Yuan vs. Kushina

"Yamanaka Tohru, is this all you've got?" Kushina's attacks came like a raging storm. Clad in her Tailed Beast Cloak, her speed and power were beyond imagination. Using only Lightning Release Chakra Mode and [Chidori Blade], Tohru had no choice but to be beaten down.

"Since that's the case, Kushina-sensei, then I won't hold back!" Tohru's chakra flowed through his entire body as he entered Ice Lightning Mode.

Since his eyes couldn't keep up with Kushina's speed, Tohru simply closed them.

Ice Lightning Mode boosted his body's reflexes and movement speed by a large margin. Relying on his exceptional mental energy, Tohru sensed Kushina's location.

The Tailed Beast Cloak was only in its One-Tail state, and Tohru's Ice Lightning Mode could already match Kushina's speed.

Tohru knew he had no chance of winning. His chakra could only sustain Ice Lightning Mode for two minutes, while Kushina, as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, already had chakra reserves far beyond normal, plus the Nine-Tails' infinite chakra. In those two minutes, Tohru could only think of a way to lose without looking too pathetic.

Seeing that Tohru could keep up with her speed, Kushina was already more than satisfied with this disciple.

At just seven years old to have this kind of strength, and even develop a ninjutsu with attack power rated A-rank or above—Tohru's talent could rival her boyfriend Namikaze Minato's.

Tohru sensed Kushina's movements. The Nine-Tails' massive chakra was like a bright beacon.

Kushina suddenly accelerated. To an ordinary person watching with their eyes, they'd only see a flash of blood-red figure vanishing in an instant. Her target was Tohru's back. Kushina wanted to see just how far Tohru could go.

"[Water Release: Water Ripple]!" Tohru opened his eyes and unleashed a Water Release toward Kushina behind him. A C-rank Water Release—Kushina, wrapped in her Tailed Beast Cloak, didn't even acknowledge it and continued her assault on Tohru.

"Ice Seal!" The Water Ripple was frozen solid. Kushina's fist landed on Tohru's back, but in a flash, Tohru's figure vanished before her eyes.

"Space-Time Ninjutsu?" Kushina was Minato's girlfriend, so she was all too familiar with the Flying Thunder God Technique. Tohru's sudden disappearance was strikingly similar to Minato's technique.

"[Chidori]!" On the block of ice behind Kushina, Tohru quickly formed hand signs, using his remaining chakra to unleash [Chidori]. Ice Lightning Mode dissipated the moment [Chidori] took shape.

The ice was less than a meter from Kushina. Tohru's [Chidori] struck her directly.

"Pfft!" Kushina was pierced by [Chidori] and turned into a puff of white smoke!

"A Shadow Clone! When?!"

"Right when you opened your eyes and fired that Water Ripple. You can only lock onto my position through sensing. Suddenly opening your eyes meant you were thinking of a final strike! How could I give you that chance!" Kushina dispelled her Tailed Beast Cloak and looked at Tohru, who was slumped on the ground.

"Kushina-sensei is so strong!" Tohru panted heavily as he spoke to her.

"You're not bad either! An ordinary jonin would have been taken down by you long ago. Was that last one Space-Time Ninjutsu?"

"No. That's a special ability I discovered when I was little. I can achieve an instant teleportation effect on ice blocks that have my chakra." Tohru shook his head and explained.

Ice Release and the Sharingan were Tohru's biggest trump cards. Currently, only Yamanaka Seiko, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Hatake Sakumo knew about the Sharingan. As for Ice Release, only Kushina knew, and Hatake Sakumo only had a rough guess.

The reason Tohru revealed the secret of Ice Release was partly because Kushina had pushed him too hard today, and partly because Kushina would be his supervising teacher from now on. Spending day and night together, rather than having Kushina sense it on her own, it was better to proactively come clean—maybe it would even strengthen their bond.

"Is this the Yuki Clan's Ice Release?"

Tohru shook his head, indicating he didn't know.

Kushina's personality was naturally the simple-minded, brawny type. When she couldn't figure something out, she just tossed it aside and stopped thinking about it.

"Tohru, can I call you that?"

"Of course, Kushina-sensei."

"Don't call me sensei. Just call me big sister." Kushina, in her excitement, let a strange verbal tic slip out.

"Kushina-nee!" Being able to get closer to Kushina, Tohru naturally wouldn't refuse and immediately switched to calling her big sister.

"Tohru, did you develop that technique yourself?"

"Yeah! [Chidori] is an A-rank ninjutsu!" Tohru didn't hide it.

"Wow, you're a real genius! Developing your own ninjutsu at seven years old."

"[Chidori] is just a base technique. Injecting chakra into a short blade to increase its sharpness is [Chidori Blade]. Releasing [Chidori]'s chakra externally is [Chidori Spear]. And the one that adds Lightning nature transformation is [Chidori]—[Chidori] is an S-rank technique!" Tohru introduced [Chidori] and the other techniques developed from it to Kushina.

Kushina listened, dumbfounded. Her fighting style was simple and brute-force. Speed, taijutsu, and chakra reserves were key. She had never learned such refined techniques.

"Tohru, are you better at ninjutsu?" Kushina's own ninjutsu was mediocre. If Tohru specialized in ninjutsu, she admitted she couldn't teach him.

"No, I specialize in Nintaijutsu. [Chidori] was only developed to complement Lightning Release Chakra Mode."

Hearing Tohru's words, Kushina breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know Nintaijutsu either, but she could still spar with Tohru.

"Tohru, can you stand up?"

Tohru nodded. They had been chatting for about half an hour, and his chakra and stamina had recovered quite a bit.

"Alright then, big sister will treat you to Ichiraku Ramen."

Kushina had a special fondness for Ichiraku Ramen, eating a bowl every day. As for Tohru, after having a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen while in the hospital bed, he too had fallen in love with its taste. In his free time, he often went there to eat.

"Boss! Large pork bone ramen!"

"I'll have a large seafood ramen!"

"Oh! It's Kushina and Tohru! What brings you here together?" Both were regulars, so the Ichiraku owner naturally recognized them.

"Tohru is my disciple!"

"Is that so! Congratulations, Kushina, on taking such a good apprentice! Today's ramen is on me!"

"Thanks, boss!" The free meal from the Ichiraku owner made Kushina even happier.

After finishing their ramen, Kushina walked Tohru home and agreed to meet again the next day at the Third Training Ground.

After greeting Yamanaka Seiko, Tohru returned to his room. Lying on the bed, he recalled his battle with Kushina.

This fight was the most exhilarating one Tohru had experienced since arriving in the world of Naruto. Hatake Sakumo's strength was far above his, and he often got one-shotted.

Kushina in her One-Tail Tailed Beast Cloak state was roughly between Elite Jonin and Quasi-Kage. With Tohru going all out, he could put up a fight—though the result was still a loss, of course.

Thinking this over, Tohru felt that having Kushina as a teacher wasn't so bad after all!