Uzumaki Mito

"Sorry, Shin. I didn't control my strength earlier. Here, let me heal you."

Tsunade came over to Shin, a ball of green chakra appearing in her hand. She was clearly using Medical Ninjutsu.

Tsunade used Medical Ninjutsu on Shin, but he didn't feel a thing. He wasn't injured in the first place, so how could he feel anything?

Besides, even if he had been injured, Shin had the Perfect Sage Body and would have recovered in an instant.

As Tsunade treated Shin, her worried expression suddenly darkened.

"You little brat! You tricked me!"

Tsunade swung a punch at him. Fortunately, Shin reacted quickly; otherwise, he would have taken the full force of it.

"So you found out."

Shin sheepishly rubbed his nose. It made sense. Tsunade was a medical ninja, and the best one in Konoha. It was far too difficult to fool her.

"Ahem. As you can see, Lady Tsunade, I'm not that strong, so maybe we should stop fighting."

Tsunade glanced at Shin, then nodded.

She felt she had a fairly good idea of Shin's abilities. He was very strong and fast, probably no weaker than an Elite Chunin, perhaps even stronger.

As for ninjutsu, he had only used the Substitution Technique, and he'd used it quite skillfully. He probably couldn't use any other techniques.

She couldn't tell how much combat experience he had. They'd only exchanged a few moves, and she hadn't even managed to get the upper hand.

Watching Shin chat with Kushina as if nothing had happened, then feeling her own arm go numb, Tsunade muttered under her breath, "Monster."

No wonder he didn't want to reveal his strength. If it really came to light, it wouldn't be a good thing for him.

If Tsunade knew Shin hadn't used all his strength, I wonder what expression she'd make.

"Um, Lady Tsunade, shouldn't you make good on that A-rank ninjutsu?"

Shin stared intently at Tsunade, anticipation in his eyes.

"I did promise, and I won't go back on my word. What nature is your chakra?" Tsunade asked him.

"Lady Tsunade, there's no need to ask about my chakra nature. I want to learn the Multi Shadow Clone Technique."

Shin had already decided on this. The Multi Shadow Clone Technique would be an enormous help to him.

Although Shin already knew the Shadow Clone Technique, he had to create the clones one at a time, which was a real hassle.

"The Multi Shadow Clone Technique?"

Tsunade furrowed her brows and looked at Shin seriously. "You should choose something else. The Multi Shadow Clone Technique is dangerous. It's a forbidden technique."

If you weren't careful with the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, you could end up killing yourself. Tsunade clearly didn't want to teach Shin such a dangerous technique.

"Lady Tsunade, I know about the Multi Shadow Clone Technique. Don't forget, I'm from the Uzumaki Clan."

Shin smiled at Tsunade. The Multi Shadow Clone Technique could help him train much faster.

Although Shin already knew the Shadow Clone Technique, he had to make the clones one by one, which was troublesome.

"All right. I don't know why you want to learn this technique, but I can teach it to you. Just make sure you use it carefully."

Seeing how determined Shin was, Tsunade agreed to teach him the Multi Shadow Clone Technique. Still, she carefully explained its dangers.

Even someone from the Uzumaki Clan, who had no shortage of chakra, needed to be cautious when using this technique.

"I haven't learned the Multi Shadow Clone Technique myself, but I have a Ninjutsu Scroll with instructions on how to train in it. You can have it."

Tsunade took a small scroll from her Ninja Tool Pouch and handed it to Shin.

"Uh, you're just handing it over and leaving me to train on my own? Aren't you worried I won't be able to learn it?"

"I've already given you the technique. If you can't learn it, that's your problem. Besides, I'd rather you didn't learn it," Tsunade said.

Shin shrugged. There was no way he wouldn't learn the Multi Shadow Clone Technique. It wasn't difficult for him.

The Multi Shadow Clone Technique only required one hand sign. A ninja with little chakra might not be able to learn it, but Shin had more chakra than he could use.

"Oh, there's something else I nearly forgot."

Tsunade slapped her forehead, then turned to Shin and Kushina. "You need to come meet my grandmother with me."

Shin's heart stirred at the mention of Tsunade's grandmother. That would be Senju Hashirama's wife, Uzumaki Mito, once the princess of the Uzumaki Clan.

Uzumaki Mito also knew all the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan, and she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. She must have been powerful.

Shin guessed that Uzumaki Mito might even be stronger than the Third Hokage. Of course, that was only his guess; perhaps she wasn't much of a fighter.

After that, Tsunade called over the other three members of the Uzumaki Clan. She certainly wouldn't go meet Uzumaki Mito with only Shin and Kushina.

Following Tsunade, Shin and the others went deep into the Senju Clan Grounds, to a neat little courtyard.

There, Shin met Uzumaki Mito. She looked quite old, which made sense, given that she had lived through the Sengoku era.

But Shin didn't understand. Didn't Uzumaki Mito have the Yin Seal? Why did she look so old?

The Yin Seal was an S-rank ninjutsu. It stored chakra in the forehead, where it formed a diamond-shaped mark.

When needed, the seal could be released with the Yin Seal: Release technique, unleashing a vast amount of chakra.

The Yin Seal also had an ability that drove women wild: it kept them eternally young.

Uzumaki Mito knew the Yin Seal too, so why hadn't it kept her young? Perhaps she no longer cared about her appearance.

After all, she was nearing the end of her life. Why would she still care about how she looked?

"Grandmother, I'm sorry. The Uzumaki Clan has... There are only these few survivors left." Tsunade lowered her head, unsure how to face Uzumaki Mito.

"Ah."

Uzumaki Mito sighed. She hadn't expected the Uzumaki Clan, with its thousand-year legacy, to suffer such a calamity.

Uzumaki Mito's gaze swept over Shin, Kushina, and the others, then settled on Shin.

"Hmm."

Under Uzumaki Mito's gaze, Shin felt as if she could see right through him. The feeling was even stronger than when he'd met the Third Hokage.

Uzumaki Mito smiled kindly at Shin, then asked, "What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Shin."

Shin looked at Uzumaki Mito as he answered. He could tell that she meant him no harm.

"Shin, I can sense an extraordinary power within you. I hope you'll use it well," Uzumaki Mito said solemnly.

"An extraordinary power?" Tsunade looked at Shin in surprise.

Shin was surprised too. Was Uzumaki Mito talking about his Perfect Sage Body? Had she figured out that he had one?

Then Shin thought of the First, Senju Hashirama. He had the Perfect Sage Body too, and Uzumaki Mito was his wife. It wasn't so strange that she might be able to sense something.

In truth, Uzumaki Mito didn't know anything about the Perfect Sage Body. She had only sensed the tremendous vitality within Shin, which reminded her somewhat of Hashirama.