Honesty and the Yin Seal

Evening, in the kitchen.

Tsunade leaned against the refrigerator door, watching Minato's back as he chopped vegetables. Then, without warning, she spoke. "You brat, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Why would you say that, Sensei?"

As if he'd expected Tsunade's reaction, Minato didn't pause for a moment. He casually gathered the chopped vegetables onto a plate, then turned to look at her.

Seeing his reaction only confirmed Tsunade's suspicions, and she couldn't help sighing.

"Three people, with more than twenty wounds between them. Not one was in a vital spot. If they hadn't lost so much blood, their injuries could even have been called minor."

"Why couldn't that be the result of a Wood Clone doing everything it could to save them?"

"Because you're the most talented person I've ever met. Getting your ankle grabbed and being held back like that could never happen to you, even if it was only a Wood Clone."

Tsunade's tone was complicated. Minato's calm attitude suddenly made her realize that she might not know her student as well as she thought.

During the two months they'd spent together, Minato had always struck her as kind and gentle, yet principled and sharp.

Today's events had truly caught her off guard.

"You asked me to take you out to train today so you'd have a good excuse for what happened, didn't you? Why did you do it?"

Tsunade didn't get angry right away. Instead, she looked at Minato in confusion. "You could've just beaten them up. Why go so far?"

"Just beating them up wouldn't have been satisfying. Seeing them lying in their hospital beds made me feel great, body and soul."

Minato chuckled. "Besides, I gave them a chance. I never started anything; they were the ones who kept provoking me. People have to pay for their actions, don't they?"

"To be honest, if I weren't your student, Sensei, the consequences might've been even worse. Or rather... I meant to make them worse from the start. I only showed restraint because I'm your student."

If you didn't finish off a snake, it would come back to bite you.

He didn't care that they were children. As someone who'd crossed over into this world, he was already failing at his job by not eliminating the threat completely.

"You..."

Tsunade stared at him in disbelief. She'd thought Minato would come up with some excuse.

Even if it had been flimsy, she could've found a reason to convince herself. She hadn't expected him to be so candid!

Her brows furrowed slightly. It wasn't that she thought Minato was wrong to fight back against his bullies. She was worried that her student might be consumed by extremism and rage.

"Sensei, please don't tell me how everyone in the village is family and comrades. Whoever I care about, whatever the reason, anyone who attacks me is my enemy."

As if he'd seen her concerns, Minato let out a barely perceptible sigh.

"Helping people is part of my moral code. But honestly, even if Konoha were blown to smithereens, I wouldn't care. The only person I care about is you, Sensei!"

"!!!"

Tsunade had been full of conflicting emotions, but at those words, she suddenly felt her heart pound hard.

Before she could react, Minato continued.

"Nawaki and Kushina!"

"..."

Tsunade's mood immediately plummeted, like she'd just gotten off a roller coaster.

A sudden, inexplicable embarrassment welled up inside her, and she couldn't help pinching Minato's cheek. "You haven't known Kushina that long, either. How did she become someone you care about?"

"Huh? Aren't we a family now?"

Minato's words came out muffled. "When I first got here, you and Nawaki were really kind to me, too."

"Then tell me!"

Tsunade puffed out her cheeks. "Between me and Kushina, who do you care about more?"

"..."

What a deadly question!

Minato answered without hesitation. "Of course it's you, Sensei!"

In terms of how close they were, that was true. He did have a soft spot for Kushina because she was Minato's canon love interest, but he'd spent more time with Tsunade.

Besides, he'd been twenty in his previous life, so naturally he preferred an older woman like Tsunade.

And Kushina was only five. Even with the bonus of being a canon love interest, she was still just a child to him.

"Hmph, that's more like it~"

Satisfied with his answer, Tsunade released his cheek and put her hands on her hips, trying to look haughty. But she couldn't hide the smile tugging at her lips.

"I never would've guessed you had such a dark side!"

"Does Sensei not like it?"

Minato tilted his head slightly, looking completely innocent.

Feeling that contrast in him, Tsunade felt something gently stir inside her. It was an excitement she couldn't quite describe.

"I don't mind. If you had a simple personality like Nawaki, I'd be more worried. But your methods were still too extreme. Just as you care about me, I care about you too. That's why I'm worried you'll go down a dark path."

She ran a hand through Minato's tousled blond hair, her voice gentle.

Minato nodded. Tsunade still had her hand on the crown of his head, so he figured he'd better agree for now and worry about the rest later.

"You don't sound very sincere."

Tsunade bent down and looked him in the eyes. "Remember, Sensei cares about you too!"

She emphasized that she cared about him, and nothing more.

Gazing at her beautiful, radiant face, Minato suddenly felt something stir inside him.

Only then did he realize that his feelings for Tsunade weren't entirely innocent.

As luck would have it, when Tsunade leaned forward, a glimpse of pale skin showed at her neckline.

Catching sight of it from the corner of his eye, Minato turned away awkwardly.

Noticing his movement, Tsunade realized what had happened too. She glanced down, a playful smile flashing in her eyes.

"Such a little rascal..."

Tsunade turned Minato's face toward her, making him look at her, then gently kissed him on the forehead.

It lasted only an instant, a brief touch, yet it seemed to go on forever.

"All right, hurry up and cook. I'm starving."

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

Back in her room, Tsunade eagerly searched for a scroll.

Yin Seal

This was a Sealing Jutsu passed down through the Uzumaki Clan. She'd gotten it from her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki.

What made this jutsu special was that it broke the limitation that chakra couldn't be stored after being refined. It allowed the user to release the stored chakra at a critical moment.

It could also regulate chakra to keep the body in peak condition.

Tsunade had originally planned to use it as the basis for developing a jutsu that would allow medical ninja to fight. She'd already made some progress and confirmed that it was possible.

But now, she suddenly felt that developing it little by little was a waste of time.

"I should master the Yin Seal first. After all, practice is the only way to know for sure, and it'll give me another option in a fight..."

In her room, Tsunade murmured to herself, as if trying to hypnotize herself, her eyes rapidly scanning the scroll.

She'd read its contents countless times and had long since memorized them.

Still, to be safe, she read through it again.

One year!

With the chakra of the Senju Clan, it would take her at most a year to master the Yin Seal!