Tsunade furrowed her brow and examined it closely, while Nawaki, beside her, muttered nonchalantly, "What's so special about this? Maybe it's just some ordinary thing."
Tsunade couldn't help but click her tongue and chide him with a laugh. "You little brat, what do you know? Don't act ungrateful when you've already gotten such a good deal."
She turned her attention back to the sticker, lightly running her fingers over it as she studied it with a focused, sharp gaze. After a while, Tsunade said slowly, "This sticker has several Sealing Jutsu formulas inscribed on it. The symbols are interwoven and interconnected. I'm not good at Sealing Jutsu, so I can't tell exactly what it does, but you've definitely hit the jackpot!"
At that, Nawaki's previously nonchalant expression turned serious in an instant. He leaned closer, eyes wide. Scratching his head, he asked in confusion,
"Kushina, what kind of amazing treasure did you give me? Even Big Sister Tsunade can't stop praising it. It might come in really handy. Wouldn't it be a waste to give it to me?"
"Hehe!"
Kushina looked pleased with herself. And with the skill to inscribe multiple Sealing Jutsu formulas in combination, she certainly had reason to be proud.
After basking in her triumph for a while, Kushina finally explained, somewhat sheepishly, under the intensely curious gazes of Tsunade and Nawaki, who looked as if they might pounce on her.
"This sticker is called a Life-Saving Talisman. It's easy to use: just put a little chakra into it, then stick it over your navel."
"As for how it works, well... it's a little complicated. Basically, it's... um... this... right, that's how!"
"What's that supposed to mean? You can't even remember how it works. Don't tell me Qi Luna made this Life-Saving Talisman, and you're just passing it off as your own gift?"
Seeing Kushina stammer without managing to explain a thing, Nawaki couldn't help teasing her.
"Then Nawaki really has wronged Kushina. With my skill in Sealing Jutsu, I couldn't make anything that complicated. I only gave Kushina a little inspiration."
"Actually, the principle is simple. The user feeds chakra into it, activating the Sensory Ninjutsu formula inside the sticker. By placing it over the navel, it can monitor the user's overall condition while consuming as little chakra as possible."
"When the user is seriously injured, the Life-Saving Talisman senses their vital signs rapidly weakening and activates its second seal, which triggers two effects. One is the Medical Ninjutsu Yin Healing Wound Destruction, which stabilizes the user's injuries. The other is Water Release: Water Shockwave, which protects the user while driving back pursuing enemies or blocking their attacks, buying the user a moment to catch their breath."
Listening to Qi Luna's explanation, Nawaki scratched his head. He looked completely baffled, clearly having understood none of it, and finally just nodded with an impressed look.
"So it involves Sensory Ninjutsu, Medical Ninjutsu, and Water Release? And it activates automatically, without the user having to do anything, letting it perform two jutsu in an instant. How advanced would your Sealing Jutsu have to be—and how bizarre... I mean, brilliant—would your way of thinking have to be to come up with that?"
Tsunade couldn't help marveling at Kushina's impressive skill in Sealing Jutsu and Qi Luna's extraordinary imagination. Even she, a Medical Ninjutsu expert, had to admit that the name "Life-Saving Talisman" was entirely deserved.
Seeing how special Kushina's gift to Nawaki was, Tsunade grew even more curious about what Qi Luna, a celebrated genius, might give him!
Qi Luna had kept his gift a secret, so Tsunade and Nawaki weren't the only ones watching him closely. Kushina and Minato were eyeing him curiously, too. After all, they had all left Grandma Mito's house together, and from the very beginning, they hadn't seen Qi Luna prepare anything!
"All right, stop staring at me like that, Nawaki. Let's bump fists!" Under everyone's expectant gaze, Qi Luna still didn't reveal what he'd gotten Nawaki to celebrate his promotion to Chunin and his twelfth birthday. Instead, he made a puzzling request.
Driven by curiosity, Nawaki tentatively bumped fists with Qi Luna.
The instant their fists touched, a translucent, orange-gold chakra burst out of Qi Luna, and a powerful gust made all five of their robes flap wildly. The chakra even seemed to be creeping over Nawaki's body.
Trusting Qi Luna, Nawaki neither stepped back nor pulled away. Instead, he grinned and let out a hearty laugh.
His smile put Minato, Kushina, and Tsunade at ease, too.
"What a pair of idiots."
In just a few seconds, the orange-gold chakra had completely enveloped Nawaki.
It came and went in a flash.
The strange state lasted less than a minute. Then the chakra in both of them retreated back into their bodies, drawing apart at the point where their fists had touched.
"This is... Grandpa Tobirama's... Hahaha..."
Unlike Qi Luna, who remained calm, Nawaki's grin grew brighter after receiving Qi Luna's special gift. He had clearly gained a lot, and it suited him perfectly.
"What was that? Qi Luna suddenly started glowing gold, and then Nawaki did, too. Then, in a flash, everything went back to normal, and Nawaki's been grinning like an idiot ever since. What happened? Surely being a human night-light for a moment wasn't enough to make Nawaki this happy?"
Kushina stood there, utterly bewildered. Confusion filled her eyes, her brows furrowed slightly, and her mouth hung open. She stared at Qi Luna, her incomprehension practically spilling out of her as questions crowded her mind.
Seeing Kushina's reaction, Qi Luna's lips curled into a mysterious smile. He cleared his throat and began to explain.
"I've learned quite a lot from Grandma Mito lately."
"But you don't need to know all the details. Just know that this is an ability that lets two people share their thoughts."
Kushina's eyes lit up, and she asked curiously, "What can you do with it?"
Qi Luna's eyes gleamed with excitement. "It helps you use your chakra more effectively. What I just did was share everything I know about Water Release Ninjutsu with Nawaki. That's one way to use this ability!"
Kushina's eyes widened in amazement. "Wow, that's incredible! I want to learn it, too."
At that, Qi Luna feigned regret. "That might not be possible. For some special reason, this may be an ability only one person can learn. And since I've already learned it, you've missed your chance, Kushina."
"What? Grandma Mito's playing favorites! We had no idea such a jutsu even existed, and she secretly taught it to you! That's so unfair, Qi Luna!"
Kushina had put her hands on her hips and meant to act angry, but after making her "accusation," she couldn't help laughing.
Kushina's antics made everyone else laugh, too.
The meeting room in Konoha was filled with a solemn, heavy atmosphere.
After several days of intense discussion, the course of the upcoming great war had finally been decided.
The Hokage portraits on the wall seemed to be watching everyone below, their expressions carrying a hint of hope and worry...
Before you continue