Hidden Leaf Village, at a training ground deep within the forest.
"Pfft... Hahahaha!"
Staring at Saiki, whose eye was bruised so dark he looked like a panda, Kushina laughed so hard she forgot all about acting like a lady, clutching her stomach in fits.
Her laughter was booming and full of energy, loud enough to startle a flock of birds into flight from the surrounding trees.
Beside them, Shizune bit her lower lip, casting a reproachful look at the laughing Kushina while glancing worriedly at the silent Saiki.
Genhai was also struggling to keep a straight face; he wasn't angry at Kushina for laughing, he was just terrified he wouldn't be able to hold back his own laughter.
In Genhai's mind, Saiki had always been powerful and composed; he had never seen him look this ridiculous before.
Seeing Saiki beaten black and blue for the first time, Genhai knew he shouldn't laugh, but he truly found it hard to resist.
After being thrashed by Tsunade the night before, Saiki had accepted his fate as a "panda," but he had zero regrets.
Having witnessed such a breathtaking, magnificent view, he could be beaten to death and still have no complaints.
It might sound pathetic, but the sight of Tsunade's unrestrained, surging beauty was something any man would yearn for.
Thinking back, Saiki actually felt a bit wronged; he had only wanted to snap Tsunade out of her trauma-induced trance.
Who could have known that her clothes—which could normally withstand the slash of a Susanoo—would have their straps torn away by a single tug from him?
Saiki's hands were unfortunately too skillful; he hadn't just grabbed the strap of her outer robe, but the straps of her bra as well.
Because Tsunade had tried to pull away, her clothes were shredded and her bra was yanked clean off, leaving Saiki with an unobstructed view of everything.
Those twin peaks, massive and heavier than papayas, were beyond his vocabulary to describe; words like "majestic," "magnificent," or "perky" simply couldn't do them justice.
Tsunade had frozen in shock for several seconds, giving Saiki's mind plenty of time to sear every single detail into his memory.
Then, instead of covering herself like a normal woman, the realization hit her, and she hammered a fist directly into Saiki's staring eye.
Fortunately, Saiki's body was incredibly tough and Tsunade hadn't used her Monstrous Strength, otherwise, Saiki would currently be lying in a hospital bed.
In her fury, Tsunade hadn't even bothered to cover up, raining a barrage of blows down on him. Saiki didn't fight back, mostly because he was enjoying the sensation of her firm, heavy breasts bouncing against his body as she attacked him.
After venting her rage on Saiki, Tsunade had stormed upstairs in a huff.
After Kushina had been laughing for quite a while without showing any sign of stopping, Saiki's face finally darkened, even if he usually didn't mind the teasing.
"Sensei Kushina, have you laughed enough? Is it really that funny?"
Seeing that Saiki wasn't actually angry but just looking at her with total exasperation, Kushina finally felt the joke had run its course.
"You're no fun at all, Saiki. You aren't cute in the slightest!" Kushina said with a look of mock disdain.
She added, "That damn personality of yours... always so calm. Can't you just act like a normal kid for once? Try getting angry or something!"
"Sensei Kushina, I'm already nine, almost ten years old," Saiki replied flatly.
Kushina sighed helplessly. "Isn't nine still a child? Look at you, acting like a little old man."
"Anyway, enough about that!" Kushina shifted gears. "Even though you all learned chakra control at the Academy, we did our special selection half a month ago. Come on, show me your current level."
As for chakra control, Saiki had been training systematically since the day he first refined chakra.
Having mastered the Mystical Palm Technique, his fine chakra manipulation was superb. With his Jonin-level reserves, he could even replicate Tsunade's Monstrous Strength.
Most of Kushina's training sessions were actually targeted at Genhai and Shizune.
As Saiki had noted, aside from Sealing Jutsu, Kushina didn't have much else to teach him.
Kushina had a fiery temper, but she was a truly good person. Even though Saiki was the most talented of the trio, she never showed favoritism, patiently teaching Shizune and Genhai the fundamentals.
Over the last half-month, Saiki and the others had been traveling and camping in the wild, leaving them with very little energy for actual training.
At Kushina's question, Genhai's face immediately slumped.
Shizune was in better shape; girls naturally had a talent for precise chakra control, and with Tsunade's personal tutoring, her level was quite high.
Kushina knew the answer the moment she saw their reactions.
Looking at Genhai, she said helplessly, "Genhai, did you slack off on your practice?"
"I'm sorry, Sensei Kushina!" Genhai lowered his head, sounding deeply ashamed.
Just as Genhai expected a scolding, Kushina comforted him. "Well, I know this mission wasn't easy, so I'll let it slide this once. But you need to work hard; I'll be checking again next time. You're falling far behind Saiki and Shizune."
She didn't berate him; having spoken with Tsume Inuzuka, she knew exactly how dangerous the latter half of their mission had been. She just wanted to remind him not to neglect his training.
"Yes! I understand, Sensei!"
