"Ah!"
In a pitch-black space, Kushina's pained groan echoed.
Before she could finish listening to Natsuhiko's spell chanting, she felt as if her abdomen had been kicked from the right side, and her body flew to the left like a kite with a broken string.
Meanwhile Natsuhiko murmured, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.
"That was close, almost instinctively used that move from training..."
Habitual impulses are truly terrifying.
Natsuhiko muttered with lingering fear, his heart pounding.
Kakashi misled me!
He could hardly imagine the consequences if he had used that move. Probably, he would have to pack up and run away overnight, pledging allegiance to Uchiha Madara, determined to create a world where Kushina had never experienced that move.
As Kushina, who got kicked by Natsuhiko, hadn't flown far, suddenly noticed a bright light in front of her, realising that she could see things again.
Reacting swiftly, she quickly turned her head to survey her surroundings, adjusting her posture for landing, leaving two grooves in the ground with her feet.
Then, she assumed a defensive stance, while looking towards Natsuhiko..
Natsuhiko, who had kicked her earlier, stood still, seemingly not planning to continue the attack.
Around him, a dense black mist was slowly dissipating into the air.
Kushina quickly grasped that the culprit responsible for obstructing her and her clone's vision was the black mist.
Clearly, as she had analysed, it was something created by Natsuhiko's projection technique.
Realising this, Kushina couldn't help but feel speechless. She had expected Natsuhiko's battle method to be like the illusionary domains he used in class, making it hard to distinguish between reality and illusion. So, she had been cautious and vigilant about everything around her.
Even if he had suddenly projected a massive Senju Buddha, Kushina wouldn't have been scared.
She didn't expect Natsuhiko's practical use of projection techniques in combat to be so straightforward – creating a black mist to blind the opponent, depriving them of sight.
Quite simple and brutal.
Indeed.
Projection techniques are ultimately about using various images to confuse the opponent and create opportunities for attack. Often, it's more blunt to deprive the opponent of their vision than spending a considerable amount of chakra on creating complex illusionary domains.
It seemed that Natsuhiko's projection technique had one of these practical applications.
Kushina felt she had gained valuable insights.
Just then, Natsuhiko, who had finally regulated his emotions, spoke.
"How was my Black Screen Crash Technique?"
"So, this move is called the 'Black Screen Crash Technique'?"
Kushina looked thoughtful.
"Does it mean using the black mist to block the line of sight, creating an opportunity to kill the opponent? Hmm... the name does fit."
Full marks for the comprehension!
Hearing this, Natsuhiko couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth and said, "Yes, you're absolutely right."
But in reality, even the one who named it, Natsuhiko, hadn't thought of this interpretation.
At this moment, Kushina remembered something and said curiously,
"By the way, I heard you were preparing to use a technique that sounded very difficult to deal with, some secret Taijutsu art of Konoha, why didn't you continue with that?"
Natsuhiko's face stiffened.
He had never heard such a request in his life.
Moreover, he had brought up his Black Screen Crash Technique earlier to make Kushina forget about it, but he didn't expect her to bring it up again.
However, since she asked, Natsuhiko could only play it cool, looking at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.
"Because that is actually a terrifying Forbidden Jutsu..."
"After each use, someone will die because of it..."
Indeed, Natsuhiko was referring to his social death.
But Kushina, unaware of Natsuhiko's hidden meaning, naturally thought he meant she would die and couldn't help but feel scared.
It turned out she had just walked in front of the gate of hell.
At the same time, looking sympathetically at Natsuhiko, she said,
"Wow, that move of yours is really something. You must have gone through a lot using that Forbidden Jutsu regularly, even accidentally using it during a spar."
What kind of life had Natsuhiko lived before?
Kushina couldn't help but recall the words of the Third Hokage – the villagers outside the village were indeed living in dire straits!
Looking at Natsuhiko's serious expression, Kushina couldn't imagine the memories behind that Forbidden Jutsu.
So, she dared not continue to inquire but silently noted that Natsuhiko had a Forbidden Jutsu that he didn't use.
She thought, "In the future, I must make Natsuhiko open up to me."
Then, waving her fist, she said to Natsuhiko, "It was my carelessness just now; I didn't dodge, which led to your sneak attack. Come on, let's continue!"
So, the battle resumed.
"Watch my Uzumaki Kushina Ninjutsu scrolls!"
"Black Screen Crash Technique."
"Madara! Madara!"
"It is going to get dark, please close your eyes."
"Waaaaagh!!!"
"The dark night gave me black eyes, yet I use them to seek the light..." (edgy asf random phrases for a mature dude....)
...
The first spar concluded, Kushina still couldn't crack Natsuhiko's "Black Screen Crash Technique."
Instead, she was somewhat on the verge of collapsing amid the continuous "black screen crashes."
She gained a slight firsthand experience of what it felt like for an ordinary person to encounter repeated black screen crashes.
After the spar, Kushina realised that she still didn't know the name of that Forbidden Jutsu.
So, one day, she gathered the courage to inquire with Natsuhiko.
Unfortunately, Natsuhiko maintained a demeanour of an important matter that must be kept secret, as if harbouring deep, unspoken truths.
Though Kushina felt some regret, she didn't delve further.
Therefore,
Even after many years passed,
Kushina still remained unaware of the name of the jutsu she heard that day.
——————————
After the first spar with Kushina, Natsuhiko's life returned to normal.
Days passed smoothly.
Regarding the choice of the tavern's location, after looking at more than ten places with Kushina, Natsuhiko finally settled on the former site of a restaurant in Lane 3 of Ichiraku Avenue.
This place had closed down for some time due to poor management by the previous boss.
Although there were a few places that seemed more suitable, Natsuhiko still chose this one.
Apart from it being not far from his home.
He also noticed that the opposite of this shop was precisely the future location of Ramen Ichiraku.
It was clear that the excellent food was important.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to live a peaceful life in Konoha, plagued by numerous disasters in the future.
After confirming the location of the tavern, with the help of his sensei, Natsuhiko brought in a construction team to remodel the restaurant according to his specifications.
Next, all Natsuhiko could do was wait.
(End of this chapter)
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