After Minato Namikaze and the others left, Uzumaki Kuming's life became regular and monotonous.
Jiraiya handed the task of teaching Nagato and the others directly to Kuming. In his lessons, Kuming focused on reshaping their outlook and placed particular emphasis on practical combat. His instruction in taijutsu and ninjutsu, on the other hand, was fairly basic.
His lessons were all foundational. Aside from a few practical taijutsu techniques, he taught them almost no other ninjutsu. For Nagato, he only gave brief instruction in sensory barriers and storage seals; he didn't teach him any other techniques. Kuming also never mentioned another word to Nagato about the Fuinjutsu passed down through the Uzumaki Clan for generations.
In the days that followed, Kuming spent some money to hire a few carpenters in a nearby town. They built a small cabin of a little over ten square meters beside Jiraiya's, where Kuming could live and train. He also set up a barrier around his cabin, both to keep out enemies and to stop people from peeking inside.
Of course, what he told Jiraiya was that he was worried the Nine-Tails might run wild, and that the barrier would help him keep the Tailed Beast under control.
Time passed, and the seasons turned.
A year and a half later.
Before anyone knew it, winter had come to the Land of Rain. The climate of the rain-soaked country had changed dramatically.
The wind cut like a blade, the snow flew like arrows.
The blades swept across the mountains like a mat; the arrows passed, and the world turned white.
Beside the cabin, a red-haired boy swung his sword in the snow. The flakes were automatically deflected within several meters of him. The surrounding ground was blanketed in white, but the earth around the boy remained dry.