'Sage', redeem 'Rasengan'.
'Plans can't keep up with changes. It's time to meet our Mr. "Yellow Flash".'
[YES]
[REDEEMING "RASENGAN"]
[REDEMPTION SUCCESSFUL.]
A familiar white light entered the center of his brow. The mental space unfolded.
The waves of clouds surged, coalescing into a "large-sized" Naruto: yellow hair, blue eyes, wearing a blue combat suit underneath a cloak imprinted with the words "Fourth Hokage".
The moment he saw Sean, before Sean could even say hello, a golden flash zipped by. Minato Namikaze appeared in front of Sean, grabbed his hand, and said excitedly, "Mr. Sean, thank you for calling me!"
Sean: "?"
He was completely confused. 'If I remember correctly, this is our first time meeting, Mr. Minato.'
'A Hokage with no sense of personal boundaries. Just as expected from the sunny, airheaded type who gives his moves special names.'
Sean looked at Minato Namikaze in surprise.
Minato chuckled, acting overly familiar. "This is the first time meeting, but the second time knowing of you."
"We already heard your great name from Senior Tobirama back in the Pure Land."
'Tobirama?' Sean understood. 'In the world of Naruto, souls return to the Pure Land after death. It's not strange for Minato to meet Tobirama.'
'But wait... what does he mean by "we"?'
As if sensing Sean's confusion, Minato patted his hand. "This is exactly why I need to thank you, Sean!"
"Senior Hashirama, Senior Tobirama, Grand-teacher, and I made a bet to see who you would call next."
"Clearly, my skills were superior, haha..."
'Got it. The four of you Kage are so bored after death that you gathered for a game of mahjong, is that it?'
'Who knew Tobirama Senju was such a big mouth?' Sean rolled his eyes and said jokingly, "Sorry, Mr. Minato. I didn't call you because your skills were superior."
"It's because you're cheap."
'If I had the capital, who wouldn't want to redeem "Wood Style", "Edo Tensei", or "Dead Demon Consuming Seal"? I just don't have the "money".'
Huh? The smile moved from Minato's face to Sean's. Mr. Yellow Flash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I seem to have gotten a little overexcited."
"I've made a fool of myself."
'When a sunny, handsome guy apologizes, you can't help but feel a sense of guilt.'
Sean pouted, conjuring two bowls of ramen with a flick of his hand. He glanced at Minato. "Want to slurp some noodles?"
"Of course!" Minato grinned, pulling a bowl to himself. "Who could refuse Ichiraku's ramen?"
"Sean, Senior Tobirama asked me to tell you, next time you call him, please get him a few more bowls."
'That depends on when I can save up for "Flying Thunder God".' Sean picked up his chopsticks and started slurping, suddenly remembering Minato's "Grand-teacher".
He asked Minato with a mischievous grin, "Since you saw the Third, did you beat him up?"
"Allowing little Naruto to be ostracized by the village... even if there was a reason to protect him, it's unforgivable, right?"
Minato's hand, holding the noodles, froze. He looked at Sean, dumbfounded. "Didn't Grand-teacher say he all but worshipped Naruto?"
"He also said everyone in the village was very good to Naruto and never let him suffer any grievances. Was that all a lie?"
'Heh! That crafty Third Hokage.' Sean sneered inwardly and looked at Minato with pity, sighing. "I don't know what Hiruzen Sarutobi told you..."
"But from what I know, Naruto has suffered plenty of grievances and a lot of bullying."
"The poor little guy is cursed at daily by the villagers as the incarnation of the 'Demon Fox'."
"Eating instant ramen, drinking expired milk, and even being chased and having stones thrown at him... Tsk. How tragic!"
Crash The bowl shattered, noodles spilling. Minato stood up abruptly, his face dark. He tossed a scroll to Sean and walked silently towards the depths of the sea of clouds.
"Hey! Aren't you going to ask your questions?" Sean yelled at Minato's fading back.
Minato dived into the clouds, leaving one last sentence, his teeth gritted: "Ask? How can I not ask?"
"I'm going back to ask that old bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi why he had to treat my son like that!"
"I never failed Konoha in the slightest!"
Whoosh The waves of clouds surged, drowning Minato's figure.
Sean calmly finished his noodles, smacking his lips. He figured he probably wouldn't be able to redeem the "Dead Demon Consuming Seal" anytime soon.
'Given Minato's current attitude, plus Kushina... it's not even certain if Hiruzen Sarutobi will ever be seen again.'
'But none of that had anything to do with him, Sean.'
He grasped the scroll and opened it. All the training methods and experience related to the "Rasengan" flooded into his mind.
Consciousness returned. A flash of understanding hit Sean. He walked expressionlessly between Maha and Tsubone, grabbed a glass of water, and placed it in his palm. Using the method for activating chakra, he activated his "Nen".
A milky-white "Nen" aura roared out. Right under the noses of Maha and Tsubone, it forced the water to start spinning around the wall of the glass!
Swish The water spun. Maha's and Tsubone's old eyes spun right along with it!
'What the hell! It really is "spinning water". Don't tell me the master has been teaching the young master for a long time?'
'No wonder the young master so confidently told me to book tickets. So, the master misled me...'
Tsubone stole a glance at Maha. The old bastard's mouth was twitching, his small, withered body trembling faintly.
'He was trying hard not to lose his composure, but inwardly he was cursing up a storm!'
'What the FUCK! It really is something anyone with hands can do? Sean... if you do this, you'll make your grandpa look like trash.'
"Hehe... learning it just by watching once. As expected of my, Maha's, grandson. You have three-tenths of my style back in the day."
After a moment of stunned silence, Maha took a deep breath, stood on his tiptoes, and patted Sean's shoulder. Feeling greatly comforted, he glared at Tsubone. "What are you still kneeling for?"
"Do I have to help you up?!"
"Can't you see the young master is getting impatient?"
"Ah... oh." Tsubone scrambled up from the ground, her mind buzzing.
'What does "learning it just by watching once" mean? Did Young Master Sean really learn "spinning water" in just an instant?'
'So I was wrong all along?!'
The pink-haired gorilla felt her intelligence wasn't enough for this, stiffly following Sean out of the room.
After they left, a gasp was heard from outside the window. White hair fanning out, Zeno appeared, hands behind his back.
Watching the retreating backs of Sean and Tsubone, he murmured, "Grandfather, it seems I was right!"
"This kid, Sean, just can't be judged by common sense. Now you can eat that book."
'I'll eat your grandma!'
"Scram!" Maha lifted a foot and sent Zeno packing. 'You damn dog, who gave you the courage to act tough in front of me?'
'Do you really think you're Sean!'
"Hmph. Ptooey."
T/N: Please have a look at my new novel (Minecraft: Transmutation Tablet & Group Chat)