Kekkei Genkai

Konoha's attitude toward Kekkei Genkai is actually quite tolerant.

But if it were just an ordinary Kekkei Genkai, the other party wouldn't need to go out of their way to seek her out specifically...

Thinking of her own status, Tsunade's eyes flickered, and a guess she herself found hard to believe suddenly rose in her heart.

After a long silence, a rich, fragrant aroma suddenly wafted over, interrupting Tsunade's thoughts and making her swallow involuntarily.

"What did you make? Why does it smell so good?"

"Saliva Chicken."

Minato held up the plate to show Tsunade. Inside were pieces of chicken thigh meat submerged in red chili oil, garnished with green and red peppers and Sichuan peppercorns.

The preparation for this dish wasn't complicated; although it was a meat dish, it was very refreshing, and he personally preferred it a bit spicier.

Tsunade picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece, and stuffed it into her mouth without hesitation.

"So spicy! But so fragrant! Hiss... it would be even better if there were some sake!"

"It seems you can't handle spice very well..."

Seeing Tsunade gasping and hissing from the heat, Minato felt a bit embarrassed. He hadn't expected anyone to find the Saliva Chicken too spicy, so he hurriedly handed her a glass of water.

"Take a moment to recover; the other dishes aren't spicy."

"What other dishes are there?"

Tsunade's eyes lit up. Although that first bite of chicken had been very spicy, it had inexplicably ignited her appetite. Her stomach growled loudly, and her mouth began to water uncontrollably.

"There is also a plate of Scallion Beef Stir-fry, a serving of Tomato Scrambled Eggs, and a piece of Pan-fried Cod. Everything is prepped, so we can eat right away."

Minato created a Shadow Clone, and with both stoves fired up, the dishes were ready in no time.

"Oh, oh, oh! How sumptuous!"

After serving the rice, Tsunade couldn't wait to pick up a piece of beef to taste. The thickened sauce made the beef smooth and tender, leaving a lingering fragrance on her palate.

"So delicious!"

When she looked up again, her eyes seemed to shine as she looked at Minato: "I've never had any of these dishes. Where did you learn them? Jiu Jiu House? No, this tastes even better than Jiu Jiu House!"

Jiu Jiu House was a very famous Chinese-style izakaya in Konoha—that's exactly what was written on the sign (according to the Data Book). Its selling points were stir-fried dishes and famous sake; Minato had felt it was absurd the first time he found out.

"They're just ordinary stir-fried dishes. I studied them by watching my mother cook. The only difference is the ingredients and seasonings. I was worried you might not be used to them since they might be too greasy."

Minato smiled sheepishly. Although stir-fried dishes existed in the ninja world, there weren't many varieties, and they lacked technical refinement; the most famous was something like Mapo Tofu.

"Are you kidding? Ninjas are supposed to eat high-energy food!"

As she spoke, Tsunade swept through the food on the table like a whirlwind.

Before long, all four plates were empty. Seeing his cooking so well-received, Minato smiled happily.

That sunny, handsome smile caused Tsunade to lose her focus for a brief moment.

Tsk, is this brat a bit too outstanding?

"Burp~"

Letting out an unladylike belch, Tsunade leaned back lazily in her chair, tapping her fingertips on the table: "Speak, what did you want to see me about? For the sake of this meal, I will do my best to help you."

Minato nodded, stood up to turn on the light, and drew the curtains.

Then, he returned to his seat and, under Tsunade's inquisitive gaze, extended a hand.

Click, click...

The next second, under Tsunade's shocked gaze, a small sapling slowly grew from Minato's palm. The sapling grew rapidly, sprouting branches, which were soon covered in vibrant green leaves.

"So it really is that..."

Not until the sapling in Minato's hand stopped growing did Tsunade wave her hand: "Alright, put it away. It seems your goal is the ninjutsu left behind by the First Hokage, right?"

"Yes."

Minato nodded and retracted the sapling.

Tsunade couldn't understand it. Even though she and Nawaki were the direct grandchildren of the First Hokage, neither of them had inherited the power of Wood Release.

Yet this little blond brat, who had popped out of nowhere, was suddenly showing off Wood Release to her!

"Does either side of your parents have blood from the Senju Clan?"

"I'm not very clear about those things..."

"Hmm... forget it, it's not important."

Tsunade didn't dwell on the issue of Minato's lineage.

If one were to trace a person's ancestry back through parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, by the eighteenth generation, there would be 520,000 people.

Although Minato's surname was Namikaze, it was possible that some ancestor had Senju blood. While bloodline atavism was rare, it wasn't impossible.

