Modified Yin Seal

The next day.

By the Naka River.

Tsunade had risen early for once to train Uchiha Gen.

Amid a series of thunderous crashes, Ganghuo Uchiha and the others hid in the woods, watching Uchiha Gen trade blows with Tsunade with feverish excitement in their eyes.

"This is... a Uchiha prodigy! At an age like that, he can already fight a shinobi like Princess Tsunade!"

"Kid, your punches are strong enough, but you're still too slow at concentrating your chakra. Make controlling the chakra for Strength of a Hundred second nature. That way, your opponents won't be able to exploit an opening when you use it in battle."

Tsunade's fist skimmed past Uchiha Gen's shoulder. Watching the fierce wind from the blow ruffle his hair, she spoke in a low voice.

Uchiha Gen said nothing, just kept throwing punches. Tsunade caught every one with ease and countered.

"Not enough. Keep going!"

She drove a punch into him, sending him skidding back several meters, then stepped forward and closed in again.

The thunderous crashes rang out once more.

Two hours later,

Tsunade and Uchiha Gen lay on the grass, both looking thoroughly satisfied.

Don't get the wrong idea. They'd just had a good fight.

"You're growing at a terrifying pace. I reckon if you went all out, you might actually be able to kill an ordinary Elite Jonin.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Comparing yourself to others is enough to drive you mad. When I was your age, I was still at school, trying to find ways to skip class and go to the casino."

Tsunade smiled as she gazed at the white clouds overhead.

"I can't beat them."

Uchiha Gen simply shook his head.

He'd sparred with Ganghuo Uchiha, who had always protected him. Elite Jonin were truly powerful. Ganghuo was an elite among the Uchiha, strong enough to take on three opponents at once—but Gen was a Uchiha too, wasn't he?

"You're only eight. It'd be more surprising if you could beat one! Who'd believe an eight-year-old was an Elite Jonin?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at him.

"Would you believe it if someone in their teens killed the Six Paths like they were chickens?"

Uchiha Gen fell silent.

The breeze stirred gently, and the grass rustled softly. The two of them lay peacefully on the grass until—

"Gen, let's make a deal."

Tsunade sat up, her expression serious.

"????"

Uchiha Gen stared at her in surprise. Honestly, you and Mito Uzumaki really are cut from the same cloth. Why do you both like doing this?

"Let's hear it."

Uchiha Gen spoke softly, his gaze still on the sky.

"Just as you said, the war is about to begin. Tensions between the villages are growing, and Nawaki is about to graduate.

"Now... Grandma is close to leaving me. Once she's gone, Nawaki will be my only family.

"But Nawaki's temperament isn't really suited to being a shinobi. As his older sister, all I can do is support him, so I asked Orochimaru to be his teacher.

"But it looks like even Orochimaru can't teach him properly. Graduating at a time like this, he'll probably be sent to the battlefield. As Grandpa's grandson, his status means he can't hide in the village.

"The battlefield is brutal. Orochimaru will be watching over him, but the old man clearly wants to put Orochimaru through his paces. So once the war begins, Orochimaru won't be able to keep an eye on Nawaki all the time. That's why..."

Tsunade's voice grew subdued.

"So you want me to babysit him?"

Uchiha Gen turned his head to look at Tsunade, his expression unreadable.

"...I know it's an unreasonable request. You're even younger than Nawaki, and no matter how strong you are, you're still just a child who has to attend the Ninja Academy.

"Asking you to go to the battlefield for my brother is asking too much. But I really don't want to lose another family member... Gen, with your abilities, the missions you'd get after graduating with your classmates wouldn't pose any danger. That's why I let myself have this selfish thought."

Tsunade looked apologetic. Even she thought her request was excessive. After all, this was about the battlefield.

"I'm not interested. I don't like being around that idiot."

Looking at Tsunade's apologetic expression, Uchiha Gen turned away.

He had no intention of babysitting anyone. If Tsunade had asked him for something else, he would have done his best, but he had no interest in looking after Nawaki.

Taking care of someone so foolish, so fixated on restoring the glory of his predecessors that he couldn't even face his own abilities, would be exhausting.

More importantly, Nawaki was fundamentally different from Tsunade and Mito Uzumaki. He hadn't moved beyond the feud between the Senju and Uchiha.

"I see... Hah, I should've expected that. But it's fine. I only wanted to ask you to give Nawaki an extra layer of protection. Here, take this."

Tsunade showed no disappointment. Instead, she seemed relieved as she let out a breath, reached into her clothes, pulled out a scroll, and tossed it to Uchiha Gen.

"What's this?"

Uchiha Gen caught the scroll and sat up. Feeling its lingering warmth, he looked at it in puzzlement.

"It was one of the things I originally wanted to offer you in our deal. But I developed it for you anyway, so I might as well give it to you now. Take a look."

After handing over the scroll, Tsunade lay back down and smiled. For some reason, Uchiha Gen's refusal seemed to make her much happier.

"Modified Yin Seal?!"

Uchiha Gen opened the scroll, puzzled, and his eyes flashed with surprise as he read its contents.

He was naturally familiar with the Yin Seal. Mito Uzumaki, Tsunade, Sakura Haruno, and even Sarada Uchiha in the future had all trained in this secret technique.

"Your golden chakra mode is powerful, but its side effects are too severe. When I first saw you use it, I thought of the Yin Seal.

"But the Yin Seal was originally a technique Grandma developed to extract and store the Nine-Tails' chakra, then maintain the seal containing it.

"She'd wanted the next Jinchūriki to no longer have to be from the Uzumaki Clan. But the Nine-Tails' chakra simply wasn't suited to being stored. It was too difficult to sever the connection between its chakra.

"So Grandma modified the Yin Seal again, turning it into the secret technique we use now to store chakra. But she used her own body as a test subject while modifying the technique, so it was only suitable for women.

"This time, though, I asked Grandma to help me modify it. Now you can use it too. Your chakra reserves are already terrifying. Combined with this technique and that chakra mode, you should be able to defeat an Elite Jonin. And who knows what you'll be capable of in the future... Heh heh."

Tsunade smiled. She understood all too well how suited the Yin Seal was to Uchiha Gen.