Far vs. Kushina

"Yamanaka Tohru, is this all you've got?" Kushina's attacks came at him like a torrential storm. Cloaked in the Tailed Beast Cloak, her speed and strength were beyond imagination. With only Lightning Release Chakra Mode and [Chidori Blade] at his disposal, Yamanaka Tohru could do nothing but take a beating.

"In that case, Kushina-sensei, I won't hold back!" Chakra flowed through Yamanaka Tohru's body as he entered Ice Lightning Mode.

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

Ice Lightning Mode greatly boosted his reflexes and movement speed. Relying on his exceptional mental prowess, Yamanaka Tohru sensed where Kushina was.

The Tailed Beast Cloak was only in its One-Tail state, and Yamanaka Tohru's Ice Lightning Mode was already enough to keep pace with Kushina.

Yamanaka Tohru knew he had no chance of winning. His chakra could sustain Ice Lightning Mode for only two minutes, while Kushina belonged to the Uzumaki Clan, whose chakra reserves were already far beyond ordinary people's. On top of that, she had the Nine-Tails' seemingly limitless chakra. All he could do was find a way to lose with some dignity within those two minutes.

Seeing Yamanaka Tohru keep up with her speed, Kushina was more than satisfied with her student.

At only seven years old, he had already reached this level of strength and developed a jutsu with an attack power above A-rank. Yamanaka Tohru's talent could rival that of her boyfriend, Namikaze Minato.

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

Kushina suddenly accelerated. To an ordinary person watching with their eyes, she would have appeared as nothing more than a blood-red blur. She aimed for Yamanaka Tohru's back, wanting to see just how far he could go.

"[Water Release: Water Ripple]!" Yamanaka Tohru opened his eyes and unleashed Water Release toward Kushina behind him. She was cloaked in the Tailed Beast Cloak and didn't even bother with the C-rank Water Release jutsu, pressing on with her attack.

"Ice Seal!" The Water Ripple froze, and Kushina's fist struck Yamanaka Tohru in the back. In the blink of an eye, his figure disappeared before her.

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

"[Chidori]!" On the ice behind Kushina, Yamanaka Tohru quickly formed Hand Seals and unleashed Chidori with the chakra he had left. Ice Lightning Mode had already ended the moment Chidori took shape.

The ice was less than a meter from Kushina, and Yamanaka Tohru's Chidori hit her squarely.

"Poof!" Kushina was pierced by Chidori, then turned into a cloud of white smoke!

"A Shadow Clone! When did you—"

"When you opened your eyes and used Water Ripple. You could only locate me by sensing me, so you must have opened your eyes because you were planning to finish things with one last attack! There was no way I'd give you that chance!" Kushina dispelled her Tailed Beast Cloak and looked at Yamanaka Tohru, who was sprawled on the ground.

"Kushina-sensei, you're so strong!" Yamanaka Tohru panted as he spoke to her.

"You're not bad either! Most Jonin would've been taken down by you already. Was that last move a Space-Time Ninjutsu?"

"No. It's a special ability I discovered when I was little. I can instantly move to a block of ice that contains my chakra." Yamanaka Tohru shook his head and explained.

Ice Release and the Sharingan were Yamanaka Tohru's biggest trump cards. For now, only Yamanaka Seiko, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Hatake Sakumo knew about his Sharingan. Only Kushina knew about his Ice Release, though Hatake Sakumo had a vague suspicion.

Yamanaka Tohru had revealed the secret of his Ice Release partly because Kushina had pushed him so hard today, and partly because she would be his Jonin instructor from now on. Since they'd be spending so much time together, he figured it was better to tell her outright before she sensed it herself. Maybe it would even bring them closer.

"Is this the Ice Release of the Yuki Clan?"

Yamanaka Tohru shook his head to show he didn't know.

Kushina had always been the simple-minded, strong-limbed type. If she couldn't figure something out, she simply set 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." When Kushina got excited, her odd way of speaking came out.

"Big Sister Kushina!" Yamanaka Tohru was happy to get closer to Kushina, so he readily changed how he addressed her.

"Tohru, did you develop that jutsu yourself?"

"Yeah! Chidori is an A-rank jutsu!" Yamanaka Tohru didn't hide the truth.

"Wow, you're a genius! You developed your own jutsu at seven?"

"Chidori is just a basic jutsu. Infusing chakra into a short sword makes it sharper—that's Chidori Blade. Releasing Chidori's chakra outward is Chidori Spear, and adding Lightning Release chakra nature transformation creates Chidori. Chidori is an S-rank jutsu!" Yamanaka Tohru told Kushina about Chidori and the other jutsu he had developed from it.

Kushina was dumbfounded. Her fighting style was straightforward and brutal. Speed, Taijutsu, and chakra reserves were what mattered to her. She had never learned such intricate jutsu.

"Tohru, are you better at ninjutsu?" Kushina's ninjutsu skills were ordinary. If Yamanaka Tohru was good at ninjutsu, she knew she wouldn't be able to teach him.

"No. I specialize in Nintaijutsu. I developed Chidori just to complement Lightning Release Chakra Mode."

Hearing Yamanaka Tohru's answer, Kushina felt relieved. She didn't know Nintaijutsu either, but she could still spar with him.

"Tohru, can you stand?"

Yamanaka Tohru nodded. They'd been talking for about half an hour, and he had recovered a good amount of chakra and stamina.

"Good. Big sister will treat you to Ichiraku Ramen."

Kushina was especially fond of Ichiraku Ramen and ate a bowl every day. After trying a bowl while he was in the hospital, Yamanaka Tohru had also grown fond of its taste. He often went there in his free time.

"Boss! A large tonkotsu ramen!"

"I'll have a large seafood ramen!"

"Oh, it's Kushina and Tohru! What brings you two here together?" They were both regulars, so the Ichiraku owner knew them.

"Tohru's my student!"

"I see! Congratulations, Kushina. You've got yourself such a wonderful student! Ramen's on me today!"

"Thanks, Boss!" The free meal made Kushina even happier.

After they finished their ramen, Kushina walked Yamanaka Tohru home and arranged to meet him the next day at the Third Training Ground.

After greeting Yamanaka Seiko, Yamanaka Tohru went back to his room. Lying on his bed, he thought back to his battle with Kushina.

This was the most satisfying fight Yamanaka Tohru had had since arriving in the Naruto world. Hatake Sakumo was far too strong for him, and he often got taken out in a single blow.

Kushina in her One-Tail Tailed Beast Cloak was probably somewhere between Elite Jonin and Quasi-Kage. With all his power unleashed, Yamanaka Tohru could put up a fight, though he was certain to lose.

Thinking about it, Yamanaka Tohru decided that having Kushina as his teacher wasn't so bad after all!