CH_179-181

Minato gently laid Natchi flat on the ground. Then he sat down himself and lightly patted the ground beside him, signaling for Tōji to sit too.

"Tōji—do you know? What you said tonight made me think about this world in a whole new way." Minato's gaze was deep and gentle.

Tōji sat down casually. "Lord Minato, I just said what I've been hiding in my heart all along."

Minato looked at Natchi, who had already started snoring softly. "But this secret might change a lot of things. I think I can implant a soul-level memory seal for you. It won't hinder you, but it will keep others from prying into those secrets."

A gentle breeze drifted past, bringing a touch of coolness.

Tōji nodded firmly. Something that sounded like a sure win—he was more than happy to accept.

Minato quickly formed a string of hand seals—more than before—muttering under his breath… When the seals were complete, he grasped his right hand with his left, then reached toward the crown of Tōji's head with his right. A soft light emerged from his palm and slowly sank into Tōji's skull.

"Done—the seal is complete." Minato let out a slight breath. "Even I would have trouble detecting and breaking this seal."

Tōji felt nothing in particular.

"Thank you, Lord Minato!" Tōji stood and bowed deeply at a perfect ninety degrees.

Minato smiled and waved his hand, motioning for Tōji to sit back down.

"Tōji—since you possess these special memories, you need to make good use of them. As I said before—please protect the future." Minato looked at Tōji with unwavering eyes.

Sitting back down, Tōji nodded seriously. "Lord Minato, I will. But sometimes I worry that as a variable, I might actually change the future and cause terrible consequences. In that world, there's a term called the butterfly effect—a butterfly flapping its wings on the other side of the ocean can cause a hurricane."

Minato thought for a moment, then said, "The future… like you said, the true future is still hard to predict. But as long as we hold true to ourselves, don't waver in our original intentions, and do everything to protect the village and everyone in it—then no matter the outcome, we can face it with a clear conscience."

Hearing that, the worry in Tōji's heart eased slightly. "I understand, Lord Minato." It was because those words came from the Hokage. The so-called authority effect brought a sense of security.

Just like when a teacher tells a student to do something, or a company boss tells a subordinate—people naturally feel that regardless of right or wrong, the main responsibility lies not with the one carrying it out, but with the "authority."

By now, the night had deepened, and everything around them was silent.

Minato looked up at the starry sky for a long while, then said with feeling, "The future of this world sure looks full of challenges."

"Tōji—you need to believe in your own strength too. I think you've been influenced too heavily by those special memories, and that's suppressed your own growth." As he spoke, Minato looked at Tōji, his eyes full of encouragement.

Tōji looked back at Minato, his own gaze filled with admiration and determination. "Lord Minato, I'll work hard to grow. I won't let you down."

The summer night breeze blew in gusts, rustling the leaves. The chorus of insects rose and fell, gradually fading into the distance…

Minato stood up and brushed the dust off himself. "Alright—that's enough for tonight. I need to go home and report in. You head back and rest early too—I'll take Natchi home."

Tōji smirked inwardly, imagining Minato getting an earful from Kushina when he got home, and stood up as well. "Yes, Lord Minato."

"Tomorrow afternoon, you and Natchi come to my office. Like I said before, you'll be joining the Anbu to work for me. Now I want both you and Natchi to join the Anbu as soon as possible." As Minato spoke, he hoisted Natchi onto his back, then activated his 【Flying Thunder God Technique】.

"The Anbu." Tōji murmured to himself.

180

Unexpectedly, things had turned out this way.

Tōji's heart felt like Rock Lee removing his leg weights—instantly lighter.

He even felt his chakra flowing a bit more smoothly through his body.

Tōji closed his eyes and spread his arms, feeling the cool breeze rush against his face and pass through him.

For a moment, he was reluctant to leave—he just wanted to keep his mind empty.

In this peaceful environment, he greedily soaked in the touch of this real world.

"…"

A faint sound. Tōji opened his eyes.

"It's me, Tōji. I suddenly remembered something, so I came back. Hope I'm not disturbing you." Minato had reappeared via 【Flying Thunder God】, holding out a scroll. "This is some material on sealing techniques. The memory seal I used just now, plus a few other sealing techniques that might help you."

"Huh? Thank you, Lord Minato!" To Tōji, this surprise was a massive, tangible gain.

Minato really was the best!

"I don't shortchange my subordinates, you know~" Minato cracked a small joke—he seemed to be in a good mood.

"Also—the memory seal I placed on you doesn't just prevent your memories from being pried into. It also resists most soul-targeting genjutsu. Souls and memories are tightly intertwined." Minato wore a thoughtful expression.

"Lord Minato really is the greatest Hokage." Tōji spared no effort in flattery.

"You little faker. Oh, right—regarding my arrangements for you and Natchi, it's for you to secretly scout movements in all directions for me. How to carry it out specifically—you'll need to judge for yourself. You can be flexible." As he spoke, Minato winked—sporting a slightly sly expression that reminded Tōji of Kakashi when he was Naruto's supervising jōnin.

"That's great!" This time, Tōji truly let go of his worries.

Taking advantage of Tōji's good mood, Minato threw out another challenge.

"But there's one mission."

"A few days ago, Jiraiya-sensei left the village on another assignment. Unfortunately, Orochimaru-sensei volunteered to go to Kirigakure to gather intelligence."

