"Am I really such a narrow-minded person?"
Kushina hung her head, a wave of guilt washing over her as she remembered her prejudices against Tatsuma and Minato. Uzumaki Mito gently patted the back of her head.
"Everyone is narrow-minded in their own way," Mito said softly. "Take Minato—his focus is so narrow that he prefers only to see the light. Or Tatsuma—his narrowness manifests as an obsession with winning. A truly unbiased, 'broad' heart is not something meant for mortals."
Mito was subtly moving the goalposts with her explanation, but Kushina didn't catch the nuance. She simply nodded, then said with a sigh of envy, "Grandma Mito, I wish I could read people's emotions as clearly as you do."
Hearing this, Mito's hand instinctively drifted toward her navel. She looked at the innocent, unknowing Kushina with a smile that carried a trace of weary resignation.
"You envy it? Sometimes, child, it is nothing but a burden."
Mito's murmur was so low that even Kushina, standing right beside her, couldn't catch the words. Kushina looked up, about to ask her to repeat herself, but Mito gave her a gentle nudge on the shoulder. As she pushed Kushina forward, she retracted the chakra link she had established and laughed.
"It's time for you to train as well. If you don't, the gap between you and those two will only widen."
Kushina assumed Mito was talking about the power gap between her and those two "bastards." With an indignant huff, she charged toward the spectating Minato.
"Minato Namikaze! You're my opponent today!"
Minato blinked, startled. His opponent? He hadn't even made a move. Why did she sound like a hero challenging a villain? But before he could process the logic, Kushina's fist was already inches from his face. He ducked and swerved, shouting, "Wait! We have to form the Seal of Confrontation first!"
"So annoying!"
Despite her grumbling, Kushina stopped and held up the seal.
Uzumaki Mito watched the scene with a smile, though it slowly faded as she watched Nawaki and Kushina get slammed into the dirt by Tatsuma and Minato over and over again. After all, these were her biological grandson and the girl she treated as her own granddaughter. As much as she liked Tatsuma and Minato, it was hard to keep smiling while they were systematically dismantling her family.
When her smile vanished completely, she decided she'd seen enough. She stood up and headed toward Tsunade's room. Her younger brother and future disciple were out here bleeding and sweating, yet Tsunade—the future teacher—was still asleep. It was simply unacceptable.
As nine o'clock approached, the training session ended. Tatsuma and the others gathered outside Mito's room, preparing for their daily lecture on the Sealing Arts.
By now, Nawaki finally possessed enough chakra to begin basic sealing lessons. Although he had missed many of the preliminary classes, Tatsuma and Minato would usually help him catch up afterward.
But today, something was different. Tsunade, who usually avoided this part of the estate like the plague, was sitting cross-legged in the courtyard. Her eyes were glazed over, and she looked like she was... meditating? Or perhaps just trying to stay upright while half-asleep.
"Ignore her. Come inside and prepare for class," Mito's voice rang out from within.
Tatsuma pulled his gaze away from the zonked-out Tsunade and entered the room to begin another day of Sealing Arts.
Half a year of study had convinced Tatsuma that Mito's assessment of Jiraiya was 100% accurate. Compared to Uzumaki Mito, Jiraiya's level of Sealing Arts was mediocre at best.
Jiraiya taught the application: how to draw the formulas, how to deploy them in combat, and the tactical conditions for their use. It was purely functional.
Uzumaki Mito, however, taught from a position of absolute mastery. She poured her knowledge down like a flood, covering the origins, the principles, the internal logic, the structural variations, and how to deconstruct or merge different seals.
Learning from Jiraiya meant learning specific "spells" one by one. Learning from Uzumaki Mito meant learning how to engineer the art itself—how to use existing logic to derive new techniques or even create them from scratch.
With the combined assistance of his [Ninjutsu Development] and [Sealing (Kushina-Limited)] talents, Tatsuma's progress was explosive. He used this academic edge to "shear" even more talent from Kushina, who was more than willing to gamble with him on sealing knowledge. Kushina's Uzumaki pride refused to let her admit that anyone could be more naturally gifted at her clan's specialty than she was.
By noon, Mito watched as Tatsuma finished digesting the day's lesson and began explaining the difficult parts to the other three. She felt a mix of admiration and profound regret.
The regret stemmed from the fact that Tatsuma did not carry the Uzumaki name. With the talent he had displayed over the last six months, he could have mastered every single technique in their repertoire. But without the Uzumaki bloodline, the core, high-level seals of the clan would remain forever out of his reach.
As Mito listened to Tatsuma's explanation to ensure he wasn't accidentally misleading the others, an excited shout erupted from the courtyard.
"Grandma! Grandma! I did it!"
The group stopped their discussion and looked toward the door. Mito stood up. "Continue your work." She stepped outside as Tsunade's voice faded into the distance.
Tatsuma's focus wavered for a moment, but a sharp nudge from the impatient Kushina brought him back. He returned to tutoring the "Sealing Study Group," including Kushina, who had somehow become a regular attendee.
It wasn't until early afternoon that Mito and Tsunade returned. By then, the four students were famished. Waking up at 5:00 AM for physical training followed by a brain-draining sealing lecture was a massive caloric drain for growing kids.
But this was the Senju Estate. Tatsuma and Minato were guests and didn't feel right speaking up. Kushina was still busy chewing over a complex formula, and Nawaki... well, Nawaki's status in the house was too low for him to dare complain.
When the two women walked in, Tatsuma's eyes lit up. Finally, lunch?
Tsunade looked radiant, practically glowing with pride. "Let's go! I'm treating everyone to BBQ! Grandma, you're coming too, right?"
Mito shook her head. "You youngsters go ahead. This old woman will stay here."
"Fine, then I'll bring some sweets back for you."
Tsunade didn't miss a beat. Tatsuma, Minato, and Kushina all stood up, their hunger momentarily forgotten in the excitement of Yakiniku.
Only Nawaki looked hesitant. "Sis... do you actually have any money?"
The atmosphere froze. Tsunade turned to Nawaki. He held up his hands defensively. "You borrowed all my allowance, remember? And then you lost it all to Minato and Tatsuma."
Tsunade's gaze shifted to Kushina. Kushina shook her head. "Same here. I'm broke."
"Well then... Tatsuma, Minato, you two can cover the bill for now!"
Tsunade made a grand sweeping gesture, only to find both boys wearing matching expressions of awkwardness. Tatsuma cleared his throat and avoided her gaze.
"Tsunade-sensei... Minato and I haven't taken a mission in months. All our winnings... well, we spent them all on our rent and utilities."
A heavy silence descended upon the room. The pride vanished from Tsunade's face, replaced by a look of pathetic desperation. She turned toward the smiling Uzumaki Mito, who looked like she had seen this coming from a mile away.
"Grandma... can I borrow some money?"