Chapter Ten: Training (Part 1)

The first meeting between Kenji and Kushina actually ended here.

Becoming Kushina's disciple had a subtle implication: if Kushina became a team leader, it would be difficult for Kenji to be at the forefront. This was based on his own judgment.

Furthermore, he already knew that Kushina had only one disciple, him alone. It was impossible to form a four-person battle team configuration; clearly, this was not a plan aimed for the frontlines.

As for Kushina being the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, while it could potentially be a tremendous asset if she could perfectly control the Nine-Tails, it was not feasible to send her to the battlefield. There were two simple reasons for this. Firstly, even though Kushina was from the Uzumaki clan, the Nine-Tails was distinct from other Tailed Beasts. She couldn't perfectly control it. Secondly, and most importantly, Konoha couldn't bear the consequences of losing the Nine-Tails.

Once a Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails appeared on the frontlines, the enemies would relentlessly target her for elimination. The enemy's perspective would undoubtedly be that she was a target that had to be eradicated.

As Kenji had deduced, while other teams were being integrated and dispatched to the frontlines, Kushina remained within the village. She didn't even have to undertake low-level missions. He had three tasks: first, learn ninjutsu from Kushina; second, observe Kushina conducting various research; third, team up with Kushina to tease others in the village.

In fact, on the second day of Kenji becoming Kushina's student, she didn't even need him to mention it. Kushina was already eager to start teaching him ninjutsu.

Because she wanted Kenji to surpass Kakashi as soon as possible. If her disciple could surpass Kakashi, who was Minato's student, then it would be the same as her surpassing Minato.

Viewed through this lens, Konoha seemed to regard Kenji as nothing more than Kushina's amusing project, and inadvertently, Kushina reciprocated this perspective. Kenji adeptly assumed the role of a diligent student, though he remained unaware that he had evolved into a stabilizing influence in Kushina's life.

"So, which ninjutsu should I teach you first?" Kushina mumbled, somewhat vexed.

'The Four Symbols Seal.' Naturally, that was merely a conjured thought in Kenji's mind. He certainly couldn't actually say that. Apart from being an S-rank forbidden jutsu, there was no way he could explain how he knew the name of such a technique.

How could a fresh graduate from the Ninja Academy accurately know the name of a secret forbidden jutsu of the Uzumaki clan?

He had no answer to give, so he couldn't reveal it. Kushina would certainly know about the Four Symbols Seal, but it was obvious that she wouldn't easily teach a forbidden technique to someone. Besides, she probably didn't think Kenji was ready to learn a high-level sealing technique like the Four Symbols Seal. For now, she most likely had no plans to teach him any fuinjutsu for the moment.

Learning fuinjutsu was much more difficult than learning regular ninjutsu. The complexity of fuinjutsu required a deep understanding of the art itself. Generally speaking, the difficulty of learning an A-rank fuinjutsu was at least equivalent to, if not surpassing, an S-rank ninjutsu. Mastering techniques of the caliber of the S-rank Four Symbols Seal would probably remain an unattainable goal for those lacking exceptional talent, possibly spanning their entire lifetime.

"I've got it. Let's start with the Shadow Clone it's a highly practical Jutsu," Kushina's eyes lit up as she thought of this technique.

Shadow Clone Jutsu was a B-rank ninjutsu. Considering Kenji's chakra situation and control, he shouldn't have any issues learning it. After all, he had already created an A-rank ninjutsu on his own.

"I'll show you the hand seals first." Without waiting for Kenji's opinion, Kushina began explaining.

Of course, for a highly practical ninjutsu like the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Kenji had no reason not to learn it.

The Shadow Clone Jutsu only required one hand seal, the Water Seal, which was one of the basic twelve seals that every ninja academy graduate knew. Kushina, however, decided to demonstrate the seal to Kenji and explained how chakra flowed during the seal formation.

She even performed the technique herself. Two identical red-haired witches appeared in front of Kenji.

Kenji nodded to show that he understood. Then he immediately began practicing. The difficulty of this technique wasn't too hard for someone like Kenji with his analytical mind.

He didn't rush through the hand seals. Instead, following Kushina's advice, he first made chakra flow along the specified pathways until he became familiar with the chakra circulation for the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Then, he began forming the hand seal.

Kushina nodded in approval as she observed Kenji's actions. She could see what Kenji was doing, and she appreciated that he wasn't blindly practicing. Instead, he was first familiarizing himself with chakra flow, which showed his maturity as a student.

While forming the hand seal, Kenji coordinated his chakra flow accordingly. This B-rank ninjutsu, which wasn't too difficult for him, was successfully executed on his first attempt.

Another identical version of himself appeared in front of him. Kenji felt his chakra decrease by half, the only downside to this kind of clone technique. It evenly distributed the user's chakra to each clone.

Kenji quickly dispelled the Shadow Clone, and the chakra that hadn't been consumed by the clone returned to him.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu successful. Let's move on to the next technique, Kushina-sensei."

"The next technique? You just learned Shadow Clone Jutsu. Don't you want to practice it a bit?" Kushina found it unsurprising that Kenji was able to quickly grasp the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but she was surprised that he immediately wanted to move on to the next technique.

"I don't need to practice, Kushina-sensei. I've already mastered this Jutsu while learning it." Kenji said this confidently to prove that he wasn't lying. He formed the hand seal again, and another clone appeared in front of him.

Kushina: ...

This was a matter of talent. When it came to brain capacity and learning ability, Kenji wasn't afraid of anyone in the Naruto world, not even characters like Minato or Kakashi.

Kushina couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right, but it was a fact that Kenji had just mastered this B-rank technique. She felt both gratified and surprised by Kenji's progress, and she began teaching him the next ninjutsu with a mix of satisfaction and bemusement.

Although she had once declared her intention to compete with Minato for the position of Hokage, Kushina had essentially given up on that ambition now, or perhaps it was better to say that she had conceded. There were two main reasons for this.

First, Minato was truly exceptional.

Second, she was the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, and this was the biggest obstacle to becoming Hokage.

However, having glimpsed Kenji's learning ability, Kushina finally had complete confidence that her disciple could surpass Minato's students without any issues.