Two Years! (Combined)

Time passed, and before he knew it, two years had gone by since Uzumaki Kuming entered the Ninja Academy.

In these two years, Konoha had not changed much. Aside from the houses along the roads becoming a bit more weathered, the village's architectural layout remained the same, and Konoha continued to enjoy a peaceful atmosphere.

However, the ninja world had long since undergone earth-shattering changes. Two years ago, Konoha had dispatched troops to the borders. No sooner had these ninja forces arrived than they immediately clashed with the ninja of Kumogakure and Iwagakure. It would have been better if they hadn't started fighting, but once they did, the ninja from all three villages found themselves unable to stop.

The original plan for a small-scale proxy war fell through, escalating directly into a full-scale conflict, and one where Konoha was fighting a two-front war.

Just as Konoha was embroiled in this heated two-front battle, their good ally, the Land of Whirlpools, suffered a unilateral invasion by the Kaguya Clan of Kirigakure from the Land of Water. In December of that year, the Land of Whirlpools sent ninja to Konoha to request reinforcements, but the reply they received was that Konoha was currently fighting on two fronts and lacked the capacity to send troops to support them.

After the rejected envoy returned to the Land of Whirlpools, the Kaguya Clan of Kirigakure completely razed the country the following January. A large number of the Uzumaki Clan fled the village and were taken in by various other ninja villages. The sealing techniques passed down through generations of the Uzumaki Clan were reduced to ashes along with the self-immolation of their contemporary clan leader.

When news of the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools reached Konoha, Kushina was heartbroken for a long time. After all, it was the place where she was born and raised, and she held deep feelings for it. As for Uzumaki Mito, she said nothing upon hearing the news; after remaining silent for several days, her health deteriorated significantly.

To this day, Mito spends most of her time in sleep. Aside from eating and using the restroom, she rarely leaves her room. Even when she has the energy, the most she does is guide Uzumaki Kuming's training in the home dojo.

Not long after the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools, Kirigakure dispatched a large force of ninja to invade the Land of Fire, turning Konoha's two-front war into a three-front war. The already difficult situation became even more dire, but fortunately, Konoha's ninja were powerful and possessed good strategic depth, so the flames of war did not reach the heart of Konoha.

However, the war has continued to this day, and even now, battles frequently occur on the borders of the Land of Fire.

Fortunately, the war has not reached the interior of the Land of Fire, allowing the village to maintain its former prosperity. Yet, beneath this prosperity, undercurrents are surging.

"Hiss... hiss..."

In the dojo of the Uzumaki household in Konoha, Uzumaki Kuming sat cross-legged on a cushion, chakra swirling around his body and converging bit by bit toward the center of his forehead.

Sitting opposite him was an elderly woman. Her face was full of wrinkles, and her thin frame and gray hair revealed her advanced age. Judging by her appearance and wrinkles, the person sitting before Kuming was likely over 80 years old.

Between the old woman's brows was a diamond-shaped mark, though it had faded significantly; if one didn't look closely, it was impossible to see the shape of the mark clearly.

"It's done!"

Kuming, who had been refining chakra with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. As he spoke, a deep purple diamond-shaped mark suddenly appeared on his forehead. With the appearance of this mark, the Yin Seal that Kuming had been cultivating for two years was finally perfected today.

"Ugh... cough, cough..." The old woman suddenly coughed violently. Kuming, who was in front of her, immediately walked over nervously and gently patted her back.

"Grandma Mito, your health isn't good; you need to rest well."

"I've thoroughly researched the Yin Seal over these past two years. You didn't really need to watch me finish it today; there wouldn't have been any problems."

Kuming's words were met with a gratified smile from Uzumaki Mito. She raised her hand to gently pat Kuming's head and looked at the child before her, saying, "Kuming, your talent truly surprises me, and your attainments in sealing techniques are already very profound."

"Now that you have completed the Yin Seal today, you can begin to systematically learn ninjutsu."

"With the foundation of the Yin Seal and your study of sealing techniques, your control over chakra has definitely reached a very high level. Learning ninjutsu at this time will surely yield twice the result with half the effort."

