With the forehead protector engraved with his ninja ID in hand, Gojo Yoru successfully received his jōnin flak vest.
But he didn't put it on.
Even though Yoru's build and looks meant he could wear anything well—he was a natural clothes hanger—the jōnin vest was too bulky. It usually needed to be paired with a tight underlayer; if you wore it over a loose long-sleeve shirt, it just looked awkward.
Yoru preferred the black coat he had designed himself: light, wind-resistant, with large pockets and loose cuffs that could hide his hands.
Konoha also didn't require chūnin or jōnin to wear vests.
Most of them wore vests for two reasons: first, to prove identity; second, because in sudden danger—assassination or combat—the vest's protection might save their life, just like a forehead protector sometimes did.
For Yoru, Flying Thunder God was his calling card.
His portrait had already spread across the entire shinobi world.
Aside from civilians and brand-new genin, there probably weren't many ninja left who didn't recognize him.
And with intangibility, Yoru didn't need the vest's little bit of defense—what he needed was extreme speed.
So after receiving the vest, Yoru sealed it away in the wardrobe at home.
After checking the fridge and confirming his ingredients were fine, Yoru planned to cook himself dinner.
But then he remembered the First Hokage's mansion—there didn't seem to be any servants there.
He didn't know whether, after Uzumaki Mito died, Tsunade and Nawaki had dismissed them, or given them leave, or simply had them come by occasionally to clean.
Back when four people ate together, there may have been a cook for Mito and Nawaki's health.
Now, with no servants at all, a cook was even less likely.
After thinking for a moment, Yoru took out extra ingredients and cooked two portions instead.
He placed the food and chopsticks on a tray—without using a basket, and without delivering it personally.
First he took two sheets of white paper and carved Flying Thunder God formulas onto them. The papers vanished into thin air.
A few seconds later, Yoru gently touched the tray as well—and it vanished too.
Flying Thunder God Transfer—also called Flying Thunder God: Guided Lightning—could move target objects to another Flying Thunder God formula location.
The next morning, Yoru checked the wall clock. It still wasn't class time, so he used the same method to send breakfast to Tsunade and Kushina.
Knock knock knock—
Half an hour later, someone knocked on Gojo's door.
When Yoru opened it, Kushina was there, returning the cleaned trays.
Noticing the number of trays didn't match, Yoru raised an eyebrow. "Tsunade-sama didn't eat?"
"I don't know. She chased me out—said she wanted some quiet," Kushina answered, worry on her face.
Yoru soothed her softly. "Since it's already happened, it can't be undone. Tsunade-sama will walk out of it herself—just like we did."
He took the trays and was about to bring Kushina upstairs.
The moment he turned his back, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind.
A small face pressed against his back, and Kushina's exhausted, slightly hoarse voice drifted into his ear.
"Yoru… I can't stop you from going to the battlefield, but please—please be careful. I… I'm scared."
Afraid of sounding unlucky, she didn't even dare say what she truly feared.
Yoru, who could read her with a glance, knew exactly what she wanted to say.
Nawaki being blown up by explosive tags had cast a heavy shadow over her.
So there were things besides jutsu and weapons that could kill people.
Yoru sent the trays upstairs by teleportation, then turned and hugged Kushina back, patting her head.
"You didn't sleep last night, did you?"
It wasn't a question—it was certainty.
"Yeah… I couldn't sleep at all."
Kushina lifted her head, and only then did Yoru notice the whites of her dark-blue eyes were webbed with red.
That wasn't just staying up late—she must have cried who knew how many times.
Otherwise, simple sleep deprivation meant nothing to an Uzumaki—and a Nine-Tails jinchūriki's recovery would shrug it off.
So Yoru said firmly, "Don't go to class today. Sleep here."
"Then stay with me," Kushina said, unusually clingy—almost whining in his arms.
"Okay."
For once, Yoru didn't tease her or start bickering.
He teleported with her to his bedroom and simply carried her onto the bed.
