Hiruzen Sarutobi's Intention

Tsunade watched Qingyun, whose hands trembled slightly as he held his chopsticks, and a flicker of heartache flashed through her heart. After a moment of thought, she mixed a bottle of medicine, grabbed Qingyun's hand, applied it, and gently massaged his hands.

After a long while, Qingyun thanked Tsunade with a look of pure comfort: "Thank you, Teacher-sister."

Hearing this, Tsunade tapped Qingyun on the head in exasperation: "Why push yourself so hard? You're still young, and your Meridians haven't fully developed yet. Using the Mystical Palm Technique with such overdraft-level intensity is very likely to cause sequelae. Didn't you know that?"

Hearing this, warmth flooded Qingyun's heart: "Don't worry, Teacher-sister, I'll be more careful from now on. Don't forget, I'm practically a medical Ninja myself now!"

"Silly boy."

Tsunade looked at Qingyun's earnest expression, scolded him with a smile, and then continuously piled more food onto his plate.

After the meal, Qingyun originally wanted to go back and treat some more wounded personnel, but Tsunade chased him away.

Powerless to object, Qingyun had no choice but to obey Tsunade, pick up his washed lunchbox, and slowly leave the Ninja Hospital.

Not long after Qingyun left, Hiruzen Sarutobi approached Tsunade and inquired: "I heard Qingyun has been doing quite well here!"

Hearing this, Tsunade did not show a happy expression; instead, she looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with guarded vigilance: "Old man, what are you trying to do?"

A trace of awkwardness appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, which he quickly concealed: "Tsunade, Qingyun's strength is already comparable to a Chunin, and the current frontline situation is tight..."

"Old man, say no more. How old is Qingyun? He is currently right in his prime growth period for building strength. Contacting the battlefield too early will have extremely severe consequences. Don't forget which clan he belongs to."

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could finish speaking, Tsunade rudely interrupted him.

"Yet the performance Qingyun has shown during this period is something you and I have both witnessed. He's different from ordinary Uchiha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi still wanted to press the issue, but Tsunade refused to yield even an inch: "Precisely for that reason, we must all the more prevent Qingyun from contacting the battlefield too early. He is still young and his mentality is not yet mature. Once an accident happens—old man, do you want to create yet another enemy like Madara Uchiha?

Konoha doesn't have a second Hashirama Senju left."

Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth, but ultimately chose to compromise.

Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi's retreating back, Tsunade's gaze flickered. Finally, she let out a sigh, grabbed her wine gourd, and gulped down large swallows. Before long, Tsunade's face flushed red as she muttered something under her breath.

Qingyun knew nothing of the conversation between Tsunade and Hiruzen Sarutobi. Upon returning to his residence, he discovered that Kushina was actually here as well. Qingyun looked at the sky and asked curiously: "Kushina, it's so late, why haven't you gone back yet? Is something the matter?"

When Kushina saw Qingyun, a look of delight first flashed across her face, but upon hearing Qingyun's words, she lowered her head with a crestfallen expression.

"Kushina was being ostracized by her classmates at school. A few classmates mocked her, so she chased them down and beat them up, earning herself a nickname from the students: the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero."

Seeing Qingyun return and noticing Kushina's dejected appearance, Minato Namikaze explained what had happened today.

Qingyun suddenly understood. No wonder Kushina wore that expression; so it was because of this.

After thinking for a moment, Qingyun comforted her: "Kushina, true friends are about quality, not quantity. Don't you already have two friends in me and Minato? As for everyone else, mouths belong to them, and they can say whatever they please. Why should we get angry over their words?"

If you really can't stand it, just beat up everyone who mocks you. If you can't beat them, you can find Minato to help. If even Minato isn't a match for them, come find me, and I will definitely stand up for you."

Hearing this, a brilliant smile bloomed on Kushina's face as she looked at Qingyun and nodded with a deeply moved expression.

Seeing Kushina recover, Qingyun heaved a sigh of relief. He truly sympathized with this girl of such a pitiful background, and he did not want Kushina to suffer a bleak end like she did in the Original Story.

After the three of them chatted for a little longer, Qingyun and Minato Namikaze walked Kushina back home.

