Honesty and the Yin Seal

Evening, in the kitchen.

Tsunade leaned against the refrigerator door, watching Minato's back as he chopped vegetables, and spoke up abruptly: "You brat, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Why would Teacher say that?"

Seemingly having anticipated Tsunade's reaction, Minato's movements didn't falter in the slightest. He swept the chopped vegetables into a plate before turning to look at her.

Seeing this reaction, Tsunade felt her suspicions confirmed and couldn't help but sigh.

"Three people, over twenty wounds, and not a single one hit a vital point. If it weren't for the loss of vitality, it could even be classified as a minor injury."

"Why couldn't it be the result of a Wood Clone trying its best to hold back?"

"Because you are the most outstanding genius I have ever seen. Being grabbed by the ankle and having your movement restricted is something that could never happen to you, not even to a Wood Clone."

Tsunade's tone was complex. Minato's calm attitude made her suddenly realize that her understanding of this disciple was somewhat lacking.

In the two-plus months they had spent together, the impression Minato had given her was always one of kindness and gentleness, yet he never lacked principles or a sharp edge.

Today's events had truly exceeded her expectations.

"Was having me take you out to train today also just to find a suitable excuse for this incident? Why did you do it?"

Tsunade didn't get angry immediately, but looked at Minato with deep confusion: "You could have just beaten them up. Why did you have to be so heavy-handed?"

"Just beating them up—how could that vent my frustration? Seeing them lying in the hospital ward, I felt physically and mentally satisfied."

Minato chuckled softly: "Besides, I gave them chances. From start to finish, I wasn't the one looking for trouble; it was them provoking me time and again. People must always pay the price for their own actions, don't they?"

"To be honest, if I weren't Teacher's disciple, the consequences of this might have been much more severe. Or rather... my original intention was to cause even worse consequences, and it was only out of respect for my status as your disciple that I held back."

If you don't kill the snake, it will come back to bite you.

He didn't care if they were just children. As a transmigrator, he felt he had already been derelict in his duties by not rooting out the problem entirely.

"You..."

Tsunade looked at him in disbelief. She had expected Minato to come up with some random excuse.

Even if the excuse were flimsy, she would have found a reason to convince herself, but she never expected Minato to be so frank!

She frowned slightly, not because she thought there was anything wrong with Minato fighting back against bullies, but because she was worried that her disciple was being blinded by extremism and violence.

"Teacher, please don't tell me that everyone in the village is family and a comrade. I don't care about such things. Whoever targets me is my enemy, regardless of the reason."

Seeming to see through Tsunade's concerns, Minato sighed almost imperceptibly.

"Being helpful is part of my moral character, but in reality, even if Konoha were blown to the sky, I wouldn't care. The only person I care about is you, Teacher!"

"!!!"

Hearing this, Tsunade, who had been full of inner conflict, suddenly felt her heart skip a beat.

But before she could react, Minato's voice continued.

"Nawaki, Kushina!"

"..."

Tsunade felt her mood plummet like a roller coaster.

An inexplicable sense of shame and annoyance welled up in her heart, causing her to uncontrollably pinch Minato's cheeks: "You haven't spent much time with Kushina, have you? How did she become someone you care about?"

"Eh? Aren't we all family now?"

Minato said, his words muffled: "When I first arrived, didn't Teacher and Nawaki treat me very well?"

"Then tell me!"

Tsunade puffed out her cheeks: "Who do you care about more, me or Kushina?"

"..."

What a lethal question!

Minato didn't hesitate: "Of course, it's Teacher!"

In terms of closeness, that was indeed the case. While he had a fondness for Kushina due to the original series, he had spent much more time with Tsunade.

Besides, he was twenty years old in his previous life; naturally, he preferred a big sister figure like Tsunade.

Not to mention that Kushina was only five years old. Even with the bias of the original story, in his eyes, she was just a little kid.

"Hmph, that's more like it~"

Having received a satisfactory answer, Tsunade let go of his cheeks and put her hands on her hips with a proud pout, though she couldn't suppress the upward curve of her lips.

"I didn't notice it before, but you brat are actually quite the schemer!"

"Does Teacher not like it?"

Minato tilted his head slightly, looking completely innocent.

Feeling the contrast in his personality, Tsunade felt as if something had gently poked her heart, bringing a sense of indescribable excitement.

"I don't mind, actually. If you had a simple personality like Nawaki, I'd be even more worried. But your methods were still too extreme. Just as you care about Teacher, Teacher also cares about you, which is why I'm worried about you heading down a radical path."

Tsunade ruffled Minato's mop of yellow hair, her tone gentle.

Minato nodded. With Tsunade still pressing down on the crown of his head, he decided to agree first regardless of anything else; he would deal with the rest later.

"You seem a bit perfunctory."

Tsunade leaned down, looking straight into Minato's eyes: "You must remember, Teacher cares about you just as much!"

She emphasized the word "care," rather than anything else.

Gazing at that bright and moving face, a strange emotion suddenly welled up in Minato's heart.

Only then did he realize that his feelings for Tsunade were not simple.

As luck would have it, with Tsunade's leaning posture, her neckline quietly revealed a glimpse of snowy-white scenery.

Catching a glimpse of that whiteness in his peripheral vision, Minato turned his head away, feeling somewhat unnatural.

Noticing Minato's reaction, Tsunade realized what had happened. She glanced down, a playful smile flashing in the depths of her eyes.

"Little rascal..."

Tsunade turned Minato's face back, forcing him to look at her, and then gently kissed him on the forehead.

It was a fleeting moment, a touch that ended as soon as it began, yet it felt as if a long time had passed.

"Alright, hurry up and cook; I'm starving."

Tsunade stood up, waved her hand, and turned to leave, leaving Minato standing there in a daze.

Returning to her room, Tsunade couldn't wait to rummage through her things and pull out a scroll.

Yin Seal

This was a sealing technique passed down by the Uzumaki Clan, which she had obtained from her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki.

The unique aspect of this technique was that it broke the limitation that chakra could not be stored after being refined, allowing the user to release stored chakra at critical moments.

Furthermore, by regulating chakra, it could keep the body in its absolute peak state.

Tsunade had originally intended to use this as a foundation to develop a technique that would allow medical ninjas to fight as well. In fact, she had already achieved certain results, confirming the feasibility of such development.

But now, she suddenly felt that developing it so slowly was a complete waste of time.

"I should just master the Yin Seal first; after all, practice is the best way to gain true knowledge, and it will give me an extra trump card if I encounter a fight..."

In the room, Tsunade muttered to herself as if self-hypnotizing, her gaze sweeping rapidly across the scroll.

She had lost count of how many times she had read the contents of this scroll; she knew it by heart.

However, to be safe, she read through it carefully once more.

One year!

With the chakra of her Senju Clan, she could master the Yin Seal in at most one year!