"I want you two to keep an eye on Orochimaru-sensei for me—make sure he doesn't cause trouble."

"I'll make an agreement with Orochimaru-sensei. Based on his usual style, as long as he agrees not to hold a grudge against the younger generation, today's matter will be written off, and your lives won't be at risk."

Minato seemed to have read Tōji's mind and said this specifically.

"Also—regarding your actual arrangements, Natchi won't know too much. You just need to report what you observe to me regularly. As for what to do and what not to do, I won't spell it out—I trust you on that." Minato laid all this out for Tōji in advance.

"Also—make sure to keep up your training."

"Yes!" Tōji understood Minato's intent.

His eyes darted around, and Tōji spoke again. "Lord Minato—can I request some ninjutsu learning materials to improve my strength? You know—my abilities are a bit lacking right now…"

He'd agreed to such a difficult mission—might as well ask for some benefits upfront.

Other Hokage wouldn't be as easygoing as Minato. And tonight was a good chance while he still had Minato's ear.

"I imagine they won't be low-level jutsu. Alright—tell me what you want, and I'll see if I have them in my collection." Minato showed his generosity.

"B-rank ninjutsu—【Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness】."

Tōji named one jutsu and quickly glanced at Minato's expression…

"C-rank ninjutsu—【Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique】."

"A-rank ninjutsu—【Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique】."

"B-rank ninjutsu—【Earth Release: Earth Spear】."

Seeing Minato still hadn't spoken, Tōji continued recalling the jutsu he thought would be useful…

"Hōzuki secret technique—【Hydrification Technique】."

?

"Stop, stop, stop." Minato couldn't help but call for a halt. "This wishlist of yours is getting more and more ridiculous."

"Ah—sorry. I was just joking, haha." Tōji realized he'd gotten carried away and scratched his head awkwardly.

181

"Alright—【Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness】, I have it. As for 【Hiding in Mist Technique】 and 【Earth Spear】—those were confiscated from prisoners of other villages. They're not usually convenient to learn or use. The others I won't have." Minato quickly settled the matter before Tōji could keep pushing his luck.

After all, borrowing ninjutsu learning materials was generally something you exchanged for as a mission reward.

Minato added, "I'll seal that part of my own memory when I get home tonight. You can't be this reckless in the future."

Whether Minato would actually seal his memories, and how much he'd seal—Tōji didn't know.

But he understood Minato's meaning—even if he played dumb again, this kind of extortion wouldn't happen a second time.

"Understood, Lord Minato. Long live Lord Minato!" Tōji showed not a trace of embarrassment—it felt like wheedling a red envelope out of a familiar, slightly older relative.

"Then I'll head off first. I'll have the Anbu deliver the ninjutsu scrolls and your Anbu registration papers later tonight. Oh, and about Natchi—you go notify him tomorrow. He doesn't have those memories anymore. Before you report to me, you two can go pick up your Anbu gear first." With that, Minato waved, activated 【Flying Thunder God】, and vanished—leaving only the faint rustle of his Hokage robe caught in the wind.

Seeing it was getting late, Tōji didn't linger either. Using his most practiced Body Flicker, he raced all the way home.

He knew his parents would be asleep by now, so he made no noise. After all, the note he'd left before heading out said he was going on a mission far away.

Back in his room, Tōji easily spotted an extra letter and quite a few scrolls on his windowsill—clearly more than three.

"The Anbu really are efficient." Tōji's fondness for the Anbu was growing…

He quickly walked to the windowsill.

"I'm actually feeling a bit excited and nervous!" He mocked himself, then gently picked up the letter and carefully opened it, reading it word by word.

Inside the envelope were indeed Anbu registration notices—both his and Natchi's. The notice laid out the onboarding process and all relevant precautions in exhaustive, clear detail.

Additionally, there were two more sheets of paper.

The larger one was a simple map, marking the Anbu's location.

The smaller one reminded Tōji to return all the ninjutsu scrolls after reading them, without omission, and that the ninjutsu materials must not be copied or shared.

Tōji carefully reread the Anbu registration notice—what he wanted to check was whether it mentioned benefits.

…

Hilariously, the 007 work schedule was mainly based on mission commission, with only a tiny base salary. It was significantly worse than the freelance shinobi system—just slightly higher amounts across the board.

Good thing he'd squeezed out some "wages" in advance.

A man had to be "practical and truth-seeking."

Afterward, with curiosity and eagerness, Tōji turned his gaze to the ninjutsu scrolls.

With a touch of excitement, he unrolled one of them.

One scroll didn't just contain a single jutsu—it held an entire series.

The first thing that caught Tōji's eye was 【Earth Release: Decapitation Technique】—the one he knew best.

The scroll described the hand seals and the intricate chakra circulation methods in detail yet concisely. It instantly drew his full attention like a magnetic field, pulling him deep into it.

Who knew how much later—Tōji, sitting cross-legged on his bed, had already unrolled several scrolls, all of which he'd examined.

Among those jutsu were ones he'd already learned, ones he'd asked Minato for, and ones he'd neither learned nor requested.

"These scrolls… they're completely different from what we've encountered before!" The ninjutsu scrolls Tōji had come across before were never this concise and clear.

Tōji couldn't help but think of the Second Hokage's 【Water Dragon Missile】…

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