[A week after the Inoichi incident]

[Minato Namikaze]

As I try fitting that clearly old black T-shirt, I accidentally tear it. Being a growing child is irritating... I can't get attached to a cloth like I used to in my teens... yeah that would only make sense if someone has the context otherwise being declared a lunatic would be easier... Anyways, that was my favourite T-shirt. What the hell am I gonna wear to Mito sama's house?

Hmm... Yeah that would help. Never thought that I would appreciate the dress Choza gifted me this much. I look at myself in the mirror...yeah this rocks.


[A/N: Basically how he looks in the academy in the starting]


Okay.. I'm getting distracted. Firstly I have to remember all the things, I need to discuss with Mito-sama, Minato! This is your first meeting with a genuine S-Ranked Ninja. I absolutely can't mess this up, Ok? Okay!

Alright, so firstly I should ask about my basics, a good Shinobi has a solid foundation afterall..So firstly I'll need to remember what has been taught in the academy this year? Hmm...not much but we do get a crash course on tracking any anomalies in the area or just generally utilising some specific creatures for tracking purposes.

Naturally that is all only basics as there are specific teams for this job but the basics have to be learned somewhere... The academy teaches that. We know the fauna and flora which are useful in tracking Shinobi or bandits. Though this won't really work on anyone above Chunin rank and even they would mostly shrug off these trackers but the advice was still valuable.

Biology has also been a subject that has been a constant since the start of the academy. Of course the starting was fairly basic as even teenagers would have difficulty parsing the information available, much less small kids but this year they have finally started teaching us basic first aid and alike. Also in the name of knowing the anatomy, body structure, organs and stuff, the instructors are basically drilling the weak points of the human body into our heads.

Obviously the actual task of bloodying a Shinobi falls upon their Jonin instructor or their family if they are in the genin corps as death is still a thing that shocks you if you have any kind of morals. Now the part that our first kill will be monitored by our 'mentors' has always been heavily implied whenever a smartass asked for a practical demonstration and that's why I am so sure of this.

That's what consisted most of our year here. The only new things being taught in the later part of the year would be weapon handling to maximize our use of them. Which surprisingly contrary to popular belief, Jonin DON'T have their skin weapon proof.

Of course if you think a genin would be able to injure a Jonin with a sword, you are sorely mistaken. The Samurai remain a threat due to their technological advancements including their pure skill in weapons. Even only the Uzumaki and some rare individuals actually attain enough skill in a blade to contend with the Samurais.

A Jonin's nigh invulnerability to weapons is due to their inhuman instincts. Say if the bullets from a machine gun are fired at a Jonin, most people in my previous world would definitely say that the Jonin would be obliterated. That is simply trying to console yourself. Jonins in this reality are able to dodge pure lightning if they aren't surprised and I don't think bullets except maybe of one or two types can match that speed.

If you stab a Jonin with a sword, they can simply deflect that weapon without any damage but if another A class or an S class does that then it is effective why? It is because Jonin don't have iron skin, they simply have good instincts. Of course those specialising in Taijutsu can have that much defence and some Jutsu provide that type of defence but that's not the point at all. In a battle between Jonin, a sword, kunai or anything of the sort is useful only if you have either superior strength or superior speed. That genuinely makes weapons a threat to the other guy's life.

The next year was the year we finally were taught the academy three Jutsu and usage of basic fuinjutsu products like storage scrolls and basic explosion scrolls. The fifth and the sixth year are basically extra years where everything that has already been taught is basically drilled into your head again and again until you are satisfied that you are fully prepared for the outside world.

Obviously there aren't unlimited Jonin so, it also makes you lose out on Jounin-Sensei if you aren't an accomplished student. We do get the occasional classes on poisons and their cures but they are for the ones found in the wild and not for actual Shinobi. Since that would be elaborated by your Jonin-Sensei or if you are from the Genin Corps then tough luck. you can study those from the library when you become a genin but that would only prepare you against 'known' poisons and any Shinobi proficient in poisons would use obscure poisons.

Traps are a subject whose knowledge is basically gained from experience. You can't really do that in the academy as actually setting up traps is very lethal and because the academy obviously can't give every student individual attention, there could have been some unfortunate accidents. We did learn how to disarm some basic traps but not anything substantial.

I can kinda see why the Academy is considered useless while Tobirama's chakra theory notes were pure gold, the academy is next to useless. The only things that will only be taught to you inside the academy and are substantial are Etiquette, general geography (a little biased) and history(extremely biased). The only reason I think Sakura would have managed to be the Kunoichi of the Year is that the Academy treats each subject as an important one. Think of it like this: Even when Taijutsu rank should clearly have more importance in the grading system than History, they both have the same importance.

