"No problem!"
Mikami Yuu smiled, already picturing a brand-new encounter target appearing before him. "Then I'll thank you in advance, Minato-sensei."
The two of them took a short break.
Then Kakashi, Rin, and Obito arrived at the training ground. All of them looked like they'd just gone through intense training, with that post-workout exhaustion still on their faces.
The moment Obito saw Yuu, he started yelling that he was slacking off.
Kakashi, standing beside him, gave a quiet snort and corrected him. "Shut up, dead last. Yuu was developing a new technique with Minato-sensei."
"Huh? A new technique? Then I want to develop one too!"
"You should focus on getting your Fire Style in order first."
"Huh? What's with you lately, smug Kakashi? You've been picking fights with me nonstop! I just learned two new Fire Style jutsu recently. If you've got the guts, let's spar. I'll definitely blow your mind!"
"Hmph."
"..."
Standing to the side, Mikami Yuu and Rin watched Kakashi and Obito bicker and couldn't help thinking that the two of them really were a pair of tragic lovebirds. They could turn literally any topic into an argument.
Once they finished arguing, Mikami Yuu walked over with his sword and briefly explained the idea he had just discussed with Minato—engraving a binding-type sealing formula onto the blade.
After hearing it, Kakashi fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. As long as it doesn't deliberately ruin the blade's durability."
"Thanks."
Mikami Yuu grinned and patted Kakashi on the shoulder. "Later, if I get the chance, I'll go rob Kirigakure of the Executioner's Blade and give it to you."
On the other side, Obito scratched his head. "Putting a sealing formula on a sword so whoever gets cut gets locked down? That sounds awesome. Can I learn that too, Minato-sensei?"
"Well…"
Minato thought about it for a moment. "Sealing techniques may not necessarily suit your combat styles, but it won't hurt to understand them. At the very least, if you run into enemies who use them, you'll know how to defend against it. When I teach Yuu later, I'll explain some of it to you too."
"Awesome!"
After that, Minato vanished with a whoosh back home, then reappeared a few minutes later with another whoosh, handing two thick books to Mikami Yuu.
The covers were labeled in old-fashioned lettering: Basic Sealing Formula Analysis and Chakra Rune Structures and Energy Guidance.
"Here, read these first," Minato said. "They cover the most basic concepts of sealing techniques—drawing formulae, injecting and controlling chakra, simple barrier and sealing principles… Once you've digested those two, I'll start teaching you more advanced sealing techniques."
"Got it."
Mikami Yuu thought to himself that this was the true value of "Homebound Minato"—using Flying Thunder God just to fetch things really was absurdly convenient.
Still, learning sealing techniques before he got the chance to romance Flying Thunder God wasn't bad either.
After all, sealing techniques were one of the most broken systems in the entire Naruto world. They could do everything from suppressing tailed beasts to sealing souls. Their versatility was ridiculous. Being able to touch that field at this point in time was an enormous opportunity.
…
A few more days passed in the blink of an eye.
That evening, Mikami Yuu and the others finished another round of special training and sat down to rest in a forest clearing.
After ten or twenty minutes, Minato used Flying Thunder God to appear there. Looking at Mikami Yuu and the others sprawled around the area, he wore his usual gentle smile.
"You all worked hard. I'm really pleased with how much effort you've been putting in lately."
"That's enough for today. Dinner's on me tonight."
"Really, Minato-sensei?"
Obito sprang upright first, his eyes shining behind his goggles. "Are we going to Yakiniku Q? I haven't been there in forever! Though… if Yakiniku Q's too expensive, Ichiraku Ramen would also be fine."
"Neither of those, actually."
Minato smiled and shook his head. "Come eat at my place tonight. You can try my cooking."
"Huh?"
Mikami Yuu looked up in surprise.
Beside him, Rin's eyes widened too. "Minato-sensei can cook?"
"Just a little."
Minato made a small "just a little" gesture with his fingers and smiled. "Go home, wash up, and change clothes first. Come over to my place in about an hour. I still need to go buy groceries."
"Okay."
Mikami Yuu and Rin nodded. Obito, meanwhile, was already full of excitement. Only Kakashi stayed relatively indifferent, apparently not caring much about dinners and gatherings.
An hour later, after washing up, Mikami Yuu and Rin first ran into Kakashi waiting for them on the small road near the old Hatake house.
Then the three of them headed together to the Uchiha district and knocked on Obito's door.
Obito had clearly only just finished getting ready. His hair was still damp and unrubbed dry, but he was already too impatient to care and rushed out the moment they arrived, hurrying toward Minato's place with them.
It wasn't the same home Naruto would later live in in canon. This was a fairly modest detached apartment located not too far from the civilian district. The small garden outside had neatly planted greenery and looked clean and orderly.
"Minato-sensei, sorry to bother you!"
Mikami Yuu knocked.
"Come in. Sit wherever you like."
Minato's voice came from the kitchen, mixed with the light clatter of cooking utensils.
The four of them took off their shoes and stepped inside.
The interior wasn't very large—probably a one-bedroom apartment with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom, maybe around seventy or eighty square meters—but it was kept very clean. The low table in the living room was stacked with scrolls and books, while one wall displayed neatly arranged ninja tools, most of them custom Flying Thunder God kunai.
Mikami Yuu and Rin looked around curiously.
Kakashi, meanwhile, sat down honestly on the sofa, straight-backed and expressionless.
Before long, there came a rapid knock at the door.
"Hm?"
Mikami Yuu looked up.
Everyone from Team Minato was already here, so who else could be visiting? Unless…
"I'll get it!"
Obito volunteered eagerly, jumping up and yanking open the door.
Then a tall red-haired girl with a bright, cheerful smile appeared in the doorway. The moment she saw Obito, she immediately reached out to pat his head.
"Oh wow! You must be one of Minato's students, right? Come here, let big sis get a look at you!"
"Wah!"
Obito shrieked and, relying on the reflexes he'd honed in training, ducked awkwardly under Kushina's "claw," his face turning red at once. "Y-you—who are you?!"
Uzumaki Kushina didn't care at all. She laughed, slipped into the house with easy agility, and immediately locked her gaze onto Mikami Yuu and the others sitting in the living room. With one step, she was already in front of Rin, both hands reaching out to pinch her soft little face.
"Waaah, what a cute girl!"
Caught completely off guard, Rin's cheeks were puffed up between Kushina's fingers, and she made a tiny muffled noise, her face turning bright red.
Then Kushina turned toward Mikami Yuu.
Mikami Yuu instinctively tried to dodge, but she was too fast. Her fingers, carrying a little gust of air with them, had already lightly pinched a bit of his cheek.
Only Kakashi, because he was sitting farther away, escaped disaster.