Hanma Squad Is Formed

Last night, sparse rain and sudden wind; a deep sleep could not dispel the lingering wine.

In the morning, Hanma opened his eyes to a messy yet sweet sight.

Tsunade lay adorably across Hanma's chest, her arms wrapped around him as she let out faint snores.

Feeling the weight on his chest, Hanma smiled in satisfaction. He turned his head and quietly studied her face.

Her skin was like congealed cream, her eyes like watery apricots, and her pale golden hair soft, bright, and smooth as satin.

Though she was still asleep, her curved brows and smiling eyes made her utterly adorable.

Not only was she breathtakingly beautiful and descended from a prestigious clan, her bosom was unmatched in the Shinobi World, and her fists could split mountains.

A girlfriend like this—I, Uchiha Hanma, proclaimed you the strongest!

A sense of belonging passed through his heart. This world felt a little more complete to Hanma.

Tsunade drowsily opened her eyes, rubbed against Hanma's chest like a kitten, smiled contentedly, and pecked his cheek.

"You were awake already?"

"Mm."

"What were you staring at me for?"

"Because you're pretty."

"You didn't say I was pretty yesterday."

"Then what did I say?"

"You only said you loved me."

Tsunade shot Hanma a coquettish glare.

Hanma pulled the curtains shut.

The morning sunlight was too dazzling.

The Hokage's office.

"If the Eight Inner Gates can't be given to me for now, then so be it."

Hanma waved a hand. It was within his expectations.

After all, he was still an Uchiha. Restricting his strength was a normal move for the Hokage faction.

"The village deliberated over it for a long time as well. The Eight Inner Gates Formation carries risks in training. With a great war approaching, we are worried that something might happen to you."

The Third Hokage looked utterly sincere.

Hanma looked at the seemingly sincere Third and shook his head. What a thick-skinned, black-hearted old man.

"Then there's no issue with exchanging for the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tag Technique, right?"

The Third froze for a moment. Weren't those his teacher's signature ninjutsu?

An Uchiha wanted to learn the Second Hokage's techniques?

Sure enough, Uchiha Hanma was an absurd Uchiha in every respect.

"That won't be a problem. However, no one has managed to comprehend the Flying Thunder God Technique since the Second Hokage."

"To date, there have been fifty-five Jonin in the village who applied for that Forbidden Jutsu, and every one of them failed even to get started."

The Third Hokage finally offered a conscientious warning.

"No matter."

"By the way, Third Hokage-sama, I'm now an authentic member of the Hokage faction too."

"Huh?"

The Third watched Hanma leave with a smile, falling into deep thought.

What did he mean, he was part of the Hokage faction too?

And an authentic one at that.

As if anyone else wasn't authentic.

Hanma's unspoken implication: You thought it could only be passed down through master and disciple? You never expected marriage alliances, did you?

Uchiha Territory, the clan elders' training ground.

Hanma looked at the little redhead, the little blond, and the hedgehog-haired boy before him, falling into thought.

These three were even more heavyweight: pure-blooded Uzumaki, direct Senju lineage, and the king of commoners.

Every one of them possessed unique talents.

Hanma folded his arms and looked at the three children.

"Alright. Although you definitely all know me, and I know all of you, let's introduce ourselves anyway."

"I'm Uchiha Hanma, twenty-four years old. I specialize in taijutsu, and my hobby is cooking. By the way, Tsunade is my fiancée."

The three children's mouths instantly formed O's in shock as they stared at Hanma.

Fi-fi-fiancée?!

Minato was the most shocked. Having watched the legion commander selection without blinking, he knew just how fierce that battle had been.

The two people who had fought to the death a couple days ago were fiancés today?

Hanma-sensei, I, Minato, wholeheartedly admit defeat. I truly can only be your student!

Nawaki, meanwhile, charged forward and closely, carefully examined Hanma's handsome face and well-built physique.

Swish—!

Nawaki dropped into a standard dogeza and shouted:

"Thank you very much for taking in my useless sister!"

Hanma nearly failed to maintain his composed expression. What kind of sibling relationship was this? Still, this little brother-in-law was rather interesting.

"Alright, Nawaki. Start by introducing yourself."

Hanma pulled Nawaki up and patted his head, his face full of black lines.

"My name is Nawaki! I'm thirteen this year. I like making friends with people, I have lots of Chakra, I'm good at Water Release and Earth Release, I love sukiyaki, and my dream is to become Hokage!"

"Not bad spirit."

Nawaki really did have the feeling of a hot-blooded anime protagonist. Too bad he wasn't the chosen one.

Hanma silently lamented inwardly.

"My name is Minato Namikaze. I'm thirteen years old. I specialize in the Body Flicker Technique, I like reading, and I love everything Hanma-sensei cooks. My current wish is to learn the three forms of the Super Light Wheel Pitch-Black Body Protection Technique!"

