Can He? Can't He? He Can!

As the Third Shinobi World War gradually subsided, friction between the Five Great Villages remained frequent, but no large-scale wars broke out again.

The war's impact on Konoha's residents was now almost impossible to see.

However, as Kushina's belly grew day by day, Shinichi Hyuga could clearly sense Konoha's higher-ups becoming increasingly tense.

During the months Shinichi had spent learning the Flying Thunder God from Kushina, he had gradually met several major figures of Konoha at Minato's home.

Jiraiya, who had been traveling abroad, also received word that Kushina's due date was approaching and specifically returned to visit his disciple and his disciple's wife.

Through prenatal examinations, Minato and Kushina had learned that the child in her womb was a boy. After Minato read Jiraiya's latest novel, he asked Jiraiya for the protagonist's name and planned to name his son Naruto!

While Jiraiya was staying at Minato's home, Shinichi would also train there during the afternoons, but his interactions with Jiraiya were quite limited.

Although Jiraiya marveled at Shinichi Hyuga's talent as a shinobi, having seen plenty of geniuses, he did not think particularly highly of Shinichi.

He had even seen the legendary Rinnegan. A Hyuga child with "a little" talent was not enough to catch his eye.

Besides, Shinichi was not much of a talker, nor did he intend to use Jiraiya's connections. As far as he was concerned, he already had more than enough to learn, and he would be extremely busy for a long time to come.

Aside from Jiraiya's return to the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his wife Biwako visited Minato's home several times to see Kushina. Even Tsunade, who had left the village years ago, made a special trip back and personally performed a prenatal examination for Kushina.

After examining the fetus in Kushina's womb and confirming that it was healthy, Tsunade did not remain in the village for long. She soon left that place of sorrow and continued her journey of seeking out "fat sheep."

It had to be said that although Minato and Kushina were young, they wielded considerable influence within Konoha.

That was closely tied not only to their personal strength, but also to the extensive network of relationships they shared.

It was worth mentioning that Jiraiya had originally returned to the village because Kushina's delivery date was near. Considering the risks involved in a Jinchuriki giving birth, he had specifically come back to see if there was anything he could help with.

Yet under the Third Hokage's meticulous arrangements, his goodwill was subtly kept outside the door.

The location for Kushina's delivery had already been chosen, and the Anbu assigned to protect her had assembled long ago. After Hyuga Clan elites joined them, the Anbu squads rehearsed several times for unexpected situations, with results that greatly satisfied the Third Hokage.

Although Jiraiya was powerful, Hiruzen Sarutobi had complete confidence in his own arrangements. Adding Jiraiya at such a time would instead require them to redraw the protection plan.

Of course, more importantly, in the Third Hokage's eyes, the powerful Jiraiya was not necessarily stronger than the Anbu squads he had arranged!

Up to this point, Jiraiya's most glorious achievement had been briefly holding off Hanzo of the Salamander, the so-called demigod of Amegakure, alongside Tsunade and Orochimaru, earning them the title of the Sannin.

After that, Jiraiya had actually grown stronger, but he had never again had the chance to fight at full strength.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi was not entirely clear on his true capabilities.

In the Third Hokage's view, with Minato personally protecting Kushina and the Anbu squads guarding her as well, nothing could possibly go wrong.

At this stage, the Yellow Flash's reputation in the Shinobi World far surpassed that of the Sannin.

Knowing he could not be of much help, Jiraiya stayed in the village for a while, but soon grew restless and left once more.

Even Shinichi Hyuga, who knew how the future would unfold, had no reason or excuse to interfere in this matter and persuade Jiraiya to stay.

And as Kushina's delivery date drew near, Shinichi officially began his "break from school" in mid-September.

Evening came, and the setting sun slanted low.

Kushina Uzumaki slowly rose from the sofa, stretched lazily, then silently walked over to the dining table.

Shinichi was sitting in a chair. Dozens of kunai lay on the table before him, while he gripped one in his hand and painstakingly carved his own unique mark onto it.