Genhai, the spiky-haired youth, could be quite the hot-blooded type when he wanted to be, answering her with a loud shout.
Kushina nodded with equal fire and announced loudly, "Good! Then today's lesson is: learning Nature Transformation for Water-style chakra."
Mastering a jutsu of a certain element does not mean you have mastered its Nature Transformation.
For example, Raikiri is the product of taking shape and nature transformation to the absolute limit. If you haven't mastered Lightning Nature Transformation, you cannot learn Raikiri.
Saiki wasn't a monster like Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan's elemental buffs and mastered five natures plus Yang by the age of ten.
In three years, at nearly ten years old, Saiki had only mastered three: Water, Lightning, and Wind.
Nature Transformation was incredibly useful. Mastering it allowed you to minimize chakra waste when casting and significantly boosted the power of your jutsu.
Furthermore, if you wanted to develop your own jutsu, a mastery of Nature Transformation was the essential foundation.
Even though Saiki had already mastered three, he still listened intently to Kushina's lecture. She had nearly ten years more experience than him, after all.
Crossing her arms, Kushina nodded confidently. "Alright, that's the basic theory. Did you all get that?"
Shizune and Genhai looked at each other, then at Kushina, and finally turned their collective gaze toward Saiki.
Kushina, who thought she had been crystal clear, felt a bit embarrassed. She wanted to facepalm, but her eyes eventually landed on Saiki.
Placing a hand on her hip, Kushina pointed at him. "Saiki, you tell them. How much did you actually understand?"
She added, "By the way, how many nature transformations have you mastered?"
Knowing Saiki was powerful, Kushina didn't believe for a second that he hadn't mastered at least one. She was genuinely curious.
Saiki held up three fingers. "I've mastered three, I suppose. Water, Lightning, and Wind."
"Saiki, that's amazing!" Shizune's eyes sparkled with pure adoration.
Genhai looked at him with hero worship, giving a quiet thumbs up and muttering, "The Boss is a beast."
Kushina's mouth twitched, and she silently cursed him as a "monster" in her head. He had shown her up again. She herself had only mastered Water Nature Transformation!
Still, she felt a sense of pride. Having such an elite disciple gave her plenty of ammunition to brag later.
Seeing their reactions, Saiki smiled. "I'll just add a few things to what Sensei Kushina already explained."
"First off, most ninja only possess one or two chakra affinities. Even then, very few actually master the Nature Transformation; most just have the affinity, allowing them to use the corresponding jutsu."
"Even among Jonin, many only master one. Mastering multiple is extremely difficult."
As he spoke, although he looked like he was just teaching, Kushina and the others felt like he was subtly flexing again.
"What is Nature Transformation? It's the process of converting raw, neutral chakra into one of the seven types: Wind, Lightning, Fire, Earth, Water, Yin, or Yang."
"Standard Ninjutsu involves using hand signs to mold chakra into a specific elemental usage."
"But someone who has truly mastered Nature Transformation doesn't need hand signs. For example..."
Saiki extended his palm. Chakra began to condense in his hand, liquefying into a sphere of pure water.
He let the water splash away and focused again. This time, the chakra transformed into crackling, blue-white bolts of lightning.
Chakra usage was instantaneous; the moment Saiki stopped the output, the lightning vanished.
Finally, chakra swirled in his hand once more, this time forming a rotating vortex of wind.
After finishing his demonstration for the stunned trio, Saiki continued, "There are two ways to master this. One is through repetitive jutsu practice, letting the body memorize the feeling of the nature."
"The second is to feel nature itself. You've probably noticed that Mist ninja excel at Water Style, Cloud ninja at Lightning, and Stone ninja at Earth. Their environments heavily influence them."
"Observing and feeling nature also involves a higher level—Shape Transformation. The density of water, the hardness of earth, the temperature of fire, and so on."
"To master Ninjutsu, you need talent, practice, and the ability to feel the world around you."
Kushina's textbook knowledge was a bit too abstract, but Saiki's explanation was practical and easy to grasp. Shizune and Genhai finally understood the core concept.
"Exactly! That's it!" Kushina nodded in agreement.
It sounded simple, but it was incredibly hard. Otherwise, Jonin wouldn't be limited to one or two natures. Many ninja never master a single one in their entire lives.
Saiki was just a freak of nature with too much talent. Of course, his three years of hard work played a part; talent still needs to be realized through effort.
Watching Shizune and Genhai start practicing by the river, Kushina smiled and patted Saiki on the shoulder. "Not bad, Saiki! I didn't realize you were this skilled."
"It's only because I have such a great teacher," Saiki joked.
Saiki was just being humble, but it irked Kushina. "Are you mocking me, brat?"
"Not at all. While my explanation was simple, your professional insights are much more specialized, Sensei."
Seeing Saiki's desperate survival instinct kick in, Kushina couldn't help but burst into a giggle. The boredom she had accumulated during her half-month of confinement in Konoha vanished instantly.