Uzumaki Mito looked at the boy in front of her, a smile inevitably appearing on her face. Uzumaki Kuming could be considered someone she had raised herself. Now seven years old, Kuming stood at 1.3 meters tall, which was quite tall among his peers. At this moment, Kuming wore his hair long, with a black hairband simply tying the back of his hair together.

The baby fat that had originally been on Kuming's face had completely disappeared, and his face shape had turned into a relatively standard oval, though it was slightly rounder than the typical "oval face." Kuming's appearance was seventy percent similar to Kushina's. However, compared to Uzumaki Kushina, the lines of Kuming's face were more masculine.

At seven years old, Kuming already looked like a little adult.

"Swoosh!" The door to the dojo was flung open violently.

"Kuming, have you really finished it?"

Tsunade and Uzumaki Kushina appeared at the entrance of the dojo, and it was Tsunade who spoke. Tsunade had just rotated off the front lines this month, and upon returning, she heard that Kuming was about to complete the Yin Seal.

Having mastered the Yin Seal herself, Tsunade knew how difficult it was to learn. Even now, she couldn't believe that a seven-year-old child like Kuming could actually master a ninjutsu of the Yin Seal's caliber.

Therefore, the first thing she said upon pushing the door open was to confirm whether Kuming had truly finished.

"Big Sister and Sister Tsunade?" Kuming turned his head upon hearing the voice. Although he didn't answer Tsunade's question, the observant Tsunade had already seen the diamond-shaped mark on Kuming's forehead. For a moment, Tsunade was speechless.

"Really, it's actually real! This brat actually mastered the Yin Seal!"

Even after seeing the mark on Kuming's forehead, Tsunade still wore an expression of disbelief. A child who mastered the Yin Seal at seven—Tsunade didn't know what words to use to describe Kuming. In Tsunade's eyes, Kuming's talent was undoubtedly terrifying. After all, even she herself had been 18 years old when she mastered the Yin Seal.

Although Tsunade was shocked that Kuming could master the Yin Seal, in Kuming's own eyes, mastering it at this time was actually a bit late. Uzumaki Kuming's logic was simple: he had started learning the Yin Seal at five, but it had taken him two years to fully complete it.

Mastering the Yin Seal in two years was only on par with the level of Sakura Haruno, who came from a civilian background, so it was actually a bit weak.

However, what Kuming didn't know was that there was a huge gap between different Yin Seals. Because everyone's understanding of the Yin Seal differed, there were huge variations in how they constructed it. Therefore, the amount of chakra the Yin Seal could store was often vastly different.

When Sakura Haruno stored chakra into the Yin Seal back then, she mostly used her excess chakra, and she had simultaneously balanced it with the study of medical ninjutsu. Under such circumstances, it took Sakura nearly two years to completely finish the Yin Seal.

But Uzumaki Kuming was different. He had spent most of his time over these two years refining chakra to input into the Yin Seal. Furthermore, Kuming was from the Uzumaki Clan; his natural chakra volume and the speed at which he refined chakra far exceeded that of ordinary people. Even so, it had taken him two years to fill the Yin Seal.

It was evident that the Yin Seals of Uzumaki Kuming and Sakura Haruno were of completely different intensities. This could be roughly seen from the color of the marks.

Having completely finished the Yin Seal, Uzumaki Kuming no longer had restrictions on his chakra usage. The first thing he did after completing the Yin Seal was to circulate his chakra throughout his entire body. As the powerful chakra surged into his body, Kuming could clearly feel a significant increase in his strength.

"Sister Tsunade, do you want to test whether my Yin Seal is the real deal?"

Kuming stood up and stretched his limbs. At this moment, he felt his body was full of power and couldn't wait to find someone to spar with.

"Oh? Brat, you want to spar with me?"

Hearing Kuming's words, Tsunade wore a strange expression on her face. Although the fact that Uzumaki Kuming had learned the Yin Seal did indeed exceed her expectations, that didn't mean Kuming was qualified to be her opponent.

"I want to understand the intensity of the Yin Seal so that I can have a clear understanding of my own strength."

"I don't want to rush into a fight and die because I don't know my own limits when I encounter a powerful opponent later."

