Kekkei Genkai

Konoha was fairly accepting of Kekkei Genkai.

But if it was only an ordinary Kekkei Genkai, there'd be no need for him to go out of his way to ask her for help...

Thinking of her own identity, Tsunade's eyes flickered as a guess she could hardly believe suddenly came to mind.

After a long silence, a rich aroma suddenly filled the air, interrupting Tsunade's thoughts and making her swallow involuntarily.

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

"Saliva Chicken."

Minato held out the plate for Tsunade to see. It was piled with chunks of chicken leg soaked in red chili oil, garnished with green and red peppers and Sichuan peppercorns.

The dish wasn't complicated to make. Though it was meat, it was still refreshing, and he personally preferred it on the spicier side.

Tsunade picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece, and eagerly popped it into her mouth.

"Spicy! But so fragrant! Hiss... It'd be even better with some sake!"

"So you can't handle spicy food..."

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

"Take a moment to cool down. The other dishes aren't spicy."

"What else did you make?"

Tsunade's eyes lit up. That first bite of chicken had been spicy, but somehow it had only whetted her appetite. Her stomach growled, and her mouth began watering uncontrollably.

"There's a plate of Scallion Beef Stir-fry, a serving of Tomato Scrambled Eggs, and a serving of Pan-fried Cod. Everything's prepared, so dinner will be ready in a moment."

Minato made a Shadow Clone, and they set to work at two stoves. Before long, the dishes were ready.

"Ooh! What a feast!"

After serving the rice, Tsunade eagerly picked up a piece of beef and took a bite. The beef, coated in a glossy sauce, was tender and delicious, leaving a lingering taste on her lips.

"So good!"

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

Jiu Jiu House was a famous Chinese-style izakaya in Konoha—the sign out front said as much (according to the Book of Soldiers). It was known for its stir-fries and fine sake. When Minato had first heard about it, he'd found it pretty unbelievable too.

"They're just ordinary stir-fries. I learned by watching my mother cook. The only difference is the ingredients and seasonings. I was worried they might be too greasy for you."

Minato smiled sheepishly. Though there was stir-fried food in the Shinobi World, there weren't many dishes, and the cooking wasn't especially refined. The best-known was Mapo Tofu and the like.

"What are you talking about? A shinobi needs high-energy food!"

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

Before long, all four dishes were gone. Seeing how much his cooking had been appreciated made Minato smile with delight.

His sunny, handsome smile made Tsunade lose herself for a moment.

Tch, this kid was almost too good to be true.

"Burp~"

Tsunade burped without a shred of grace, then leaned back in her chair and lazily tapped her fingertips on the table. "All right, tell me why you came to see me. After a meal like this, I'll do my best to help you."

Minato nodded, stood up, turned on the light, and drew the curtains around the bed.

Then he returned to his seat and extended one hand under Tsunade's curious gaze.

Crack, crack...

The next moment, as Tsunade watched in shock, a tiny sapling slowly sprouted from Minato's palm. It grew rapidly, sending out branch after branch, each covered in vibrant green leaves.

"So that's it..."

Only after the sapling in Minato's hand stopped growing did Tsunade wave her hand. "All right, put it away. It seems your real purpose is to get the jutsu the First left behind, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Minato nodded and made the sapling in his hand disappear.

Tsunade couldn't understand it. She and Nawaki were both direct descendants of the First, yet neither of them had inherited the power of Wood Release.

But this blond kid, who had come out of nowhere, had just shown her Wood Release!

"Does either side of your family have Senju blood?"

"I'm not really sure..."

"Hmm... Never mind. It doesn't matter."

Tsunade didn't press Minato about his bloodline.

If you traced someone's family back from their parents to their grandparents and maternal grandparents, and kept going for eighteen generations, you'd find as many as 520,000 ancestors.

Minato's surname was Namikaze, but who knew whether one of his ancestors had Senju blood? Recessive bloodlines resurfacing was rare, but it wasn't impossible.

Strictly speaking, the especially powerful Kekkei Genkai users in bloodline clans were all signs of bloodlines resurfacing.

