"Of course it's stronger."
Uchiha Jinzō watched the gouge carved into the ground by his Wind Blade, pretending like it wasn't a big deal.
"Doesn't matter who invented it."
Truth was, he was a little shocked himself. With a jutsu like this, mowing down weaker enemies was almost too easy. Especially considering he hadn't been able to pull it off properly just last night.
"Hmph." Kushina hopped down from a tree with her usual smug grin. "That's nothing. Not even a tenth the power of a Tailed Beast Bomb."
Shame she couldn't actually use it right now. Thanks to the fox's extra seal, her chakra was tied up tight. Otherwise, she'd scare this cocky Uchiha half to death.
"Wanna learn it?" Jinzō turned to her with a wolfish smile.
Kushina blinked. "I—"
Of course she wanted to. Her chakra reserves weren't anywhere near enough for a Tailed Beast Bomb, but a powerful elemental ninjutsu? That she could get behind.
"Alright then," Jinzō said sweetly. "Call me 'dad' three times and I'll teach you."
"I'll kill you!!"
Kushina launched at him like a red-haired missile.
Too slow. Jinzō's foot shot out, faster than she could see. Next thing she knew, she was eating dirt, shoe prints stamped across her face.
Why can't I beat this jerk!?
She glared up at him, fantasizing about tearing him apart in full Nine-Tails mode.
Jinzō stuck his tongue out at her and waggled his fingers in mockery.
Unforgivable.
"Fight me for real, you damn Uchiha!!"
She charged again, but this time he didn't even bother. He just stood there, waiting until she nearly reached him, then slipped away with infuriating ease.
Kushina gritted her teeth, chakra sparking under her feet as she chased him harder. But no matter what she did, Jinzō was always a step ahead—perched on a stake, upside down in a tree, already grinning at her from somewhere else.
She couldn't touch him. Not even Minato could keep up with him, so what chance did she have?
"Come on, little cabbage, keep up!" Jinzō called over his shoulder.
"Cabbage!?" she shrieked, red-faced with fury.
Too bad. All her rage did nothing.
Minato, meanwhile, just sighed. Wasn't Jinzō supposed to be teaching them ninjutsu? How had this turned into a brawl? He had to step in.
"Alright, alright. That's enough, you two."
Kushina stopped only after Minato coaxed her down. She sulked, arms folded, while Jinzō sat smugly on top of a post.
"Okay, Minato, listen up. I'll walk you through the technique now."
At that, Kushina instantly forgot her anger. Minato whipped out a notebook and started scribbling, focused as ever.
The more Jinzō explained, the more Minato's eyes sharpened. An A-rank ninjutsu. Complex, flexible, adaptable. With more elemental affinities, it could even be pushed to S-rank.
Shame he only had Wind Release for now. Developing a second nature transformation would take years. Still, he was clearly fascinated.
Kushina, though? She wasn't lost at all—she looked like she was actually following along.
That threw Jinzō for a loop. He raised an eyebrow at her.
Kushina bared her teeth. "What are you looking at, huh?"
Right. He'd forgotten she trained sealing arts—insanely difficult, complex stuff. No wonder this didn't scare her. And as luck would have it, she had wind chakra too.
"Steel-Cutting Flash!" Minato shouted, swinging his kunai. A sharp wind blade sheared clean through a branch.
"Nice," Jinzō yawned from a tree, acting unimpressed.
Kushina, who had lent Minato chakra, stood fuming with a kunai in her hand. Even Minato looked embarrassed.
"Why the hell is this jutsu so damn hard!?" Kushina growled.
She wasn't here to play battery; she wanted to master it herself. But no matter how many times she tried, it wouldn't click.
"Maybe," Jinzō said slyly, "the problem is that Minato isn't normal."
Kushina froze, then slowly turned to glare at Minato with murder in her eyes.
"Th-that's not what he meant," Minato laughed awkwardly, rushing to explain the theory to her in detail.
Jinzō groaned dramatically, flopping backward. Seriously? Now they're flirting?
He'd been dreaming of a cute tsundere blond or a cool black-haired beauty. Instead, all he got was choking on secondhand couple vibes.
"You're here," a deep voice cut in.
Jiraiya dropped silently from above, landing without a sound. His eyes swept over the three of them—lingering on Jinzō, who looked almost grateful for the interruption.
Finally. Someone to save him from all this dog food.
Business first.
"Minato," Jiraiya said, "I've got something for you."
Minato pointed at himself, baffled. "Me? Jiraiya-sensei… why me?"
Of the three, he was the least likely to cause trouble. Kushina had the Nine-Tails. Jinzō was… well, Jinzō. Minato was just the quiet guy taking notes.
"Yes, you. It's winter now. I'll be taking you somewhere else to train."
"What about us!?" Kushina yelled. "We're a team, aren't we? That's not fair!"
"Favoritism!"
Jiraiya just chuckled, ruffling her hair. "Relax. I found teachers for you two as well. The most suitable ones."
"The most suitable teacher for me…?" Kushina frowned. She didn't really need a teacher—her sealing arts kept her busy enough. And unlike Jinzō's flashy jutsu, seals weren't exactly offensive weapons.
"Think about it," Jiraiya said with a smile, patting her shoulder. Then he motioned for Minato to follow.
"Hey, at least tell us when to regroup!" Jinzō protested as Jiraiya dragged Minato off.
"Oh—right, right." Jiraiya paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "After spring begins. Meet here."
His face hardened. "Train seriously. After spring, we're headed to the front lines."
"…What!?" Jinzō almost choked.
Kushina looked just as stunned.
"All of us?" Jinzō asked slowly.
"All of you." Jiraiya nodded grimly.
Jinzō sucked in a breath. The hell, old man Sarutobi? They're sending literal kids to the battlefield? What if Kushina loses control? What if I just 'accidentally' die and you check me off as one more useless Uchiha gone?
"Work hard," Jiraiya repeated before leaving.
Jinzō tilted his head back at the darkening sky. Yeah, he had a pretty good guess about who Jiraiya had chosen as their "teachers." But in the end, what did it matter? The battlefield didn't care about your background—it just chewed you up.
Kushina trudged home through the snow, forgetting even the basic ninja trick of leaving no footprints. Her breath puffed in the cold air. She tilted her head back, staring at the fading sunset.
"Who's supposed to be my teacher…?" she muttered, scratching her hair in frustration. Maybe another jinchūriki? Or someone from the Uzumaki clan?
Her heart sank at that thought. There weren't many of her clan left. Maybe only her.
By the time she reached her door, her mood had dropped—until her eyes widened.
"…I closed this door this morning."
She stepped inside, noticing unfamiliar shoes at the entrance. Her pulse quickened.
"Sister Tsunade! You're back!"
Sure enough, Tsunade was sprawled on the floor in a drunken heap, clothes loose, limbs thrown wide without a care in the world. She cracked an eye open, swayed twice, then waved lazily.
"Mm. Just back for a while."
Jinzō's voice cut in elsewhere. "Looks like Tsunade's your teacher, Kushina."
He vaulted cleanly over the fence into the Forest of Death, landing with practiced ease.
"And my teacher's Orochimaru. Guess I got the short end of the stick."
The forest grew unnervingly quiet as he walked deeper. Normally, it would be alive with roars and rustles. Now? Nothing.
He stopped, gaze narrowing on a tree.
"…Guess you've been waiting for me, huh?"
Someone was here. And whoever it was, they weren't friendly.