Lying in Yoru's bedding, surrounded by his familiar scent, the fear in Kushina's heart finally eased.
With Yoru beside her, the girl who hadn't slept in a day soon closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Neither of them felt embarrassed.
They'd fallen asleep leaning on each other at the training ground or by the waterfall pond plenty of times before—this was just a different setting.
By noon, Kushina still hadn't woken. Yoru crept out, cooked three portions of lunch, and teleported one to Tsunade as well.
For the next five days, Yoru did the same—sending three meals daily, whether Tsunade ate or not.
Kushina, who had lived through the destruction of her nation and clan, recovered by the second day.
Nawaki's death affected her less than Mito's had.
The reason she'd been so afraid—so afraid she couldn't sleep—was because she was worried about Yoru.
She trusted Yoru's strength, but traps like that were impossible to fully guard against.
Once she recovered, her resolve only hardened:
She had to master the special traits of a Nine-Tails jinchūriki. Combined with Yoru's Flying Thunder God, she could provide him chakra at any time.
With Nine-Tails chakra protecting him, she wouldn't have to worry.
Maybe her will was so intense it pushed something loose—
Because on the fourth day, Kushina suddenly awakened a unique ability.
Not the Mind's Eye of the Kagura or Adamantine Sealing Chains she'd trained for—
But something she barely trained, something with an extremely low awakening probability:
Vitality Healing.
"Yoru, look—hurry! I awakened my clan's unique ability!"
She told him immediately and demonstrated it.
Kushina drew a kunai and sliced a wound across her forearm.
The cut was long, yet only a few drops of blood emerged.
Because the moment it appeared, wisps of white steam rose, and the wound healed at a visible speed—until even a faint scar was gone.
The speed was absurd—far faster than canon Naruto's.
If there weren't still blood droplets, it would almost rival Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred.
Yoru looked shocked and deliberately asked, "This is—"
"This is the Uzumaki clan's unique ability, called 'Vitality Healing,'" Kushina said excitedly. "By biting skin, I can convert chakra into a medical-ninjutsu-like energy and rapidly restore my own or someone else's chakra and injuries."
"So if you run out of chakra, or if you get hurt, you can teleport to me—and by biting my skin, recover your chakra and your wounds."
As if afraid Yoru might refuse, Kushina looked at him seriously.
"Yoru, please don't feel awkward. You know my special status—I don't lack chakra at all. So if you ever need chakra or healing, you must come back to me. Don't try to tough it out alone!"
Yoru paused, then looked at her with gentle warmth.
So that's why you're this excited…
He patted her round cheek and nodded with a smile. "Okay. I promise. But you also have to promise me: you won't tell anyone else about this ability besides me—not even Orochimaru-sensei."
Yoru had no interest in moral-blackmail situations happening to Kushina.
Aside from the people he cared about, Yoru truly didn't care who lived or died. Even with Nawaki's death, he'd only sighed that the boy couldn't outrun fate.
Cautious by nature, Yoru hadn't even indirectly "reminded" Kushina and Tsunade to warn Nawaki to watch the ground and use shadow clones to scout for explosive traps.
Because if he did and Nawaki survived, it would "prove" that only idiots die to explosive tags.
And if Nawaki still died anyway, who knew whether Tsunade would think Yoru was bad luck and resent him?
Yoru had never even spoken to Nawaki—he didn't want to do something with only downside.
More importantly: if others learned Kushina had Vitality Healing, and some important figure was wounded and near death, who knew whether Konoha's higher-ups would morally pressure Kushina?
After all, Kushina was an Uzumaki and the full Nine-Tails jinchūriki. With Vitality Healing, she was now the shinobi world's number one "blood tank." Saving a dying person wouldn't even cost her much chakra.
Yoru didn't want to see that happen, and then be forced to kill someone and break with Konoha's leadership.
"Mhm!"
Kushina understood his meaning instantly just from Yoru's eyes. Sweetness flooded her chest, and she nodded hard.
~~~
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