Naruto: Starting as Tsunade's Desk Mate

Rope Tree was incredibly envious: "Teacher, I want to learn this!!"

An Yan refused outright. He was joking; there was only one Yama Blade, and he hadn't had enough of playing with it yet.

"You can't learn it; this skill is passed down through families."

As they spoke, the group arrived at Limbo. Seeing the scene, which seemed familiar to Konoha, and the demons that seemed to roam the world, everyone's hearts jumped.

An Yan immediately used a reverse summoning technique to temporarily place all the demons into the domain space before explaining with a smile: "This is a mirror world that is the counterpart to reality, or you could call it the inner world. Fighting here will not be seen by others or affect them."

If the battles in the Otherworld are too intense, they can actually have an impact on the real world. For example, a Ferris wheel might suddenly collapse, a deep pit might suddenly appear, or an object might suddenly be damaged.

However, An Yan and the others entered the inner world from the back mountain forest. Even if there were any impact, it would only appear in the back mountain forest at most, and at most disturb some birds and beasts.

Minato silently sensed the Flying Thunder God and was amazed to find that he could still sense the Flying Thunder God mark in the outside world. Although this world seemed very powerful, it seemed to be closely connected to reality, and he could come and go freely.

"Was everything alright, teacher?"

Cilantro said somewhat uneasily.

An Yan smiled and said, "Those special summoning beasts are the foundation for maintaining this inner world. The more summoning beasts there are, the larger the area covered by this inner world will be. Their individual strength is very weak, so you don't need to worry about them for the time being."

While An Yan was still explaining, Shui Men was looking around at Lingbo Prison, but Nawaki couldn't hold back any longer and jumped out.

"Minato, after my training at Mount Myōboku, I'm quite strong now. Let's have a little spar."

Seeing Nawaki's eager expression, Minato raised an eyebrow and looked at An Yan. An Yan shook his head slightly, and Minato understood, meaning that he shouldn't discourage the child too much.

Minato stepped forward, and the two formed a seal of opposition.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the two figures collided directly, their fists, palms, and legs clashing rapidly, using every trick in the book—eye-gouging, sweeping kicks, groin strikes—these were the deadly moves of the White Eyebrow Fist taught by An Yan.

An Yan covered his eyes in disbelief. These two little brats! There are girls watching here, and they're fighting so fiercely without any elegance.

Yahiko's eyes lit up. He had no idea that physical techniques could be used in such a way. He could attack the enemy's defenses and anticipate their moves. It was truly amazing.

Minato and Nawaki are like brothers, they know each other too well. They can tell what move is going to be made as soon as they make a move. If it were someone else, they would probably be knocked to the ground after two moves.

The two first used fists and feet, then ninja tools, and finally resorted to ninjutsu.

Nawaki immediately used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, sending seventy or eighty clones rushing towards Minato, creating an impression of overwhelming numbers.

However, Minato remained completely calm. With a flick of his wrists, eight shuriken flew out as his hands rapidly formed hand seals.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu."

The eight shuriken quickly transformed into a rain of shuriken. Although Nawaki's shadow clones tried to dodge or block and survive, most of them were wiped out in one fell swoop.

However, Nawaki had already achieved his goal. Minato was temporarily restrained by his shadow clone, which gave him the opportunity to enter Sage Mode.

More than twenty shadow clones attacked, each using extremely ruthless techniques, forcing Minato to dodge continuously. With no other option, Nawaki even resorted to blindfolding himself with yellow sand, indicating that he was indeed in a bit of a hurry.

However, Minato smiled slightly. The moment the two clashed, Minato had already placed the Flying Thunder God mark on Nawaki. He was now confident of victory and just needed to see how strong Nawaki was.

When Minato deliberately held back, his speed in eliminating shadow clones became slower. Minato's nerve reaction speed was extraordinary, and when he was intentionally putting on a show, apart from An Yan, no one else could tell that Minato was holding back.

However, Minato's strength was undeniable. Although he held back, he still managed to eliminate all the shadow clones within three minutes.

