If the village had properly nurtured Shin, giving him effective training from a young age, how powerful could he be now?
Tsunade couldn't even bring herself to imagine.
Even if he couldn't reach the level of her grandfather, he could probably easily reach the level of her granduncle, right?
But just because he bore the Uchiha name, he was neglected for so many years.
As time passed, Shin's mastery of the Chakra Enhanced Strength would only become more refined. Learning the Chakra Enhanced Strength: Ultra Precision Mode was just a matter of time, and gaining combat experience was inevitable.
Once he activated Sage Mode, then awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and soon mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique... Just thinking about how strong he could become in the future was terrifying.
It was practically a foregone conclusion.
That's right, besides his regular training, he had also been practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Every time he was reverse-summoned back and forth, he would focus all his senses and immerse himself fully in experiencing the fluctuations in space. After thoroughly familiarizing himself with spatial nodes and pathways, he was able to confirm all of his prior theories about the technique.
And just like that, under Tsunade's own eyes, he had managed to grasp the fundamentals of the Flying Thunder God Technique. And it likely wouldn't be long before he could use it proficiently.
Thinking of all this, she couldn't help but complain, she shouldn't have taught the Chakra Enhanced Strength to Shin. That way, at least she could have kept suppressing him for a little longer. But she hadn't expected that something she spent two whole years creating, he could learn in less than a month.
He hadn't had the heart to explain that, in truth, he had been researching the Chakra Enhanced Strength for many years already. It wouldn't be wrong to say he had already grasped it long ago, what he lacked was just practice.
After all, mastering such a technique in one month was something even Tobirama couldn't do, and Shin wasn't superhuman either.
Fortunately, Tsunade had always had a clear understanding of her role: she was a medical-nin. So if she couldn't win in a fight, then so be it.
Once Shin had rested enough, Tsunade reached out and helped him up.
"Are you okay?" Tsunade asked with concern as she looked him over.
Shin chuckled, amused. "Why do you always ask that? What could possibly be wrong with me?"
"I just feel like... every time we spar, we go all out. What if one day, we slip up…"
"But if we don't give it our all, how will we improve?" Shin shook his head slightly and asked in return. "And have you forgotten who we are? We're the number one and number two medical-nin in the shinobi world. As long as it doesn't kill us, we can fight to the death. No need to worry."
"…Fine!"
Sensing the faint and occasional distance growing between Shin and herself lately, Tsunade opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately stayed silent.
With the day's training done, the two left the Shikkotsu Forest as usual.
---
The next day, Shin yawned as he walked into the office. Seeing the empty desk across from him, he felt conflicted.
He had thought that spending a little time apart from Tsunade, after being around her constantly and feeling her intense gaze, might be a relief.
But he realized that wasn't the case. With her suddenly taking time off, he actually felt a sense of loss.
"I'm such a fool!" he cursed at himself and forced his focus onto work.
After the previous incident, Tsunade no longer made decisions regarding Shin without consulting him first. So he didn't have to worry about her well-intentioned interference anymore.
What he didn't know was that she hadn't taken time off because she had something to do, she had directly gone to "invade" someone's home.
Her target: Minato.
Lately, she had been feeling troubled. Even though she and Shin spent every day together, their relationship hadn't progressed at all. So, she decided to start with Minato to see if she could find a breakthrough.
---
In a certain empty training ground, watching Minato lying exhausted on the ground, gasping for breath in the same state of collapse as Shin after training, Tsunade was deeply shaken.
Originally, she had planned to take Minato out to have fun since he had the day off.
She had even done her homework in advance, asking around about the places Konoha kids liked to visit and the foods they enjoyed, making full preparations.
What she hadn't expected was that he was quite the oddball, he said he didn't want to go anywhere, and instead looked at her hopefully, asking if they could spar.
And so, just moments ago, the two of them had a training match.
"You have no idea how stifled I've felt," Minato said with a satisfied expression as he slowly sat up. "Because my brother is always being watched, he never revealed his true strength. The kids at the Ninja Academy are not strong enough, so I've never had a chance to go all out in a real fight. And my brother doesn't allow me to show my strength. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for a battle where I could fight seriously. That felt amazing!"
What could Tsunade say to that?
Her goal today was to make Minato happy, whatever the method, as long as he was happy, that was enough. Still, she asked, "How are you so strong? You've already reached chunin-level at such a young age. If it were just raw talent and strength, that would be one thing, but how do you know so many kinds of jutsu? And it's obvious you've received long-term guidance from a top-tier mentor. It just doesn't add up."
"Uh..." Minato scratched his head sheepishly but didn't answer.
"Is it because of Shin?" Tsunade asked tentatively.
Minato was momentarily stunned. Then he remembered what his brother had told him: "You can trust Tsunade," and he nodded.
"He may not be able to train himself, but his understanding of ninjutsu is top-tier. He's been guiding my training since I was two years old."
Top-tier understanding of ninjutsu... Plus that line just now: "My brother is always being watched, he never revealed his true strength."
These few words from Minato made her unconsciously clench her fists.
That guy, he always acted like he didn't know anything in front of me. So it was all an act?
Since Shin had temporarily escaped danger, she had gradually calmed down over the past month and began to notice something was off. During this time, countless doubts would occasionally surface in her mind, and she had started to question some of the things he had told her.
How to put it?
She had begun to sense that he may have just been using her all along, deliberately hiding things from her and guiding her in certain directions. But she never dwelled on it, or maybe didn't want to.
Yet some things, once buried in your heart, were like a thorn that never went away.
So the real reason she had sought out Minato today was actually to see if she could get some information from him to confirm her suspicions.
"And your body…" she continued to question, suppressing her emotions, "I've met your parents. They're just ordinary people, none of them look like you."
Minato chuckled again and replied, "Since I was two, my brother has been putting me through advanced physical conditioning with formulated supplements, and he also taught me the Chakra Body-Enhancement Technique."
"What Chakra Body-Enhancement Technique?" Tsunade's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately pressed him.
"Uh…" Minato hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "It's a body-enhancement jutsu he invented, it channels chakra to stimulate and strengthen the body's cells. Didn't he ever mention it to you?"
Finally realizing everything, Tsunade punched a nearby tree, instantly shattering it, and roared, "That bastard! He told me he was born with natural strength?! He's been lying to me all along, I'm not letting him off the hook!"