Many people term Sakura 'useless' but that isn't true at all. Believe me when I say that I liked only Naruto from Team Kakashi and that only because of him being a loyal and good friend. I dislike Sakura due to her personality but the girl was talented otherwise she wouldn't have made S class towards the end of Shippuden. Girl must have been a genius at geography, poisons and basic medicines. From what I remember of OG!Naruto, that's likely to be the case as Sakura had demonstrated quite a good intellect only foiled by her shitty personality.

I haven't met a Jonin yet much less a genuine S class shinobi even if Mito sama is retired. Honestly, I don't know much about her so I don't particularly respect her or anything but since it's my first meeting with a S rank ninja and I couldn't be more excited. Even if she only talks about mundane stuff, there is an opportunity there to learn stuff from her.

Many people would think of this as me taking advantage of Kushina but those people would be expecting me to be Naruto freaking Uzumaki, the guy that forgave the psychopath who killed his father figure. I am not that. Kushina is my friend first and foremost. Whether I benefit from Mito-sama or not, our relationship is NOT gonna change.

I am only trying to take advantage of an opportunity and not taking advantage of her in any way... Phew...It looks like I have convinced myself. Good job... You shouldn't feel guilty over unnecessary things Minato! That's not good for your health idiot...

Don't know why but I can't think of something like that without the voice in my head sounding like Kushina. It's like Kushina is the responsible one in our group. Inoichi is another responsible guy. Which brings up the shitshow of a situation that was. I honestly feel very guilty over the fiasco.

Getting to even barely know him, I can safely say that the guy is a chill one. I've only known him for a week and he has genuinely started being a member of the gang in such a short time. Well, it turns out that bonding moments like the fiasco do strengthen friendships if they survive such disasters.

Hmm... I look at my alarm clock (Tech in the village is beyond weird. I don't know why alarm clocks exist but watches don't) and see that it should be about time. Hmm... Let's go. Don't delay this. It will only cause nervousness. Take a deep breath... Exhale that and here we go...


As I enter Lady Mito's chambers, I note the distinct lack of fancy architecture. Even for a clan as lazy and unmotivated as Naras, they had brilliant and quite fancy architecture in their compound.

Mind you, the Senju compound is very gaudy but the area near Lady Mito's house reminds me of my father's birth place. Only granny lives... lived, is living? Whatever...

Agh.. Cross dimensional time flow is confusing. Ok so where was I? Oh yes... the area gives off the feeling that an elderly person is living here. Not sure what that indicates about Lady Mito though. From what little I know of her from Kushina, she is fairly strict but has a mischievous side like her.

Hmm... I ponder over these small matters as I knock on the main Gate of Lady Mito's house.After a moment, I hear an elderly voice yelling- "Coming".

I wait for a moment or two and I see a mop of red hair as soon as the door opens. Lady Mito's red hair is distinctly different from Kushina's red hair. Redheads are usually restricted to Uzumaki, well at least Anime-ish redheads.

Lady Mito's red hair is pinkish red as compared to Kushina's dark red hair. She looks like...a normal 60-70 year old woman. I suppose that while Uzumaki genes do provide longevity, they clearly don't slow aging as much as Naruto fanon liked to show.

Though obviously her posture indicates that she isn't as impaired as a citizen of her age should be, but her age does show... She also doesn't seem to possess any weapons...at least visibly.Since after Uncle Shikado's 'training' session, I have come to expect some sort of weird shit from older shinobi... She doesn't look like she is going to attack me in some weird sort of test.. I involuntarily relax after confirming that bit of info.

"Hmm, Young man, I see that you have gotten good instructions from the academy as you have adequately checked out for potential weapons and my posture I presume... But your relaxation at not spotting any 'visible' weapon is concerning"

What does she-

"Ugaahh.." I fall down on the ground after getting the air knocked out of me. Fuck... This is the weirdness I was expecting. I hurriedly dodge the kick coming at my face by rolling away as far as I could. I try to stand up but it is extremely difficult with my chest in so much fucking pain.

Immediately I have to dodge another kick coming at me but I don't manage it so well. I get kicked back 15-20 metres and finally stop. This is why Taijutsu training was so Important damnit! I can't make a fool out of myself… Is this what it feels like to get fucking ambushed? As I finally manage to stand up and wipe some blood from the corner of my lips... I see Lady Mito smirking at me (I know she's smirking goddammit).

