Leaving Root, Mikoto's figure flashed, disappearing into the shadows. Minato paused slightly, turning to look at the treetop beside him: "Senior Mikoto, you don't actually need to hide your presence like this. You could change into casual clothes and just stay by my side."
There was a moment of silence in the treetop, then a serious yet gentle voice came through, "Root regulations stipulate that identities must not be exposed while on a mission. I... I bear the responsibility of connecting the Family and the Village, so I must hold myself to a higher standard and not allow any slack."
"Is that so? I heard from classmates at the Academy that you are beautiful, kind-hearted, and gentle. I didn't expect such a serious side." Minato's tone was mild, his blond hair seeming to glow warmly in the sunlight: "But don't worry, Senior won't blame you. I am a sensory ninja, and your aura is too obvious to me; it feels like being spied on."
Beneath her mask, Mikoto's delicate face flushed slightly. She shunshined behind Minato and explained in a small voice, "I'm sorry, I... I was just worried that I wouldn't do well and couldn't live up to the expectations of the Clan Chief and my Teacher."
"Feeling the pressure, are you?"
"Mmm..." Mikoto was a bit embarrassed, "Teacher just accepted me as a disciple, barely spent any time with me, and then handed me over to you. I'm just worried... maybe Teacher doesn't like me."
"That's not the case." Minato shook his head, his gentle tone filled with certainty. "The conflict between Konoha and Sunagakure can already be considered a small-scale war. Amegakure's repeated negotiations have failed, and they have entered a state of war readiness. War could break out at any moment; Senior truly cannot spare the time to teach you."
"How do you know so much?" Mikoto blurted out subconsciously, then immediately realized she had asked something too intrusive, completely prying into his secrets. She quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to inquire about these things..."
"It's fine. The fact that Senior asked you to stay by my side already represents his trust in you, not to mention you are his disciple." Minato waved his hand, signaling her not to be nervous. "Furthermore, my teacher is Princess Tsunade. In terms of lineage, our relationship is equal. Just treat this as taking on a routine assignment, Senior, you don't need to be so tense."
Orochimaru's mentorship with Mikoto was not based on the Village's assigned team system, but a genuine master-disciple inheritance. In the ninja world's view, such an inherited disciple was treated like a biological child, possessing the right to inherit family assets!
"I know..." Mikoto responded softly, her tension easing slightly, "Then I'll go change first."
She quickly ran back to the base. A few minutes later, her graceful figure reappeared before Minato. The young woman had black hair and black eyes, fair skin, and a hint of rosy color on her beautiful oval face, with gentleness and intellect in her eyes. She wore a dark blue short-sleeved top, her forehead protector tied around her arm, brown shorts, and black knee-high ninja boots, her delicate toes showing a hint of pink.
So beautiful! Minato couldn't help but exclaim internally. No wonder she gave birth to Uchiha Sasuke... "I just asked Teacher; he said that during this period, you don't need to act under the identity of Root."
Noticing Minato's scrutinizing gaze, Mikoto fidgeted with her hair. She also understood that this wasn't a mission at all, but simply asking Minato to keep her company for a while.
"Isn't that great? At least during this time, Senior doesn't have to put so much pressure on herself." Minato smiled, "Afterward, you can cultivate with me during the day and go home at night. I live at Teacher's house, so don't worry about safety."
"Mhm, so are we starting our training today?" Mikoto nodded, her tone carrying a hint of anticipation. After all, Minato's strength had been recognized by her teacher.
Walking towards home with Mikoto, Minato asked on the way, "Shape transformation and nature transformation, have you started cultivating those, Senior?"
Mikoto looked a little embarrassed, "Not yet..."
"Tree climbing and water surface walking?"
"I've learned those!" Mikoto pursed her lips, feeling Minato looked down on her a bit, "I'm a chunin, Junior, don't underestimate me!"
"Ha... sorry, sorry." Minato couldn't help but smile, "Senior, just call me by my name."
"Alright, then Minato-kun, you can call me by my name too. Otherwise, if only I use names, it feels a bit presumptuous." Mikoto happily agreed.
"Then I'll call you Sister Mikoto." Minato nodded with a smile, "I'll be counting on your guidance from now on, Sister Mikoto."
"Not at all, I'm the one who should..." Mikoto bowed slightly, displaying the grace of a well-bred young lady.
Swish swish swish... Suddenly, several figures flashed rapidly through the woods. They seemed to have noticed the two, and one of them let out a surprised exclamation. "Eh? Minato? What are you doing here?"
Nawaki stopped on a tree branch, his voice full of surprise. As the words fell, the other three figures also stopped moving. Leading them was Nawaki's squad-leading jonin, Kato Dan.
"Someone you know?" Kato Dan asked.
"Yeah, my sister's disciple, Namikaze Minato!" Nawaki introduced casually, "Didn't I tell you guys before? He's super strong! Minato, this is my squad-leading jonin, Brother Kato Dan, and these are my teammates, Takeno and Ayako."
"Oh! Nice to meet you." Kato Dan had a surprised expression, "Nawaki mentioned you, saying you are a very formidable genius!"
"Nice to meet you." Minato gave Kato Dan a slight nod, "Are you guys on a mission?"
Nawaki waved his hand, "Just helping some farmers drive away wild boars~"
"What a coincidence, I happen to need to talk to you about something too. Something about training." Minato said this, then turned to Kato Dan, "Senior Kato, after today's task is finished, would it be convenient to let Nawaki temporarily leave the squad for a while?"
"Leave the squad?" Kato Dan was momentarily stunned, then looked somewhat helpless, "Minato-kun, our team just formed two days ago. This is the perfect time to build rapport with teammates. If he leaves now, it wouldn't be fair to Takeno and Ayako."
Nawaki also looked puzzled, "Yeah, why leave the squad?"
"For intensive training—I need you to trust me." Minato looked calmly at Nawaki. While the approaching war didn't need to be hidden from Mikoto, it wasn't something that could be told to ordinary people, as it might cause panic.
"I see..." Sensing that Minato seemed to have things he couldn't easily say, Nawaki didn't hesitate and turned to Kato Dan, "Brother Dan, since Minato says so, I trust Minato's judgment."
Kato Dan was somewhat surprised. In his view, Nawaki had just become a formal ninja and should be eager to complete missions to prove himself. He didn't expect that with just one sentence from Minato, Nawaki would trust him unconditionally. Little did he know, Nawaki felt helpless too. While he trusted Minato, he could also tell—Minato wasn't consulting him at all!
Kato Dan looked at Minato, "Pardon my presumption, but why do you suddenly want to give Nawaki intensive training, Minato-kun?"
Hearing Kato Dan's words, Minato gave him an inscrutable look: "Senior Kato, you also know this question is presumptuous?"
Kato Dan: "..."
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