Gin looked at the path slashed open by a wind blade.
"And who do you think created it?"
He was actually surprised by its power. With this jutsu, defeating stronger opponents wouldn't be difficult.
Last night, it wasn't this strong.
"Hmph." Kushina landed from the tree with a proud snort.
This power wasn't even a tenth of her Tailed Beast Ball.
Unfortunately, she couldn't use it, or she would scare this annoying Uchiha to death.
"Do you want to learn it?" Gin suddenly turned to Kushina with a mischievous grin.
"I..."
Kushina did want to learn. With her own chakra, she couldn't use the Tailed Beast Bomb. Now that the fox had added a seal, she couldn't even steal chakra.
A high-power jutsu like this naturally intrigued her.
"Hehe, call me 'Daddy' three times, and I'll teach you."
"I'll kill you!!"
Kushina charged at him. She attacked furiously!!
The next moment.
Gin lifted a foot and kicked Kushina in the chest with lightning speed.
Kushina only saw a blur before she was sent flying, landing on the ground with a shoe print on her face, questioning her life choices.
Why couldn't she beat this guy?
She glared at Gin, her mind filled with images of transforming into the Nine-Tails and smashing this annoying Uchiha.
Gin made a face at her.
He always sought revenge.
"Let's duel to the death, you annoying Uchiha!"
Kushina charged again. This time, Gin didn't retaliate, just waiting for her to come close before using Shunshin no Jutsu to dodge.
Kushina gritted her teeth and used Shunshin to follow.
Their figures weaved back and forth in the dilapidated training ground.
Gin landed, and Kushina caught up.
But as soon as she did, Gin was already on a wooden stake. She used Shunshin to catch up, but Gin was hanging upside down from a tree.
She couldn't catch him, and it drove her crazy.
Even Minato couldn't keep up with Gin, let alone Kushina.
Gin led her in circles around the training ground.
"Come on, catch me, you slowpoke."
Under Gin's taunts, Kushina grew angrier, her pursuit faster.
But she still couldn't catch him, fuming in frustration behind him.
Minato sighed helplessly. Wasn't Gin supposed to teach him a jutsu? How did it turn into a fight?
He used Shunshin to block Kushina.
"Alright, alright, stop fighting."
As for Gin.
He couldn't catch up to Gin either. He had no choice but to coax Kushina until she reluctantly stopped.
Minato sighed deeply.
This team would fall apart without him.
Gin sat cross-legged on a stake, looking down at them with a playful grin.
"Listen carefully, Minato. I'll teach you this jutsu now."
As Gin explained, Kushina finally stopped fussing. Minato took out a notebook, ready to take notes.
As Gin explained, Minato determined the jutsu's rank.
An A-rank jutsu.
Its principles were extremely complex and highly adaptable. With additional attributes, it could even reach S-rank.
Unfortunately, he only had the wind attribute. Ninjas could develop second or even third attributes with long-term training.
But Minato hadn't reached that level yet.
Kushina wasn't as confused as expected. Instead, she seemed thoughtful.
This surprised Gin.
Was this really the same person?
Seeing Gin's expression, Kushina knew what he was thinking and bared her teeth in a threatening grin.
It didn't matter much.
Considering the complex sealing techniques Kushina was learning, it made sense.
And she also had wind chakra.
But sealing techniques didn't require specific chakra attributes.
"Steel Slash!"
A wind blade from Minato's kunai cut down a tree branch.
Gin lay lazily on a tree stump, yawning.
Kushina, supplying chakra to Minato, held a kunai with a resentful look.
Minato felt bad for using her chakra.
"This damn jutsu is so hard!"
Kushina wasn't just a practice dummy; she was also practicing but hadn't succeeded once.
The jutsu's difficulty was too high for her.
"Maybe it's because Minato isn't normal." Gin suggested.
Kushina thought this made sense, her eyes almost shooting daggers at Minato.
Minato smiled wryly. "That's not how you practice it."
He then explained it to Kushina in detail.
Gin "tch"-ed and turned away.
He wanted a blonde tsundere or a black-haired, straight-laced woman.
But he hadn't met either.
Instead, he had to endure their lovey-dovey moments.
Kushina and Minato were oblivious to their intimacy, with Minato explaining seriously and Kushina listening attentively.
Gin only smelled a strong scent of hormones.
