Nara Kazuki laid eyes on the tiny, newborn Naruto.
He looked just like he did in the anime—no changes there. In the kitchen, Uzumaki Kushina hummed cheerfully while preparing food.
"Kazuki, really, I can't thank you enough. If it weren't for you, Kushina…" said Minato Namikaze, clapping him hard on the shoulder—so hard, in fact, that Kazuki's shoulder made a bang bang sound under the impact.
Minato blinked, frowning slightly at the odd sound.
"Ah—sorry, Lord Fourth. I was training earlier..." Kazuki offered a sheepish grin and peeled off a weighted patch from his shoulder.
It was part of the gear he used to enhance his training.
Wearing weights didn't do much for speed, but it worked wonders for endurance—and shinobi had the physical resilience to handle the load. That's why Kazuki wore them during practice.
"You really do train hard, huh…" Minato said with some admiration.
Sure, Kazuki was a notorious pervert—just like his mentor Jiraiya—but when it came to dedication and effort, even Minato had to give him credit.
Only Might Guy could match Kazuki's work ethic in all of Konoha.
"By the way, Kazuki," Minato said, his tone shifting, "for your contributions to the village yesterday—and, well, because I'm personally grateful—I want to offer you something. Any jutsu you want to learn."
The invitation to dinner had been genuine thanks for helping protect Kushina. But Minato also had another purpose: to teach Kazuki a jutsu.
Actually, Kushina thought he should teach Kazuki two.
After all, she'd nearly died while giving birth. If things had gone wrong, it would've been a two-for-one tragedy.
So Minato planned to pass on two jutsu.
One would be Kazuki's choice. The other would be Rasengan—Minato's original creation, a technique both powerful and versatile.
"Wait, really? Anything?" Kazuki was momentarily stunned.
Because at that moment, when he'd seen Naruto, a system message flashed:
[Special Achievement Complete]
He immediately selected the reward: Natural Energy Affinity.
It would improve his chances of entering Sage Mode. Since he was already tight with Jiraiya, it would be a waste not to learn it.
Now he was craving the next special achievement unlock. But since it hadn't been revealed yet, he had no idea what the next challenge would be.
"Yes, anything," Minato replied, "though some jutsu are too dangerous to teach. If you pick one of those, I might ask you to choose another."
Kazuki nodded. He knew jutsu like the Spirit Transformation Technique were outright dangerous, and certain forbidden techniques were restricted simply because they were too risky for most shinobi.
He deliberated.
First thought? Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu. With that, he could ramp up his training speed massively.
But his chakra reserves weren't massive yet. At best, he could manage two or three clones for now. He had to consider how much chakra each clone would split from the original.
Second idea? Impure World Reincarnation.
That jutsu was absurdly powerful. Kabuto Yakushi had used it to plunge the ninja world into chaos, and it took Itachi Uchiha busting out Izanami—a jutsu he'd kept hidden—to shut him down. Without that, the war would've raged even longer.
Especially since most shinobi villages didn't have cremation customs.
Impure World Reincarnation was perfect for raising hell.
Third? Flying Thunder God Technique.
But that one was notoriously hard to learn. It required talent and a highly analytical mind, and Kazuki wasn't sure he had the knack.
"These are the jutsu available," Minato said, handing over a scroll. Kazuki scanned the list—plenty of forbidden jutsu included.
But the one that still called to him most was Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.
So he chose it.
Minato looked surprised at the choice, but said nothing. He simply taught it to him cleanly and efficiently.
"I'm also going to teach you a technique I developed myself," Minato said. A glowing sphere of chakra spun gently in his palm—Rasengan.
Kazuki scratched his head.
Was he destined to inherit the Crown Prince's plot armor? Was he going to save the world with chakra balls now?
But jokes aside, Rasengan was strong, versatile, and well worth learning. He had no reason not to take it.
Compared to Multi Shadow Clone—which wasn't that complex but carried risk—Rasengan was much more difficult to master.
By the time Kazuki finished dinner and returned home, he still hadn't managed to form even a single Rasengan.
"This jutsu…" Kazuki groaned. It was great, but damn, the learning curve was brutal.
Maybe he should do what Naruto did—use shadow clones to help?
He tried.
Didn't work.
And it wasted valuable clone time he'd rather use for training.
He sighed. Tomorrow, he'd have to ask Minato for tips.
That night, Kazuki stayed up later than usual, endlessly practicing Rasengan.
But no progress.
"Why the hell didn't I study physics?" he muttered bitterly. If he'd taken science seriously, maybe he could've reverse-engineered the jutsu with logical reasoning.
"Hey Kazuki, someone's here for you," came a voice the next morning—Uncle Suzaku knocking at the door.
"Coming, Uncle Suzaku!" Kazuki called, running down to open it.
He expected Kakashi.
He was wrong.
Standing there, dressed in casual clothes, was his squad captain—Yamanaka Mai.
"C-Captain Mai? What brings you here?" Kazuki blinked, surprised.
She was in civvies, her long single ponytail tied neatly behind her back, posture sharp and efficient.
"I heard you came into some cash. I wanted to see if you'd be interested in investing," Mai said with a sly smile.
Uncle Suzaku grinned as he passed by, shooting them a strange look before walking off.
Kazuki grimaced.
There's nothing romantic between us, dammit.
"So, uh... what kind of business?" he asked, genuinely curious. He had no clue what kind of venture his squad captain was about to pitch.