"What's this Wind Release: Rasenshuriken? Is it some kind of Rasengan variant?"
Namikaze Minato could not help the curiosity in his voice.
From the way they were describing it, the technique had clearly evolved from the Rasengan.
The Rasengan condensed pure, attribute-less chakra into a high-density sphere of energy, creating astonishing destructive force. But Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, just from the name alone, sounded like it infused Wind Release chakra into the mix, giving it terrifying cutting power.
"Yeah," Kaede Kitahara nodded. "It's the Rasengan with nature transformation added in. After that, Naruto developed a whole series of techniques based on it. Big Ball Rasengan, Massive Big Ball Rasengan, Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, Wind Release: Rasengan, Wind Release: Massive Rasenshuriken, Sage Art: Rasengan, Sage Art: Massive Rasengan, Sage Art: Wind Release: Big Ball Rasenshuriken… and more."
As Minato listened to the long list of techniques branching from the Rasengan, he was genuinely impressed.
He had never imagined the technique he created could be pushed this far.
In truth, this kind of expansion was only possible for Uzumaki Naruto.
Most of those variations required either enormous amounts of chakra, Sage Mode, or the Nine-Tails' chakra. None of those were things ordinary ninja could handle.
Take Minato himself. In terms of intelligence, he was not inferior to Naruto. Given enough time, he might have been able to conceptualize similar developments.
But without the raw resources to sustain them, the techniques would have been meaningless.
"Whoa… there are that many kinds of Rasengan?" Naruto's eyes widened. He had not even fully completed Wind Release: Rasenshuriken yet.
"To take my technique and develop it to this level," Minato said with a warm smile, "you really are my son. A genius."
Unlike Uchiha Fugaku's strict approach, Minato was openly affectionate. He never hesitated to praise his child.
Turning an A-rank technique into an entire series of S-rank level jutsu, what else could that be called?
Naruto's eyes turned red.
No one had ever called him a genius before.
His teachers had treated him kindly, sure. But the title of genius had always belonged to Uchiha Sasuke. No one had ever looked at Naruto and said, you're a genius too.
"But I don't think 'Wind Release: Rasenshuriken' sounds cool enough," Minato added thoughtfully. "Maybe I should come up with a brand-new name for it."
"No!"
Kaede cut him off instantly.
He knew Minato far too well. If Minato started naming things, they would end up with something outrageously complicated.
"Ah… hahaha."
Minato laughed awkwardly.
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, night had fallen.
Kaede took rations out of his backpack and handed them around. After eating, they waited quietly for Aburame Shibi and Akimichi Choza to return with information from their scouting.
Kaede pulled out his diary and began writing.
Even though he was in a parallel timeline now, keeping a record had become instinct.
[You damn Danzo. Of course it was you again. After being watched by the Third Hokage, you still secretly placed a ten million ryo bounty on me at the Bounty Station. And that greedy old miser Kakuzu actually took the bait.
Seriously, without that old schemer Danzo stirring trouble, Konoha would probably fall apart. There's no mess he wouldn't stick his hand into. I'll settle accounts with him sooner or later.
And Kakuzu, the Akatsuki's treasurer, worked his whole life scraping together money for the organization. Decades of savings. Then Konan turns it all into six hundred billion Explosive Tags and blows it in one go. If Kakuzu ever found out, he'd probably burst right out of his coffin.]
Konoha.
Inside the Third Hokage's office, the lights were still on.
As usual, the Third Hokage was working late. For a Hokage, staying up into the night was routine. Going home early would have been the rare event.
He flipped through the files Hatake Kakashi had just delivered while smoking his pipe.
"You've confirmed that Yakushi Kabuto is a spy sent by Orochimaru?"
"Yes," Kakashi replied respectfully.
After learning from Kaede's diary that Yakushi Kabuto was Orochimaru's agent, Kakashi had begun quietly gathering evidence.
Without solid proof, he did not want to alert the enemy. There was no need to rush matters concerning Orochimaru.
After all, the Konoha Crush Plan would not be launched until the Chunin Exams. They still had time to prepare.
The Third Hokage scanned Kabuto's background.
An orphan from Konoha. Nothing particularly unusual on the surface.
But when he reached the section on Kabuto's adoptive mother, Yakushi Nono, memories surfaced.
Yakushi Nono had once been a member of Root.
Though Shimura Danzo ran Root like a sealed iron bucket, the Third Hokage still knew more than people assumed. He had access to many of its secrets.
That was how he had known about the existence of a Wood Release ninja. He had personally led Anbu to raid Root and seize the newly completed experiment, Yamato, preventing Danzo from quietly benefiting from it.
There was a roster of Root members in his possession.
Yakushi Nono was listed, though not high-ranking. She was not strong and had been sidelined before eventually leaving to run the Konoha Orphanage.
Kabuto had likely been adopted during that period.
Later, records showed that Nono was sent on a mission by Danzo.
After that, nothing.
She was a minor figure.
Yet through her, Kabuto connected to Orochimaru.
The Third Hokage could almost see the line linking Shimura Danzo and Orochimaru, faint but undeniable.
They had always been cut from the same cloth.
Was it not he who had assigned Orochimaru to assist Danzo in the first place, both to support and to monitor him?
Instead, the two had grown closer, turning his oversight into a joke. Together, they had even used Konoha's ninja as experimental subjects.
Yamato was merely one of the few successful outcomes.
"Danzo… Orochimaru…" The Third Hokage exhaled a stream of smoke and snorted.
He did not know whether they were still collaborating.
In his heart, he was certain they were.
The only question was whether there was proof, and whether he was willing to use it.
"Kabuto is strong," Kakashi said. "At least Jonin level."
"A Jonin serving as an undercover agent. Orochimaru certainly spares no expense," the Third Hokage said coldly.
Jonin were valuable assets anywhere.
Still, he was not surprised.
Each of the three Sannin had networks within Konoha. They had conducted targeted purges of Orochimaru's followers before, yet many remained hidden.
Such tangled relationships were never easy to untangle.
After all, even his old friend Shimura Danzo's influence extended far beyond Root.
Konoha's difficulty lay precisely in this web of overlapping loyalties.
"Lord Hokage, should we arrest him?" Kakashi asked.
"Not yet. Have Anbu monitor him. Avoid alarming him. Let's see if we can follow the trail and pull out some of Orochimaru's hidden pieces in the village," the Third Hokage said, waving his hand.
A single Jonin-level spy meant little to him.
Even uncovering Orochimaru's agents was not urgent.
He only needed to give the order. Others would do the running.
At that moment, Kakashi sensed his diary updating.
Just then, the Third Hokage spoke.
"That's enough for tonight, Kakashi. It's late. Go home and rest. You've worked hard leading your team."
"Yes, sir."
The moment Kakashi left the office, he used the Body Flicker Technique to head home at once.
Elsewhere in the Land of Fire, at a Senju Clan outpost, Tsunade was training her taijutsu with relentless focus.
Sweat soaked her clothes, but she paid it no mind.
Shizune watched from the side, puzzled.
Ever since that day, Tsunade had changed so drastically she was almost unrecognizable.
First, she had quit gambling.
That alone was unbelievable.
Everyone knew how hard it was for a compulsive gambler to stop.
Yet Tsunade had done it.
Shizune was certain it was genuine. Tsunade had no one left to pretend for. There was no one who could force her hand.
She truly wanted to quit.
And Shizune was relieved.
Watching Tsunade lose money every day had been agonizing. She had already sold off much of the Senju Clan's inherited property to fund those losses.
After all, Tsunade's luck was terrible, but her gambling etiquette was impeccable.
That was why she had earned the nickname… the big, fat sheep.