"Developing a ninjutsu?" Sakumo was momentarily taken aback, a hint of surprise flickering in his eyes before he regained his composure. He was clearly somewhat surprised by Minato developing a ninjutsu on his own, but not overwhelmingly so. If any other eleven- or twelve-year-old had done this, Sakumo might have been shocked. However, with the boy standing before him, this didn't come as much of a surprise.
Minato had continuously amazed those around him, particularly Sakumo, who had almost grown used to such feats. "Here it is," Minato said, raising his palm and forming a Rasengan.
Sakumo had seen a Rasengan before. During an ambush on the Sand Ninja forces, he witnessed Minato use a Rasengan to destroy one of Chiyo's puppets. While he had been somewhat impressed by the power of the chakra sphere at that time, he didn't realize it was Minato who had developed this technique. Seeing the formation process of the Rasengan now left him a bit stunned. A ninjutsu with no hand sign—this was what grabbed Sakumo's attention. It took him half a minute of watching the Rasengan before he finally responded.
"It's incredible how you can shape chakra like this!" he exclaimed. Now it was Minato's turn to be impressed. Although he knew the future "Konoha White Fang" was talented, Sakumo's quick grasp of the Rasengan's essence was no easy feat.
This solidified Minato's belief in Sakumo's abilities for developing ninja techniques. He made the right choice in seeking Sakumo's advice. "How long did it take you to complete this?" Sakumo asked. After a brief pause, Minato replied, "Three years," referring to the time it took him to develop the Rasengan in his previous life.
"You started working on ninjutsu before you were even eight? That's incredible," commented Sakumo, echoing Nawaki's evaluation. Minato could only respond with a sheepish smile.
"Does Jiraiya know about this new ninjutsu you've developed?" Sakumo inquired. Minato shook his head and said, "I just completed this recently and haven't informed my teacher yet." Sakumo nodded in understanding.
"I don't think it's perfect yet, which is why I haven't told anyone else. You're the first," Minato added. "It's an honor," Sakumo responded with a light smile before asking, "But I've seen you use it before, and it's powerful. Because it only changes form, it doesn't require hand seals and can almost be executed instantly once mastered. It seems quite perfected."
Evaluating the Rasengan based on its power and stability, Sakumo deemed it nearly flawless and didn't understand why Minato considered it imperfect. "True, against an ordinary jonin, the Rasengan's speed and power are sufficient," Minato admitted, then continued, "But against tougher opponents, like the rock giants of Iwagakure or Chiyo's Chikamtsu Ten Puppets from the Sand Village, it falls short."
Although Minato had barely mastered both the Rasengan and the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, it would take time to wield the latter effectively enough to combine it with Rasengan for optimal impact. For now, defeating high-level opponents would be challenging without both techniques used together.
"You aim high," Sakumo remarked, genuinely surprised by Minato's ambition to develop ninjutsu on par with such formidable adversaries. The Rock Giant is a secret technique of Iwagakure, and the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets are masterpieces of the first puppeteer Monzaemon. At eleven, Minato's ambition was remarkable, making Sakumo feel pleased and hopeful about his potential.
"So what do you want to do next?" Sakumo queried. Since Minato had mentioned developing the Rasengan further, he likely had a plan for perfecting it. "I want to integrate the nature change of chakra into the Rasengan," Minato revealed.
"Integrate nature change into the form change?" Sakumo showed surprise at the advanced idea. All ninjutsu involve these two types of chakra changes, but combining them is unprecedented and extraordinarily difficult. If achieved, this would undoubtedly become an S-rank, highly secretive technique with exponentially increased power.
Sakumo understood why Minato approached him for this task; as someone skilled in both nature and form chakra transformations, Sakumo himself hadn't thought of merging the two before. "Senior Sakumo, you're experienced in this area. Please advise me," Minato requested with a smile. Nodding, Sakumo drew his chakra short sword, emitting blue light as chakra transformed into lightning on the blade, demonstrating his mastery of using a medium to enhance chakra power.
For a while, silence filled the forest, save for occasional thunderous sounds as Sakumo pondered deeply. Minato waited patiently, contemplating possible solutions. Eventually, Sakumo lowered his chakra blade, a sparkle of insight lighting up his eyes as he faced Minato. Sensing Sakumo's shift, Minato's eyes lit up with anticipation.
"You need to find a medium similar to my chakra dagger," Sakumo advised, explaining that directly implementing both chakra changes in the Rasengan would be nearly impossible without sacrificing its instantaneous nature. With his intelligence, Minato quickly grasped Sakumo's ideas
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