Uzumaki Kushina

The Medical Ninja Training Class and the Ninja Academy do not share the same holiday schedule.

After finishing lunch, Yakushi Nonō went back to attend her classes.

Natsuki returned to the Konoha Orphanage and confirmed with the director, Zhenyou, that no Root ninja had appeared, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Given Shimura Danzō's personality, after learning that he had defeated Namikaze Minato, he would inevitably have come knocking to force him into Root.

The fact that he had acted so uncharacteristically could only mean one thing: Hiruzen Sarutobi had stopped him.

Thinking about it carefully, that made sense; the current Hiruzen Sarutobi was not the Third Hokage who excessively indulged Shimura Danzō as seen in the original story.

Of course, Shimura Danzō would not give up so easily.

There was not much Natsuki could do, so he could only focus on improving his strength as quickly as possible.

He soon finalized his training plan for this holiday.

Study in the morning, and practice Tree Climbing in the afternoon.

Time arrived at the next day.

After Natsuki dropped Yakushi Nonō off at Konoha Hospital, he headed to a nearby Training Ground.

To his surprise, there was not only Tsunade and Nawaki at the training ground, but also an extra girl.

She looked to be about the same age as Natsuki, with a slightly round face and a head of fiery red hair.

"Natsuki, let me introduce you; this is Uzumaki Kushina."

Tsunade took the initiative to say, "She will be transferring to your class next semester."

Natsuki thought to himself that it was as expected.

The moment he saw that red hair, he had guessed she was Uzumaki Kushina.

"Hello, I am Uzumaki Kushina."

Uzumaki Kushina said with a hint of reserve.

She was not yet the hot-tempered Bloody Habanero at this stage.

In fact, the reason she would eventually earn the nickname Bloody Habanero was purely due to her angry retaliation after being bullied by her classmates.

"I am Natsuki, nice to meet you."

Natsuki nodded and said.

"I have prepared wooden ninja tools for you both."

Tsunade crouched down, opened a Storage Summoning Scroll, and took out a pile of ninja tools.

Although she was there to provide timely medical treatment for Natsuki and Nawaki, it was best to avoid injuries whenever possible.

Natsuki subconsciously glanced over.

He was standing close, and since Tsunade was not wearing her jonin vest today, he caught a glimpse of a snow-white curve.

Although it had not yet reached the level seen in the original work, the initial signs were already there.

"Natsuki, please go easy on me."

Nawaki said with a beaming smile as he performed the Seal of Confrontation.

"Senior Nawaki, please show mercy."

Natsuki took a wooden ninja sword from Tsunade's hand.

In the original story, Nawaki's role could be summarized in one sentence: he was blown up by an explosive tag at the age of twelve.

How much talent he had or what ninjutsu he knew remained an unknown.

But one thing Natsuki could be certain of was that he definitely possessed a massive amount of Chakra.

Both the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan were famous for their abundant Chakra.

Uzumaki Kushina watched them, her small face filled with curiosity.

She was a newcomer and did not know Natsuki, but she knew a little about Nawaki, aware that he was a genius among geniuses.

"Watch out!"

Nawaki gave a warning, and in an instant, he was right in front of Natsuki.

He threw a punch that tore through the air.

The words Body Flicker Technique flashed through Natsuki's mind.

He had no time to dodge and could only raise his wooden sword, using the blade to block Nawaki's fist.

With a bang.

A massive force surged through.

Natsuki felt his right hand, which was gripping the sword, go numb.

He took a look and discovered that the wooden sword had already developed cracks.

Natsuki had no time to think as his right leg struck out toward Nawaki like lightning.

Nawaki saw this and also raised his right leg.

Leg collided with leg, and both of their bodies shuddered simultaneously.

Nawaki took an involuntary step back, a look of surprise appearing on his face.

He had been learning taijutsu from Tsunade since he was young and believed that no one among his peers could surpass him in physical combat.

But this Golden Right Leg from Natsuki had caused him to suffer a minor setback.

However, it was limited to just that.

Nawaki pressed forward once again, his right fist smashing out with terrifying force.

Reinforcement Magic!

A surge of Chakra flowed toward Natsuki's legs.

His speed increased abruptly, and in an instant, he widened the distance between himself and Nawaki.

One Sword Style: 36 Pound Cannon!

Natsuki's gaze sharpened, and the ninja sword in his hand turned into a blur.

Nawaki immediately sensed danger.

He hurriedly stopped his advance and instantly formed hand seals.

A wall of water rose up in front of him.

The next second, a visible blue sword wave landed on the water wall.

Boom!

A violent sound erupted.

A large hole was instantly torn through the water wall.

"What kind of swordsmanship is this?"

Nawaki felt a lingering fear.

Fortunately, he had used Water Release: Water Formation Wall in time; otherwise, if that strike had landed on him, it would surely have left a bloody hole.

Tsunade, who was watching the battle, also had a look of shock on her face.

The power displayed by One Sword Style: 36 Pound Cannon was already not inferior to an average B-rank ninjutsu.

"So... so amazing!"

Uzumaki Kushina blurted out.

She had seen many geniuses within the Uzumaki Clan, but none of them could compare to Natsuki and Nawaki.

"I call it One Sword Style."

Natsuki caught his breath and replied.

He did not have the terrifying physical stamina of Zoro, so he could only inject Chakra into the One Sword Style: 36 Pound Cannon.

And this single strike had consumed one-third of the Chakra in his body.

There was no helping it; he was too young and lacked a special bloodline, so his Chakra was very limited.

"No wonder Minato lost to you," Nawaki said with an expression of amazement.

"With my remaining Chakra, I can still use one more sword technique."

Natsuki gripped his ninja sword tightly and held it vertically in front of him.

Seeing this, Nawaki's expression became serious.

He immediately formed hand seals, using the strongest Water Release technique he currently possessed.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

A massive water dragon roared as it flew out.

A normal Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique required forty-four hand seals, but Nawaki's version only required four.

This was because he was using the version of the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique improved by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

Just then, the sound of wind being torn apart rang out.

One Sword Style: Iai: Lion Song!

Natsuki transformed into a streak of sword light, cleaving the water dragon in the air in two.

Water splashed everywhere.

Nawaki's eyes widened.

Although that light had dimmed significantly, it had not vanished and was charging straight at him.

At the critical moment, he raised his arms and crossed them in front of his chest to block.

The light suddenly stopped, revealing Natsuki's figure.

Nawaki felt a sharp sensation of pain radiating through both of his arms.

But in the end, he had managed to block Natsuki's sword strike.

"I concede."

Natsuki said this quite decisively.

The first reason was that his Chakra was already running low.

The second was that he had already used his two strongest sword techniques.

If he were to keep fighting, he would definitely lose.

It was better to take the initiative to concede while he still held the upper hand, preserving his dignity.

"You..."

Nawaki opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Although he had won, it had not been an easy victory.

Moreover, Natsuki was two years younger than him.

If they were the same age, and Natsuki possessed more Chakra and sword techniques, then the one who lost would likely have been him.

"Truly astonishing talent for swordsmanship."

Tsunade could not help but praise him.

At the same time, an idea sprouted in her mind: Natsuki would be a suitable teammate for Nawaki.

It seemed she would have to find time to talk to Orochimaru and have him serve as the leader for Natsuki and Nawaki's team.

If they added Yakushi Nonō to the mix, they could form a perfect Ninja squad.