Chapter 24
Uzushiogakure.
It had been a week since Saki woke up from her coma.
The village had somewhat returned to a rhythm. New houses had risen where previous ones had collapsed, and the immediate food crisis had been resolved thanks to the Senju relief supplies arriving yesterday.
Now, in the early morning, Kushina stood in a low fighting stance, facing Sakuko on the training grounds. She was supposed to be training with Saki, but for a week now, her sensei had been completely tied up with Tsunade—or, in her own words, 'straightening Tsunade out.'
Kushina genuinely pitied her older cousin. First, her Aunt Medori had taken her to task, and then for a week straight, she had been ruthlessly disciplined by her sensei.
So, her senpai had taken over the responsibility of training her. It had been quite some time since they last sparred, and Kushina was eager to show off and surprise her senior.
"You are daydreaming again, Kushina." Sakuko's voice snapped her out of her musings.
"Ahh…. Sorry. Just thinking about Tsunade-nee."
Sakuko smirked. "She brought it upon herself, poking Sensei like that." Her stance shifted slightly. "Now, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to show me what new tricks you've learned these past few months?"
"Oh, you absolutely will see them, dattebane!" Kushina flashed a wide grin.
She slammed a smoke bomb into the ground, instantly blocking Sakuko's vision.
Sakuko watched calmly as three Kushinas burst out of the smoke. She readied herself, keeping one hand casually behind her back.
She effortlessly blocked a punch, pivoted on her left leg to dodge a high kick, grabbed a hand aiming for her head, and flung that clone into the others, completely breaking their rhythm.
Upon impact, the flung clone popped into smoke, briefly obscuring her vision again. Then, five more clones appeared in rapid succession, scattering in different directions.
Throughout the entire exchange, Sakuko only blocked and dodged, her second hand remaining firmly behind her back.
Hidden nearby, the real Kushina watched with slight irritation as her clones struggled against Sakuko, who clearly wasn't taking this seriously. Suddenly, an idea sparked in her head. With a wicked grin, she joined the fray.
Sakuko immediately noticed the shift in their fighting style. She narrowed her eyes at the sudden change in tempo.
She dodged kicks and punches, deflecting hooks and grabs that were now being thrown at her recklessly, seemingly without any thought behind them.
Sakuko wanted to gauge Kushina's true level and see how she would handle a powerful opponent. But if Kushina's only plan was to blindly throw shadow clones at her, it was disappointing. Sakuko could dispel them all in an instant if she wanted to, but she held back, wanting to see if the younger girl had a real strategy.
Suddenly, a chakra-enhanced axe kick dropped toward her from above. Sakuko jumped two steps back. The kick missed, but the impact cratered the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris.
If Kushina's plan was to blind her again, she had succeeded. Out of the dust cloud lunged Kushina from a tricky blind spot. Sakuko easily pivoted her body to block the incoming punch.
But suddenly, a small, flying pebble from the debris exploded into smoke mid-air, and another Kushina burst out with a brutal roundhouse kick aimed right at her face.
Sakuko was forced to bring her second hand out from behind her back to block it. Her eyes widened slightly when this Kushina smiled and mouthed, 'I got you.'
Suddenly, more flying debris exploded. Sakuko felt three simultaneous kicks land heavily on her: first to her knees, second to her left midsection, and the final one—a punishing roundhouse—straight to her face. She felt the impact of that last one; it had some serious chakra packed into it.
Sakuko was sent skidding back a few meters, but she landed gracefully on her feet.
"You let your guard down, Senpai~" Kushina gloated with absolute glee, a massive smirk stretching from ear to ear.
Sakuko looked up and calmly spat a few drops of blood from her mouth. Then, her entire vibe shifted. The air around her grew heavy.
'This girl needs to be taught a lesson,' Sakuko thought, and instantly vanished.
Kushina, still smirking ear to ear, suddenly felt a massive impact bury itself in her stomach. She coughed up a mouthful of saliva as the blow lifted her clean off the ground. Before she could even register the pain, a second kick slammed into her chest, launching her backward until her spine violently collided with a tree several meters away.
"That hurts," Kushina groaned as she forced herself to stand up. "That was mean, Saku-nee."
"You let your guard down," Sakuko repeated flatly.
Kushina deadpanned. "Uh-huh... I totally believe that." 'She absolutely didn't believe it.'
