Chapter 183: Four Symbols Seal

Chapter 183: Four Symbols Seal

Haneda arrived at Minato's house. At that moment, Kushina was cooking. Kurama, who had been resting in his spiritual space, suddenly sensed an immense chakra. This chakra was very familiar—it held the essence of both Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha! There was even a faint trace of the Sage of Six Paths.

Kurama opened his eyes and sensed through Kushina that the visitor was Haneda. Remembering Haneda's Sharingan and Wood Release, Kurama lowered his head again.

"Kushina, Haneda Uchiha is here," Kurama mentioned casually.

Kushina, focused on cooking, paused her spoon mid-stir. Sure enough, just as Kurama finished speaking, there was a knock at the door.

Tap, tap, tap—

"Coming!"

Lowering the heat, Kushina hurried to the door and opened it, revealing Haneda.

"Kushina-senpai, it's been a while."

Haneda took a breath, picking up the aroma of the soup, and smiled. "Cooking for Minato-senpai again?"

Hearing Minato's name, Kushina smiled softly. "Yes, now that he's Hokage, he's working hard for the village, so he needs good nutrition."

As they spoke, Haneda took off his shoes and stepped inside. Minato and Kushina's home was modest, with only essential furnishings and a cabinet with ninja tools, plus a kunai hanging from the ceiling.

Seeing Kushina busy in the kitchen, Haneda decided not to ask her about sealing techniques. He found a seat in the living room, took out a scroll, and started studying it on his own.

After a while, Kushina came over and glanced at the scroll in Haneda's hands. "Are you studying sealing techniques? I remember you gave up on them two years ago."

Haneda looked up and explained, "That was during the war, so sealing techniques weren't very useful on missions. Actually, I'm quite interested in them, Kushina-senpai." He glanced at Kushina's Four Symbols Seal, one of his motivations for learning sealing techniques, especially to counter Kurama.

"Is that so?" Kushina chuckled. "Are you here to learn sealing techniques from me?" she asked playfully.

Kushina took a closer look at Haneda's scroll—it was the Four Symbols Seal. Surprised by Haneda's quick progress, she thought, *Haneda is learning fast.* The Four Symbols Seal required advanced knowledge of sealing techniques. Kushina recalled Minato had taught it to him two years ago, but Haneda had given up on it back then. She didn't expect him to still remember it now.

Kushina pointed at a symbol on the scroll. "Here's a simpler way—you could try this…" She sketched a few symbols, simplifying the sequence of ten or so symbols, and explained, "Haneda, you're studying techniques from two years ago. Minato and I streamlined some steps in the Four Symbols Seal to make it easier to perform."

Recalling something, Kushina ran over to a desk, pulled out a scroll from a drawer, and handed it to Haneda. "These are Minato's notes. Take them—they're just gathering dust here anyway."

Haneda took the scroll and glanced over it. *These are Minato's annotations on the Four Symbols Seal…* Why would Minato annotate the Four Symbols Seal for no reason?

Suddenly, Haneda had an idea. Smiling, he asked, "This wouldn't be a gift for Kakashi, would it, Kushina-senpai?"

"Huh?"

Kushina took the scroll back and, upon seeing the annotations, remembered something Minato had said recently. It really might be intended for Kakashi! But before she could react, Haneda took the scroll back with a sly smile. "Since it's for Kakashi, I'll keep it safe for now!"

Haneda gave Kushina a look, and, thinking of Haneda and Kakashi's close relationship, Kushina agreed. "Just make sure Kakashi gets it after you're done."

"Promise!" Haneda assured her, patting his chest confidently. He'd already decided it would be a while before Kakashi got his hands on those notes—unless Kakashi came to him directly to study and discuss them.

Just then, Haneda heard the lid on a pot rattling and reminded Kushina, "By the way, you're still cooking, Kushina-senpai."

"Oh no!" Kushina ran back to the kitchen, relieved to find the soup hadn't burned.

"Even if it did, Minato-senpai would still enjoy Kushina-senpai's cooking," Haneda remarked with a laugh. "I'll head out now. See you tomorrow."

"See you," Kushina replied instinctively.

"Wait! Get him to stay!" Kurama urged, thinking Haneda would stay for a meal. But Kushina, now capable of handling Kurama, ignored him.

As she skimmed the foam from the soup, Kurama reminded her, "Don't forget our agreement!"

"You want to talk with Haneda alone?" Kushina asked, still skimming. Kurama recalled being subdued by Haneda two years ago and sighed. "Yeah, something like that…"

Kushina shook her head and refused, saying, "There's no rush—we'll do it tomorrow. I'm still making soup for Minato."

…

Before long, Kakashi came by, looking for Minato's notes on the Four Symbols Seal. Following Minato's instructions, he checked the second drawer of the desk, but it was empty. Thinking he'd made a mistake, he checked the other drawers, but they were all empty as well.

Puzzled, Kakashi asked Kushina, "Minato-sensei was working on notes for the Four Symbols Seal recently… Do you know where he put them?"

"The Four Symbols Seal?" Kushina, remembering she'd given them to Haneda, replied awkwardly, "Oh, right… Haneda has them."

"Haneda???"

…

Scroll in hand, Haneda went back home. With it being Minato's first day as Hokage, he had a lot to deal with and wouldn't be home until late. Haneda hadn't gone to ask Minato about the Flying Thunder God technique but had intended to train in sealing techniques instead. Now that he had the annotated Four Symbols Seal, he decided not to disturb Kushina further.