Sealless Ninjutsu Development Method (2)

This time, it was Obito's turn to be stunned. He had never imagined it could be done like this. This was a profound truth. Under Kakashi's look of utter contempt, he actually wrote the method down.

Did he really think someone like him could catch Minato out?

Minato and Kushina had actually heard every word of the conversation behind them. Minato merely smiled knowingly, while Kushina was a little annoyed.

Hey, hey, what kind of reaction was that?!

Kushina's face reddened at the reactions of Minato's students. What did they mean by that? It was as if she wasn't good enough for Minato!

"Ahem." At that moment, Hagoromo cleared his throat, then solemnly pulled a small notebook from his Ninja Tool Pouch. Reading from it, he began, "According to my intelligence, Senior Minato fell in love at first sight with Teacher Kushina when she transferred to the Ninja Academy. I won't specify their ages at the time, because if I get too detailed, Senior Minato's intentions might be considered criminal... In short, Senior Minato liked Teacher Kushina very much—especially her red hair. Well, I admit that red hair is indeed one of Teacher's charming points, but considering that Teacher was known as the Red Hot Habanero because she was too fierce back then, we have to wonder whether Senior Minato might have questionable taste in women..."

Listening to her student's nonsense, thirty percent false and seventy percent true, Kushina could no longer endure it. She suddenly turned around and said to Hagoromo:

"Hagoromo, where did you hear all this?!"

She was so embarrassed and furious that she nearly jumped up, because what Hagoromo said was actually not far from the truth.

Kushina snatched the notebook from Hagoromo's hand, intending to destroy the evidence. But upon closer inspection, she found that it was blank—not a single word had been written inside.

Hagoromo raised a finger and pointed at his head, indicating that all the intelligence was stored in his mind.

Realizing that Hagoromo had been teasing her, Kushina gave the back of his head a vicious smack. Then, still red-faced, she threatened, "Anyway, don't go digging into your teacher's private affairs."

As for Minato, he was not displeased in the slightest. Instead, he gave Hagoromo a broad smile. That was not all—he even gave Hagoromo a thumbs-up.

"You must be Hagoromo. Your intelligence-gathering skills are impressive!"

"Thank you for the praise, Senior Minato. If you want to hear more, I have plenty more gossip like this."

"That's enough, you two!" Kushina rudely interrupted their mutual praise.

People had a thousand faces. Seeing his usually carefree teacher react this way was honestly quite interesting to Hagoromo, but he also knew when to stop. Otherwise, he might soon end up with blood splattered within five paces. This was no joke—did they think the nickname Red Hot Habanero was just for show?

Perhaps because they each had their own little burdens in tow, although Minato and Kushina were lovers, they merely walked side by side without any overly intimate gestures.

See? A teacher was a teacher. She really understood how to spare single people's feelings.

This was Kamishiro Hagoromo's second time meeting Minato Namikaze, and his first formal interaction with him. The last time he had seen Minato was at the Ninja Academy graduation ceremony, but back then, he had only caught a fleeting glimpse of him.

The renowned Yellow Flash truly was as the rumors said. Despite his formidable strength and outstanding military achievements, he did not possess the slightest arrogance. Instead, he was like an older brother next door, making people naturally want to get close to him.

Hagoromo could not help but feel anew that Minato was powerful, gentle, and magnanimous. More importantly, he had a deep sense of belonging toward the village. If he did not become Hokage, then who else could be the village chief?

Minato had not changed much from when Hagoromo saw him three months ago. Hagoromo was not particularly familiar with Kakashi at this stage to begin with, and Obito was still as much of a goofball as before. But if anyone among them had changed the most, it was Nohara Rin beside him.

Hagoromo looked at Nohara Rin standing beside him. Compared to three months ago, Rin seemed to have grown a little taller, and her personality also seemed to have changed somewhat. Simply put, she had lost some of the liveliness she possessed at the Ninja Academy and become more gentle and demure.

Mm, this change could be called Nadeshiko-fication.

Rin soon noticed Hagoromo looking at her. Though she did not quite understand the meaning in his eyes, she still gave him a sweet smile.

"Minato, how long will you be staying this time?" Kushina asked Minato Namikaze ahead of them.

"Probably around a week. I only managed to get such a long leave mainly so I could look after these little ones." Minato had not been pulled back from the front lines for an entire year. This return to Konoha was a scheduled rest period, but even so, he would not have much time.

After all, every front line in Konoha was short on manpower. Talents like Minato—top-tier combatants who could rapidly move between different fronts—could not easily leave the battlefield.

"What is the front line like, Rin?" After a moment of silence, Hagoromo spoke again.

After thinking for a moment, Rin said, "It's... different from the Ninja Academy and the village. There have already been casualties among the Genin who graduated in our class."

Hagoromo nodded. This did not surprise him. Although Konoha still appeared peaceful, ninja died on the front lines every day, and most people would never know their names.

"Medical Ninja are extremely scarce on the front lines. I heard the village higher-ups have begun regretting that they did not accept Tsunade-sama's proposal to establish a Medical Ninja system before the war began... Some female ninja have volunteered to undergo Medical Ninjutsu training whenever they do not have combat missions. I've also started studying Medical Ninjutsu more deeply..."

Rin spoke intermittently about the front lines. After only three months of war, her transformation and growth were already so obvious that Hagoromo felt somewhat unaccustomed to it. The Rin he knew should have been a more cheerful girl, rather than someone so gentle and quiet. It made her feel a little unfamiliar.

"Um, Teacher Kushina, Senior Minato, if there's nothing else today, I'll take my leave first."

Once Hagoromo realized that they had completely become bothersome third wheels, he immediately prepared to leave.

The ninja war had separated this pair of lovers, and this was their hard-won moment of reunion. He did not want to disturb them.

Kushina knew that this student of hers had always been far too clever for his age. How could she not know what Hagoromo was thinking? It left her both angry and embarrassed, with a hint of happiness mixed in. Did she, as his teacher, really need a student like him worrying about her?