"Oh, don't worry. The lesson has just started," Sakuko replied with mock sympathy, cracking her knuckles with a dangerously sweet smile. "Be sure to dodge, okay?"
Then began Kushina's one-sided beating. She used everything she had—shadow clones, smoke bombs, unpredictable angles—but Sakuko showed exactly why she had been appointed as a Jōnin Commander. She ruthlessly dismantled Kushina's every move.
Kenji and Shōto watched the scene from the main building's porch some distance away. Kenji didn't even blink as Kushina got her ass handed to her. Frankly, compared to Saki's training methods, this was like children playing tag.
"So, anything new?" he asked Shōto beside him.
"Yes. It seems Suna has mobilized their shinobi toward Konoha," Shōto said seriously. "The skirmishes currently happening in the Land of Rain are about to intensify tenfold."
"Hmm… That explains why Tsunade received a summons from Konoha."
When the Konoha supply delivery squads had arrived, Akamitsu left with the returning Senju reinforcements to head to the Leaf. Then, this morning, Tsunade got her official orders to return.
Kenji still remembered the brief flicker of hope in Tsunade's eyes when she heard she was being recalled—hope that was quickly and violently smashed when Saki grabbed her by the neck for a brutal, last-minute crash course in battlefield survival.
As they moved on to discuss other matters, Kenji noticed a small, timid girl appearing from the corner of the hallway out of the corner of his eye.
A warm smile appeared on his face upon seeing her. The timid girl noticed them.
"Ah… Kenji-sama, Shōto-sama," she stammered, bowing deeply in respect.
"There is no need to bow, Akane," Kenji said gently.
Akane Uzumaki. She was the same girl with the Healing Bite ability who had helped him with other civilians on the walls during the invasion.
He had introduced her to Kushina a few days ago, and they had quickly become somewhat of friends.
It seemed she had come to meet Kushina. Just as he thought that, her eyes darted toward the training ground, where Kushina was currently failing to not get hit.
"Is she alright?" Akane asked worriedly as Kushina was flung through the air like a ragdoll.
"Oh, don't worry. She will be alright," Kenji said with a reassuring smile.
Suddenly, a massive boom echoed from the training ground, slightly shaking the porch.
Kenji's smile twitched. "Probably."
After a few more minutes of watching, Kenji and Shōto bid farewell to Akane and left the porch to attend to their other duties.
Akane stayed behind, quietly munching on the snacks she had brought. She winced when a particularly heavy punch landed squarely on Kushina's face, but her eyes widened in surprise when, right before being flung backward, Kushina managed to land a solid kick of her own on Sakuko. And so, their 'training' continued.
At some point, Kushina started using her Adamantine Sealing Chains. Akane was amazed; Kushina was not even ten years old, yet she had already awakened the Adamantine Sealing Chains. And Akane could tell these were not normal chains—not by the color alone, let alone the terrifying aura she felt radiating from them. They were a brilliant red, but laced with glowing green edges that cast a strange, ethereal emerald hue over the battlefield.
All in all, they were mesmerizing.
Sakuko also unleashed her own golden chains, and the two kunoichi clashed again. This time, however, metallic links were erupting from everywhere across the training ground, tearing up the earth.
After two solid hours of grueling combat and tossing out occasional tips, Sakuko finally called a halt. She stopped in front of Kushina, who was lying flat on her back on the ground, completely exhausted and taking deep, ragged breaths.
"That should be enough for today," Sakuko said, her own voice slightly uneven from the exertion. Kushina just managed to give a shaky thumbs-up.
"You have improved quite a bit. Last time we sparred, you were just dodging and getting hit most of the time, but today you landed quite a few powerful blows," Sakuko praised, sitting down on the dirt beside the exhausted girl.
"Your Adamantine Sealing Chains…. They are quite unique," Sakuko added thoughtfully.
Kushina turned her head, raising an exhausted eyebrow. Seeing her blank reaction, Sakuko sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You haven't read up on the Adamantine Chains at all, have you?" Sakuko asked deadpan.
"Ugh… please, Saku-nee, don't you start too. I already have enough learning so much about fūinjutsu that sometimes my head hurts," Kushina groaned, lightly banging the back of her head against the ground.
Sakuko sighed again. She understood; she had suffered through the exact same academic headaches at that age.