She is around 12 metres away from me in a relaxed stance. Who the hell does that bitch think she is? No. I need to calm down... Don't loose your fucking temper... Even though logically I know that, it's still extremely difficult to calm down when your opponent taunts you by showing that they aren't even taking you seriously..

"Hmm... You got some balls kid. Last guy who got invited to meet with me by my daughter was down by the second kick. Let's see if you actually have what it takes to be my granddaughter's friend."

She then proceeds to run in superhuman speeds and-

"Aaarghh.." I got punched in the face without even able to start retaliating. I skid on the grass for a couple of meters but this time I tentatively stabilised myself...Is this the power of an actual Shinobi?

I lick the blood from the corner of my mouth and I smile... This is what I want to achieve, Isn't it? Well looks like I have got my work cut out for me.

I eye Lady Mito's position and just before she starts her monologue, I charge! Immediately I strike my right fist out to her left kneecap because of my height. She easily counters it by intercepting my attack with her right leg but my actual target was to get at least one of her feet off the ground as that would be an instinctual response.

I grin and kick her right leg with my right leg. She retaliates by sending a fucking fist towards my leg. As I grunt in pain I curse- 'Bloody hell!'

Forcing my body to respond, I push my other leg on the ground to gain backward momentum and limp back to a safe distance. I can't possibly even scratch her... I need something she won't expect to even get a chance at surprising her.

"What's up kid? Out of juice? You lasted a while but what makes you think you would be able to

even land a hit on a war veteran like me...hahahaha..."

In any other situation, I would have been enthralled by her melodious motherly laughter but in this case, it only infuriates and frustrates me. What should I do? What can I do? If I wait for some more time then she is gonna attack. When I charged before, she at least had the courtesy to not attack at Jonin level speeds. I was at least able to try... If she attacks again, I will be down for the count this time... She hits damn HARD... Both sides of my mouth are almost swollen and I am sure that at least 5 of my teeth have become loose. I'm gasping for breath and my right leg feels like it is gonna be destroyed...

Fucking hell... I wish someone could call the child safety authority... Wait, they don't exist here since I'm a child soldier...Shit, This isn't the time for morbid-

I hastily move out of the range of that hand chop. It hits the ground and it cracks the ground a little. Fuck... I could have been hit with that.

"You shouldn't get distracted during battles. I know you are close to unconsciousness but that's no reason to lose track of where you are.." Lady Mito says that sharply... She is right.. What the fuck am I doing? Why am I treating this like an unwinnable battle? Fuck that attitude! Imma beat this bitch. I glare at her with rage and determination in my eyes.

She smirks...she bloody smirks and says," Oh so what if you have guts and a good reaction time! Those two will only get you so far... Show me if you are actually worthy of the title of 'Prodigy'!"

She charges at me and this time I am not running away... My chakra reserves will probably dry up with this but maybe I sliver out a win from this. As she tries to punch me in the face again,I put my left arm in the way... which in hindsight was not a great idea, but even as I recoil a little and my arm becomes numb, I get that split second of opportunity. I smirk smugly and shout-"Rasengan!".

Instantly everything goes dark and the last thing I hear is mito mumbling- "Fucking prodigies."


A/N: First time pulling off a cliffhanger (however small)

Edit: Okay so first of all, many many thanks to [USER=74852]Lezaaaa/USER] for proofreading this chapter. You are epic mate. Anyone reading the chapter can attest to that. My chapter actually resembles a professionally done work for a change.

Yeah I know what you are thinking...Why would Mito injure Minato who is a kid so much? Well you see the fight scene explicitly shows that Minato hasn't been injured fatally at all and also because she has Tsunade with her. Mito comes from the warring states era and was the wife of Naruto lite so you can guess that acceptable violence meters are a bit off for her. Also, Mito's kind of pissed with all those rumours of a 'prodigy rivalling Tobirama sama' going around. She doesn't have a grudge against Minato for that but she wanted to test if he actually was worthy of the title or not.

Also Minato wasn't able to do anything because of two reasons: 1. He is at max a Chunnin level Taijutsu fighter while Mito has been a S rank ninja for years and her increasing age would just degrade her skills from high S rank to low S rank at worst. 2. This is my first time writing a fight scene. If you all could provide some advice for this, it will be very useful.

Next chapter, we will see her side of things as well as getting to know how the hell did he develop the Murder ball so quickly. Next chapter will solve all your questions...

If you spot any bullshit plotholes,point them out and I will patch them up. Enjoy the chapter!

Goodbye and stay tuned for the next chapter.