After a long while, Kushina finally admitted defeat. She glanced at the stone-faced Yakumaru, then complained to Minato's shadow clone:
"Why are all the students you picked like this? Can't they be a little more cheerful?"
"Rin is pretty optimistic, isn't she?" Minato's shadow clone smiled helplessly.
"She used to be… Now she's not cheerful either."
Thinking about how the war had changed Minato's team, Kushina's mood sank.
War always meant loss…
Lately she'd been having nightmares—dreams where her future child also grew up gloomy like Kakashi. It left a bad taste in her heart.
If she couldn't change Kakashi and the Hyuga boy in front of her, how was she supposed to teach her own kid to stay optimistic?
Someone like Obito would be so much easier… She hoped her child could be as bright as him.
"…" Minato fell silent.
Kushina quickly perked back up and asked excitedly, "So why'd you call me here? To help you train your Hokage Guard Team?"
"I want you to use tailed-beast chakra to give them some protection. Space-time techniques are dangerous no matter what."
Minato's clone looked between Yakumaru and Yuu and said seriously:
"If something goes wrong during a transfer, it can cause severe physical damage. But with tailed-beast chakra, their durability increases—and their recovery improves too. It would help a lot."
"I see." Kushina nodded, then patted her chest. "Alright, leave it to me! Who's going first?"
"Kushina-sama, I'll go first!"
Uchiha Yakumaru spoke in a low, steady voice.
His face stayed calm—no hint of how impatient he really was.
But inside, he was thinking: I have to learn Flying Thunder God faster than Hyuga Yuu!
Kushina's gaze landed on Yakumaru, pausing a moment on his Sharingan. She muttered, "An Uchiha from Obito's clan… but he's nothing like him."
Yakumaru frowned—his expression finally moved.
"Of course I'm not like Obito."
He didn't want to be compared to the clan's famous dead-last—even if Obito was now a Konoha hero.
"Oh? Not like him?"
Daring to speak badly about Obito in front of her and Minato—did this kid not understand the room?
Then again, most Uchiha didn't understand the room. Obito had that problem too.
Kushina's eyes turned cold.
Scarlet chakra flared around her, and the air seemed to drop in temperature.
If you've got issues, you fix them.
Minato's clone started to smile awkwardly, about to smooth things over—
But Hyuga Yuu stepped forward first.
In Yakumaru's confused stare, Yuu patted his shoulder and said to Kushina:
"Kushina-sama, that's not what Yakumaru meant."
"He believes he failed to protect the Uchiha's honor. He lost to me, so he feels he doesn't deserve to be compared to a hero like Obito."
Yakumaru's eyes went wide.
What the hell is this guy saying?!
So in your eyes I'm worse than Obito, the dead-last?!
Minato also looked at Yuu like he was seeing him for the first time—then noticed Kushina's red chakra and immediately understood, smiling faintly.
He's scared she'll take it out on them during training…
Yuu ignored Yakumaru's furious glare and kept a blank face.
This is a rare chance to get close to Nine-Tails chakra. Don't mess it up.
Besides—whether as a villain or a hero, Yakumaru really was no match for Obito. Obito was extreme in both directions.
"I see—so that's what it was."
Kushina withdrew her chakra and smiled again. The oppressive atmosphere vanished instantly.
"Yakumaru, you and Yuu both wear that cold expression. I thought you meant you looked down on Obito for being a dead-last."
Yakumaru finally realized it too: the Fourth Hokage was Obito's teacher, and this woman was Obito's teacher's wife.
If he'd truly insulted Obito just now, wouldn't that be suicide?
Obito had died a hero—so why was everyone still clinging to the "dead-last" label?
"How could that be? I just… naturally keep a straight face."
Yakumaru forced a smile, swallowing his pride in humiliation.
"Good." Kushina nodded, satisfied.
She pulled out a ribbon and tied her vivid red hair into a high ponytail.
"Nine-Tails. Lend me some chakra."
Yuu had no idea what kind of "negotiations" the fox inside the seal endured, but the way Kushina's presence surged made one thing obvious:
It was absolutely a brutal beatdown.
