"Of course it's strong."
Uchiha Kin stared at the path split open by a wind blade.
"Who do you think created it?"
Truthfully, even he was surprised by its power. With this jutsu, defeating stronger opponents wouldn't be difficult.
But last night, it hadn't been this powerful.
"Hmph." Kushina, who had just dropped down from a tree, snorted arrogantly.
This level of power? Not even one-tenth of her Tailed Beast Bomb.
Too bad she couldn't use it—otherwise, she'd scare this damn Uchiha to death.
"Want to learn it?" Kin suddenly turned to Kushina with a mischievous grin.
"I—"
Kushina did want to learn it. Using a Tailed Beast Bomb required more chakra than she currently possessed, and now that damn fox had added another seal, making it impossible for her to steal its power.
A high-powered jutsu like this? Naturally, she was interested.
"Heh, call me 'Daddy' three times, and I'll teach you."
"I'LL KILL YOU!!"
Kushina charged at him! She rushed forward!!
The next moment—
Kin lifted his foot and kicked Kushina squarely in the chest with blinding speed.
All Kushina saw was a black blur before she was sent flying, landing flat on her back with a shoe print on her face, questioning her life choices.
Why can't I ever beat this guy?!
She glared hatefully at Kin, imagining herself going Nine-Tails mode and smashing this insufferable Uchiha to bits a thousand times in her mind.
Kin stuck out his tongue at her.
He never let grudges go unpaid.
"Fight me to the death, you damn Uchiha!"
Kushina charged again. This time, Kin didn't counterattack. He just stood there, waiting until she got close before using Shave to dodge.
Kushina gritted her teeth and used Shave to chase after him.
The two of them weaved back and forth across the rundown training ground.
Kin landed, and Kushina caught up—
But the moment she arrived, he was already perched atop a wooden post. She hurriedly used Shave to follow, only to find him hanging upside-down from a tree branch, smirking at her.
She couldn't even touch him. It was infuriating.
Even Namikaze Minato couldn't keep up with Kin, let alone Kushina.
Kin led her in circles around the training ground.
"Come and get me, little rookie."
Provoked by his taunts, Kushina grew even angrier, speeding up her pursuit.
But she couldn't even grab the hem of his clothes, left to seethe helplessly behind him.
It was utterly useless.
Minato stood to the side, sighing helplessly. Weren't we supposed to be learning a jutsu? How did this turn into a fight?
He used Shave to intercept Kushina.
"Alright, alright, that's enough."
As for Kin?
He couldn't catch him either. There was nothing he could do. After calming Kushina down for a while, she finally stopped, though still fuming.
Minato let out a deep sigh.
This team would fall apart without me.
Kin sat cross-legged on a wooden post, looking down at the two of them with a teasing grin.
"Listen up, Minato. I'm teaching you this jutsu now."
As Kin explained, Kushina finally stopped causing trouble. Minato pulled out a notebook and began taking notes seriously.
By the time Kin finished, Minato had already categorized the jutsu in his mind.
An A-rank technique.
Its principles were incredibly complex, yet its adaptability was remarkable. With additional elemental affinities, it could even be elevated to S-rank.
Unfortunately, he only had Wind Release for now. While ninjas could develop secondary or even tertiary elemental affinities through long-term training, Minato hadn't reached that level yet.
Surprisingly, Kushina wasn't confused at all. Instead, she looked deep in thought.
Kin found it strange.
Did someone replace her?
Seeing his expression, Kushina immediately knew what he was thinking and bared her teeth at him in warning.
Not that it did any good.
But then Kin remembered—Kushina had been training in sealing techniques, many of which were extremely advanced. It made sense.
Besides, she also had Wind Release chakra.
Though sealing techniques didn't require strong elemental affinities.
"Steel-Cutting Gale!"
A wind blade shot from Minato's kunai, slicing off a tree branch.
Kin lounged lazily on a tree stump nearby, yawning.
Kushina, who was supplying Minato with chakra, glared at her kunai with resentment.
It made Minato feel too guilty to keep using her chakra.
"Why is this damn jutsu so hard?!"
She wasn't here to be a training dummy—she was practicing too. But she still hadn't managed to pull it off even once.
The technique was just too difficult for her.
"Ever considered that maybe Minato's the abnormal one?" Kin suggested.
Kushina paused, then nodded vigorously, shooting Minato a murderous glare.
Minato smiled wryly. "That's not how you practice it."
He then began explaining the details to Kushina.
Kin scoffed and turned away.
I want a blonde tsundere girl too. Or a black-haired beauty.
But he hadn't met either around here.
Instead, he was stuck eating dog food.
Kushina and Minato were lost in their own world, oblivious to everything else. Sure, one was just teaching and the other learning, but Kin could smell the sickeningly sweet hormones in the air.
"Oh, here you are."
