Tsunade suppressed the strange flutter in her chest and turned toward the bathroom.
After washing up, she found breakfast already waiting—a simple bowl of lean meat porridge that filled the small kitchen with savory warmth.
"Thank you," she said, sitting down.
Tsunade knew Hanekawa had made this specifically for her.
"It's nothing," he replied, shaking his head.
She studied him for two seconds before looking away and taking a sip. The warmth and flavor made her narrow her eyes slightly. He's gotten better at this.
Hanekawa watched her reaction and thought, She looks like a satisfied cat right now. Shame I can't get away with petting her head.
"What's on the agenda today?" he asked, breaking the comfortable silence. "Training, or do we have a mission?"
Since their trip to the Land of Grass, they'd completed three C-rank missions and one B-rank. Roughly one mission per month, each lasting about a week. They'd traveled to the Land of Birds, the Land of Ghosts, and the Land of Rivers. The longest detour had been the Land of Demons—mainly because Priestess Miroku had been enthusiastically grateful after Tsunade saved her.
"Don't you want to learn sealing techniques?" Tsunade asked, licking the corner of her mouth. "Miho's recovered enough. We're going to find Kushina today."
Hanekawa's eyes lit up. "I'm in."
He'd been looking forward to this for a while now.
"Learning sealing techniques is just as difficult as medical ninjutsu," Tsunade warned bluntly. "If it takes too much time, I'm telling you now—give up."
"Understood," Hanekawa nodded. He didn't have any natural talent for sealing jutsu yet, so it wouldn't be easy. But that was fine. His plan was to dabble until he encountered a sealing-related entry. And more importantly, it gave him an excuse to ask Uzumaki Kushina for advice whenever he wanted.
"I'm full!" Tsunade set down her bowl and stretched, looking genuinely satisfied. "Seems like you're in a good mood today."
Hanekawa tilted his head. "Did you have too much fun drinking last night?"
"It's good," she said simply, standing and stretching. "Go check if Kurenai and Rin are here."
She disappeared into her room. Hanekawa heard her closet open, the rustle of clothes changing. When she emerged, she paused in front of a photo on the wall—one with Senju Tobirama in it. Her expression softened for just a moment before she looked away.
Today with Hanekawa... it feels like having a family again, she thought. Or maybe we already are.
She chuckled quietly to herself. That brat's pretty good.
---
"Teacher!" Kurenai and Rin hurried over with greetings.
"Show me what you've been working on," Tsunade commanded, crossing her arms.
"I'll go first," Kurenai said, moving to an open space.
She mobilized her chakra, condensing it in her mouth and transforming it into water chakra. When she opened her mouth, thousands of water needles shot out at incredible speed, embedding themselves in the tree with crisp tink-tink-tink sounds.
Water Style: Heaven's Crying—a technique from the Second Hokage himself.
Tsunade nodded slightly. With Maruboshi Kosuke's guidance, Kurenai was progressing well. The limitation was always chakra capacity; techniques like Water Style: Great Explosion Water Shock Wave required massive reserves. Like Kisame, Tsunade thought. His water jutsu practically becomes an ocean.
When it was Rin's turn, she pulled out a scroll containing a prepared fish. Taking a deep breath, she formed seals—her movements less polished than Kurenai's, stumbling slightly before successfully extracting the fish's liver using the Thin Vein Extraction Technique.
B-rank difficulty. For her age, it was impressive.
Tsunade gave them both corrections and continued their training for a few more minutes.
"Alright, keep practicing as I showed you," she said, waving them off. "Hanekawa and I are heading out."
"Eh?" Both girls looked confused.
"We'll be back," Hanekawa said with a smile, quickly following Tsunade.
"Mysterious," Kurenai muttered once they were gone.
It was obvious Hanekawa had a closer relationship with Tsunade than they did. There was a difference between being a team leader and being a teacher.
Rin didn't dwell on it. She replaced the fish's liver, revived it, and placed it in a basin of water. Once it began moving again, she poured in the poison Hanekawa had prepared.
