"Ah!"
The sun had risen high, and a long, languorous sigh came from Tsunade's tent.
Bai Lin stretched and sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. A satisfied smile tugged at his lips. "I haven't slept this soundly in ages. That felt incredible."
Ever since leaving Konoha, he'd either been roughing it outdoors or rushing from place to place. Being able to sleep peacefully without worrying about danger felt like a luxury.
He stretched, his bones giving a soft series of cracks as most of the fatigue drained from his body.
"Huh? Where is everyone?"
Just as he was about to get up and wash, he glanced around the tent and realized that Kushina, Mikoto, and even Tsunade, its owner, were nowhere to be seen. They should have been sleeping on the beds beside his.
As for why Bai Lin had slept in Tsunade's tent, it was because he'd been assigned to share a tent with Minato Namikaze, Nawaki, and Might Duy.
Bai Lin wasn't used to sleeping in the same room as men. After all, they were all young, hot-blooded ninja, and he was worried something might happen to his body.
In his previous life, he'd been from Sichuan, and he was especially careful about things like fencing.
He'd also taken the opportunity to spend more time chatting with Kushina, since they hadn't seen each other in so long. The three of them had sat in the tent, talking late into the night. Tsunade had been the first to nod off, and Bai Lin had shamelessly sent Kushina to sleep in Mikoto's bed so he could claim hers. He'd slept soundly all night.
After washing up, Bai Lin asked the ninja at the camp entrance a few questions and learned that the three women had gone to a river near the camp.
Camps on the battlefield were usually set up near a water source to make collecting water easier.
Bai Lin strolled around the camp, taking in his surroundings. There were plenty of ninja there—more than a hundred at a glance. The tents stood in neat rows, leaving broad paths between them.
"Add in the ninja patrolling outside the camp, and there must be at least a thousand Konoha ninja on the Land of Rain battlefield," Bai Lin mused.
"As expected of Konoha. And this is only the camp on the Land of Rain front. Hatake Sakumo's forces facing Sunagakure's main force probably aren't any smaller."
He followed a path along the edge of the camp. Before long, he heard voices nearby. Quite a few ninja taking a break between shifts were training, too.
"Big brother Lin!"
Kushina's bright call rang out. She spotted him at once as she practiced in the open space by the river, stopped what she was doing, and waved at him excitedly. In the sunlight, her red hair looked like a little flame.
"So you really were here." Bai Lin smiled and walked over, his footsteps soft against the grass.
"Lin, you're awake." Mikoto turned and gave him a gentle smile, amusement glimmering in her eyes. "You slept for so long. You must have been exhausted."
"You brat!" Tsunade grumbled, making her displeasure clear.
"Big brother Lin, look!" Kushina hurried over to him and excitedly held out her right hand. A ball of blue Chakra spun in her palm, rotating so fast that it formed a vortex and gave off a soft hum. "I've mastered the jutsu you taught me—the Rasengan!"
The blue Chakra sphere spun steadily in her palm. Its glow was gentle, but its destructive power was unmistakable.
"It's been more than ten days since we last saw each other, but I haven't been slacking off!" Kushina tipped up her chin, her eyes shining as she waited for his approval.
Bai Lin raised his eyebrows. He hadn't expected Kushina to master the jutsu so quickly. It seemed she really hadn't been slacking off.
"Kushina, you're amazing! I'm giving you a thumbs-up!" He grinned and raised his thumb, his praise sincere. "Not bad—you really learned it! You picked it up even faster than I expected."
The Rasengan was an A-rank jutsu. It might not look difficult to learn, but it wasn't easy, either.
In the anime, Kakashi's signature jutsu was Lightning Style: Chidori, which he had very likely developed by drawing on Minato Namikaze's Rasengan.
Bai Lin knew Lightning Style: Chidori himself, so he understood its basic principles. He'd also combined Jiraiya's training method from the anime—where he taught Naruto—with his own modern understanding, refining the process to some extent.
Kushina had a huge Chakra supply and plenty of time to train every day, so it made sense that she'd mastered it by now.
"Of course!" Kushina lifted her chin proudly. "I practice for ages every day! From now on, I'll protect you, big brother Lin!"
"Boss! I learned the Rasengan you taught me, too!"
A lively voice rang out just then.
Minato Namikaze was training here as well. When he saw Bai Lin, he hurried over, with Jiraiya beside him.
He wore a sunny smile, and a blue Rasengan spun in his right palm. It rotated faster than Kushina's, and the Chakra sphere was denser.
Jiraiya followed behind with his arms crossed and a smug smile on his face. "Bai Lin, I didn't expect that jutsu you taught him to be so interesting. Minato's got a knack for it. He learned it in just a few days."
"Boss!"
"Bai Lin!"
Bai Lin hadn't expected Might Duy and Nawaki to be here, too.
"Girly boy, when did you learn that?"
"What makes you think you're worthy of using the jutsu big brother Lin taught me?"
Kushina instantly bristled. She dispelled the Rasengan, planted her hands on her hips, and glared at Minato Namikaze. Her red hair turned into tentacle-like strands, making for a shocking sight.
Just a moment ago, she'd been basking in Bai Lin's praise. Then Minato Namikaze had come running up to announce that he was pregnant—
No!
That he'd learned the jutsu Bai Lin had taught her, the Rasengan. How was that any different from cheating on her?
Minato Namikaze's smile froze for a moment. He clearly hadn't expected Kushina to react so strongly. He scratched his head, his tone still gentle. "Well... the boss taught it to me after he left the village. He thought I was suited to the jutsu."
"Is that so?"
Kushina turned her gaze to Bai Lin, as if asking whether it was true.
Why is Kushina so angry?
It's just a jutsu, isn't it? I don't remember saying anything suggestive when I taught it to her.
Bai Lin felt unnerved by Kushina's direct stare and explained, "I did teach the Rasengan to Minato. Is there a problem, Kushina?"
"Is there a problem? There's a huge problem!"
Kushina threw herself at Bai Lin and clung to his arm, shaking it so hard she nearly rattled him apart. "How could you teach the jutsu you taught me to someone else?"
"I thought..."
When she'd heard that Bai Lin was teaching her his original jutsu, the Rasengan, she'd thought she was the only one he'd taught.
An original jutsu was on par with a clan's secret techniques. Unless someone was a close family member or a personal disciple, it would never be shared casually.
Especially a powerful jutsu like the Rasengan. To her, Bai Lin had been treating her as one of his own.
It was the first gift Bai Lin had ever given her. Kushina had even renamed the Rasengan "Phosphorus and Nawa: The Spiral of Love."
She'd imagined shouting that name whenever she faced an enemy, so everyone would know it was a jutsu just for her and big brother Lin. But now...
Bai Lin had no idea what was going on. He could only silently endure it, endure the brokenness, the mountain's mournful cries, the darkness.
Just then... (The lyrics got written down here during the song break. It was pretty good.)
The more Kushina thought about it, the more hurt she felt. Tears streamed down her face like beads from a broken string, but she didn't loosen her grip on Bai Lin's arm. "This was the first gift you ever gave me!"
"I listened to you and practiced hard every day. I was afraid of letting you down, but then you turned around and taught it to someone else! You don't care about me at all—or about this gift!"
"Uh!" Bai Lin was stunned.
When had he ever said it was a gift?
He'd only taught it to her because she was so weak that she needed a powerful technique to make the most of her Uzumaki Clan Chakra, that was all.
Bai Lin finally understood what Kushina meant. She'd taken the Rasengan he taught her as a gift, which was why she was so upset.