"There you are."
Jiraiya suddenly jumped down, landing silently.
He met their gazes, especially the grateful one from Gin.
Not everyone wanted to endure lovey-dovey moments.
Jiraiya glanced curiously at Gin. He hadn't done anything, had he?
But business was important.
"Minato, I need to talk to you."
Minato was puzzled. What could it be? Of the three, he was the least likely to have issues. He glanced at Kushina, then at Gin, who was lounging lazily.
One teammate had a powerful entity inside, and the other was an Uchiha from Konoha.
Uncertain, he pointed at himself.
"Jiraiya-sensei, what could it be?"
Jiraiya explained, "Winter is coming, and I need to take you somewhere for training."
"What about us?!" Kushina protested.
They were a team. Why was Jiraiya only taking Minato?
"Jiraiya-sensei, you're playing favorites!"
"Alright, alright." Jiraiya patted Kushina's head.
They were still ten-year-old kids.
"I've found suitable teachers for you two as well."
"The best teacher for me?" Kushina frowned, unable to think of anyone suitable.
She didn't really need teaching, having sealing techniques to practice.
But sealing techniques weren't very offensive.
Steel Slash was great, but not suitable for her.
"Think about it." Jiraiya patted Kushina's shoulder.
He called Minato to follow him.
"Let's go, Minato."
Minato hurried after him.
"Hey, Jiraiya-sensei, at least tell us when to meet up again!"
Gin hurriedly called after Jiraiya. Taking Minato away without setting a next meeting was risky.
Were they relying on fate!?
He didn't get along with fortune-tellers.
Jiraiya remembered, awkwardly calling back, "Sorry, sorry."
"Meet here after the spring thaw."
Jiraiya's face turned serious.
"You must train hard. After spring, we're heading to the front lines."
"What!!?" Gin exclaimed in disbelief.
He glanced at Kushina, who looked delighted.
Gin looked at Jiraiya with black lines on his face.
"All of us?"
Jiraiya nodded.
"All of us."
"Hiss!" Gin took a sharp breath.
Was Hiruzen that ruthless? They were still kids.
Sending them to the battlefield, wasn't he afraid of losing the Nine-Tails? As for Gin, the old man probably thought his death might be better.
"So train hard." Jiraiya emphasized again.
Gin stared at the sky, speechless.
He had already guessed who Jiraiya had arranged for them.
But what use was it?
The battlefield didn't care about backgrounds.
In fact, it might make them targets.
Kushina stomped through the snow, leaving a trail of footprints.
She had forgotten the basic ninja training to leave no footprints.
She looked up at the setting sun, the light growing dim. A cold wind blew, and the temperature began to drop.
"Who on earth is my teacher?"
Kushina scratched her head in frustration. She couldn't think of anyone suitable.
If there was such a person, it should be a Jinchuriki or an Uzumaki clan member.
But thinking of the Uzumaki clan, she sighed sadly.
She might be the only one left.
Feeling sad, Kushina reached her doorstep, seeing the open door with wide eyes.
"I remember closing it when I left this morning."
Thinking of something, she quickly went inside, seeing shoes at the entrance and feeling excited.
She hurriedly kicked off her shoes, not caring where they landed, and ran inside.
Seeing a woman in loose clothes, lying drunkenly on the floor in a carefree posture, revealing a lot.
Drinking in broad daylight, completely ignoring the three ninja prohibitions.
Kushina wasn't affected, only excited to see this woman.
"Tsunade-nee, you're back."
Tsunade opened her bleary eyes, swaying before sitting up and waving at Kushina.
"I'm staying here for a while."
"I guess Jiraiya arranged Tsunade as Kushina's teacher."
Gin lightly leapt over the iron fence separating the training ground from the Forest of Death, landing smoothly.
"And my teacher is Orochimaru. Isn't that obvious?"
Facing the unfair allocation, he was indignant. He had already found Orochimaru.
Heading towards Orochimaru's hidden lab.
He had skipped it yesterday to rest.
The deeper he went into the forest, the quieter it became.
"Why is it so quiet?"
Gin sighed wearily.
It was obvious.
Usually, the Forest of Death was filled with the roars of beasts, especially at dusk.
"Guys, what do you want?"
He locked his gaze on a lush tree.
Visitors had come for him.
And they weren't friendly.
(End of Chapter)