Meanwhile, Rope Tree was already prepared.

His eyelids had automatically turned orange-red eyeshadow, and his pupils had transformed into beastly eyes.

Having entered Sage Mode, Nawaki felt incredibly strong. He grinned and looked at Minato with confidence, but suddenly his expression changed.

Chapter 108 Rope Tree's Sage Mode

Sage Mode can greatly enhance a person's perception of danger, because the natural energy between heaven and earth is constantly flowing into the body, and thus one can sense the chakra of the ninjas around them.

Nawaki didn't have a direct feeling without activating Sage Mode, but after he activated it, he discovered that none of the members of An'an's team had little chakra, especially Kushina and Minato, whose chakra was terrifying, even somewhat frightening.

Minato definitely didn't have this much chakra before, otherwise his fighting style would be a mage turret style. Nawaki was full of doubts and his gaze involuntarily turned to An Yan. Could it be that the teacher was giving Minato extra lessons in private again?

An Yan simply shrugged in response to Rope Tree's gaze. He had always left Minato to his own devices, allowing him to grow to his current level entirely due to his amazing talent.

Nawaki withdrew his gaze, stopped daydreaming, and prepared to face Minato head-on.

Not far away, Minato smiled and said, "Ready? Nawaki, I'm going!"

The water gate has been waiting for a long time.

Nawaki responded enthusiastically: "Come on, Minato!"

The two clashed again and began exchanging blows. After entering Sage Mode, Nawaki's punches and kicks were incredibly powerful. However, Minato managed to hold his own in close combat. With his superhuman reflexes, he was often able to anticipate his opponent's moves and intercept them mid-fight.

Nawaki's attacks rarely touched Minato, and he didn't intend to engage Nawaki in a head-on, hand-to-hand combat. Instead, he often used his superior agility to deflect Nawaki's attacks elsewhere, making it extremely difficult for Nawaki to fight.

An Yan nodded repeatedly as he watched from a distance. He had mentioned the philosophy of Jeet Kune Do before, and it seemed that Minato had taken it to heart and even put in the effort to study it.

Feeling frustrated, Nawaki decided to use some tricks to avoid Minato underestimating his Sage Mode. He shouted, "Minato, be careful now!"

Minato frowned slightly, thinking that Nawaki was about to use some kind of ninjutsu. However, Nawaki still rushed up and tried to fight him. Minato couldn't help but be on high alert.

However, Nawaki's fighting style remained unchanged. Minato was preparing to use his previous tactics to avoid Nawaki's weaknesses and exploit his strengths, attacking his joints from the side to limit Nawaki's attacks. Suddenly, an invisible energy struck Minato, and he instinctively used the Flying Thunder God Technique to dodge half of the attack.

A dozen meters behind Rope Tree, Minato got up from the ground. He touched the redness and swelling on his face. He had been seriously injured by just a light touch. Was that invisible force the legendary natural energy? Rope Tree really didn't hold back. He was aiming straight for his face.

Seeing that its attack was effective, Rope Tree said smugly, "How about that? My frog pair is amazing, isn't it? You can dodge the attacks you can see, but what about the attacks you can't see?"

Minato's expression hardened; he was getting serious. Kushina was still watching, and he couldn't afford to embarrass himself.

Minato pulled out his Flying Thunder God kunai and looked at Nawaki seriously, saying, "Next, I'm going to use my ultimate move, the Super Cool Whirlwind Dance Roar Three Styles!"

Minato hurled seven or eight kunai at him, followed by a multi-shuriken clone technique that turned the seven or eight kunai into hundreds, which then shot densely towards Nawaki.

Minato prepares to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to attack Nawaki's blind spots at an extremely high frequency.

However, Nawaki stood still, forming hand seals, and then flicked his hair. His hair suddenly grew like a waterfall, forming a hedgehog-like protective barrier that enveloped Nawaki. This was Jiraiya's ninjutsu—Needle Jizo Technique.

Despite being attacked by hundreds of kunai, the rope tree remained unharmed thanks to the protection of the needle-shaped Jizo statue.

