I've Always Been Strong

Looking at Uzumaki Kai, bound by the chains and unable to struggle, Nawaki whispered to Shin, "What kind of jutsu is that? I don't remember my sister knowing it."

Nawaki thought Adamantine Sealing Chains were something Tsunade had taught Kushina.

"That's the Sealing Jutsu Adamantine Sealing Chains. It's a technique of the Uzumaki Clan," Shin explained.

"Oh, if it's a sealing technique of the Uzumaki Clan, then Uzumaki Kai should know it too, right?"

Nawaki glanced at Uzumaki Kai.

"Him?"

Shin glanced at Uzumaki Kai, then shook his head. "That guy's too untalented. I doubt he's even learned it yet."

Shin didn't bother lowering his voice, so Uzumaki Kai heard every word. He was so furious that he nearly spat blood.

Shin had practically pointed at Uzumaki Kai's nose and called him weak.

Kushina used her chakra chains to fling Uzumaki Kai away. He slammed into a tree with a grunt and nearly passed out.

"Consider this a little lesson."

"Is Kushina Uzumaki that strong?" Namikaze Minato asked in surprise.

Uzumaki Kai had been giving him trouble lately, so Minato knew how strong he was.

With some careful maneuvering, Minato could beat Uzumaki Kai now, but it wouldn't be easy. Kai was a genius too, and at the very least, more talented than Uzumaki Akiko.

After getting beaten, Uzumaki Kai didn't get up and start shouting threats. He quieted down at once, probably realizing he was outmatched and didn't want to embarrass himself further.

Time passed minute by minute. Before long, an hour had gone by, but the acting Jonin still hadn't arrived.

"What's taking so long? He still isn't here."

Inuzuka Tsume was getting impatient. She was thoroughly fed up with waiting.

After another half hour or so, the acting Jonin finally showed up. Shin didn't recognize him.

"Hello, I'm Asakawa Ki. You can call me Jonin Asakawa. I'll be training you for the next little while."

The new acting Jonin introduced himself.

They went around introducing themselves, and soon got acquainted. Asakawa Ki seemed like a decent sort.

"Jonin Asakawa, can we take on missions?" Nawaki asked.

"Take on missions? Sure. I was planning to take you on one," Asakawa replied with a nod.

"Jonin Asakawa, I don't mean a D-rank mission. I mean something higher-ranking."

After learning that Shin and the others had completed a C-rank mission, Nawaki wanted to take on a higher-ranking one too.

Asakawa frowned at that and shook his head. They had only recently graduated, so he wasn't about to take them out on a dangerous mission.

If anything happened to them, he would be held responsible as their Jonin leader.

They were all students of the Hokage's three disciples. If anything happened to them, he'd never be able to answer for it.

No matter how much Nawaki pleaded, Asakawa refused without hesitation. Nawaki could only lower his head in disappointment.

After that, Asakawa took Shin and the others to accept a weeding mission.

"I, Uzumaki Shin, have been reduced to pulling weeds. What a sorry state of affairs." Shin looked over the field and sighed.

"Pfft!"

Mikoto couldn't help laughing.

It was pretty funny, after all. Just a few days ago, he'd been slaughtering Elite Jonin. Now he'd been reduced to weeding a field. What a difference.

"What are you laughing at, Mikoto?" Shin asked curiously.

"Guess." Mikoto playfully winked at him. The gentle Mikoto had never acted like that before, and Shin couldn't help staring for a moment.

From Kushina's perspective, Shin was staring at Mikoto in a daze. A surge of jealousy immediately flared in her heart.

"Why aren't you two pulling weeds? What are you doing?" Kushina glared at Shin and Mikoto, cheeks puffed out in a huff.

"Kushina, when you puff out your cheeks, you look just like a dumpling. It's cute."

Looking at Kushina, Shin couldn't help reaching out to pinch both her cheeks, a smile on his face.

"You're the cute one." Kushina rolled her eyes at Shin. She'd much rather he called her beautiful than cute.

If he called her cute, wouldn't that mean he still thought of her as a little girl who hadn't grown up?

"Mikoto, come pull weeds over here with me. Don't go near him. He's awful."

Kushina dragged Mikoto away, making sure to keep her well away from Shin. The words "He's awful" stung more than they should have.

"Ninja Art: Multi Shadow Clone Technique."

In an instant, dozens of Shadow Clones appeared beside Shin. He'd held back and hadn't created too many. Otherwise, he could have made thousands.

"Get to work."

Shin sent his Shadow Clones off to work. Nawaki and the others stared, dumbfounded, at the dozens of clones he'd made.

Nawaki wasn't the only one. Even Jonin Asakawa was dumbstruck, since he couldn't make that many Shadow Clones.

Actually, Jonin Asakawa didn't even know the Multi Shadow Clone Technique.

"Right, why didn't I think of that?"

Kushina slapped her forehead, cursing herself for being so stupid. Using Shadow Clones would make this so much easier. Why do the work herself?

Kushina used the Multi Shadow Clone Technique too, making more than a dozen clones. She couldn't help it; having a lot of chakra was just that convenient.

"Why do you all know ninjutsu?" Nawaki couldn't help asking.

"Nawaki, don't tell me you don't even know a single ninjutsu. If so, I won't hesitate to laugh at you," Shin said.

"I do know ninjutsu, but I don't know the Shadow Clone Technique," Nawaki said glumly.

Nawaki knew a few C-rank techniques, but he hadn't learned the Shadow Clone Technique yet.

"Don't be discouraged, Nawaki. You're only just a little behind me. Keep working hard, and one day you'll catch up."

Shin patted Nawaki on the shoulder and encouraged him.

"Just a little? Then why are you gesturing that big?" Nawaki said gloomily, watching Shin spread his hands wide.

"Don't sweat the details. Keep chasing after me. You can't even see my back, but you've got to have dreams. You never know—they might come true."

"I'm this close to hitting you," Nawaki said, clenching his fists. Why was Uzumaki Shin getting more and more irritating?

"Go ahead, take a swing. It's not like you can beat me," Shin said with a smile.

"I don't believe you."

As he spoke, Nawaki suddenly lunged at Shin. He threw a punch, unable to hold back any longer. He had to teach Shin a lesson.

Then Nawaki went flying and landed headfirst in the ground, his head buried in the dirt as his limbs flailed.

Shin walked over and pulled Nawaki out like a radish. "Believe me now?" he asked, looking at Nawaki's dirt-covered face.

"Shin, why did you get so strong after graduating? Is there some secret?" Nawaki asked.

"I've always been strong. You just never noticed."