"Huff, huff!"
In the back mountains of Konoha, Minato was lying on the ground, breathing rapidly with his chakra severely depleted.
Today, he was not doing basic training, but instead practiced high-speed movement exercises that he had explored and developed himself, not taught by anyone else.
As his eyelids grew heavy, the image that lingered in his mind while drifting off to sleep was still that woman with long red hair. Her face was turned to the side, and her form was extremely blurred.
The only distinct feature was that red hair.
"Don't leave me!"
In the tranquil mountain forest, Minato suddenly sat up shouting. He felt his eyes were a bit moist and touched the corners with his fingertips, lightly tasting it on his tongue.
The flavor was extremely bitter and salty. He then realized he had been crying.
"What's wrong with me?"
Minato muttered to himself. He didn't even know exactly what he had dreamed, only that his heart felt heavy and vaguely pained.
The tears had flowed unconsciously.
Passing his palm across his brow, Minato needed to calm himself down. As a ninja, he had to maintain a clear mind at all times and places.
Yet he found he couldn't shake this strange feeling arising from within that he couldn't resist.
"Could it be related to Kushina?"
Minato pondered silently. The red hair in his dream matched Kushina's hair color exactly, though the woman seemed much older than Kushina.
He recalled his strange state today, with the red-haired woman frequently appearing in his mind, followed by his outburst towards Kushina. These two things must be connected somehow.
Unfortunately, his current knowledge was too limited to explain this connection.
He decided not to dwell on it further and instead began checking his physical condition, which gave him another shock.
Although his chakra levels had not increased dramatically like the previous night, the amount he had depleted had recovered by more than half.
Minato was dumbfounded. Previously, to recover chakra to this level would have taken him at least several hours of focused meditation, if not longer.
Yet now, he had only taken a nap, and his chakra recovery rate was equivalent to several hours of meditation.
This rate and method of recovery was impossible, even for an elite jonin ninja, let alone his current genin-level chakra reserves.
This went beyond simply training - Minato could conclude that ever since his chakra levels surged the previous night, his body must have undergone some transformation.
In the ninja world, some shinobi are born with extraordinary talents, with unusual abilities lying dormant in their bodies from birth. Examples are the Hyuga and Uchiha clans of Konoha who possess dojutsu (visual techniques) unattainable by ordinary people - the Byakugan and Sharingan respectively.
These powers do not manifest at birth, but awaken later through rigorous training or external conditions.
Apart from these eye techniques, there are many other such examples in the ninja world, collectively known as kekkei genkai (bloodline limits).
For ninja possessing a kekkei genkai, they may suddenly awaken their bloodline powers due to certain external conditions, resulting in a surge in their abilities.
Minato didn't know if he fell into this category, as his parents were ordinary civilians, not from any noble clan.
For now, he decided to keep this a secret and observe for some time before revealing anything.
With that thought, he slowly rose to his feet and turned his body around.
Swish!
Chakra gathered in his legs, then exploded outwards as Minato's form became a blur, a golden flash due to his long blond hair.
He settled smoothly into a new stance ten meters away from his previous position. Glancing back, a smile crept across his face.
Minato had gradually adapted to his sudden power increase. Today, he had better mastered the high-speed movement technique, significantly reducing his chakra consumption.
If any Konoha ninja had been present, they would have been astonished. The high-speed movement Minato had independently discovered already surpassed standard genin-level techniques.
It was the Body Flicker Technique!
In the following days, the image of the red-haired woman would still appear sporadically in Minato's mind, each time seeming to relate to Kushina somehow.
After that incident, the relationship between Minato and Kushina also gradually became closer, undoubtedly aided by Mikoto's facilitation, while the injured Akasaka Ku had not returned to the ninja academy for several days.
Though Minato didn't mention it, he knew his overall abilities were now at least on par with an actual genin. Akasaka had borne the brunt of Minato's furious strike and would need more time to recover.
During this week of studies, Kushina's characteristics also became evident - she was completely inept at theoretical coursework and could not even remember the basics of chakra's nature.
However, this did not mean she lacked talent. On the contrary, Kushina's chakra control was exceptionally smooth, and her physical stamina was extraordinary.
In addition to theory and chakra control exercises, new ninja academy students also regularly performed physical training regimens.
While most classmates complained incessantly, Kushina showed no signs of fatigue, exhibiting stamina and endurance far beyond ordinary people that even impressed the noble-born Mikoto and Minato, now at genin-level.
Every day after classes, Minato sensed hidden presences lurking near Kushina, though he no longer followed them, realizing they were her protectors.
Though he had guesses about Kushina's background, Minato knew such high-level matters were beyond his current understanding.
As long as he could see Kushina at the academy each day, he was content.
A week later, Akasaka Ku finally reappeared in class. Minato promptly apologized, but received only a venomous glare in return.
"Minato Namikaze, this isn't over between us!" Akasaka snarled, though he did not attack, knowing he was no match.
One morning, Shindo Kunio entered the noisy classroom and the students obediently returned to their seats upon seeing him.
His gaze lingered momentarily on Minato before he announced, "Students, there is a change to today's schedule. We will have a special instructor visiting the ninja academy to teach you."
Kunio's tone hinted at the significance of this event, though the ignorant students showed little interest - for them, any instructor was torturous.
However, Kunio's next statement changed the atmosphere completely, looks of astonishment appearing on the young faces.
"Today's special instructor is the direct disciple of the Third Hokage himself!"
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(end of chapter)