Carrying Kushina home

On the way back, Kushina rested her hand on Qianye Lan's shoulder and said weakly, "I'm so tired..."

Qianye Lan couldn't help rolling his eyes. "We weren't even gone for three days, including the trip there and back, and you're complaining about being tired?"

Kushina stuck out her tongue and sidled up to Qianye Lan, wheedling, "I really am tired."

After Uchiha Mikoto had exposed her feelings yesterday, she had decided to take the initiative.

She would build up their bond while they were still young, and then, once they grew up...

Qianye Lan said helplessly, "So you want to..."

Kushina gave a little leap and wrapped her arms around Qianye Lan's neck, settling securely on his back.

"Let's go."

Qianye Lan could only carry her home.

At the entrance, Qianye Lan motioned for Kushina to open the door.

Kushina reached out and opened it.

Mito Uzumaki was resting in her reclining chair as usual.

Hearing the door open, she opened her eyes. At the sight, she smiled with gratification and said, "You're back. Was your mission tiring?"

Kushina slid straight off Qianye Lan's back and went over to tell Mito Uzumaki about her mission.

She showed none of the utter exhaustion she had displayed just moments ago.

Qianye Lan watched Kushina's act speechlessly. After greeting Mito Uzumaki, he prepared to go train in the backyard.

The Hokage Office.

Hatake Sakumo knocked lightly on the office door.

"Come in."

Hatake Sakumo entered and bowed slightly. "Lord Hokage."

The Third Hokage smiled. "Sakumo, have a seat." Only after Hatake Sakumo sat down did he ask, "Sakumo, how did you obtain this secret letter?"

In his message, Hatake Sakumo had only briefly stated that the secret letter belonged to Sunagakure, without specifying its exact source.

At his question, Hatake Sakumo briefly recounted what had happened.

After listening, the Third Hokage looked grateful. "Sakumo, we have you to thank this time."

With that, he handed the letter's contents to Hatake Sakumo to read.

After reading them, Hatake Sakumo's expression shifted slightly.

The list at the end was one thing. After all, anyone paying attention could discover that information.

But only Konoha's senior leadership knew about Tsunade's hemophobia.

How could a Sunagakure spy know? At this thought, Hatake Sakumo's expression fluctuated.

The Third Hokage spoke slowly then. "We really have you to thank this time, Sakumo. Otherwise, if this intelligence had leaked, the consequences would have been unthinkable."

Hatake Sakumo understood what consequences the Third Hokage meant.

The current Hokage's student, one of the Sannin, and the First Hokage's granddaughter had developed hemophobia?

If certain people learned of this...

He said politely, "I was only doing my duty."

The Third Hokage did not respond to his words, tapping the desk instead.

He took the pipe from inside his clothing, drew deeply on it, and said, "This mission will count as an S-rank mission for you and Qianye Lan."

Hatake Sakumo accepted without declining.

This concerned a secret involving the village's senior leadership, after all. An S-rank designation was hardly excessive.

Hatake Sakumo planned to tell Qianye Lan the good news tomorrow.

As for catching the spies afterward, that was the Anbu's job.

He composed himself and stood up. "Lord Hokage, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

The Third Hokage nodded at that. "Go home and get some rest, Sakumo. The rewards for your S-rank mission will be delivered to you later."

Hatake Sakumo left, closing the door behind him.

The Third Hokage's previously kindly expression instantly darkened.

He took out his pipe and drew deeply on it.

The rising smoke obscured his expression.

After a long while, he collected himself and said, "Root out all the rats in Konoha."

"Yes."

After Kushina had told Mito Uzumaki all about her mission.

Mito Uzumaki smiled kindly and said, "So, little Kushina, did you bring any gifts for Grandma?"

Kushina's little face reddened. She lowered her head and said sheepishly, "I forgot."

After speaking, she made sure to stick out her tongue, acting cute beside Mito Uzumaki.

Qianye Lan continued practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique in the backyard.

He felt he was just a little short of being able to use it in actual combat.

After throwing a specially made Kunai, he tried sensing its spatial mark while it was in flight.

By now, Qianye Lan could proficiently sense spatial marks on stationary Kunai or other objects and teleport to them precisely.

However, he still had not managed to sense a spatial mark while it was in flight.

This was also what had puzzled him for so long.

After practicing for a while without finding any leads, he could only calm himself and concentrate on reading Tobirama Senju's notes.

He hoped to find an answer to this problem.

Qianye Lan searched through the notes for a long time before finally finding a solution.

They described overcoming this difficulty by establishing an anchor point.

For instance, suppose you wanted to throw a Kunai and move to a certain location.

You would lock directly onto that location, then sense the spatial coordinates and teleport once the Kunai reached the designated spot.

After repeated attempts, Qianye Lan finally succeeded.

This meant his Flying Thunder God was no longer only useful for escaping, but could be applied in all sorts of actual combat situations.

Tsunade, who was watching from the side, saw it all clearly.

Tsunade had, in a sense, watched Qianye Lan grow step by step.

Only a few months had passed since Qianye Lan obtained the training method for the Flying Thunder God Technique, yet his progress had been tremendous.

She had witnessed firsthand how, at the beginning, Qianye Lan had not even known the Flying Thunder God Formula.

Then he had gone to study Sealing Jutsu.

In other words, Qianye Lan had taken only a few months to go from learning the Flying Thunder God Technique from scratch to using it in actual combat.

For some inexplicable reason, Tsunade lowered her head to look at the necklace she wore and pondered for a long time.

If this cursed necklace were given to...

Tsunade shook her head, abandoning the dangerous thought in her mind.

Having succeeded, Qianye Lan could hardly hide his joy. He said to Tsunade, "Big Sister Tsunade, I did it."

An encouraging smile appeared on Tsunade's delicate face.

With his afternoon training over, the fatigue of the journey left Qianye Lan feeling somewhat tired.

After eating, he returned to his room, planning to get some proper rest.

But a knock came at the door, accompanied by a familiar voice. "Lan, I'm coming in."

Then Kushina walked in.

Qianye Lan looked up. Kushina had just finished bathing, and droplets of water still dripped from her beautiful red hair.