Looking at Saiki's black eye, she fought back another laugh. "Seriously though, why did Lady Tsunade hit you like that?"
Saiki didn't know how to answer. He certainly couldn't say he had seen Tsunade's massive breasts. He put on an innocent face. "She took my money to gamble yesterday. I went to find her and told her to stop falling into self-destruction. We got into an argument, then a fight, and since I couldn't beat her... well, this happened."
Hearing that, Kushina understood. Tsunade's gambling was partly a hobby and partly a way to numb the pain of her past. Kushina didn't push further.
Instead, she teased, "Weren't you supposed to be strong? How did you end up like this?"
Saiki smiled. "I didn't fight back. A real man doesn't hit a woman."
Kushina laughed out loud. "Saiki, how old are you? A 'real man'? You're going to be the death of me! Hahahaha..."
Saiki didn't mind the laughter. He knew his own worth. Despite his age, he was confident he could make Kushina cry if he really wanted to.
Kushina was just joking around. After a few laughs, she patted him again. "Alright, 'little man.' Tell me about your mission. I'm curious—what jutsu did you use to defeat a Jonin?"
Saiki went silent.
Seeing his reaction, Kushina assumed he didn't want to reveal his secrets. Asking about another ninja's jutsu was a major taboo. "Haha, I was just kidding. Don't take it seriously."
Saiki shook his head. "No, Sensei. You misunderstood. It's not that I won't tell you, it's just that the mission report we filed was fake."
"What? You're kidding, right?"
Kushina was shocked. Falsifying a mission report was a severe crime. At best, you'd be demoted; at worst, you'd be expelled from the ninja force and blacklisted from missions.
"I'm not lying. Beating that Jonin required my Bloodline Limit. To protect me, Sensei Tsume and I fabricated the combat details," Saiki said with total candor.
He extended his hand. From the center of his palm, another small hand sprouted. It looked eerie and grotesque for a moment before dissolving into flower petals.
Seeing this bizarre ability, Kushina asked in confusion, "What is that?"
"My Bloodline Limit: Flower Style!"
The fake report was instantly forgotten as Kushina's curiosity took over. "Flower Style? It doesn't seem like it has much offensive power."
"No offensive power? What if two hands sprouted from your shoulders right now?" Saiki decided to demonstrate.
Kushina felt a slight weight on her shoulders. She looked back to see a hand growing directly out of her shoulder.
Another arm sprouted from the other side and tapped her on the shoulder before both dissolved into petals.
Saiki added, "My ability allows me to sprout any part of my body on any surface within my field of vision. Each limb has my full strength."
Kushina wasn't an idiot; she processed the implications instantly.
She didn't know the full extent of his power, but even the basics she just saw could be used for terrifying things. She finally understood why he had to hide it.
Calming herself, she scanned their surroundings. "Saiki, never expose this ability. It will bring you nothing but trouble."
Kushina was always being followed by guards, but they were kept at a distance during training. Saiki had checked with his spiritual sense; he knew they were out of range.
"I know, Sensei Kushina."
Looking at Saiki, Kushina found herself liking him more and more.
Initially, she hadn't been fond of him. He was too mature, too calculating; she felt like he could see right through her.
But the fact that Saiki had shared such a dangerous secret with her meant they had formed a genuine bond.
"As long as you understand," Kushina said warmly, patting his shoulder.
Saiki smirked. "The story was fake, but the jutsu are real. Want to see them? One of them is practically tailor-made for you, Sensei."
Kushina's eyes lit up. "What jutsu?"
"Rasengan!"
Saiki extended his hand, and a high-speed rotating sphere of chakra quickly condensed in his palm. He pressed it against a nearby training log, which was instantly hollowed out by the violent rotation.
Staring at the destructive power, Kushina was in awe. Although she had Jonin-level strength, her specialty was Sealing Jutsu and a few Water Style techniques. she didn't have a signature offensive move.
She fell in love with the move instantly. "Amazing! How did you develop this?"
Seeing her excitement, Saiki smiled. "I read some of the Second Hokage's scrolls. They described nine ancient Tailed Beasts, each capable of firing spheres of chakra that could level a village. I wondered if I could replicate that on a smaller scale."
Naturally, that was a total lie.
But Kushina was rocked to her core. Her voice trembled. "You know about the Tailed Beasts?"
Saiki gave a small smile. "Sensei, you're the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, aren't you? Most people see them as symbols of disaster, but I think that's just prejudice. Personally, I think being a Jinchuriki is a pretty cool thing."
Kushina was stunned into silence. That one sentence—"I think being a Jinchuriki is a pretty cool thing"—hit her right where she was most vulnerable.
Inside her, the Nine-Tails opened its eyes. Due to the imperfect seal, Kurama always had a certain level of awareness of the outside world.
Watching Kushina struggle with her emotions after being touched by his words, Saiki knew he had just taken his first major step in winning her over.