As early as a week ago, Shinichi Hyuga had actually mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.

He could carve marks and perform space-time jumps.

However... compared with Minato, who could place a Flying Thunder God Mark on an opponent the instant he touched them, Shinichi was far more inexperienced in using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

It took him around fifteen seconds to carve a single Flying Thunder God Mark.

After training for some time, he had reduced that to half of what it had been before—around seven and a half seconds. Yet needing so much time to carve a mark was undoubtedly a major limitation in actual combat.

But carving a Cursed Seal was like forming hand seals to cast ninjutsu. It was something that came only through repeated practice. No matter how talented Shinichi was, he still needed to train it over and over.

Take the Water Dragon Bullet, for example. People with different levels of understanding of the technique cast it at completely different speeds.

Some had to honestly and slowly form all forty-four hand seals before they could release it, while others only needed three simple seals.

Some formed one seal per second, while others formed six seals per second. Some could even clap their hands together and make whatever they wanted happen.

As Kushina came up behind him, Shinichi slowly opened his eyes, set the kunai in his hand on the table, and let out a heavy breath.

A "Hyuga" mark had been left on the kunai's straight handle. This Flying Thunder God Kunai was complete.

Yet there was no smile on Shinichi's face after finishing the mark. Instead, he let out a deep sigh, his little face filled with disappointment.

His progress with the Flying Thunder God was ultimately still far from ideal.

"Shinichi, why are you still making that face?"

"Didn't I already tell you? You've done very well."

"You should know that you're the third person in Konoha in all these years to successfully learn the Flying Thunder God."

"Even Minato needed around a minute to carve a mark when he had just learned the Flying Thunder God."

"What you need to do next is practice it again and again until you're completely proficient."

"Even if you're a genius, this isn't something you can rush."

Seeing Shinichi's dejected little face, Kushina smiled brightly. She stepped behind him, affectionately pinched his cheeks, and forcibly pulled a smile onto his face.

Kushina had watched Shinichi's training progress all along. She was exceptionally fond of this gifted disciple who gave her so little cause for concern.

After spending so much time together, Kushina had long since come to regard Shinichi as one of her own.

There was nothing wrong with Shinichi, except that he lacked confidence far too much. For some reason, he seemed never to feel proud or satisfied with any achievement he attained.

Even when others saw something as an astonishing accomplishment, it was difficult to find joy on Shinichi's face.

"Shinichi, relax a little. Don't put so much pressure on yourself."

"My due date is close, so I'll be preparing for childbirth during this time."

"You should give yourself a proper break too. You're clearly still a child, so stop wearing that stiff face every day. You're just like your father."

Kushina's childbirth had long been decided, and it was not something they had hidden from Shinichi.

Though he was still a child, his status was what it was. Minato and Kushina had no guard against him. Not only him—Kakashi, who was standing guard outside at the moment, knew as well.

"Mm, I will."

"Teacher Kushina, take this as my gift for little Naruto!"

Shinichi gently rubbed his cheeks, then casually picked up a marked kunai from the table and held it out to Kushina.

When she saw the kunai, Kushina's smile grew even brighter. Pressing a hand onto Shinichi's head, she laughed.

"You brat, are you worried about me?"

"Hahaha, don't worry. It's only having a baby!"

"I've already asked Hana and Mikoto about it. Giving birth is nothing much!"

Hana and Mikoto—one was Shinichi's mother, and the other was Itachi Uchiha's mother—were both close friends of Kushina's.

Unlike Kushina, they both had experience giving birth. Though this was her first child and she did not seem nervous on the surface, Kushina had long since secretly discussed it with her friends.

"But I'll accept your kindness!"

"You're Naruto's big brother for prenatal education. Naruto will definitely become an outstanding shinobi, better than Minato, better than you—better than everyone~"

Hearing Kushina's hopeful words, Shinichi smiled and agreed.

"Of course. He is Teacher Kushina's son, after all."

The sunset streamed through the window and fell across the faces of Kushina and Shinichi. Teacher and disciple, one grown and one small, looked at each other and smiled.