It seems Jiraiya has taught Nawaki quite a bit. An'yan stood at a distance and stroked the stubble on his chin.

Minato's original attack plan failed, so he immediately changed his attack method. He formed hand seals, opened his mouth, and spat out a great fireball at Nawaki. Hair should be afraid of fire, and coincidentally, Minato knew some basic Five Elements Ninjutsu.

Minato's chakra nature is Yin-Yang, Wind, Fire, and Lightning. He knows several ninjutsu techniques of each nature to deal with the ever-changing battlefield.

After using his hair to defend against the initial kunai throw, Nawaki immediately canceled his previous ninjutsu upon seeing the approaching flames. He then formed hand seals and unleashed the Water Release: Water Wave Technique.

Water and fire collided, steam filled the air, and for a moment, the onlookers could no longer see the situation on the battlefield.

All that could be heard from within the thick fog was a constant clanging and clattering sound, probably the sound of kunai colliding.

When the thick fog dissipated, Minato stood behind Nawaki, a kunai pointed at Nawaki's neck, while Nawaki held the kunai upside down, pointing it diagonally at Minato's abdomen.

With neither of them using their killer moves, the fight became a close contest for a time.

An Yan glanced at Minato. He knew the kid's strength quite well. Minato was obviously holding back. With the Flying Thunder God Technique in hand, even if Nawaki was in Sage Mode, he couldn't beat him. How could it be a draw?

Minato is a kid with high emotional intelligence; he always gives way to Nawaki. An Yan knows this and feels that he likes Minato even more.

After Nawaki and Minato fought to a draw, an undisguised smile appeared between Nawaki's brows and eyes. Minato, I've finally caught up with you.

Nawaki had been under a lot of pressure since being assigned to An'an's team. There was no way around it; Minato was just too outstanding. He was a talent in almost every aspect and could crush him in every way. Now he had finally caught up, although only in terms of strength.

"Alright, it seems to be a draw. Now that the fight is over, let's form a reconciliation seal. We haven't gotten together in a long time. Let's pack up and go out for a meal."

An Yan stepped forward and delivered the conclusion. Nawaki and Minato exchanged a smile, put away their ninja tools, stood facing each other, and formed a reconciliation seal.

Kana stepped forward to check if the two were injured, and then found that only Minato had some injuries on his face. She immediately put her hand on his face and began to perform medical ninjutsu.

Kushina looked at Minato with heartache. She took Minato's hand and silently made up her mind that she would also learn medical ninjutsu so that she could heal Minato in the future.

Yahiko watched the entire fight between the two, seeing the flying debris and large craters created by their punches and kicks. He deeply felt the gap between himself and his peers. Could he really achieve his ideal of learning in Konoha and then returning to change his hometown? Yahiko fell into deep confusion.

Konan looked at Kana and felt that she should also learn some medical ninjutsu so that she could treat Yahiko in time if he got injured in the future.

Chapter 109 The Hero's Tale of Barbecue

As everyone gathered, An Yan stretched out one hand, and the Yama Blade appeared. An Yan swung the blade directly, and the world shattered like a mirror, revealing a spatial passage. The scene was breathtakingly beautiful, and everyone stepped into it one by one, with An Yan being the last.

He glanced back at the aftermath of the battle in the inner world, too lazy to bother with repairs, and simply released the artificial demons from the spatial domain back into existence.

After creating a new wooden branch, An Yan strode away from Lingbo Prison.

Back in the back mountain, after discussing it, everyone decided to go eat barbecue. The group went straight to Akimichi's barbecue restaurant, Q.

After An Yan skillfully ordered the food, he looked at the sullen Yahiko and smiled, "What's wrong, Yahiko? Didn't you want to change the Land of Rain? Are you wavering now that you see two Chunin fighting?"

Beside Yahiko, Konan looked at him with a worried expression.

Yahiko looked at An Yan with a serious expression: "Teacher An Yan, Chunin are already this strong, how strong must Jonin be? Can I really have the strength they have?"