The Thin Vein Extraction Technique had two functions: transplanting organs and removing poison. To practice removal, you had to poison it first.
"Sorry," Rin whispered, though it was a necessary sacrifice for her training.
"You medical ninjas are terrifying," Kurenai couldn't help but comment.
---
Not long after, Tsunade and Hanekawa arrived at Uzumaki Kushina's house. Unlike last time, no one came out to greet them.
"Sounds like they're playing cards," Hanekawa said, a slight smirk on his face.
Playing cards was bad for Kushina. It was probably worse for the Nine-Tails.
"Cards?!" Tsunade's eyes lit up immediately.
"Lady Tsunade." A familiar figure appeared—not Kushina, but Namikaze Minato.
"Minato-senpai," Hanekawa greeted politely.
Before Minato could respond, a green blur crashed toward them.
"Hanekawa!" Might Guy appeared, striking an enthusiastic pose.
"Is Rin here?" Obito looked around hopefully.
"No," Hanekawa said.
Obito immediately lost interest and wandered off.
"Kaka—" Hanekawa started to ask about Kakashi, but a sharp crack of electricity cut through the air. Behind the house, powerful chakra flickered violently.
"Kakashi's working on his Chidori," Minato explained calmly. "Lady Tsunade, Hanekawa—let's go inside."
"I'm training," Obito announced, having decided Rin's absence made this gathering uninteresting.
Guy didn't follow either. He was preparing for next year's Chunin Exams, when his "springtime of youth" would finally bloom.
---
Inside, Uzumaki Kushina was playing cards with Uzumaki Miho and what appeared to be two of the Nine-Tails' tails manifested as physical forms.
"Lady Tsunade! Hanekawa!" Kushina waved excitedly.
"Miho, step out," Tsunade said without preamble. "Minato, teach them the sealing technique."
"Of course," Minato said with his characteristic gentle smile.
"Come on!" Kushina grinned, already shuffling the cards.
---
Outside, Minato began the lesson. "Sealing techniques, simply put, are about sealing a target's chakra. More powerful seals can trap the body and soul together."
Like the Shiki Fuujin, Hanekawa thought. The ultimate seal. Costs your soul to use it.
"Normal ninjutsu only requires hand seals," Minato continued, "but sealing techniques have an additional step—the seal formula itself, sometimes called a curse mark."
He formed seals and slapped his palm against the ground. Ink-colored tadpoles appeared, swirling and transforming into a complex pattern: a streamlined spiral in the center, surrounded by eight pointed squares.
"This is the Four Symbols Seal," Minato explained. "It's used to contain powerful forces—like tailed beasts."
"Awesome!" Miho breathed, amazed that something so powerful could be trapped by a seal.
"We'll start now," Minato said, producing paper and pens. "The seal formula must be exact—no mistakes. It has to be perfect."
Miho and Hanekawa each took a set and began drawing under Minato's watchful eye.
"Once you're proficient with the pen, we'll move to using chakra instead," Minato instructed.
He created a shadow clone to guide Obito and Guy with their own training while he focused on the two students.
---
By noon, Tsunade appeared with a glass of water.
"Drink?" she offered.
"Thanks," Hanekawa said, taking it and sipping. He paused. "Wait. Is this the cup you drank from?"
"Too lazy to pour a new one," Tsunade said without concern.
Hanekawa stared at her.
She stared back, clearly amused by his reaction. What are you going to do about it, brat?
"Did you win this morning?" he asked calmly.
"What's that supposed to mean, you little—?!" Tsunade's smile froze, her fists clenching.
"Just concerned about my teacher," Hanekawa said innocently.
"Is that so?" Tsunade gritted her teeth. "Special training. Now."
"No," Hanekawa refused without hesitation. "I want to keep learning sealing techniques."
"You don't get a choice!"
Not far away, Minato Namikaze exchanged a glance with his shadow clone, both wearing identical expressions of bewilderment.
Are they really teacher and student?