"Fine, fine! I'll give it, alright?"
Hearing his request, Kushina Uzumaki quickly waved her hands, then brought over some tools, drew a small cup of blood, and handed it to Uchiha Sora.
As for the wound—
It healed instantly.
The Uzumaki physique was truly something else.
Next, with Uchiha Sora's help, she "negotiated" with Kurama, successfully bribing it with three sets of manga and obtaining a sizable portion of its chakra.
"Seal it quickly! If the aura leaks out and the Anbu detect it, we're in trouble!"
Kushina urged anxiously.
Fortunately, Uchiha Sora had been well prepared. He had already set up an isolation sealing barrier in advance.
Otherwise, the Anbu and Root shinobi outside would have already stormed in.
After all, this was Tailed Beast chakra.
"Alright, relax. Nothing will happen. The barrier is in place."
Uchiha Sora remained calm. He took out a blank chakra sealing scroll and easily sealed the mass of Nine-Tails chakra into it.
Then, together with the scroll containing Kushina's blood, he stored them safely on his person.
"Phew!"
Kushina let out a long breath of relief.
Uchiha Sora couldn't help but chuckle.
"You worry too much. I told you—it's fine."
Kushina rolled her eyes.
"I can't help it. I'm used to it. Those Anbu are really overbearing… hmph!"
"By the way—"
Uchiha Sora looked at her curiously.
"You haven't graduated from the ninja academy yet, right? Why haven't I seen you attending classes lately?"
Kushina nodded.
"I haven't graduated yet."
Then she shook her head.
"But I don't need to go anymore. I won't be assigned to a genin squad anyway. The village would never allow it."
As she spoke, her expression dimmed slightly.
She understood clearly—ever since becoming the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, in the eyes of Konoha's higher-ups, she was no longer a normal person.
She was a weapon.
Seeing through her thoughts, Uchiha Sora reached out and gently patted her head.
"No need to be sad. All difficulties stem from insufficient strength."
"From now on, train with me. Raise your strength to a level where even the Third Hokage and the others are forced to take you seriously."
"At that point, whether they like it or not, they'll have to follow your wishes. What do you think?"
He couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her.
At the same time, he felt he should give her something in return.
After all, she had been willing to give him anything he asked for. It was clear her heart was already leaning toward him.
Being this charming really is troublesome…
Uchiha Sora thought smugly to himself.
"Yeah… that makes sense!"
Kushina's eyes lit up again, her spirits lifted.
"Then let's work hard together! Once we're strong enough, we'll overturn that old man and the others—smash his Hokage office and vent our frustration. And then force him to give me my freedom!"
She waved her fists fiercely, her expression adorably ferocious.
At this moment, her motivation to grow stronger surged to its peak.
Seeing this, Uchiha Sora smiled.
"Good. Now that you're motivated—come here. I'll teach you a Spirit Refinement Method. It will greatly enhance your spiritual power, speed up your cultivation, and help suppress the Nine-Tails."
"I'll also teach you a basic body-tempering technique."
As he spoke, Uchiha Sora pulled Kushina closer and pressed his forehead against hers.
Amid her flustered expression, he directly transmitted both techniques into her mind using his spiritual power.
At the same time, he placed a special sealing restriction on them, preventing her from leaking the techniques.
This was a sealing method he had comprehended while studying various sealing arts.
It was also one of the few techniques he had not taught Kushina.
With this seal in place, not only could she not reveal the techniques willingly, but even external mental intrusion would fail to extract them.
After finishing the transmission, Uchiha Sora released her and sat back down.
"This… this is incredible… such a mysterious method—and such powerful cultivation techniques…"
After a while, once she had digested the information, Kushina's face was filled with amazement.
She couldn't help but ask,
"Sora… did you create all of this yourself?"
These methods were completely different in style from anything in the shinobi world.
She had never even heard of such powerful systems.
Spiritual power could actually be cultivated and strengthened this way.
Even physical training had such a clear and systematic path.
It was unbelievable.
"Of course."
Uchiha Sora nodded with a smile.
"I created them. Just remember—don't let them leak."
"Of course, I've already placed a seal. You won't be able to reveal them anyway."
"Hmph."
"Huh?"
Kushina froze for a moment, then puffed her cheeks and glared at him.
"So you still have sealing techniques you didn't teach me? That's too much!"
But before he could explain, her expression softened.
"Actually… that's probably for the best. I might accidentally leak it otherwise. With this seal, it's safer."
"You were right not to teach me this one."
She wasn't ungrateful.
The sealing techniques Sora had taught her were no fewer than what she had taught him.
And his were generally even more advanced.
Even if she hadn't taught him, with the materials Tsunade had given him, he could have mastered sealing techniques on his own anyway.
And now, with these two extraordinary cultivation methods—
She felt like she had gained far more.
Her heart filled with gratitude.
She knew he was doing all this so she could grow stronger faster… so she could gain her freedom.
Meeting him was the greatest fortune of her life.
"Thank you, Sora."
After thanking him, Kushina suddenly leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
Then she quickly sat back down, blushing, lowering her head, and hiding behind a sealing book, too shy to look at him.
"This girl…"
Uchiha Sora shook his head with a faint smile.
"Oh, right—here are some Body-Tempering Pills. Using them together with the technique will greatly enhance your training results."
"Take this whole bottle for now. Come to me when you run out."
As he spoke, he took out another sealing scroll and handed it to her.
"Thank you…"
…
Later that day, Uchiha Sora found an opportunity to pass the Spirit Refinement Method and the basic body-tempering technique to Tsunade as well, using the same spiritual transmission.
Naturally, he also placed sealing restrictions on them.
He was someone who repaid kindness.
Tsunade had taught him everything she knew—ninjutsu, secret techniques—and had protected him so thoroughly.
He wouldn't be ungrateful.
What was owed should be repaid.
And besides—
The stronger Tsunade became, the better it was for him too.