Kuming formed hand seals and released the Yin Seal. Massive amounts of chakra surged out from the mark on his forehead, and purple markings began to radiate from the mark, covering Kuming's entire body before long.

"So this is the power of a fully released Yin Seal. It's far stronger than the half-finished version I had back in the day."

Uzumaki Kuming felt the power surging within his body and spoke softly.

"Fine then, I'll be your opponent."

Seeing that Kuming had released the Yin Seal, Tsunade didn't waste any more words and stepped directly in front of him. Feeling the intense chakra fluctuations radiating from the boy before her, Tsunade could no longer maintain her calm expression.

"To have such terrifying chakra fluctuations at such a young age? This shouldn't just be the effect of the Yin Seal, should it?"

In battles between ninjas, the simplest way to judge an opponent's strength is by the volume of their chakra. Generally speaking, those with less chakra are always much easier to deal with than those with more. Yet, the chakra fluctuations Kuming was displaying right now left even the experienced Tsunade somewhat shocked.

"In terms of raw chakra volume alone, even if I were to release my own Yin Seal, I wouldn't have more than him."

"But today, I'm going to teach him a good lesson—battles between ninjas aren't just about who has more chakra!"

Tsunade immediately took a stance, extended her hand, and beckoned Kuming forward, signaling that he could begin his attack.

Just as Tsunade took her stance, Uzumaki Mito waved her hand to erect a barrier, protecting the entire dojo. She was also curious to see what level Kuming had reached, so she did not stop the sparring match between him and Tsunade.

"Be careful, I'm not the person I used to be."

"I have officially crossed the Gundam Era and stepped into the Tattoo Era!" (Though Kuming had never actually set foot in a Gundam Era~)

As Uzumaki Kuming's voice faded, he vanished from his spot. In Tsunade's line of sight, a blue figure was rushing toward her at high speed, and as Kuming moved, a distinct sound of thunder echoed through the air.

"So fast!"

Tsunade's pupils constricted. The next moment, Kuming's fist was already before her. Tsunade tilted her head slightly, and the thunderous fist whistled past her cheek, the powerful wind pressure blowing away a few strands of her golden hair.

"You brat!"

Nearly being struck by Kuming, Tsunade felt a surge of irritation. With a low shout, she raised her leg in a sweeping kick. Tsunade had already applied her Super Strength to this move; if Kuming took this hit, he would lose his combat ability instantly. However, knowing she was only sparring with Kuming, she held back fifty percent of her power, ensuring she wouldn't kill him in one blow.

"Hmph!"

Seeing Tsunade's sweeping kick coming, Kuming didn't dodge. Instead, he delivered a front kick of his own, aiming for the shin of Tsunade's sweeping leg.

"Boom!"

Uzumaki Kuming's strike also utilized Super Strength. Bolstered by his massive chakra, Kuming didn't lose out in terms of power at all. A chakra storm instantly erupted within the dojo.

Uzumaki Mito was quick-witted; the moment Kuming and Tsunade's chakra collided, she pulled Kushina into her arms and wrapped her in her own chakra to prevent her from being injured by the shockwave.

"This brat, he actually blocked it?" Seeing Kuming stand his ground without dodging, Tsunade was surprised and began to increase the force in her leg.

"So heavy. I can't possibly be her match in terms of raw strength."

As Tsunade gradually increased her pressure, Kuming began to struggle. Under Tsunade's gaze, he formed hand seals and quickly created three Shadow Clones, which lunged toward her.

With the Shadow Clones attacking, Tsunade was forced to retract her leg. Taking this opportunity, Kuming's original body quickly leaped backward, putting some distance between them.

"Five Elements Seal!"

The next second, chakra flames ignited on the fingers of Kuming's right hand. With a low shout, he rushed toward Tsunade once more.

"Poof! Poof! Poof!"

The three Shadow Clones Kuming had created were quickly dealt with by Tsunade. However, what Tsunade didn't notice was that the positions where the three Shadow Clones vanished followed a specific pattern. Kuming didn't intend to give Tsunade a chance to breathe; his original body quickly closed the distance and slammed a palm toward her lower abdomen.

"This kind of attack? You're underestimating me too much."