"At least learn the basics…. Let me give you a crash course. Adamantine Sealing Chains—or Chakra Chains, whatever you prefer to call them—are intrinsically linked to our chakra. They depend on its density, its volume, and its quality. And they will keep growing stronger as we refine our chakra over the years." Sakuko looked down at Kushina with seriousness. "So, when I say yours are unique, I mean your chakra chains are unusually strong. You—a seven-year-old child—were able to shatter my chains. I am a Jōnin Commander who has been refining her chakra for twice your lifetime, and I still had to put in double the effort just to stop you."
Kushina was no longer groaning. She was listening now, her expression turning serious.
"What I am trying to say is that your chakra chains are especially lethal against anything chakra-related. They cut through foreign chakra like a hot knife through butter. Especially that green hue on the edges of your chains—they absorb chakra like a vacuum. Yes, our clan's chains are supposed to suppress chakra, but yours go far beyond suppressing. They outright consume it." Sakuko paused, her voice dropping to a quiet whisper as a realization hit her. "Just like…. Haruto."
Kushina's hand tightened into a fist. She remembered that translucent woman, and she knew for a fact she was somehow linked to Haruto. She could feel it—that strange, magnetic pull every single time she was near him.
"I will talk to my father about it. Thanks, Saku-nee." She flashed a grateful smile to Sakuko.
"Hmm. Now, your friend has waited long enough," Sakuko nodded, looking toward Akane, who was approaching them gingerly.
"She is the girl with the healing bite, right?" Sakuko asked.
Kushina looked surprised. "You know her?"
Sakuko shrugged. "She was one of the civilians who bravely came to the walls to help wherever they could," she said, a fond smile gracing her lips. "She is a brave girl."
Kushina nodded in agreement.
"Hmm… That explains everything," Kushina murmured to herself. When Sakuko raised a questioning eyebrow, Kushina explained, "She is a huge fan of my father…. Like, a huge one."
"Pfft…. Girl, if I were her age and saw what your father did, I would be a huge fan of his too." But then Sakuko remembered the heavy price Kenji had paid to perform those feats, and her mood instantly dampened.
"Kushina…"
"Hmm?"
"You have a wonderful father. Never forget that," Sakuko said with seriousness.
"I know. I have known that for a long time," Kushina replied with a radiant smile.
Finally, Akane reached them.
"Yo! Akane, how are you?" Kushina asked, sitting fully upright on the ground.
"Kushina-sama, I am alright. In fact, I should be asking if you are alright!" Akane replied worriedly, eyeing Kushina's bruises. She then turned to Sakuko and bowed deeply in respect. "Sakuko-sama, thank you for saving us at the walls."
Sakuko just nodded gracefully, but Kushina groaned aloud.
"Ugh…. Akane, just drop the 'sama', please. I am really not a fan of all these niceties."
"Ha. Ha. I will try, Kushina-sama—I mean, Kushina… san." Akane laughed awkwardly, still defaulting to honorifics in the end.
Kushina rubbed her head in defeat. She kept telling this girl to just call her Kushina, but it seemed it was going to be an uphill battle.
"By the way, sorry for the wait, but you might have to wait just a little longer. My older cousin is leaving today, so I have to go see her off with the others," Kushina said apologetically, slightly bowing her head.
Akane waved her hands frantically.
"No, no, Kushina-sama, it… it's completely alright! The hospital is almost finished rebuilding with your help anyway. I don't think the others will mind the wait," Akane replied nervously.
Kushina smiled slightly at the flustered girl. She really did like to poke fun at her just to see her get all worked up.
Suddenly, they all heard another massive boom echo from further away. It came from the main training grounds, where Saki and Tsunade were sparring—the exact reason Sakuko and Kushina had to settle for this smaller compound training ground.
"It seems they are finally finished," Sakuko said, standing up and brushing the dirt from her clothes.
Then, Kushina had a brilliant idea. With a mischievous grin, she called out.
"Hey, Saku-nee," Kushina said, her eyes practically sparkling. "Let's bet ten thousand ryo on how many broken bones Tsunade-nee will have when we go see her."
Akane's mouth hung open. 'Ten—ten thousand ryo!' It wasn't a fortune, but it certainly wasn't a small sum either.
Sakuko paused, and a slow smirk spread across her face.
"Deal…. What's your guess?" she asked.
"Hmm… I'm going to say between ten and twenty."