Jiraiya suddenly dropped down from above, landing soundlessly on the ground.
He met the trio's gazes—especially one particularly grateful stare.
Not everyone enjoys third-wheeling, you know.
Jiraiya blinked at Kin. Did I do something?
Shaking it off, he focused on the matter at hand.
"Minato, I need you for something."
Minato was confused. What could he possibly be needed for? Of the three of them, he was the least likely to have any urgent business.
He glanced at Kushina, then at the lazily sprawled Uchiha Kin.
One teammate had a powerful entity sealed inside her, and the other was a Konoha Uchiha.
Hesitantly, he pointed at himself.
"Jiraiya-sensei, what do you need me for?"
Jiraiya explained, "Winter's coming. I'm taking you somewhere else to train."
"What about us?!" Kushina shouted indignantly.
They were supposed to be a team! Why was Jiraiya only taking Minato?
"Jiraiya-sensei, you're playing favorites!"
"Now, now." Jiraiya patted Kushina's head. They were still just ten-year-olds, after all.
"I've already found the best teachers for you two."
"The best teacher for me?" Kushina frowned, unable to think of anyone suitable.
Not that she really needed a teacher—she still had sealing techniques to master.
But sealing techniques weren't exactly offensive.
Kin's Steel-Cutting Gale was great, but it didn't suit her.
"Think about it." Jiraiya gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before motioning for Minato to follow.
"Let's go, Minato."
Minato hurried after him.
"Hey, Jiraiya-sensei! At least tell us when we're regrouping!"
Kin called out to stop Jiraiya. If he just took Minato away like this, they wouldn't even know when to meet next.
Were they supposed to leave it to fate?!
This is why I can't stand fortune-tellers.
Jiraiya slapped his forehead. "Ah, right, my bad."
"Regroup here at the start of spring."
Then his expression turned serious.
"Train hard. We're heading to the front lines after winter."
"WHAT?!" Kin's jaw dropped.
He glanced at Kushina, only to see her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Kin's eye twitched as he turned back to Jiraiya.
"All of us?"
Jiraiya nodded.
"All of us."
Tch—! Kin sucked in a sharp breath.
Has Hiruzen completely lost his humanity?
They were just kids!
Sending them to the battlefield? What if something happened and they lost the Nine-Tails?
As for Uchiha Kin's fate—that old man probably thought it'd be better if he died.
"So train hard," Jiraiya emphasized again.
Kin stared blankly at the sky.
He'd already guessed who Jiraiya had arranged as their teachers.
But what good would that do?
The battlefield didn't care about backgrounds.
If anything, having a notable background might make them bigger targets.
Kushina trudged through the snow, leaving a trail of footprints behind her.
She'd completely forgotten the basic ninja training of moving without leaving traces.
Tilting her head up, she watched the setting sun, its light fading into dusk as a cold wind blew. The temperature was dropping.
"Who the heck is supposed to be my teacher?!"
She scratched her head in frustration. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure out who would be suitable.
If there really was someone, it'd have to be a jinchūriki or a member of the Uzumaki clan.
But at the thought of the Uzumaki, she let out a long sigh.
She might be the last one left.
Lost in melancholy, Kushina finally reached her doorstep—only to freeze when she saw the open door.
"I remember closing it this morning."
A realization struck her, and she hurried inside, her eyes lighting up at the pair of shoes neatly placed in the entryway.
She kicked off her own shoes haphazardly, not caring where they landed, and rushed into the house.
There, sprawled across the floor in loose clothing, was a woman dead drunk, her unrestrained posture revealing more than a little skin.
Drinking in broad daylight—she'd thrown all three shinobi prohibitions to the wind.
But Kushina didn't care about that. This woman filled her with joy.
"Tsunade-nee, you're back!"
Tsunade cracked open a bleary eye, swaying slightly as she pushed herself up and waved at Kushina.
"I'll be staying here for a while."
"So Jiraiya got Tsunade to teach Kushina, huh?"
Kin stood before the iron fence separating the training ground from the Forest of Death. With a light leap, he cleared it effortlessly, landing softly on the other side.
"And my teacher is Orochimaru. Like that wasn't obvious?!"
He grumbled about the unfair distribution. He'd already found Orochimaru himself!
He headed toward Orochimaru's hidden lab.
He'd skipped yesterday to rest.
As he ventured deeper into the Forest of Death, an eerie silence settled over the trees. Not a single sound disturbed the air.
"But why is it so quiet?"
Kin sighed tiredly.
He didn't even need to think to know the answer.
Normally, the Forest of Death was alive with the roars of beasts, especially at this time—when the sun was setting.
"Gentlemen, I assume you're here for me?"
His gaze locked onto a particularly dense cluster of trees.
Someone had come for him.
And they weren't friendly.
(End of Chapter)