Along the way, Qingyun recounted the events at the Ninja Hospital to Minato Namikaze and Kushina.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina looked at Qingyun with faces full of admiration. Qingyun was the exact same age as them, yet he was already able to contribute his own strength to Konoha, filling them with deep envy.

The three of them joked and laughed all the way as they escorted Kushina home. Before long, they stopped at the ancestral grounds of the Senju Clan, and Qingyun and Minato Namikaze waved goodbye to Kushina.

"Kushina is back? Come eat."

A beautiful woman with the exact same hair color as Kushina looked at Kushina with a gentle expression and spoke.

Kushina looked at the beautiful woman and nodded happily: "Alright, Grandma Mito."

Seeing Kushina's happy appearance, Mito Uzumaki wore a gratified look and casually inquired, feigning indifference: "I heard you got into a fight at school today?"

Hearing this, Kushina's hand, which was in the middle of dishing out rice, paused for a moment before she recovered: "Yeah, who told them to mock me? But Grandma, I'll try not to fight in the future. Qingyun is right: their mouths are their own, and whatever they want to say is out of my control, as long as they don't cross my bottom line."

Hearing this, Mito Uzumaki's eyes narrowed. Qingyun—this was a name she had been hearing Tsunade mention frequently lately, except that Qingyun seemed to be a member of the Uchiha Clan. For Kushina to get along so well with him, would that...

A trace of worry flashed in Mito Uzumaki's eyes. Watching the bright smile that surfaced on Kushina's face whenever she brought up Qingyun's name, Mito Uzumaki knew that Kushina had likely regarded Qingyun as her closest friend.

"It seems you have a very favorable impression of this boy named Qingyun, Kushina!"

Mito Uzumaki looked at Kushina with a smile.

"Of course! Grandmother, you have no idea how awesome Qingyun is. His fist techniques are clearly very slow, yet he's able to block extremely fast attacks and rebound the opponent's blows right back at them.

Besides, Qingyun treated over thirty wounded soldiers today. Don't you think he's amazing?"

While eating her meal, Kushina excitedly recounted Qingyun's prowess to Mito Uzumaki.

Mito Uzumaki kept a smile on her face, but her curiosity regarding Qingyun grew increasingly intense in her heart!

"Since this boy named Qingyun is so capable, why don't you invite him over to the house for a meal sometime?"

Mito Uzumaki said casually.

Hearing this, Kushina agreed happily!

As Mito Uzumaki watched Kushina's demeanor, her eyes gradually grew weathered and vicissitudinous.

It was hard to imagine that a beauty who looked like a woman in her prime could hold such a gaze of having witnessed all the vicissitudes of life.

On the other side, Qingyun had no idea that he had already drawn the attention of Konoha's currently biggest boss. He walked alongside Minato Namikaze down the silent, empty streets.

"Big Brother, do you think it's a good idea for me to graduate early?"

Minato Namikaze looked at Qingyun with anticipation in his eyes.

Hearing this, Qingyun furrowed his brows: "No. Leaving aside the fact that we are currently in wartime, you and I are still too young. Graduating right now means we will inevitably end up on the battlefield. We still have plenty of room for growth; there's no need to rush.

Furthermore, graduating at a time like this means the powerful shinobis—like your teacher and the others—all have their own respective missions and won't have time to look after us. The ones left behind are mostly instructors of mediocre ability who simply cannot teach us properly.

Minato, we should properly consolidate our foundations. Only by doing so can we better help the village in the future."

Graduating at this juncture meant they had no way of knowing under which nameless ninja's command they would be assigned. Moreover, it was currently wartime; once large-scale battles broke out, newly graduated shinobis like them were very likely to be drafted onto the front lines.

Though both he and Minato were currently comparable to some Chunin, they lacked any and all practical experience. To go to the battlefield at this moment meant their survival rate would simply be too low.

Seeing Qingyun put it this way, Minato Namikaze could only temporarily dismiss the idea of graduating early.

The rest of the journey was quiet. After returning to their quarters, the two returned to their respective rooms and began practicing the Primordial Chaos Technique.