An Yan was silent for a moment before saying, "If you want to reach the level that Nawaki and Minato are at now, it will probably take you three to five years. Their strength is actually comparable to some Jonin, so you don't need to underestimate yourself."

"Is that so? Then what's above Jonin?" Yahiko murmured to himself, which made everyone at the table fall silent and stare at him. To be honest, they also wanted to know how the strength of Jonin and above was judged.

An Yan glanced at the eager gazes of his disciples, coughed, thought for a moment, and then said, "There are no ranks for ninjas in terms of strength. The so-called 'upper, middle, and lower ninjas' are just differences in position. Generally speaking, being able to use basic chakra techniques, such as water walking, tree climbing, jumping, and simple body techniques, is already considered a lower ninja. Lower ninjas' attack methods are generally ninja tool throwing and taijutsu, plus some simple body techniques. Yahiko and Konan are at this level now."

Chunin are ninjas who have the ability to command and coordinate team battles. They have many more attack methods and can use some simple B and C-rank ninjutsu to assist in combat, which increases their level of danger considerably.

Jonin are much more powerful. Generally speaking, to become a Jonin, one must master at least two chakra nature transformations to cope with various complex combat environments. Some people have only one method but outstanding strength, and they are called Special Jonin. They specialize in carrying out tasks they are good at, but their methods are relatively simple and they are easily countered by ordinary Jonin. Jonin who are proficient in multiple chakra nature transformations and can deal with any situation are called Elite Jonin.

In reality, the strength difference between elite Jonin and Kage isn't that great. The real difference lies in the Kage's intelligence advantage and combat experience. The five Kage of the five major nations are the strongest ninjas in their respective villages.

Nawaki asked doubtfully, "Is the Kage the strongest? I feel like even the Third Hokage might not be able to beat Teacher Anyan."

An Yan rolled his eyes at Rope Tree. This kid, doesn't he know his surroundings? There are countless eyes watching in this public place. Why does he have to say everything? Is this something you can just talk about? It's really affecting unity. He coughed and tried to save face for Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"The Third Hokage was very strong. Although he didn't show off, he was almost omnipotent. He knew all the ninjutsu currently available in Konoha. Just thinking about some of the forbidden techniques was very troublesome."

Nawaki, still with the curious look of a child, asked, "Among the five Kage of the Five Great Nations, who is the strongest?"

An Yan was silent for a moment, and after thinking carefully, he said: "Ninja battles are battles of intelligence. It's hard to say. As it stands, the Fourth Kage are all young people. Let's not talk about them for now. Let's talk about the First Kage first. With the strength of Konoha, the First Kage, Hashirama Senju, pacified the chaotic world. If he hadn't thought that the current situation of the Five Great Nations was good, it wouldn't have been impossible for him to unify the ninja world."

The First Kage were all quite old and almost all died of old age. While Hashirama Senju was alive, everyone respected Konoha, and the world was at peace. After the First Kage's death, each of the major ninja villages considered itself the strongest, and no one would submit to the others, thus triggering the First Shinobi World War.

Yahiko asked curiously, "Why is it said that the First Hokage was the strongest?"

Yahiko grew up in the Land of Rain and had never heard of Hashirama Senju. Ignorance is bliss, hence his question.

An Yan smiled and said, "If you have time, you can go and take a look at the Valley of the End. That's where the First Generation fought."

Nawaki chimed in, "Among the first generation, my great-grandfather was undoubtedly the strongest, that's beyond doubt. But Professor Anyan, among the second generation, who is the strongest among the five great nations?"

An Yan reviewed the relevant information about the Second Kazekage of the Five Great Nations before saying, "The Land of Wind did not participate in the First Shinobi World War, so we don't know the strength of the Second Kazekage. However, Konoha fought against Iwa and Kumo. The Second Kazekage, Tobirama Senju, was roughly equal in strength to the Tsuchikage and Raikage, while the Mizukage later encountered the Tsuchikage by chance, and the two fought fiercely, resulting in their mutual destruction. Overall, apart from the Second Kazekage not participating, the four who did participate were roughly equal in strength."