The next morning, after breakfast, Kushina went to school as usual, while Tsunade had been staying at Konoha Hospital recently due to her demanding work there.
Only Kyuushin, his two companions, and Mito were left at the dining table.
"Grandma Mito, I developed a ninjutsu a while ago. Do you think I should offer it to the village?" Kyuushin asked, broaching the subject carefully.
"What ninjutsu?" Mito asked, her curiosity piqued. She was also somewhat surprised that a boy his age could create a new technique.
"Please see." Kyuushin extended his hand, concentrating as he tried to maintain the chakra's rotation. Soon, a sky-blue orb of light appeared, spinning violently in his palm. After a period of practice, he could now perform it even in his normal state, though it wasn't very smooth yet.
"A ninjutsu with no Nature Transformation, relying solely on Shape Transformation?" Mito sensed it carefully, her experience allowing her to instantly grasp its nature.
"Yesterday, Kyuushin used this ninjutsu to knock out a Jonin in one go," Nawaki said from the side, unable to contain his excitement.
"Yes. Because my Nature Transformation training was a bit slow, I wondered if I could create a ninjutsu by relying only on Shape Transformation. The chakra, after intense rotation, can form this kind of balance, but when it erupts, its power is indeed considerable," Kyuushin explained.
"Amazing, and it's even a hand seal-less ninjutsu," Mito smiled happily. "But why do you want to offer it to the village?"
"This jutsu of mine is A-rank, its power is good, and it requires no hand seals. I want to offer it to the village because I want to exchange it for another ninjutsu," Kyuushin said.
"Oh? What ninjutsu?"
"I heard that the Second Hokage was once known as the fastest in the ninja world because he pioneered a jutsu called the Flying Thunder God Technique. That's what I want to exchange for. Although the Rasengan is powerful, it's a close-combat technique. If it could be combined with a fast-movement jutsu, it should be even stronger," Kyuushin said, looking somewhat sheepish.
Mito immediately saw through Kyuushin's little scheme. Offering it to the village was just an excuse; the ancestral home of the Senju clan was in her hands, so how could she not have preserved many of the clan's most powerful techniques?
But she didn't expose him, merely thinking carefully about the combination of these two ninjutsu, which indeed seemed like a perfect match.
However, she still shook her head. "I have the scroll for the Flying Thunder God Technique here, so there's no need to ask the village for it. But this jutsu involves Sealing Jutsu, Summoning, Sensory techniques, and Space-Time Ninjutsu, making it incredibly complex. Your sealing skills aren't up to par, you haven't learned summoning yet, and you're still a novice at sensing. Not to mention, you also need a natural talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu. You can't learn this jutsu right now."
Hearing Mito's words, Kyuushin wasn't disheartened. He hadn't expected to learn it immediately. Instead, he asked, "But I can learn it as long as I meet the conditions, right?"
Mito glanced at him. "Of course. Once you meet the conditions, you can learn anything you want. However, I must remind you that the Flying Thunder God Technique primarily requires an affinity for space-time ninjutsu; that is the key. Otherwise, even if you meet all other conditions, it will be useless."
"That doesn't matter. I don't believe that among the three of us, not one has space-time talent," Kyuushin said, his eyes flicking towards Minato.
Mito instantly understood Kyuushin's thoughts, subtly glanced at Minato, thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Minato, you will study Sealing Jutsu with them from now on."
Although he didn't know why Mito suddenly brought him up, Minato was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted and began to thank her profusely.
Kyuushin planned to start teaching them the Rasengan today, so he asked them to buy some balloons and rubber balls from the market. Once they returned, he began to instruct them. Watching Nawaki and Minato struggle with the balloons, Kyuushin approached Mito again.
"You said you want to use the Nine-Tails for training? Training what?" Mito asked, puzzled.
"You know my previous state. Currently, there are basically no after-effects. Yesterday, when I was fighting the Jonin, I vaguely felt the possibility of further advancement, but the pressure from him was still not enough. I thought that the Nine-Tails' explosive and intensely malevolent chakra should also be effective," Kyuushin explained.
Mito frowned. "That state of yours has never appeared in the ninja world before. Can you be sure it doesn't harm you?"
"I can pretty much confirm it," Kyuushin replied after a moment's thought. "I found during the battle that it also has the ability to predict danger. If there were a real threat, it should have warned me, but it didn't give me that feeling."
Mito still said with some solemnity, "I know you encountered a Jonin yesterday, but at your age, excessively pursuing power is not a good thing."
"It's not that I want to pursue it, but as a ninja, I want to have the power to protect myself and my comrades. Moreover, the ninja world is not peaceful right now. I can't always hide in the village, can I?" Kyuushin replied.
Mito gazed at Kyuushin's determined eyes and, after a long while, said, "Alright, I agree. But if any problems arise during the training, I will stop it immediately."
After agreeing, Mito led him to an open space in the back mountain. Stone pillars stood all around, intricately carved with sealing formulas. "This is where I trained with the Nine-Tails' chakra back then. The surroundings have strong sealing effects, so there's no need to worry about the chakra leaking out. If you're ready, we can start now."
"I'm ready," Kyuushin said, then added with a slight smile, "but when we start, why don't you let the Nine-Tails see what we're doing?"
"You child," Mito also smiled. Holding her breath and concentrating, she formed a few hand seals. The next second, visible red chakra slowly overflowed from her, and the evil, violent sensation of the Nine-Tails immediately filled the entire space. At the same time, a barrier rose around them, isolating the Nine-Tails' aura.
"Old hag, what are you doing again?!" the Nine-Tails' roar came out, but the next moment, he realized that this time Mito had not sealed his senses, allowing him to perceive the outside world. "Damn it, it's you again, you little brat!" Instantly, the Nine-Tails recognized the boy who had left such a deep impression on him.
Kyuushin ignored him and nodded towards Mito. She changed her hand seals, and the red chakra that had been tightly attached to her body gradually detached and enveloped Kyuushin. The moment he made contact with it, Kyuushin felt as if he had been submerged in molten lava. A scorching, burning pain instantly shot into his brain, making him feel as if he was about to be incinerated.
With a muffled groan, Kyuushin's stance became somewhat distorted. He then sat cross-legged, the First Stage of the Gene Lock having already activated automatically. Gradually, the Nine-Tails' chakra enveloped his entire body. In his enhanced state, he temporarily ignored the pain, but the sense of danger grew stronger and stronger. He felt like a small boat in a raging storm, about to capsize at any moment. Under this immense pressure, the sensation of full-body swelling he had experienced when facing the Sand ninja earlier reappeared in his mind.
However, this level was still not enough! He struggled to open his eyes, first nodding to Mito to signal that he was fine, then squeezed out a few words. "Still... not enough... more... more!"
But at this moment, Mito hesitated. The chakra she was outputting was already the maximum amount that wouldn't cause permanent harm. If she continued to increase it, it would inevitably cause real damage to Kyuushin.
"It's... fine! More... more!" As if sensing Mito's hesitation, Kyuushin couldn't help but speak again. It was safer to activate the next stage under her watchful eye now, rather than in an extremely dangerous situation against an unmatchable enemy later. This was why he had chosen to do this. Now, with only one final step remaining, it was impossible for him to give up.
Sensing Kyuushin's firm conviction, Mito no longer hesitated. The next moment, an even more massive surge of the Nine-Tails' chakra surged forth, completely covering him.