Hanma quietly looked at Minato and asked expressionlessly:

"Minato, the thing you mean should be Lightning Release Armor, right?"

"Ah, no, it's Super Light—"

Kushina apologetically covered Minato's mouth, then gave a solemn cough and began introducing herself:

"I'm Kushina Uzumaki, and I'm thirteen too. I also have lots of Chakra and specialize in Fuinjutsu. I hate tomatoes! What I like is being with Minato!"

Minato smiled and nodded. Only Nawaki frowned, seemingly deep in thought about something.

Hanma took out three sets of materials and handed them over.

"Eh, Sensei, don't we have an entry test?"

Curious little Nawaki raised another question.

Hanma patted the three of them on the head and went through their formidable backgrounds one by one.

"Nawaki is the First Hokage's grandson and Tsunade's younger brother.

"Kushina is Mito-sama's clanswoman and also Tsunade's younger sister.

"Minato is my first disciple. For this kid's sake, I used my own military merits to exchange for the Forbidden Jutsu he liked."

"You three, even if you failed the test, could I simply choose not to take you?"

Hanma shot Nawaki a sidelong glance and waved his hand, signaling for them to look through the materials they had received.

Forget other people—when Danzo saw the three of them, his head would buzz, and the Will of Fire would spin around in his mouth, unable to come out.

What did it mean to be born with impeccable roots and an unblemished pedigree? This was it.

Nawaki received two books: "The Past and Present of Explosive Tags" and "How to Use Explosive Tags Effectively," written under the pen name Wandering Hanzo.

These were books Hanzo had written in his youth, when he had merely been a young man struggling between the paths of Samurai and shinobi.

He had extensive experience using cheap yet effective weapons like Explosive Tags.

Even when Hanzo was over sixty, he had still been able to use Explosive Tags to blow off Nagato's legs.

They were well worth Nawaki studying.

Kushina received two notebooks: "Essence of Chakra Force Application" and "The Essence of Taijutsu," written by Uchiha Hanma.

These were insights Hanma had gained over many years of taijutsu training, containing extremely concise techniques for force application and combat.

For the Uzumaki Clan, Strength of a Hundred was entirely possible to cultivate as well. Kushina's foundation should have been close to Tsunade's, and she also possessed a talent for Fuinjutsu.

Minato was somewhat special. Hanma and he exchanged a smile as Hanma handed him the Flying Thunder God scroll they had agreed on long ago.

Spatial talent was an extremely mysterious thing. Even Orochimaru found it difficult to grasp through the power of science.

Since Minato had talent, Hanma would let him train it early. Perhaps he might even develop an eighteenth form of Flying Thunder God.

Hanma cleared his throat. "These are the gifts your teacher is giving you. I'll question you in three days."

Nawaki raised his hand indignantly. "Sensei, who is this Hanzo? He doesn't seem famous at all."

Understood. Nawaki's academic performance was not ideal...

No wonder, in the original timeline...

Hanma took out another scroll, marked with an S-rank seal, and waved it.

"I prepared something for you long ago, Nawaki.

"This is an S-rank ninjutsu. Once you understand those two books, I'll let you train in it."

Nawaki blinked, his face full of excitement. An S-rank Forbidden Jutsu sounded incredible.

Then his face filled with distress, as though reading was extremely difficult for him.

As for Kushina, Hanma rubbed her head, crouched down, and deliberately put on a pitiful expression.

"Originally, your teacher used military merits to exchange for a powerful ninjutsu for Kushina too, but that old man, the Third Hokage, withheld my pay and wouldn't give it to me."

"Huh? How can that old Hokage be like that!"

Kushina said indignantly.

"It's fine. Your teacher has plenty of taijutsu here, so we won't learn his!"

Hanma did not want her to feel overlooked. Knowing she was sensitive inside, he took out another book for her.

"A Brief Discussion of Offensive and Defensive Fuinjutsu"

Author: Masahiko Uzumaki

Kushina looked at the name she had often seen in the shrine before, and a trace of sadness crossed her face.

Hanma let out a melancholy sigh. He had only been sixteen when the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed.

Later, he had merely collected some precious things, such as this book, which was filled with the wisdom of maneuvering through difficult situations.

Kushina repeatedly thanked him. She missed her clansmen and everything about them.

Hanma checked the time and instructed them:

"Then gather here at nine in the morning the day after tomorrow."

"Subjects: reading reports and practical combat."

"Dismissed!"

Minato's current combat strength was roughly between Chunin and Special Jonin. It was also around the period when he rescued Kushina in the original story. Kushina and Nawaki had no one to teach them and were still in their foolish phase.

I originally wanted to write a bit about Danzo recently, but after reviewing the manga, I felt that what he did was really illogical. I can only patch things up a little before writing it. I'm definitely not trying to whitewash him!