[Minato Column 4] Inheriting Minato's Ninjutsu: Training

This column series will look back on the life and adventures of Minato Namikaze to celebrate the publication of Masashi Kishimoto's new one-shot manga, Naruto: The Whorl Within the Spiral, available in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 33!

Today's article is the fourth of the series, and will cover how the ninjutsu Minato developed was passed down to his son, Naruto!

Naruto meets Minato's old teacher, Jiraiya, and joins him on a research trip.
The two visit a city, and Jiraiya shows off an incredibly powerful ninjutsu while driving off some troublemakers.

Jiraiya's jutsu spins and blows back his opponents upon impact!
Shortly after, Naruto begins training to learn this amazing move for himself!

The first assignment Jiraiya gives Naruto is to rotate the water inside the balloon using chakra until it pops!

Naruto quickly succeeds at rotating the water with chakra, but finds himself struggling to create enough force to break the balloon.

Giving in to his disciple's plea for guidance, Jiraiya checks the direction of Naruto's hair whorl and gives him a hint.

When manipulating chakra, everyone unconsciously swirls their own energy, and the direction of that movement varies from person to person.

Jiraiya suggests that Naruto visualize the water inside the balloon rotating in the same direction as his internal energy to create a better flow of chakra.

Along with this advice, Jiraiya also reveals a surprising fact about the jutsu!

Jiraiya informs Naruto that this ninjutsu was originally created by the Fourth Hokage, who took a full three years to perfect it, and that it's a level five out of six, "A-rank super-advanced ninjutsu".

Naruto is stunned upon hearing the difficulty of what he's attempting, but quickly recovers and continues training, showcasing his trademark strength: the guts to never give up.

Three days after hearing Jiraiya's hint, Naruto is no closer to a breakthrough.
But then, he finds inspiration from an unexpected source, and finally succeeds in completing the first step!

He owes his sudden accomplishment to a cat he saw batting the balloon back and forth!
By holding it in his left hand and constantly changing the position of his right while releasing chakra, he moves the water in a variety of directions, causing a wild rotation strong enough to rupture the balloon!

Utilizing the creativity that earned him his maverick reputation, Naruto moves on to the next step of his training!

State two requires Naruto to burst a rubber ball, which Jiraiya tells him is 100 times stiffer than a water balloon. It's about power, not just rotation, and the lack of water inside the ball makes the visualization and movement of chakra more difficult.

Several days' worth of attempts takes a toll on Naruto's hands and arms.

But instead of giving up, Naruto realizes the pain is a reliable way to measure his chakra output, and by taking advantage of this insight he manages to make a small hole in the ball!

To reward Naruto for the progress he's made on his own, Jiraiya buys popsicles for the two of them.
In addition, he gives him a hint for the second state as well: Focusing chakra on a single point will help draw out incredible power.

Keeping Jiraiya's hint in mind, and remembering the words of Iruka, his teacher at the Ninja Academy, Naruto concentrates like never before!

Raising his chakra to an impressive level, he explodes the ball and completes the second part of his training!

That's all for this time!
Check back tomorrow (7/23 JST) for part five: Inheriting Minato's Ninjutsu: Completion and Evolution!

Article and Composition: Yuichi Ohba (Caramel mama)