Tsunade regarded Minato with a hint of admiration. "Good. You were right not to make a fuss about this. But why didn't you go to the Third Hokage? Why tell me instead?"

"To be honest... I don't really trust the village's High Command."

Minato had already thought up an answer to Tsunade's question. It was also a warning of sorts.

The things the Konoha F4 had done in the original story made even someone as good-natured as him furious.

"My father used to be a Chunin in the village. Later, because my mother was in poor health, he left the shinobi ranks and became a merchant. But that's not the only reason. I've also heard him say... that the village felt different after the Third Hokage took office."

"Different?"

Tsunade frowned. "What do you mean?"

"My father once said that the First was so strong, he could make the entire Shinobi World long for peace by himself. The Second Hokage wasn't as strong as the First, but he was still powerful enough to ensure there was only one voice in the village."

Seeing Tsunade look thoughtful, Minato continued. "After the Third Hokage took office, several members of the Second Hokage's Guard ended up as high-ranking officials in various village departments."

"From then on, whether intentionally or not, a group with the Hokage's power at its center—and bound by their camaraderie as former teammates—came into being."

Minato was being cautious and blunt.

Cautious, because he was only a five-year-old child. Fortunately, children in the Shinobi World tended to mature early. He was only raising a concern, not even making an accusation.

And blunt, because Tsunade—or, for that matter, most of the other characters in Naruto—didn't seem especially politically astute. He was genuinely afraid she wouldn't understand otherwise.

"You little..."

Tsunade furrowed her brows. Minato's meaning was clear enough: he was worried that the Konoha High Command were colluding with one another, monopolizing power, and suppressing—or even harming—the next generation if they couldn't control them.

She hadn't heard of anything that heinous happening in recent years, but she couldn't be sure nothing had. After all, the shinobi world had never been short of dark, sordid affairs.

As for collusion and monopolizing power, she did have a vague sense that something like that was going on.

Especially over the past two years, the bureaucratic attitude of the higher-ups had become increasingly obvious.

But some things were understood by everyone and still couldn't be openly discussed.

"You can't just say things like that!" Tsunade warned him.

"Really, I'm just trying to keep myself safe. I can't be sure how the other higher-ups feel about me, so I'm not going to pin my hopes on them."

Minato smiled sheepishly. "But you're different, Tsunade. You're the granddaughter of one of Konoha's founders and the most outstanding young kunoichi in the village. Everyone trusts you. I'm sure you take pride in your heritage, and at the very least, you wouldn't do anything to tarnish the First's name."

Of course, that was just an excuse. Minato couldn't very well say that he'd read the script and knew she was more trustworthy, while the Konoha High Command were rotten to the core, every last one of them...

Fortunately, though it might have sounded like flattery, his words had clearly pleased Tsunade.

"Hmph. You're not wrong, but you shouldn't say things like that again. The village has plenty of techniques for gathering intelligence. Some can even monitor a person's private life in real time, so be careful even when you're alone."

Though Tsunade said this, the corners of her mouth kept rising.

She thought Minato had a point. She might not have inherited Wood Release, but she had inherited the Senju Clan's powerful sensory abilities, and her intuition about certain things was uncannily sharp.

At least as far as she could tell, those people in the High Command weren't exactly good sorts—especially the current Hokage's advisor, Shimura Danzō.

Still, she warned him again. "Given your age and abilities, you shouldn't know this much."

"And don't worry too much. The old man may be indecisive, but he's still trustworthy. He's in his prime now, and his position is secure. Nothing should go wrong in the short term. Besides, Wood Release holds special significance for Konoha. Those people would be delighted if someone with Wood Release appeared."

"What if it's not just Wood Release?"

Minato raised his hand, and a dazzling light bloomed at his fingertip.

The strength of Wood Release and the Sharingan both depended on the amount of chakra available. Even with the Power of All Creation speeding up his growth, he wouldn't be strong enough to make a real impact until he was at least in his teens.

But the Glint-Glint Fruit was different. This power from another world could be activated with stamina alone. Its elemental form could ignore most attacks, and he could also try to combine it with the chakra system. It was his best choice for fighting in the early stages.

"What is that?!"

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

"Kekkei Genkai?"