A truly radiant smile blossomed on Sakuko's face. "My bet is none. Tsunade is a prodigy medical-nin. By the time we reach her, she will have already healed herself completely."
Kushina's mouth dropped open, perfectly mirroring Akane beside her.
"Fufufu… you should choose your words more carefully, Kushina. Take this as your final lesson for today…." Sakuko began walking away, but after a few steps, she glanced back over her shoulder. "And make sure you have my ten thousand ryo ready for me tomorrow."
Kushina sat practically petrified in the dirt. Her entire month's allowance was gone just like that. Aunt Medori was right: gambling was dangerous.
"Come on, let's go. Who knows, you might still win," Sakuko teased.
Hope flickered in Kushina's eyes. She scrambled up, grabbed the hand of Akane—who was still quietly counting on her fingers—and dragged her along.
As they neared the main training ground deeper inside the forest, they saw Tsunade limping toward them. She was covered in bruises, especially on her face, and was clutching an ice bag against a nasty blue swelling on her right cheek.
Tsunade spotted them approaching.
"So, you came to see me," Tsunade said, a genuinely delighted expression breaking through her wince. "At least someone still cares about me."
"Tsunade-nee, how many of your bones did she break?" Kushina asked with deadpan seriousness.
A dramatic teardrop formed in the corner of Tsunade's eye.
"After ten, I stopped counting."
A triumphant smile graced Kushina's face. With her nose held high in the air, she looked over at Sakuko.
"Hehe…. It seems I won."
Sakuko had to suppress a chuckle as she watched Tsunade's expression instantly morph from touched joy to confusion. But Sakuko had a bet to win, so she asked her follow-up question.
"Now, now. Don't be so hasty." Sakuko looked back at Tsunade. "Tsunade, right now, how many of your bones are still broken?"
Literal question marks seemed to pop up over Tsunade's head. 'Why are they so obsessed with my broken bones?'
Still, as a good friend and older sister, she answered honestly.
"None. I healed them all. You know exactly how painful a broken bone can be, Sakuko, so why would I keep them? These are just surface wounds that I am letting heal naturally," Tsunade replied in a crisp, professional tone.
Tsunade raised a bruised eyebrow when Kushina suddenly crumbled to her knees in the dirt, looking like she had just lost her soul, while the new girl awkwardly patted her back to comfort her.
Tsunade looked at Sakuko questioningly.
"She made a bet with me about how many of your bones Sensei would break. And I won," Sakuko explained with a smug smile, flashing a victory V-sign with her fingers.
Tsunade gritted her teeth and glared pointedly down at Kushina.
"And here I thought you were actually worried about me. Tsk, tsk." Tsunade clicked her tongue in heavy disappointment.
Kushina sprang straight up, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.
"Well, I was worried about you, Tsunade-nee! That's why we came all the way out here to check on you!"
Trying desperately to deflect, Kushina peered behind Tsunade and asked, "By the way, where is Sensei?"
Tsunade accepted the change of subject.
"She is still back at the training ground."
"You seem happier today," Sakuko noted, observing Tsunade's surprisingly upbeat aura beneath the bruises.
"Oh, you could tell?" Tsunade exclaimed before flashing a dazzling smile. She reached into her pouch and proudly pulled out a scroll. "I finally got the fūinjutsu seal for recalling weapons."
Sakuko raised an impressed eyebrow. "You actually landed a blow on her?"
"I sure did, girl." Tsunade suddenly shivered, rubbing her arms. "And I hope I never have to do that again."
Sakuko only nodded in deep, solemn understanding.
"Well, I should go meet Sensei now. I heard you are leaving this afternoon, Tsunade, so have a safe journey back." Sakuko stepped forward and hugged Tsunade one last time before turning to walk toward the main training ground.
As she walked away, Sakuko heard snippets of Tsunade and Kushina's continuing conversation.
Tsunade had grabbed Kushina by the back of her collar and began dragging her away.
"Brat, come with me. You are going to help me pack my things."
"Ehh? But I wanted to see Sensei too!"
"You live here, you have all the time in the world to see her. Consider this your punishment for betting on my shattered bones."
"Ugh… Fine."
"By the way, who is this new girl?"
"Oh, this is Akane. Akane, this is my older cousin."
"Ah… N—Nice to meet you, Tsunade-sama!"