Strictly speaking, among those Kekkei Genkai clans, the individuals with exceptionally powerful bloodlines were essentially showing signs of atavism.

Tsunade looked at Minato with a hint of admiration: "Not bad. You were right not to make a scene about it. But why didn't you go to the Third Hokage, and instead chose to tell me?"

"To be honest... I don't actually trust the village's upper management very much."

Regarding this question from Tsunade, Minato had long since prepared a reason, which also served as a gentle warning to her.

In the original story, the despicable things done by the Konoha F4 were enough to make even someone as good-natured as him boil with rage.

"My father was once a chunin in the village. Later, because my mother was in poor health, he retired from active duty to become a merchant. Beyond that, I also heard my father mention... that ever since the Third Hokage took office, the village felt different to him."

"Different?"

Tsunade was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"My father once said that the First Hokage's strength was immense—strong enough that he could inspire a love for peace throughout the entire ninja world single-handedly. While the Second Hokage's strength didn't quite match the First's, it was enough to ensure there was only one voice in the village."

Seeing Tsunade lost in thought, Minato continued: "But after the Third Hokage took office, several members who originally belonged to the Second Hokage's Guard became the high-ranking officials of various departments in the village."

"From that point on, whether intentional or not, a community of interests centered around the Hokage's power, bound by the camaraderie of their past, emerged."

Minato spoke with both caution and bluntness.

He was cautious because he was only a five-year-old child; fortunately, children in the ninja world were mostly precocious, and he was merely posing a question, which didn't even amount to an accusation.

He was blunt because Tsunade—or perhaps other characters in the Hokage world—seemed to have poor political instincts, and he was genuinely afraid she wouldn't understand.

"You brat..."

Tsunade frowned deeply. Minato's meaning was clear: he was worried that the Konoha high-ranking officials were colluding to monopolize power and suppress... or even harm, the new generation they couldn't control.

Although she hadn't heard of such vile things happening in recent years, she couldn't guarantee they hadn't occurred; after all, the ninja world was never short of such dark and filthy business.

As for collusion and monopolizing power, she did indeed have a vague sense that this was the case.

Especially in the last two years, the bureaucratic style of those in the upper echelons had become increasingly obvious.

However, some things were understood by everyone but could not be brought out into the open.

"You shouldn't say things like that!" Tsunade warned.

"Actually, I'm only doing this to ensure my own safety. I cannot be certain of the other high-ranking officials' attitudes toward me, so naturally, I won't pin my hopes on them."

Minato smiled sheepishly. "But Senior Tsunade is different. As the granddaughter of Konoha's founder and the most outstanding female ninja of the younger generation, you are deeply trusted by everyone. I believe you must be proud of your heritage, and at the very least, you wouldn't do anything to tarnish the First Hokage's name."

Of course, this was just an excuse. Minato couldn't exactly say he had read the script and knew she was more trustworthy, whereas the Konoha high-ranking officials were rotten to the core, one and all...

Fortunately, while this sounded like flattery, it did indeed please Tsunade.

"Hmph, that's true enough, but don't say things like this again in the future. There are many ninjutsu in the village for gathering intelligence, some of which can monitor a person's privacy in real-time. Even when you're alone, you must be careful."

As Tsunade said this, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

She felt Minato made sense. Although she hadn't inherited Wood Release, she had indeed inherited the Senju Clan's powerful sensory talent, and her intuition in certain areas was surprisingly accurate.

At the very least, from her perspective, those in the upper echelons were indeed not good people, especially the current Hokage's advisor, Shimura Danzō.

However, she warned him again: "At your age and with your current strength, you shouldn't understand so much."

"And don't worry too much. Although the old man is a bit indecisive, he is still trustworthy. He is in his prime, and his position is quite stable. At the very least, there won't be any problems in the short term. Besides, Wood Release has a special significance to Konoha; those guys are practically praying for someone with Wood Release to appear."

"Then what if it isn't just Wood Release?"

Minato raised his hand, and a dazzling light bloomed from his fingertips.

Whether it was Wood Release or the Sharingan, their power was built upon the foundation of chakra reserves. Even if he possessed the Power of All Creation to accelerate his growth, it would take at least until his teens to form a considerable combat force.

But the Glint-Glint Fruit was different. This power from another world could be activated with mere physical stamina. Elementalization allowed him to ignore the vast majority of attacks, and he could simultaneously attempt to integrate it with the chakra system. It was his top choice for early-stage combat.

"What is this?!"

Tsunade sat up straight abruptly, her face full of shock.

"A Kekkei Genkai?"