"And while Konoha is busy with Iwa," Shota continued, "we strike Iwa where and when they least expect us to."
The room went silent. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, leaned back in his chair. The two elders, Haran Gisei and Tōjūrō, exchanged glances. Jonin Commander Kenta scratched his spiky hair, his usual scowl replaced by a thoughtful frown.
Haran Gisei broke the silence with a smile that made Shota's skin crawl. It was the kind of smile that lingered too long, like Gisei was sizing him up for something weird.
Shota's mind raced. 'I don't swing that way,' he thought, 'and even if I did, you're way too old, grandpa. Keep those creepy vibes to yourself.' He kept his face neutral, but inwardly he shuddered, imagining Gisei offering him a lollipop or something equally unsettling.
Rasa's voice cut through the tension. "Your suggestion will be considered in the next council meeting about the war. But let's move to another topic. You managed to copy Minato Namikaze's jutsu, the Rasengan?"
Shota nodded, his heart picking up speed. He'd expected this question.
"Show me," Rasa said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Shota took a breath and stepped forward. He'd removed his veil when they returned to Suna, so everyone could see his face. He focused his chakra, letting it pool in his hand.
A blue orb of spinning energy formed, the Rasengan humming softly. He kept his expression blank, as if forming an A-rank jutsu was no big deal. Inside, he was smirking.
'Aura farming success,' he thought.
The room erupted in stunned silence. The chunins and Jonin had now properly witnessed him perform the jutsu closely had some funny reactions. They could see how difficult this jutsu was.
The chunin behind him gaped, their jaws practically hitting the floor. The jonin leader blinked rapidly, like he was trying to process what he'd just seen. Tōjūrō's thin frame went rigid, his eyes bulging like a startled owl. Even Rasa's usually stoic face twitched.
'It really is a sealless jutsu,' Rasa thought. 'And it looks powerful. He copied it in seconds.'
He leaned forward, locking eyes with Shota. "Explain how you managed to learn such a complex jutsu in… just seconds."
Shota shrugged, his face still nonchalant. "It just naturally happened. I saw him do it, and it clicked in me. I put chakra in my hand, rotated it, and boom....Rasengan."
The room went dead silent again, but this time it was the kind of silence where everyone was screaming internally.
Tōjūrō's mouth opened, then closed, like a fish gasping for air. "Clicked in me, my ass!" he blurted, his voice cracking. "An A-rank jutsu doesn't just 'click'! What's next, you're going to say you learned it by sneezing?"
'Thats not a bad idea if I ever get some cool wind style jutsu, I might use this reason.' Shota thought
Kenta snorted, finally unsticking his hand from his hair. "Kid, you expect us to believe you just 'boomed' a jutsu that probably took the Yellow Flash years to make?" He laughed, but it came out more like a nervous bark, like he wasn't sure if he was impressed or insulted.
Haran Gisei tilted his head, his creepy smile widening. "Clicked, huh? I bet you could 'click' your way into rewriting the entire jutsu archive while you're at it."
He chuckled, but it sounded like he was half-serious, which made Shota's stomach twist again. 'Please stop looking at me like that,' Shota thought, fighting the urge to inch away.
The jonin leader coughed, trying to say something. "He's… gifted," he said, but even he sounded like he didn't fully believe it. The chunin nodded, though one of them muttered, "Clicked? I can't even get my C rank Wind Release to click after a month."
Rasa raised a hand, silencing the room. His eyes stayed on Shota. No one doubted Shota was a genius. The Rasengan, the copied scroll, the way he'd held his own against Minato Namikaze, it all pointed to a prodigy.
What they didn't know was that Shota hadn't learned the Rasengan in seconds. He'd spent four years grinding in secret, using his knowledge from his past life to master it by using Rubber ball and water balloon and how Jiraiya taught it to Naruto.
He'd waited for the perfect moment to reveal it, and that battlefield stunt had been it. 'Like hell I'm giving them my training method for free,' he thought. 'These Suna guys are so stingy. They haven't even given me a B-rank jutsu yet and expect me to give them how to do Rasengan just like that.'
As if reading his mind, Rasa spoke. "For successfully completing missions, Aizawa Shota, you can pick an B-rank jutsu from the archive. Consider it a reward."
Shota's heart leaped, but he kept his face calm. "There's no need, Kazekage-sama. It was my duty to the village."
Rasa's brow twitched, like he wasn't used to being turned down. "And this duty deserves a reward," he countered.
"No, no, don't worry about it," Shota said, waving a hand.
"Please, I insist," Rasa said, his voice firm but with a hint of frustration.
Shota paused, then grinned. "Okay, I accept," he said, a tad too eagerly.
"..."
"..."
The shift was so fast that the others took two seconds to process what he said. His eyes lit up, and he leaned forward like a kid who'd just been offered free candy.
The room froze. Tōjūrō's eyes twitched.
'He went from 'oh, no, I'm humble' to 'gimme the jutsu' in two seconds flat!'
Haran tried to hold back his laughter.
'Kid is slicker than a sand snake. He acted all noble, then snatching the prize like he planned it all along shamelessly. I like it. He is trouble, but I like it.'
Shota's gramps from Earth had always told him that you never accepted someone's invitation the first two times. Politeness demanded you had to reject the first two and only then you could accept it the third time.
Rasa picked up a piece of paper from his desk and stamped it with the Kazekage's seal. "You can go to the jutsu catalogue in the archives to collect the jutsu," he said, handing the paper to Shota. "This is your approval."
Shota bowed, clutching the paper like it was a winning lottery ticket. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama," he said, his voice steady despite the excitement bubbling inside. He turned and left the room. The jonin and the other two chunin followed.
His mind wandered to his sister, waiting at home with their cat. She'd probably demand the whole story, down to every detail of how he faced Minato and walked away alive. He grinned, imagining her wide-eyed reaction. 'Gotta make it sound cooler than it was,' he thought. 'Maybe leave out the part where I got stuck in the ground.'