Nawaki? A Talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu?!

The Hokage Building.

Tsunade kicked the office door open.

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 looked down at him.

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

Hiruzen Sarutobi froze.

He took off his hat and rubbed his brow.

"What do you need that for? It's full of Forbidden Jutsu."

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

Hiruzen Sarutobi 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.

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

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

Her explanation was half true, half false, and sounded just plausible enough.

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into thought.

It wasn't that he wanted to keep it from her.

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

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

The problem was that the thing was dangerous.

"Forbidden Jutsu are forbidden because training in them is extremely risky. One wrong move could cost a life."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned grave.

"Flying Thunder God is especially demanding. It requires extraordinary talent. If you fail, you could be swept into Spatial Turbulence and leave no trace behind."

He looked at Tsunade, concern filling his eyes.

"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 practice it recklessly."

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

"Come on, old man. 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 Sarutobi looked at her face, which practically said I'll be good, 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 Sarutobi unlocked the heavy iron door and led Tsunade inside.

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

"Tsunade, I'm going to say this again."

Hiruzen Sarutobi handed her the copied scroll, his expression graver than ever.

"Do not attempt this jutsu lightly! Your talents lie in Medical Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. Don't venture into a field you aren't suited for."

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

Tsunade snatched the scroll and slung it over her shoulder.

She waved to Hiruzen Sarutobi and walked off without looking back.

"I'm going!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched her stride away. All the warnings he wanted to give stuck in his throat, and in the end, he could only sigh.

He hoped the girl would keep her word.

With the scroll tucked away, Tsunade didn't go home.

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

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 strolled over as though by chance, glancing at the things on his desk.

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

Minato blushed faintly, looking embarrassed.

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

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

"Yes!"

At the mention of his idol, Minato's eyes lit up.

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

Tsunade smiled at the sight of the starstruck boy.

She pulled the scroll containing the Flying Thunder God Technique from her robes.

She untied it and spread it across the table.

"If you admire him that much, this is yours."

Minato looked at the unrolled scroll, curious.

When he made out the bold characters at the top, he went blank.

Flying Thunder God Technique.

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

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

"This is... a Forbidden Jutsu!"

She's just... giving it to me?!

"So what if it's forbidden?"

Tsunade leaned against the bookshelf, utterly unconcerned.

"You've got talent. Practice hard, and don't let my grandfather's jutsu go to waste."

The enormous surprise nearly stopped Minato Namikaze's heart.

Lady Tsunade... thinks that highly of me?

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

After a brief moment of shock, elation surged through him.

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

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

"All right, all right. Enough of that."

Tsunade waved a hand.

"Words are cheap. Give it a try now."

"Yes!"

Minato needed no further urging. He picked up the scroll, his gaze intent.

He quickly read through its formulas and the method for channeling Chakra.

His mind raced, taking the scattered theories he had worked out before.

He matched them against the complete formulas on the scroll, fitting everything together.

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

With a pencil, he swiftly drew a complex formula on it.

A Flying Thunder God Mark!

He flung the paper toward the far end of the library.

It fluttered down onto the top of a distant bookshelf.

Minato drew a deep breath and formed a hand sign.

Snake!

The next instant, he vanished from where he stood.

When he reappeared, he was standing steadily atop the distant bookshelf, his foot on the marked paper!

He did it?!

Tsunade's eye twitched hard.

Just like that?

He didn't even need time to get used to it?

Did he have to be this absurdly gifted?!

But then she thought about it. This was only to be expected.

This was Minato Namikaze, after all.

Right now, he still needed a hand sign and had to draw the Flying Thunder God Mark.

One day, he would be able to place a mark with a touch. That would be far more impressive.

Tsunade was delighted.

He had learned it already. Give him a year, and the kid would be pulling off all kinds of tricks with Flying Thunder God.

Then he could set up marks in the Land of Whirlpools ahead of time, and she could take everyone straight there in an instant!

Perfect!

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

"Sis! You really are here!"

Nawaki strode in with Kushina in tow.

"A classmate said they saw you come this way, so I thought I'd check... 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.

"That's 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 was afraid she'd get herself killed practicing it, and she was just as afraid this reckless kid would do something stupid!

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

If he got caught in a Spatial Rift and torn to pieces, she wouldn't even know where to go to cry!

"No!" Tsunade said flatly.

But she was already too late.

A split second before she could snatch the scroll away, Nawaki copied the hand sign shown on it.

"Snake!"

Tsunade hadn't even had time to stop him.

Nawaki vanished on the spot.

When he reappeared, he was standing atop the distant bookshelf.

Right beside Minato Namikaze.

His foot, too, rested on that thin sheet of paper!

Tsunade's cheek twitched.

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