"The first mission is cleaning the river!"
Minato Namikaze unrolled a D-rank mission scroll, then led the members of Team Three to a riverside, carrying tools (the village was huge, with lots of open space).
The three young ninja carried bamboo baskets on their backs and trash-picking tongs in their hands.
They were all a bit bewildered — especially Kakashi, who was only six this year (having entered the academy at five); the basket on his back was nearly as tall as he was.
Akira Sato was over a head taller than Kakashi, but no one said anything about letting Kakashi rest.
After all, ninjas don't get special treatment just because of age.
Thanks to chakra, even the smallest kid isn't necessarily easy to mess with.
"Next, if you focus steadily on releasing chakra from the soles of your feet… you can stand on the water like this."
As Minato spoke, he stepped calmly onto the surface of the river, his body steady as if walking on solid ground.
This was the water-walking technique — another key application of chakra control.
Once a ninja mastered it, they could fight on water, and rivers or lakes couldn't block their path anymore.
You had to admit, Konoha's training system was thorough.
Early on, not only were there jonin instructors to pass on experience, but various missions gave real-world practice — no wonder Konoha could hold its own during the Great Ninja Wars.
Not just because they had numbers, but because their quality was solid too.
"Yes, Minato-sensei!" ×3
The three started trying.
But their results varied.
Kakashi was astonishingly steady — he didn't seem like a seven-year-old at all.
Koji Yamakawa wobbled a bit, but he managed to stay upright on the water, clearly having practiced before.
Minato frowned slightly.
'Who taught him already?' he wondered.
The academy teachers definitely didn't cover water-walking.
For most students, who barely had any chakra, it was more important to build up their reserves, so the school didn't focus on control techniques.
— SPLASH! —
Akira Sato plunged headfirst into the river.
"Akira!"
Koji quickly reached out to help but forgot he was barely balancing himself; he was instantly dragged into the water too.
"Kakashi, they're your teammates. Shouldn't you help them?"
Minato looked gently but seriously at the white-haired boy standing calmly on the water.
He knew all about Kakashi's father's situation — and that Danzo wanted to mold Kakashi into a Root weapon. That's why the Third Hokage had asked Minato to take him on.
And importantly, being called a "disciple" was different from just being a student.
A disciple could inherit the master's will, techniques, and everything.
Under Minato's protection, Danzo wouldn't dare touch Kakashi.
Minato also suspected the Third might want him to take on Akira Sato as a disciple too.
There was no stronger protection than having a top-tier ninja as your master.
"…!"
Kakashi stayed silent.
At this point, he hadn't emerged from the darkness left by his father's death.
If it had been Obito or Rin, he might have helped, but Akira and Koji were just new teammates…
This was the reality of the ninja world — not like in the anime, where every "good guy" was endlessly kind and selfless.
Fortunately, the river wasn't fast or deep, so they easily climbed back onto shore.
This section was specifically chosen for genin to practice water-walking, so it was safe.
"Cough, cough!"
Akira Sato crawled onto the bank, spitting out mouthfuls of water.
He'd swallowed a few gulps, but luckily the water was pretty clean — otherwise, gross.
"Akira, you okay?"
Koji asked with concern, soaked head to toe.
After all, Akira had taught him and Honda Taka tree-climbing and water-walking methods before, using Uchiha training as an excuse. Had he really forgotten now?
"I'm… I'm fine!"
Akira waved slightly.
He had simply lost control because his chakra had recently surged, making it hard to handle.
It was like suddenly gaining several times your usual strength — of course you'd stumble a bit at first.
But once he realized the issue, he just needed to be more careful.
They spent the whole morning finishing the D-rank mission, then ate lunch by the river before beginning formal training.
"Kakashi, your body's still developing, so I'll focus on giving you combat experience!"
Minato laid out his training plan.
"Yes, sensei."
Kakashi gave a quiet nod.
He didn't lack technique or jutsu — only real combat experience. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been blocked by Akira's summoned beast in the earlier test.
"Koji, your basics are solid, so I'll teach you the C-rank Wind Release: Gale Palm. Want to learn it?"
Minato asked Koji.
Passing on jutsu was strictly regulated — you couldn't just teach whatever you liked.
Only self-created or independently acquired techniques could be freely taught.
Otherwise, you faced punishment.
"Thank you, Minato-sensei!"
Koji nodded excitedly, visibly thrilled.
This was one of the big perks of having a jonin leader.
And that was just as a squad leader — if you became a formal disciple, you could inherit everything from your teacher.
In the ninja world, the bond between master and disciple was often even closer than family.
Of course, there was also a dangerous pattern: master-killing.
The Third Hokage and Orochimaru, Orochimaru and Sasuke, Nagato and Jiraiya, Minato and Obito…
Notice a trend? Many top ninjas were killed by their own students.
Though to be fair, that mostly happened in the "Hokage circle." Other master-student pairs weren't necessarily so deadly.
"Akira, for you, I'll teach the C-rank Fire Release: Flame Bullet."
Minato selected a jutsu for Akira.
To be clear, he wasn't neglecting Kakashi by not teaching him new jutsu — Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake, had left him plenty already.
"Thank you, Minato-sensei."
Akira Sato was excited.
He had always been fascinated by ninjutsu.
Before, even after all his efforts, the only thing he'd managed to acquire was the Summoning Technique. Now, at last, he could learn a real offensive ninjutsu.
But only once you started learning ninjutsu did you realize how complicated it was.
It wasn't just about memorizing hand signs.
The key was controlling the chakra's flow path.
And making chakra move quickly through your tenketsu points was no small feat.
In the anime, characters learned jutsu fast — but in the real ninja world, that was impossible.
What, you thought learning jutsu was "plot armor only"?
If it were that easy, most genin wouldn't be stuck knowing almost no C-rank jutsu, and even chunin often only mastered one or two.
Realistically, it took weeks or even years to master a C-rank or higher jutsu — at least when self-taught.
Having a teacher made it much faster.
Here's where having lots of chakra became an advantage.
For example, Koji used up all his chakra just trying out the Gale Palm once.
Akira, on the other hand, could practice several times before running dry.
The more chakra you had, the faster you could master jutsu.
That's why Naruto, with his massive reserves, could quickly learn A-rank techniques like the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu — he could just keep trying over and over.
Akira, compared to Koji, was in the same boat: progressing dozens of times faster.
In fact, within half a day, he made the progress Koji would have needed a month to reach — even Minato was surprised.
Akira's chakra reserves were only a few times bigger than Koji's.
But the nature-energy-enhancing serum he'd taken recently, crafted using the future "Fusang Tree," gave him a big advantage in fire techniques.
By evening, Akira had basically learned the Flame Bullet.
Future Naruto mastered an A-rank jutsu in under half an hour at this age — so Akira learning a C-rank jutsu in half a day wasn't so crazy, right?
Hmm, still a bit embarrassing for a reincarnator though.
As dusk approached, Akira, who had been training alone, decided to head home to rest.
Sure, his dream was to coast through life.
But now that people were watching him, he had to strengthen himself.
He definitely didn't want to face danger with no choice but to give up.
However, as he passed through a patch of forest, he heard something…
(To be continued)