After leaving the Ninja Academy behind, the two dashed forward at full speed—a pace even Kushina had trouble keeping up with.
A little over ten minutes later, they arrived at the Back Mountains of Konoha—the exact same Training Ground where Minato had trained alone a year ago.
Panting...
Minato finally let go of Kushina's hand. Even with her impressive stamina, her breathing had become fast and heavy.
For Minato, though, this was just his usual pace—nowhere near enough to tire him.
It had been a year since he last came here. The sky grew darker, and a gentle breeze brushed across their faces, making the moment incredibly pleasant.
The golden sunlight bathed the boy and the girl, rendering them like a pair of radiant idols—like a Heavenly Pair.
Kushina's incredible endurance ensured the breathlessness didn't last long. Rising back up, she looked toward the sun already beginning its descent behind the mountains and sighed softly.
"So beautiful!"
Her delicate face gleamed with delight, her eyes sparkling with fascination. During her year in Konoha, her freedom had been limited; visiting secluded spots like this within the village was practically unthinkable.
Watching Kushina's radiant smile, Minato felt no urge to speak—he simply wished to gaze at her gently forever.
"But wait! Today I'm here to train, not to waste all my time like this!"
Suddenly, a strong gust swept through, blowing strands of her long red hair into her vision, momentarily pulling her from her trance.
The dazed Minato also snapped back to reality at her loud, straightforward voice. Catching himself before Kushina noticed, he quickly turned his slightly blushing face away.
"You know," Kushina said casually, "I never realized you were *this* amazing, Minato! You seem to know so many different Ninjutsu!"
Unbothered as ever, Kushina didn't catch the strange expression on Minato's face. Instead, she expressed her admiration for the techniques he'd demonstrated earlier.
Though she couldn't tell how advanced jutsu like Summoning Technique or Shadow Clone Jutsu were, she did know they weren't anything taught at the Ninja Academy.
"Could you teach me?" She blinked her large, bright eyes at him, her tone turning pleading.
Minato paused for a moment. The Summoning Technique required a prior blood contract—a scroll sealed by Master Jiraiya. Since that wasn't something he could share with her, he ruled it out.
As for the Shadow Clone Jutsu, it might be perfect for Kushina to train with—it would suit her well because her chakra reserves exceeded even his own at this point.
That much Minato could confirm without doubt.
Still, he asked, "Didn't your family teach you any Ninjutsu?"
Being someone protected by Anbu meant Kushina was clearly special—perhaps even a gifted prodigy in some area.
She frowned, pouting slightly, "They did try... but until today, all they've ever had me do was memorize these really complicated patterns. As for actually performing the technique, I haven't gotten it down yet."
"Patterns?"
Could it be that Kushina was practicing a secret technique connected to something like a Seal?
But such secret techniques would be nearly impossible for someone without the rank of a Chunin or Jonin to even begin grasping. It seemed quite unrealistic for Kushina, who wasn't particularly skilled in ninjutsu at the moment.
It was difficult to get much from Kushina's fragmented words, so Minato paused briefly before cautiously asking, "You're not still learning ninjutsu just because you want to get back at Yan Uchiha, are you?"
"Of course! That guy's way too arrogant—I've disliked him for a long time!"
Kushina spoke openly, her eyes flashing dangerously once more—the fiery temper that earned her the nickname "The Red-Hot Habanero."
Minato simply gave an awkward chuckle beside her.
"But his movements and shuriken skills are just too fast; I still can't keep up with him. Out of all our classmates, only you can really keep up with him!"
Although Kushina often acted carefree and blunt, she had her moments of sharp insight.
Compared to a year ago, Yan had definitely grown stronger. Yet, Kushina could sense that Minato, who always stayed around her, possessed truly unfathomable strength.
In response to Kushina's evaluation, Minato merely smiled. Yan had specifically learned the Body Flicker Technique just to fight against him—his speed was naturally beyond what any ordinary student could perceive.
After all, even Mikoto, who had trained within the Uchiha clan since childhood, had been defeated by him.
But if one wished to follow Yan's movements, it would require extensive foundational training over a long period of time. Only by increasing one's own speed could the visual nerves keep up.
As for his shuriken skills, not even Minato himself could rival them—so how then could he teach Kushina?
The two things she asked for were things Minato couldn't help her achieve anytime soon. Moreover, while she improved, Yan wouldn't simply stay stagnant either.
Seeing Minato give no reply, Kushina began to wonder self-deprecatingly whether her foundation was just too poor for Minato to even help her.
Just as her expression changed slightly and she was about to speak, Minato beat her to it.
"The things you mentioned—I won't be able to help you achieve them anytime soon..." Minato said, noticing her slightly disheartened look, he quickly added, "...However, there's not necessarily only one way to solve issues like failing to keep up with movement speed or shuriken techniques."
"Even the most powerful taijutsu techniques and shuriken skills have weaknesses. And you possess an advantage that Yan Uchiha—and all of us—lack."
Kushina's eyes lit up as she asked eagerly, "What kind of advantage?"
"Chakra reserves," Minato replied. Kushina's chakra reserves weren't on the same level as those of ordinary nine-year-olds at all.
Even Yan and Mikoto, who came from prestigious clans, along with Minato himself, fell far behind in comparison.
Kushina had a rough idea of this advantage herself, but since she couldn't use ninjutsu effectively, what good was extra chakra anyway?
"You wanted to learn my Ninjutsu just now, didn't you? I'll teach it to you then..."
"If your eyes and body can't keep up with the movement, then just add more eyes and more bodies. No matter how fast one person moves, they can't match the advantage of numbers."
Minato gave Kushina a small smile and said, "If one person's not enough, just bring in a few more."
Kushina stood there, stunned. At that moment, Minato no longer seemed like someone her age.
But rather... an incredibly remarkable ninja!
...
...
In the original story, Tsunade mentioned that Naruto and Kushina specialized in the same kind of Ninjutsu. I believe it refers to the [Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu]. What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to leave your comments in the review section.
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