After seizing the chakra, radiant golden light spread across Kushina's body. Golden markings appeared on her skin, and a cloak of chakra wrapped around her.
Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
It was the densest, most overwhelming chakra Yuu had ever seen.
"I've taken plenty of chakra from the Nine-Tails. Come on—both of you."
She made them hold her hands and channeled chakra into Hyuga Yuu and Uchiha Yakumaru.
In an instant, both of them were covered in bubbling, crimson chakra cloaks.
So this is the Nine-Tails' power…
Yuu clenched his fist, feeling the explosive chakra, quietly awed.
Konoha at this time was terrifyingly strong.
Two of the Sannin were still in their prime. The Third still had real strength. The Fourth and his wife were far above ordinary Kage-level fighters.
Guy was already on the path toward the Eight Gates peak.
And the younger generation still had two Uchiha prodigies developing.
This level of power and potential was absurd—if Konoha didn't self-destruct, the other villages would forever remain beneath it.
"Kushina-sama," Yuu asked, "there's still plenty of Nine-Tails chakra—can you give some to my shadow clones too?"
"You want to train with your clones?"
Kushina's golden glow dimmed slightly. She glanced at Minato—seeing he didn't object—then agreed.
"Fine. Sure."
It was the Nine-Tails' chakra anyway. If she ran out, she'd just take more. She didn't care.
Yuu produced four shadow clones. All four ran off wearing chakra cloaks to train.
Yakumaru's eyes widened. He immediately used Shadow Clone Jutsu and created five clones.
"Wait—Kushina-sama! Mine too!"
"Alright." Kushina sighed with a helpless smile.
After the two of them and their clones disappeared into the distance, Kushina turned to Minato with a grin.
"Now this one's the real body?"
"Yeah." Minato's real self had arrived without anyone noticing. He smiled. "I came to keep you company for a bit."
With Flying Thunder God, slipping out of the Hokage Tower without anyone knowing was easy.
Kushina's smile softened—but her mouth still complained:
"Don't sweet-talk me. You're only here because Hokage work isn't important."
"All Hokage work is important." Minato shook his head. "But this time it's special. I got word from the front—Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen vanished from the battlefield. I need to set up defenses outside the village."
"Huh? Don't tell me they're planning to—"
"Exactly. They probably think Konoha just went through a Hokage transition, with handovers and paperwork everywhere—so there'll be a security gap. They want to cash in."
"And maybe they want to reduce pressure on the front lines too. Jiraiya-sensei already moved the advance forces to support the Mist front. Against two Sannin, Kirigakure must be under huge strain."
Minato confirmed her guess.
"The Mist spy Yakumaru captured already talked—Yamanaka interrogation pulled out the details of the attack plan. I need to prepare in advance."
"I see… Do you need me too?"
"No." A cold glint flashed in Minato's eyes. "If they come, not a single one of them is leaving Konoha alive."
In the distance, Hyuga Yuu—Byakugan active—was also watching them. Reading their lips, he raised an eyebrow.
From facing Eight-Gates Dai to facing Minato… maybe even getting tag-teamed by the Fourth and Kushina?
Hard to say which would be "better" for the Swordsmen.
Still—it was a perfect chance to collect personal intel on top-tier fighters. And it could also keep Dai-sensei from dying.
With an idea forming, Yuu returned to training.
He threw a marked Flying Thunder God kunai at a distant tree, then tried to transfer a shadow clone to it.
Sha—
A short, sharp screech.
The clone's outline flickered for a split second—then failed to move at all.
Watching with Byakugan, Yuu's eyes flashed faint blue. His movement stopped.
"Hey." Yakumaru's voice snapped Yuu out of it.
Yakumaru smirked. "You always train with shadow clones, don't you? I can make one more clone than you—just wait. I'll surpass you!"
Yuu's real body glanced at him and said flatly, "Try it. Maybe tomorrow I won't even see you anymore."
"…???"
Yakumaru stared, completely lost.
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