Mikoto

Kushina's laughter pulled Qianye Lan out of his thoughts and back to reality.

He looked at Kushina, who was walking backward with her hands behind her back, and said, "Aren't you afraid you'll fall?"

Kushina spread her arms and said, "What's there to be afraid of? I've never even..."

"Ah!"

Kushina suddenly tripped over a stone. With her arms spread wide, she immediately lost her balance.

Just as she was about to fall, Qianye Lan instinctively reached out, caught her wrist, and pulled her up.

Her momentum carried her straight into his arms.

Kushina instinctively hugged Qianye Lan. By the time she realized what she was doing, it was already too late.

She was embarrassed and annoyed, but she also knew Qianye Lan had been worried she would fall.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she said in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, "Thank you."

With that, she slipped out of Qianye Lan's arms like a startled rabbit.

She showed none of her usual Red-Hot Habanero fierceness.

She stopped walking backward and simply walked ahead as though nothing had happened.

Only the faint redness at the tips of her ears showed that she was not entirely calm inside.

Qianye Lan took it all in and could not help laughing to himself.

He returned to their earlier topic. "After hearing your analysis, I think our future teammate should be a pretty good person."

Hearing Qianye Lan agree with her thoughts, Kushina could not help lifting her chin proudly.

The two returned to normal, tacitly agreeing not to mention what had just happened.

They returned home like that, finding Mito Uzumaki reclining in a lounge chair in the courtyard with her eyes half-closed.

Lately, she had been growing increasingly fond of sleeping.

Sensing the Nine-Tails stirring inside her, her expression turned cold. The Adamantine Sealing Chains tightened as she told the Nine-Tails within her, "Behave yourself."

She opened her eyes and saw the two coming in. Seeing that they seemed to be in fairly good spirits, Mito Uzumaki asked, "Were you two assigned to the same team?"

Before Qianye Lan could speak, Kushina went over to her and said, "Of course! Our instructor is even the famous White Fang of Konoha."

Mito Uzumaki smiled at that. "So it's Sakumo. He certainly is reliable."

After hearing that their instructor was Hatake Sakumo, she felt completely reassured.

Kushina stayed beside Mito Uzumaki, chattering away about what had happened that day.

Mito Uzumaki simply listened quietly.

Seeing this, Qianye Lan did not go over to disturb them. He quietly went to the training ground to practice the Flying Thunder God Technique, then ate and went to bed.

At nine the next morning.

Qianye Lan and Kushina arrived at the meeting place on time.

Hatake Sakumo had arrived early and was already waiting there.

Seeing the two, he said, "Good. You're not late."

Kushina looked around and asked, "Sakumo-sensei, where's our teammate?"

Just as she finished speaking, a gentle female voice came from behind them. "Sorry, something came up just now, so I'm late."

The two turned around at the sound.

The newcomer was a black-haired young woman.

Her long black hair fell over her shoulders, and she wore a gentle, slightly apologetic smile.

The Uchiha Clan crest on her clothes told the two who she was.

Looking at her, Kushina spoke first. "Are you our teammate?"

The black-haired young woman gave a friendly smile and replied, "If your teacher is Hatake Sakumo, then yes."

Hatake Sakumo cleared his throat lightly. "Since everyone's here, let's introduce ourselves first."

The black-haired young woman said, "I'll go first, then. My name is Uchiha Mikoto. It's nice to meet you."

"Kushina. It's nice to meet you, too."

The two shook hands, and Uchiha Mikoto turned her gaze to Qianye Lan.

Qianye Lan introduced himself as well. "Qianye Lan. It's nice to meet you, too."

After seeing that they had all briefly introduced themselves, Hatake Sakumo said, "Let me explain Uchiha Mikoto's situation."

Qianye Lan and Kushina turned their attention to Hatake Sakumo.

Hatake Sakumo explained, "Uchiha Mikoto's circumstances are rather unusual. During the Second Shinobi World War, her instructor suffered injuries that left them unable to continue working as a ninja, so Uchiha Mikoto's team was broken up."

Kushina nodded in understanding. "Oh, so that's what happened."

She looked at Mikoto curiously and asked, "What's war like?"

Mikoto replied with an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I mainly handled logistics. I never went to the front lines."

Kushina was just about to ask more when Mikoto continued, "My teacher retired because of an accident at the front. I wasn't there at the time."

Hatake Sakumo interrupted, "All right, now that everyone has a basic understanding of one another, I'll treat you all to barbecue to mark our team's first meeting!"

After the meal, they said goodbye to one another. Hatake Sakumo told them to meet at the same place at nine the next morning, then dismissed them.

At Hatake Sakumo's home, he watched Kakashi training and said rather helplessly, "Kakashi, you sent a Shadow Clone to school again." (Kakashi was born in Konoha Year 37, so he's four now and can talk!)

Kakashi nodded. "Father, you know I've already finished the Ninja Academy curriculum. I'm planning to apply for early graduation."

Hatake Sakumo's expression suddenly grew serious, and he crouched down so he could look Kakashi in the eye.

He placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder and said, "Kakashi, you need to understand that the Ninja Academy is a place for you to build bonds with your future comrades. You shouldn't do this."

Kakashi turned his head away. "I don't think I have anything in common with those people."

Hatake Sakumo sighed softly. "Go to school in person. If you still feel that way after a year, you can graduate early."

Kakashi nodded and silently resumed his training.

As the son of the White Fang of Konoha, he had been watched by countless eyes since childhood.

That pressure kept him from daring to slack off.

Even though Hatake Sakumo had tried to talk him through it many times, he had not succeeded.

Kakashi's mother had also died giving birth to him, leaving Hatake Sakumo with little choice for the time being but to let him be.

At the training ground.

Qianye Lan had placed Flying Thunder God markings all around.

He closed his eyes and carefully sensed the spatial coordinates.

He repeatedly teleported back and forth to increase his proficiency with the technique.

Tsunade stood nearby, watching Qianye Lan train.

She had always felt it was a shame that Qianye Lan refused to study Medical Ninjutsu.

In Tsunade's eyes, if Qianye Lan were willing to devote himself to Medical Ninjutsu, his achievements would certainly be no less than hers.

But Tsunade also understood Qianye Lan very well.

After all, a person's energy was limited. If Qianye Lan studied Medical Ninjutsu, there was no way he could have mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique so quickly.

Just then, Kushina came out and called loudly, "Tsunade, Lan, dinner's ready!"

After dinner, Qianye Lan returned to his room, sat in his chair, and continued reading Tobirama Senju's notes.

Kushina lay on his bed, looking at him as she said, "Lan, what kind of missions do you think we'll be going on?"

Seeing her expectant expression, Qianye Lan could not bear to dampen her spirits. He could only give a vague answer. "No idea. We'll just follow Uncle Sakumo's arrangements."