Standing alone in the center of his training ground, Kadoya exhaled slowly. The autumn air stirred around him, carrying crisp orange leaves that swirled gently at first, then whipped into motion, forming a tight spiral. It looked as if a miniature tornado had chosen him as its eye.
Kadoya stood perfectly still within the vortex of spinning leaves, his eyes closed, breath steady. He focused on the delicate threads of chakra he had laced through each leaf, maintaining their orbit with precise control.
Then, he clapped his palms together.
"Leaf Style: Senhinoha."
The small tornado of leaves suddenly exploded outward with sharp force, scattering in every direction. With a fluid motion, Kadoya extended his index and middle fingers toward a distant training dummy.
The scattered leaves abruptly stopped mid-flight, then snapped forward like darts, homing in on their target.
A split second later, the dummy, built from hay and shaped oddly like Minato, was pierced from every angle, transformed into a pincushion of hardened leaves.
A small smile tugged at Kadoya's lips.
By infusing Hamon into the leaves, he had transformed something harmless and ornamental into a precise, deadly technique. But he wasn't finished yet.
Maintaining the chakra link between himself and the leaves, Kadoya drew on the power of the Mera Mera no Mi.
Bringing his left hand up, he snapped his fingers.
In an instant, the glowing orange leaves burst into blazing embers, the fusion of Hamon's life energy and devil fruit fire creating a swirling inferno.
The hay dummy didn't even get the chance to smolder, it was reduced to ash in the blink of an eye.
"Umu!" Kadoya nodded, arms crossed, clearly satisfied. "My power-mixing skills are really leveling up."
Without his Hamon or the power of the Mera Mera No Mi, the Leaf Style: Senhinoha will just be a flashy ninjutsu. With no damage or lethality. Kadoya had been experimenting, blending his unique abilities in creative ways to tap into the limitless potential within him.
The foundation for this concept was something most shinobi don't look into, the chakra link, one of the core parts of the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Normally, the link that passed back memories and experiences, but Kadoya had looked further into it before he weaponized it.
By using his knockoff Wood Release, he had formed plants, leaves, and flowers, directly connected to his chakra. Linking them with invisible chakra threads, by using this connection, he could spread his other power onto them.
Still, this jutsu isn't great, he still needs at least 21 hand seals to finish it. Which he finds is a bit too long for his liking, so he decides to shorten it first before he dares to call it a finish jutsu.
...
A spiraling vortex of water chakra formed in Kadoya's palm, swirling with focused precision. He narrowed his eyes, concentrating as he slowly introduced fire into the mix.
The moment the two opposing elements met, steam hissed into the air, rising in tendrils around his hand. The vortex shimmered, no longer just water, but now threaded with flickering embers that danced along its edges.
The fire was faint. The blend far from perfect.
But it didn't collapse.
Kadoya smirked. He had managed to combine fire and water, two conflicting elements, without one snuffing out the other.
He then calmly waved his hand and let the two elements disappear.
Then, with practiced ease, he raised a sleek white can to his lips and took a sip.
Monster Energy. Courtesy of his System Shop.
The cool liquid tingled slightly as it went down, and he could feel a small jolt of energy returning to his body.
Not bad.
Sure, it didn't compare to his Stamina Potions, but when you could get an entire box of 64 cans for just 1 System Point, versus only one potion for the same price? It was an easy choice when he wasn't on the brink of death.
One Stamina Potion = the recovery effect of 32 cans of Monster Energy.
But with smart use, spreading those cans out during training or downtime, the value stretched way farther than a single potion.
Quality versus quantity.
He already knew which one he'd pick in a life-or-death scenario: down the potion and keep fighting. No time to pop open thirty-two cans in the middle of combat.
But ...
The thought of fighting Madara, then suddenly saying "hold up" before drinking 32 cans of Monster Energy would be quite amusing.
...
Seated together beneath the shade of a tall tree, Kadoya opened his mouth expectantly, and Saiguu gently popped a takoyaki ball into it.