Sakuko smiled to herself as the voices faded into the distance.
When she reached the training ground, she was surprised to find it mostly unharmed; only a few fresh craters were scattered here and there. In the center of the clearing, her sensei sat in a meditative pose. All around her, loose rocks and debris were floating, suspended effortlessly in mid-air.
It seemed she had been training with her gravity seals.
Saki opened her eyes the moment she sensed Sakuko's approach. A small, warm smile appeared on her face as she looked at her student.
Sakuko returned the smile.
"Sensei, you let Tsunade hit you?" she asked. She was genuinely curious; she knew firsthand how incredibly difficult it was to land a hit on her sensei, whose instincts seemed to warn her of every single threat before it even happened.
"I made sure she worked for it," came Saki's crisp reply.
A fond smile appeared on Sakuko's face. That was just so like her. Then, her expression shifted into one of deep seriousness.
"Sensei, I think I have stagnated long enough." She stepped forward, standing respectfully in front of Saki. "I hope you will teach me."
Saki's smile widened as she looked at Sakuko, and she slowly stood up. Her first disciple needed her guidance—how could she possibly refuse?
"It is good that you realized that early, Saku. Remember: when you stagnate, the world does not. It will continue moving forward whether you want it to or not."
Sakuko smiled, remembering those old, familiar lessons from her childhood.
But then, Saki activated her forehead seal. Instantly, a massive, crushing pressure descended upon Sakuko's shoulders.
The hidden seals around the training ground activated.
Sakuko gulped. Suddenly, she also remembered the brutal beatings that came with those lessons.
"Be sure to dodge, okay? I am still exploring this power," Saki said in a sickeningly sweet voice—the exact same tone Sakuko had used on Kushina just a few hours ago.
In the next instant, they clashed, sending a massive shockwave violently shaking the surrounding forest.
******
In the afternoon.
Kenji's office.
Tsunade stood in front of Kenji's desk, watching as he wrote something on a scroll for a minute before rolling it up and handing it to her.
"Give this to Hiruzen," Kenji instructed.
Tsunade nodded. Kenji smiled and pulled out two more scrolls from his desk. He handed her a standard storage scroll first.
"Here. Inside this is your 'payment'."
A deep scowl instantly appeared on Tsunade's face.
"Now, now. Hear me out first. It's more of a gift from a grand-uncle to his grand-niece, who finally came to see us after so many years," Kenji said unhurriedly, heavily emphasizing the last part about her not visiting them often.
An arrow of guilt struck Tsunade squarely in the chest, and she visibly deflated. She knew he was right; she hadn't visited Uzushio since her grandfather Hashirama died years ago.
"And I said 'payment' so Mito will not confiscate your hard-earned money," Kenji added with a wink.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. After she had become a full-fledged ninja, her grandmother hardly ever confiscated her money anymore. Then she looked down at the scroll again.
'Just how much is in it?' she thought.
Kenji smiled, easily reading her thoughts. "It has enough ryo in it for you to live comfortably for a year without doing a single mission. Or, knowing you, enough to live a lavish, luxurious life for a month."
Tsunade's mouth hung open. She suddenly saw a holy, glowing halo made out of green ryo notes shining behind Kenji's head.
Oh, Grandma will absolutely confiscate this. She swiftly hid the scroll deep within her innermost sleeve.
Kenji chuckled, watching her antics. He still clearly remembered that little girl running around Konoha with a stack of betting bills in her hands.
"And here. This one is our genuine gratitude for saving so many of our shinobi, and for saving Saki." Kenji gently handed her the second, far more ornate scroll.
Tsunade looked at it, her eyes widening as her grip on the parchment tightened.
"I heard you want to modify the Strength of a Hundred Seal. Inside are the personal notes and compiled understanding of myself, Shōto, Saki, and Medori."
Tsunade's eyes glistened with unshed tears. To a medical ninja and a seal user, this was infinitely more precious than any amount of money. It was the accumulated, closely guarded knowledge of the Uzumaki clan's one of the best fūinjutsu masters.
She stepped forward and hugged Kenji tightly.
"Thank you, Uncle."
Kenji patted her back soothingly, a warm smile on his face.
"Now, have a safe journey back, okay? And don't forget that you have another family waiting for you right here."
"Hmm…" Tsunade just nodded, burying her face further into his shoulder to hide her tears.