Taking Minato Namikaze and Kushina as Disciples

Tsunade's cheeks twitched.

"Th-that's... that's impossible, right?!"

The thought exploded in her mind. She even wondered if the aftereffects of crossing into this world had made her hallucinate.

The Flying Thunder God Technique.

It was an S-rank Space-Time Ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, powerful enough to change the course of a war!

No one in all of Konoha besides the Second Hokage himself had ever mastered it.

Minato Namikaze learning it was one thing. He was destined for greatness.

He was the future Fourth Hokage.

A genius who appeared once in a century.

But Nawaki...

Tsunade stared at her little brother atop the bookshelf, looking bewildered and a little excited.

Her entire worldview took a serious hit.

Yet Minato Namikaze was calmer than she was.

He merely glanced at Nawaki beside him, showing little surprise.

As if it were only natural.

Wasn't the Flying Thunder God something anyone with hands could learn?

"Lady Tsunade, why do you look so excited?"

Minato Namikaze couldn't understand it.

Nawaki himself didn't think it was a big deal.

He recovered from his initial shock.

He looked down at the slip of paper beneath his feet, then up at Tsunade, and waved excitedly.

"Sis! Huh? That's it? It's so easy!"

Easy?!

Tsunade's mouth twitched hard.

If the Flying Thunder God were that easy, every ninja in Konoha would know it by now!

No way!

She fixed her gaze on Nawaki, her mind racing.

Once the shock passed, a possibility she had overlooked suddenly surfaced.

Nawaki... was a direct descendant of the Senju.

More than that, he was Tobirama Senju's great-nephew!

She herself had inherited her grandfather Hashirama Senju's potential for the Sage Body and Wood Release.

Could Nawaki have inherited, a generation later,

his great-uncle Tobirama Senju's freakish talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu?

Realization struck Tsunade.

Of course!

Nawaki was descended from both the Senju and Uzumaki clans.

He had a little more Chakra than others his age, but nowhere near an absurd amount.

His physical abilities were unremarkable, no different from an ordinary child's.

Compared with hers, his physical strength was worlds apart.

Tsunade had even considered having him learn the Yin Seal and take the Chakra Reservoir route.

But that demanded too much patience and self-discipline.

With Nawaki's restless nature, he would struggle to settle down.

At his age, when he compared himself with his peers every day, asking him to spend years without growing stronger?

That would be worse than death to Nawaki!

(It would take Nawaki at least three years to cultivate the Yin Seal.)

Who would have thought!

The boy's real talent lay in Space-Time Ninjutsu!

And he wasn't merely good at it!

He was exceptionally gifted!

The shock in Tsunade's heart quickly gave way to wild delight!

One future Yellow Flash was already enough to strike fear into every ninja village.

What if Konoha had another?

A "Senju Flash"?

Konoha's Scrap Plastic Twin Stars!

And both of these future "Flashes" were hers!

Just thinking about it felt great!

Looking at Minato Namikaze's handsome, respectful face, Tsunade found a thought rising that she couldn't suppress.

Why not take Minato Namikaze as my disciple right now?

Tsunade suddenly thought of Minato Namikaze's actual teacher.

Jiraiya.

She couldn't help curling her lip.

Forget it! What kind of student could that guy raise?

He'd just lead the boy astray!

What had Jiraiya taught Minato Namikaze besides Summoning Jutsu?

Minato Namikaze had even developed the Rasengan himself!

An uncut gem like this belonged in the hands of a master teacher like her!

She cleared her throat and walked beneath the bookshelf where Minato and Nawaki stood, then looked up.

"Minato Namikaze."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" Minato immediately stood at attention.

Tsunade folded her arms and made her announcement in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Starting today, you're my disciple."

"...Huh?"

Minato Namikaze's heart nearly stopped under the force of this sudden, overwhelming surprise.

Lady Tsunade's... disciple?!

The Konoha Princess, one of the Three Sannin, the First's own granddaughter!

To be valued like this... to be trusted like this...

After a brief moment of stunned silence, immense joy swept over him.

He leaped down from the bookshelf and landed steadily before Tsunade, his cheeks flushed with excitement.

He bowed deeply to her, his voice almost choking with emotion.

"Yes, Master! I... I won't let you down!"

"All right, all right. Enough with the formalities."

Tsunade waved a hand in satisfaction, thoroughly pleased.

She turned to Nawaki, who had jumped down on the other side, and made another decision.

"You two will practice the Flying Thunder God Technique together every day from now on!"

"I'm giving you six months. After that, I expect results!"

Tsunade raised a finger and pointed at herself.

"By results, I mean you'll be able to take me with you on long-distance teleports whenever I want!"

"Yes!"

Minato Namikaze's eyes burned with determination as he agreed without hesitation.

Even Nawaki jumped in excitement.

"Awesome! The Flying Thunder God Technique is way more fun than practicing punches! Sis, I love this!"

He had long since grown sick of his dull daily Taijutsu training.

Now that he had such an incredible new toy, he was over the moon.

Tsunade looked at the two eager boys, her smile widening.

Perfect!

With these two future high-speed movers, the Land of Whirlpools would have a double layer of protection!

Just then, her gaze swept to the side.

It settled on the little red-haired girl who had barely spoken throughout, simply watching everything in silence.

Kushina.

The girl's wide eyes were full of envy as she watched Minato Namikaze and Nawaki receive important assignments from their master.

Tsunade's eyes shifted thoughtfully.

If I'm taking on two, what's one more?

She won't be any trouble.

She beckoned to Kushina.

"You. Come here."

Kushina froze for a moment, then trotted over and looked up at Tsunade nervously.

"Lady... Tsunade..."

"Call me Master from now on, too."

Tsunade reached out and stroked her long, soft, fiery-red hair.

"You're my disciple now as well. I'll teach you Sealing Jutsu."

Kushina's eyes went round.

The sheer joy left her speechless. She could only nod vigorously as tears quickly filled her eyes.

"M-Master!"

"Hahaha!"

Looking at the three extraordinarily gifted children before her, Tsunade felt the future was bright.

She couldn't help laughing aloud.

A future Fourth Hokage.

A future "Senju Flash."

A future Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

That lineup was almost absurdly impressive!

She would take them with her to conquer the world one day.

Who would dare stand against them then?!