room.
"How is the mission progress?"
Danzo sat upright at a low table.
"Successfully made contact with the target."
Thinking of that sunny, clean face, Nonō felt a little guilty. Minato's guess was right; she was indeed sent to him by Danzo.
"The target arrived at the classroom just in time. by coincidence, he sat next to me. Currently, my interactions with the target are quite harmonious."
"Good job."
Danzo nodded slightly, a trace of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. "Tell me your impression of him."
"He is an excellent person, much more excellent than me."
Nonō didn't hesitate. "He is a very gentle and kind person."
"Kind..."
Danzo gave a scoff with unclear meaning. "That is not something a ninja should possess. But it's fine. I have observed that child. He indeed lacks the qualities of people like us."
"Qualities?"
Nonō was confused.
"Some people are born to bathe in the sunlight. Even shadows cannot cover their brilliance. Minato Namikaze is such a person. Even if the Third Hokage grooms him as the next Hokage, I wouldn't be surprised."
Danzo glanced at her, his tone complicated.
"Such people are always too naive, especially when they possess powerful strength... To prevent harm to the village, this power must be restrained."
"And you are the bond that restrains him. You are both orphans, but growing up in an orphanage, you can see the reality and darkness that he cannot. This gives you a more rational mind than other children. In this respect, we are the same kind of people."
Nonō fell silent.
She really wanted to say, Who is the same kind of person as you? Only you, you old geezer, are dark!
Of course, she only thought this in her heart.
As an orphan, she had no right to express herself in front of Danzo.
Nonō clearly remembered that just a few days ago, Danzo suddenly appeared at her orphanage, saying the village was going to select some talented children for special training.
In the end, because of her sweet appearance and calm, quiet personality, she was chosen by Danzo and brought to the Root.
And Danzo gave her only one mission.
That was, no matter what, to establish an inseparable emotional bond with the target, Minato Namikaze!
---