He chewed slowly, savoring the flavor before flashing a satisfied smile.
"Umu! This is really good."
He gave a small nod of approval after swallowing, making Saiguu beam with pride. If only he knew how many times she had nearly burned down the kitchen while trying to learn how to cook just to make him smile like this.
From a short distance away, Kushina watched the scene unfold, a subtle hint of envy flickering in her eyes. For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine being in Saiguu's place, feeding Kadoya, laughing beside him under the tree.
He was the Uzumaki Clan Head now, wasn't he?
Technically, if she married him, she wouldn't need to master every last seal or duel him for the position. A shortcut, sure, but a tempting one.
And honestly… a far easier route than memorizing generations' worth of fūinjutsu scrolls and trying to surpass him.
The little sun Minato simply smile.
Minato didn't have a girlfriend. And he wasn't interested in finding one.
Not yet, at least.
Minato at this age hadn't started having thoughts in that area. He hadn't started developing feelings for the opposite sex.
In his opinion, those girls in the class who confessed to him weren't even half as interesting as Kadoya... well, not even half!
Kadoya knows a lot of ninjutsu, has a good foundation, and doesn't hide various ninjutsu. As long as he's interested, he'll teach him anything.
Kadoya sharing knowledge with him, and the training sessions, although painful, were all for his growth; those times are when Minato is happiest and most excited.
Over the past few years, Minato has regarded Kadoya as his best friend.
And those girls in the class only know how to be infatuated and don't know anything else.
So, for him, it's better to take advantage of the free time to get stronger, then he would have a better chance of becoming Hokage.
"Hey, Kadoya." Minato suddenly called out.
"What's wrong?" Kadoya glanced at Minato.
"How about we go to the training ground for a long-awaited youthful battle?" Minato smiled mysteriously.
Kadoya: "!!?"
Why did you suddenly sound like Might Duy, the Eternal Genin next door?
Kadoya wonders did someone pulled a mind switch between his best friend and Might Duy?
Saiguu, on the other hand, genuinely wonders when Minato embraced his masochistic personality.
Kushina, still a bit new to the group and didn't understand the few running jokes between them, just smiled.
"Training ground? Again." Kadoya waved his hand, seeming reluctant to go.
After all, Minato couldn't force him to use his other power, and his Water Release is already Jonin-level. And he hasn't fully developed his other ninjutsu for Lightning or Wind Release yet.
He is still waiting for his Shadow Clones at home to grind for new ninjutsu first. Then he would use Minato to test it out.
"If you're a friend, come to the training ground! This is a new ninjutsu you've never seen before. Just experience it for three minutes, and you'll love it as much as I do." Minato revealed a confident expression.
Everyone: "..."
"So confident, aren't you being a little too sure of yourself?" Kadoya glanced at Minato thoughtfully, finding him very confident indeed.
Hey, hey, you're getting ahead of yourself, Minato!
Did you forget who taught you in the first place?
Are you eager for a beating?
"Hehe, I've already prepared the training ground. Waiting for you." Minato smiled and walked away without saying more.
Kadoya: "..."
Kadoya sighed, ready to beat Minato up, but the moment he tried to stand up.
Saiguu pulls him down and roughly force-feed him, not giving him the chance to run off to his best friend.
For some reason, Minato's words oddly sound like, "I've already booked a room, waiting for you." to the girls.
Watching this scene, little Kushina suddenly remembered the time Lady Mito told her a story about the relationship between the First Hokage and the Ghost of the Uchiha. Where Hashirama would run off to his best friend, Madara, and leave her alone at home.
Kushina suddenly felt pity for Minato's future wife, watching her husband run off to spend time with another man instead of staying home with her.
After swallowing the takoyaki and the wooden chopsticks, Kadoya walked toward Training Ground #7, followed by the two girls.
Kadoya and Minato stood at the center of the training ground beneath the blazing midday sun.
While Minato radiated raw enthusiasm, fists clenched and eyes burning with the fire of a true competitor, Kadoya looked completely unfazed, calm, almost bored, as if he'd just woken up from a nap.
