Nawaki? A Talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu?!

The Hokage Building.

Tsunade kicked open the office door.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand jerked as he reviewed documents.

He looked up, saw Tsunade, and set down his pen with a helpless sigh.

"Tsunade, could you knock next time?"

"No."

Tsunade strode to his desk, planted both hands on it, and stared down at him.

"Old man, I want to see the Book of Seals."

Hiruzen's expression froze.

He took off his hat and rubbed his brow.

"What do you want with that? It's full of Forbidden Jutsu."

"I need to study Grandpa Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique," Tsunade said bluntly.

Hiruzen looked even more surprised.

"Flying Thunder God? Why study that? It's Space-Time Ninjutsu."

"My Medical Ninjutsu has hit a bottleneck."

Tsunade lied without batting an eye.

"Cell activation and regeneration are, at their core, a kind of reconstruction of matter across time and space."

"I want to draw on the theory behind Space-Time Ninjutsu. Maybe it'll lead to a breakthrough."

Her explanation was half true, half false, and sounded almost reasonable.

Hiruzen fell into thought.

It wasn't that he begrudged her access.

Eighty percent of the techniques in the Book of Seals had been developed by Tobirama Senju.

As the eldest granddaughter of the Senju family's main line, Tsunade arguably had more right than anyone to see them.

The problem was how dangerous those techniques were.

"Forbidden Jutsu are forbidden because practicing them carries enormous risks. One mistake can cost you your life."

Hiruzen's expression turned grave.

"Flying Thunder God in particular demands extraordinary talent. If it goes wrong, you could be swept into Spatial Turbulence and vanish without a trace."

He looked at Tsunade, his eyes full of worry.

"I know."

Tsunade waved a hand impatiently.

"I'm not stupid. I just want to read the theory and get some ideas. I won't try anything reckless."

She leaned closer, softened her voice, and began coaxing him.

"Come on, old man. Just let me have a look. I promise I'll make a copy and leave. I won't practice it or cause you any trouble."

Hiruzen looked at her face, which practically proclaimed I'm such a good girl, and sighed.

What else could he do?

She was his teacher's granddaughter. He had doted on her like his own daughter since she was little.

"Just this once."

He stood and took a key from a hidden compartment behind him.

"Come with me."

Deep beneath the Hokage Building lay a heavily guarded archive.

Hiruzen unlocked the thick iron door and led Tsunade inside.

Together, they found every record of the Flying Thunder God Technique on an enormous scroll and copied them onto a new one.

"Tsunade, let me say this again."

Hiruzen handed her the copied scroll, his expression graver than she had ever seen it.

"Do not attempt this technique lightly! Your talents lie in Medical Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. Don't venture into a field that isn't your strength."

"I know, I know. You nag too much."

Tsunade snatched the scroll and slung it over her shoulder.

She waved to Hiruzen, turned, and walked away without looking back.

"See you!"

Hiruzen watched her stride away. All his remaining warnings stuck in his throat, finally emerging as a helpless sigh.

He could only hope she kept her word.

Tsunade tucked away the scroll and didn't go home.

During the lunch break, she took a turn and slipped straight into the Ninja Academy library.

She made her way to the innermost shelves and, sure enough, spotted the blond kid.

Minato Namikaze sat in a corner, bent over an old book and a notebook, writing and sketching.

Tsunade deliberately made her footsteps louder.

"Ahem."

Minato heard her and immediately looked up.

When he saw who it was, he sprang to his feet, surprise and respect written all over his face.

"Lady Tsunade!"

"Mm."

Tsunade nodded and sauntered over as if by chance, glancing at what lay on his desk.

"Oh? Studying the Second Hokage's techniques?"

Minato blushed slightly, looking embarrassed.

"Lord Tobirama's theories on space-time are so profound. I... I'm just taking a look."

She regarded Minato with interest. "You really admire the Second Hokage?"

"Yes!"

Minato's eyes lit up at the mention of his hero.

"The Second Hokage is who I aspire to be! He developed so many powerful techniques. He's the ninja I respect most!"

Tsunade smiled at the sight of the little fanboy.

She casually pulled the Flying Thunder God Technique scroll from her clothes.

She undid its cord and spread it across the table.

"If you admire him that much, you can have this."

Minato looked down at the open scroll, curious.

The moment he made out the bold, sweeping characters at the top, he froze.

Flying Thunder God Technique.

"Th-this... Lady Tsunade..."

Minato's voice trembled, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"This is... Forbidden Jutsu!"

And she's just... giving it to me?!

"So what if it's Forbidden Jutsu?"

Tsunade leaned against the bookshelf, unconcerned.

"You've got talent. Practice hard, and don't let Grandpa Tobirama's technique go to waste."

The enormous, unexpected gift nearly stopped Minato's heart.

Lady Tsunade... thinks that highly of me?

That trust... that faith in me...

After his brief shock, elation surged through him.

He bowed deeply to Tsunade, his voice choking with emotion.

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade! I... I won't let you down!"

"All right, enough of that."

Tsunade waved him off.

"Words are cheap. Try it now."

"Yes!"

Minato didn't hesitate. He picked up the scroll, his gaze intent.

He swiftly read through the technique formulas and the method for channeling Chakra.

His mind raced with Speed as he pieced together the scattered theories he had worked out earlier.

and matched them, piece by piece, to the complete formulas on the scroll.

A moment later, he tore a page from his notebook.

With his pencil, he quickly drew a complex technique mark on it.

A Flying Thunder God Mark!

He hurled the page toward the far end of the library.

It fluttered onto the top of a distant bookshelf.

Minato took a deep breath and formed a hand seal.

Snake!

The next instant, he vanished from where he stood.

When he reappeared, he was standing firmly atop the distant bookshelf, the marked page beneath his foot!

He did it?!

Tsunade's eye twitched hard.

Just like that?

He didn't even need time to adjust?

Did he have to be this ridiculous?

But on second thought, it made sense.

This was Minato Namikaze.

For now, he still needed a hand seal and had to draw a Flying Thunder God Mark.

In the future, a touch of his hand would be enough to place one. This was nothing compared to that.

Tsunade was delighted.

He had already learned it. Give him a year, and the kid would master every trick Flying Thunder God had to offer.

Then he could place marks in the Land of Whirlpools ahead of time, and she could teleport there with the others!

Perfect!

Just then, a loud voice rang out from the library entrance.

"Sis! You really are here!"

Nawaki swaggered in, pulling Kushina along with him.

"A classmate said they saw you come this way, so I came to look... Huh? What's this?"

Nawaki spotted the scroll spread across the table at once. He leaned in curiously and read aloud.

"Flying Thunder God Technique?!"

His eyes lit up, and he turned to Tsunade in excitement.

"This is Grandpa Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique! Sis, can I learn it?!"

Tsunade's mouth twitched. She refused without a second thought.

Was he kidding?!

The Third Hokage had been afraid she'd hurt herself practicing it recklessly. Of course she was afraid this hotheaded kid would do the same!

He wasn't Minato Namikaze. Where would he get talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu like that?

If a Spatial Rift dragged him in and tore him to pieces, she wouldn't know what to do with herself!

"No!" Tsunade said flatly.

But she was too late.

A moment before she could snatch the scroll away, Nawaki had already begun forming the hand seal shown beside the mark.

"Snake!"

Tsunade didn't even get the chance to stop him.

Nawaki vanished on the spot.

When he reappeared, he was standing atop the distant bookshelf

right beside Minato Namikaze.

His foot rested on that same thin sheet of paper!

Tsunade's cheek twitched.

"You've... got to be kidding me???"