Hiss… It hurts, it hurts!
This was a one sided beating.
Kushina was strong. Her brute strength was terrifying. She could swing kids her age around and slam them down, and if she got mad enough, she could even turn it around on a freshly graduated genin.
But in front of Yami, she was still too green.
She had strength, but no structure. Her attacks were straight and obvious, like she was practically telling her opponent what she was about to do.
Yami did not even need to crush her with speed. He did not need to rely on reaction time to dodge, either. He simply used basic deflection and force redirection, neutralized every strike, then beat the round faced girl down without mercy.
Before long, Kushina had a few bruises on her face, but she still looked cute. She slumped on the ground, sucking in air like crazy.
"You're really weak. Didn't you say you were good at fighting?" Yami mocked down at her from above, though a faint smile hung on his face, like he did not even realize it was there.
"Hmph! Don't get cocky. I was just careless!" Kushina yelled, covering her bruised cheek, completely unconvinced.
"I hope your body is as tough as your mouth."
Yami gave a contemptuous grin, then crouched in front of her and spoke in a hard tone.
"Move your hand."
"Y You… what are you doing?"
Kushina's eyes widened. She stared at him, her face reddening as her imagination ran wild.
Yami reached out. A green glow suddenly covered his palm.
His hand hovered beside her cheek, less than two centimeters away, and a gentle warmth flowed over her face like a hot towel.
The swelling and the slight pain vanished quickly.
Through the green light, Kushina's deep blue eyes stared blankly at Yami's serious expression. Her heart began thumping hard.
Even though the pain faded, she felt her cheeks getting even hotter.
"…Done."
Yami acted like he had not noticed her expression at all. After using the most basic medical technique to heal her face, he stood up, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked away.
Kushina snapped out of it and hurried after him.
This time, she did not trail behind. She moved up beside him, shoulder to shoulder, and gathered her courage.
"Does that count as getting to know each other through a fight?"
"It doesn't. That was just you getting beaten up," Yami replied coolly.
Kushina's eyes darted. Then she puffed up in anger.
"I told you, I was just careless. And I didn't eat anything today. I'm starving, I don't have any strength or energy. If you've got guts, fight me again tomorrow. I definitely won't lose again!"
Yami did not answer. He only turned his head and gave her a look of pure disdain, like he was saying, You?
Kushina tilted her head up, glaring at Yami, who was almost a full head taller than her.
"Well? Are you scared to fight? You're not chickening out, are you?"
Her provocation worked.
Yami sneered. "I hope you don't cry tomorrow."
"That's my line!"
Kushina, just like Naruto during his reckless phase, did not care whether she could win. The important thing was to bring the momentum.
After leaving the woods, Yami did not head straight back to school. He went to a shop outside and bought a few breads.
He tossed one to Kushina without saying anything, then walked toward the academy.
Kushina caught the bread, her eyes instantly heating up. She stared at Yami's back, and her affection for him shot up.
So he really was cold on the outside, warm on the inside!
Her lips kept curling upward. She tore open the wrapper while following after him.
They did not say a word. They just ate quietly.
Compared to classmates who brought boxed lunches, this kind of meal was unbelievably shabby.
But Kushina ate it with pure happiness.
From the shadows, Minato watched the two of them, his heart full of envy.
If he had helped her first, would the person walking beside Kushina right now have been him?
…
After the Senju fully merged into Konoha, the high walls surrounding their old clan grounds had been torn down long ago. Over the years, that huge territory had become just another part of the village.
Now, the only place that still represented the Senju was a single traditional residence. It was home to Konoha's strongest, and also Tsunade and Nawaki's home, and the place where Kushina was temporarily staying.
Tsunade had just returned from her shift at the hospital when she heard the sound of sparring from the courtyard.
When she reached the engawa, the first thing she saw was Mito sitting in a chair with a blanket over her legs.
Mito did not look like someone with only a year or two left.
With the Yin Seal, she still felt deep and unfathomable.
And with the Nine-Tails and the ability to enter Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, she truly was Konoha's strongest, and arguably the strongest in the entire world.
After all, Madara was also old now, and the Rinnegan was not even in his possession.
Tsunade walked to Mito's side. Watching Kushina and Nawaki trading taijutsu, she asked curiously, "Grandma, how did you talk Kushina into it? Her change today is completely different from yesterday."
Mito smiled. "She met a good child."
"Oh, right. She went to the academy today. So she made a friend?" Tsunade realized, then grew interested. "In less than a day she's like a different person, and she's even pushing herself to spar with Nawaki. Is her friend a boy or a girl?"
"A very good boy," Mito said, giving unusually high praise.
Just like Hiruzen had been watching Kushina's first day closely, Mito had been watching too.
She did not have the crystal viewing technique, but after the Second Hokage's death, no one in the world could rival Mito's sensing ability. She had Kagura Mind's Eye, and after merging with the Nine-Tails, she also possessed emotion sensing.
A child's good and evil were the easiest things to read.
The malice from the classmates toward Kushina as an outsider, and the goodwill Minato and Yami felt toward her, were all clear to Mito.
The one who drew Mito's attention the most was Yami.
From that child, she sensed a very special chakra fluctuation.
Ordinary sensing could not catch it. Even for her, it was something she could only barely "see."
It was somewhat similar to her husband's sage chakra, yet fundamentally different. Instead, it felt closer to the nature transformation of bloodline limits like Lava Release or Ice Release.
But users of those bloodline limits only transformed their chakra into that nature when they performed techniques.
The energy inside that child was separated within the body, like sage chakra.
It was not produced from the brain, so it was not yin chakra.
Could it be some special yang based bloodline limit?
Mito was curious, but she had no intention of digging deeper.
Emotion sensing did not lie. She only needed to know that Yami held no malice toward Kushina, only goodwill.
And her time was running out. Mito only wanted to spend her final days with family and her people.
Tsunade, of course, did not know what her grandmother was thinking.
When she heard it was a boy who had changed Kushina, Tsunade could not help showing a gossiping smile. She rolled up her sleeves.
"No wonder she's training so hard. Looks like she met a strong rival. Let me give her a hand."
With that, Tsunade walked over and began guiding both Kushina and Nawaki at the same time.
(End of Chapter)
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