Senju Clan training grounds.
"Rasengan!"
With a sharp cry, a brilliant blue Rasengan slammed into the wooden post, blasting it apart at the waist.
"I did it!"
Panting heavily, Uzumaki Kushina smiled. As she raised an arm to wipe the sweat from her forehead, the sight of that ninjutsu always brought a certain figure to mind.
Amid countless cries of "monster," that figure, brimming with dark Chakra, had stood in front of her.
"Monster... a kindred spirit?"
Muttering to herself, Uzumaki Kushina quickly shook her head, as though trying to throw those thoughts out of her mind.
"I can't keep thinking about this. Mikoto is my companion—how can I think like this?!"
Yet the next moment, Uzumaki Kushina recalled Grandma Mito's comfort and Mikoto's words with conflicted feelings.
"But Grandma Mito said that waiting blindly won't get you anything. You can only gain something by taking the initiative! And Mikoto said I'm an outstanding female ninja too."
"No, no! Yoru and I are just companions, that's right! I can't think nonsense!"
Just as Uzumaki Kushina was wildly shaking her head, the bushes in the distance rustled, and Uchiha Mikoto emerged.
"Kushina, you succeeded!"
Leaping down from a tree branch, Uchiha Mikoto looked at the traces left in the training ground. Surprise flickered through her eyes, followed by admiration.
"Kushina really is a genius."
Mikoto's sudden appearance made Uzumaki Kushina blush crimson, as though she had been caught doing something shameful. But upon hearing Mikoto's praise, she instinctively changed the subject.
"Not at all!"
Uzumaki Kushina concealed her embarrassment and said softly,
"It's only because I have more Chakra and can spend more time training this ninjutsu every day, so I learned it so quickly."
Uchiha Mikoto jumped down and said with a smile,
"Having lots of Chakra is your advantage,