Tsunade noticed the chakra coating Kuming's hand and knew that if this boy landed the hit, she might end up looking foolish. Tsunade moved quickly, grabbed Kuming's right hand, and flung him away with great force.

"It worked!" A smile appeared on Kuming's face as he was thrown into the air. After flipping twice, he landed steadily on the ground.

"Imprisonment Seal!"

As Kuming landed, he slammed his palm onto the floor. Following his shout, black runes emerged from his hand and from the spots where the three Shadow Clones had vanished. The runes raced along the floor, quickly surrounding Tsunade in the center.

"What?" As the various runes connected into a single pattern, Tsunade, standing in the middle of the seal, felt that she couldn't move a muscle.

"A seal? Was it from the Shadow Clones earlier?"

"Brat, is this your way of fighting!"

Tsunade was somewhat surprised. With her combat experience, she hadn't expected to fall into Kuming's trap at this moment.

"Sealing techniques are truly useful. I should combine them with the Multi Shadow Clone Technique next time; the enemy will be sealed before they even realize it."

Uzumaki Kuming was quite satisfied with his tactics. His study of sealing techniques had reached a new level, and he had mastered some rather peculiar ones. Now, he could integrate his own understanding of sealing into his combat style.

"A decent technique, but too bad you're up against me!" Tsunade didn't seem willing to accept defeat so easily. The chakra on her body began to turn violent, as if she intended to break free from Kuming's seal using brute force.

Watching the veins bulge on Tsunade's forehead, Kuming quickly released the sealing technique. He knew exactly how strong his seal was; if Tsunade went all out, this technique would only hold her for a short while. But in a life-or-death battle, that short moment would be enough to cost someone their life.

"Sister Tsunade, don't be angry."

"I think I already know where I stand."

Kuming looked at the displeased Tsunade and offered repeated reassurances. Only when a smile finally returned to her face did Kuming let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Kuming, given your current strength, the Ninja Academy probably has nothing left to teach you. Would you like me to put in a recommendation for you to graduate early?" Tsunade, highly impressed by Kuming's current strength, suggested.

However, upon hearing Tsunade's words, Kuming waved his hands in refusal: "I think life at the academy is great, and I don't really want to graduate early. You don't need to go through the trouble, Sister Tsunade."

"It's better to just let things take their natural course."

"Besides, the ninja world hasn't been very peaceful lately, and the danger level of missions is quite high. I want to become even stronger."

Kidding, Uzumaki Kuming was not the kind of fool eager to rush to the battlefield and throw his life away. If he could stay in the Ninja Academy and improve his strength, why would he want to become a genin and turn into cannon fodder? After the battle just now, Kuming had gained a clearer understanding of his own strength, but he did not feel that his current abilities would keep him safe on the battlefield.

In terms of speed and power, he had clearly grasped the gap between himself and Tsunade from the fight just now. With the Yin Seal activated, Kuming's power had reached 60 percent of Tsunade's base state, and his speed had reached 70 percent. If one considered only power and speed, Kuming at full strength was already on par with an elite chunin.

Compared to Kakashi, who graduated from the Ninja Academy at five and became a chunin at six, Kuming's current strength already surpassed that of Kakashi at the same age. It was just that Uzumaki Kuming had not yet graduated from the Ninja Academy.

The road ahead is still long. With my current strength, I can't even force Tsunade to use her full power, let alone reach the level of a jonin. The gap between me and the top-tier powerhouses is truly too vast.

Kuming did not feel smug about his current abilities; he knew that with his current strength, he might not even have the qualifications to survive on a real battlefield.

Since I can already use chakra, I should find a way to master one or two powerful offensive ninjutsu.

A new plan formed in Kuming's mind, and his gaze began to harden.

"Alright, alright, let's all take a break and have lunch first."

Seeing that the sparring match between Kuming and Tsunade had come to an end, Mito smiled and stood up with Kushina's support.

"Grandma, I'm back!"

"Where is my sister? I want my sister to take me to the battlefield!"

Just as Mito was about to lead everyone away from the dojo, a shout came from the courtyard. Hearing that familiar voice, the smile that had been on Tsunade's face instantly vanished.

"That idiot!"