chapter 43: The Scale in Minato's Heart

Chapter 43: The Scale in Minato's Heart

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Standing quietly by the lake near the small forest, Toneri watched the fist-sized fireball that had just come out of his mouth.

To be honest, it could be considered a Fireball... right?

This was Toneri's first attempt at using a jutsu after receiving the scroll from Orochimaru.

He knew his own weaknesses; he was aware of them.

Toneri wouldn't deny that his chakra control was relatively weak.

Most of his focus had been on improving his taijutsu, so even though he learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu and had a clone practice chakra control for him, it wasn't easy to close the gap.

Just yesterday, he had learned how to walk on water, and today he was attempting one of the simplest jutsu: the Fireball.

Though it was his first try, the fireball looked more like a fire egg, but at least it had a proper form, right?

After all, not everyone can succeed the first time they try a jutsu. If that were the case, everyone would be as talented as Itachi.

Even for Sasuke, didn't it take several attempts before he mastered the Great Fireball Jutsu?

"Hahaha—Toneri, this is your so-called jutsu?" Kushina, who had been resting on the grass by the riverbank, laughed hysterically. She had thought Toneri was about to show them some impressive technique, but it turned out to be just a "little fireball." She rolled on the ground, clutching her stomach.

Minato, sitting next to Kushina, also couldn't help but laugh.

Just a moment ago, Toneri had called them over to the riverbank, claiming he had learned a new jutsu. And this was the result.

The three of them had been training together in this small forest for two weeks now.

From initially speaking with formalities to now joking around like friends, their bond had deepened.

Minato had always been easygoing, and though Kushina had some prejudice against him at first, she had come to realize that her assumptions were wrong. Minato wasn't soft; he was just naturally gentle in his dealings with others. And with someone like Toneri, who was always ready to throw a punch, their group had become quite close.

Toneri, undeterred, tried again several more times but couldn't get the Fireball to exceed the size of his fist. The damage output was still uncertain, but it nearly sent Kushina into another fit of laughter.

Now, Toneri was certain: sometimes, having too much chakra wasn't necessarily a good thing.

The more chakra you had, the harder it was to control all of it. The amount of time and energy required to maintain proper control increased dramatically.

But there were other improvements in his training during this time. At least now, he could handle more Shadow Clones.

The more clones he could create, the faster his strength would increase. It was a positive cycle.

After putting in the effort, he had already reached the level of an average genin in terms of taijutsu. He wouldn't get easily beaten up by Kushina anymore.

He had also made progress with throwing ninja tools and the basic body techniques, though those still required more practice.

The real challenge lay in the things that couldn't be improved in a day.

For example, his taijutsu.

During the first two weeks, his improvement had been huge—almost like he was progressing by leaps and bounds every day. This was because he started with such a low base and had been training intensely, pushing his body into the realm of a genin's taijutsu.

However, in the last two weeks, the progress had slowed down significantly. He had only barely crossed the threshold into the genin level.

As one's strength grew, the rate of improvement naturally slowed because the bottleneck kept rising.

To give a simple example, Toneri had once been exhausted after running a lap around Konoha, and just pushing himself to keep running had resulted in progress. But now, even if he ran ten laps, he wouldn't reach his limit as quickly. To improve further, he would have to push his body even harder.

The stronger he got, the harder it became to exceed his physical limits. Without exceeding those limits, the advantage of being a Jinchūriki didn't have as much of an effect.

"Ha—"

After several more failed attempts, Toneri accepted that this wasn't something that could be mastered in one go. He had gotten a bit overconfident, thinking his chakra control had improved enough to try out a new jutsu. But it seemed he had overestimated himself.

He walked to the shore, glancing at Minato and Kushina, who had started to get along better. Toneri gave a satisfied nod.

Yeah, Tools #2 and #3—my time to dominate the world is getting closer and closer.

"Alright, that's enough for today. By the way, we've been training non-stop since we met. How about we go out and have some fun? I've been in Konoha for over a month, and I haven't even explored the streets."

"Yes! Let's go!" Kushina immediately responded.

She had been in Konoha for a long time but hadn't gone out much, as she didn't have any friends.

After being bullied by the local kids when she was younger, calling her a "tomato," she rarely went into town unless absolutely necessary.

But going out required one important thing: money!

No money!

Speaking of money, Toneri didn't even need to be looked at. He was the poorest of the three—he couldn't even produce a single coin.

So, Toneri and Kushina both turned to Minato, especially eyeing his forehead protector.

Ninjas… they seem to make money quickly, right?

Noticing their hopeful gazes, Minato knew it was his turn to speak. After all, he was the only ninja among them, and he had completed a few missions, so he had a bit of money on him.

"Let's go, I'll treat you today!" Minato patted the dirt off his pants.

"Yay!" Kushina cheered.

Toneri immediately took off running, shouting, "Let's see who gets there first!"

Seeing Toneri run off, Kushina's face changed, and she sprinted after him.

Minato, slow to get up, said, "Kushina, if Toneri wants to win, let him. There's no need to compete."

But all he heard was Kushina's voice from a distance, "Competing for what?! You let him go ahead, and do you know what the consequence will be?!"

Upon hearing this, Minato's face instantly turned as pale as Kushina's. His feet pushed off the ground, and using the Body Flicker Technique, he quickly caught up.

Letting Toneri lead? He might not get to eat dinner tonight!

Ten minutes later.

Toneri was holding his swollen cheek and the noticeable bump on the back of his head.

Muttering, "We were just racing, why did they have to hit me?"

Kushina shot him a glare, clearly unimpressed. "You still have the nerve to say that? With your sense of direction, don't you have any self-awareness? What was it you called it last time?"

Toneri rolled his eyes.

He had said it just once, and Kushina had remembered the term "AC number."

But this time, Toneri truly was the victim. He wasn't really bad at directions—after all, when someone was treating him to a meal, why would he go the long way?

At most, he'd just run a lap around Konoha...

Minato smiled at the two of them.

At this moment, he felt like he had two true friends.

Though Minato had initially felt that Toneri might have been trying to get close to him for some reason, as time passed and with Kushina's presence, everything had become natural.

Minato wouldn't admit that it was because Toneri had tricked Kushina into joining them that he didn't care about the details...

But one thing was certain: Toneri was genuine with him, and Minato had picked up on it. That's why he didn't mind the reasons Toneri had for approaching him.

Just because he was young didn't mean he was naive. As they say, children from poor families often mature faster. Having grown up on his own, Minato was perceptive and had his own scale for understanding people's hearts.

Sunshine doesn't mean you're an idiot.

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