Without a word, the two bit their thumbs, drawing blood, and began weaving hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Twin bursts of smoke erupted across the field.
From the first cloud emerged a large, gruff orange toad, Ginta. From the second, a sleek blue frog, agile and quiet, Frogadier.
"Oi, Minato," Ginta grunted, crossing his arms, "same deal as always. I want a hundred servings of caterpillars after this. Got it?"
Minato winced. "B-but… I already scoured all the caterpillars around Konoha! I can't gather that many! Can you maybe… take a little less?"
Kadoya: "..."
This level of impressiveness was instantly overshadowed by Orochimaru's Manda. The other demanded people, you demand caterpillars.
Although people can easily be found in wartime, but caterpillars? Yeah, let's just hope some Aburame is cultivating caterpillars for you to rob.
Across from them, Frogadier simply snorted.
"Hah! Tasteless insects. Pity you've never had a real home-cooked meal."
The comment stung. Ginta's eye twitched with fury.
"Kadoya really treats his summon kindly."
That was their thought.
"When did you get a home-cooked meal?"
This was Kadoya's thought.
Now that he thought about it, he never once gave Frogadier anything. Did he even know what his summon ate?
Then it clicked.
Frogadier's ability Battle Bond, creates a direct link between them.
Does that mean… they shared food too?
So if I eat ramen, does he eat ramen? Or does he only know the taste and experience it with me?
Thinking more into it, Kadoya suddenly realizes he had recognized many techniques his Frogadier had.
Curious, Kadoya raised his left hand. A swirling orb of water began to spin into shape. It looked eerily like a Rasengan, but it wasn't; this was Water Pulse.
The orb vanished as quickly as it came. He refocused his gaze on Minato, still brimming with fighting spirit… and Ginta, who looked like he was about to body-slam Frogadier out of spite.
Kadoya smirked.
Without exchanging a single word, both Kadoya and Frogadier clapped their palms, forming twin water blades.
There was no more talking.
The four of them launched forward, the clash of steel, water, and spirit exploding at the heart of the training ground.
...
Their sparring session was once again interrupted, this time by Sakumo Hatake, who happened to be passing by just in time to witness the two boys recklessly hurtling toward each other with A-rank Ninjutsu, looking like they were aiming to end the fight... and possibly each other.
With a sigh, Sakumo stepped between them, stopping their attack before they accidentally kill each other.
Kadoya and Minato both looked mildly annoyed, clearly unhappy about having their fun cut short again by the white-haired Jonin. Still, neither of them was stupid enough to argue.
Even if they teamed up, they knew they wouldn't last five seconds against Sakumo Hatake.
So they nodded and backed off.
Later that day, the group reconvened for another round of training, this time less suicidal, more cooperative.
Kushina dragged Minato to the side for a partnered session. Saiguu, not to be left behind, made sure to pull Kadoya's focus back to her, subtly keeping his attention off the bubbly blonde.
It was a group training session, after all. The girls had to grow too.
Kushina and Minato made a good team. She guided him through the basics of Fūinjutsu, sketching out a few simple seals on scrolls while Minato helped sharpen her shurikenjutsu, correcting her grip and throwing form.
Minato kept quiet about the seals he was learning, he wanted to surprise Kadoya later with what he'd picked up. Although knowing that Kadoya probably knew all the Fūinjutsu Kushina is teaching him.
If he wants to have the upper edge in their next match, he needs something that can catch him off guard or even disrupt him.
Meanwhile, Kadoya was helping Saiguu polish her Gentle Fist.
Midway through a demonstration, a memory sparked in his head. He browsed through his system store and found a technique that caught his eye: Judo Training Technique, priced at a not-so-humble 5 System Points.
He didn't need the technique himself; his combat style was already more than versatile, but he found that Judo, with its principle of using gentleness and redirection, perfectly complemented the Hyuga's Gentle Fist.
He will ask her later if she wants to learn Judo or not; if she wants to, then he won't mind spending 5,000,000 ryo to teach it to her.