"Great!"
"If Big Sister Kushina doesn't mind the trouble, I would be happy to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique from you."
Faced with Kushina's sudden intervention, Hyūga Shinichi, after a brief moment of stunned surprise, immediately gave his answer. Was this not... a great opportunity delivered right to his doorstep?!
For Hyūga Shinichi, although he had not yet formally reviewed the content of the Flying Thunder God, it was certain that mastering the technique would not be easy.
Otherwise, only Senju Tobirama and Minato would have been able to use the Flying Thunder God Technique proficiently in Konoha throughout the years.
The difficulty of mastering a Ninjutsu of this caliber with a teacher versus learning it by oneself was likely completely different. Since there was a ready-made "giant's shoulder" to stand on, there was no reason for Shinichi to refuse.
Furthermore, deepening the connection with the Fourth Hokage couple was exactly what Shinichi wanted. Many things in this world are strongly interconnected.
If Hyūga Shinichi wanted to protect himself and the people he cared about, the most likely event he could influence at this stage was the impending Nine-Tails' attack. If the Minato couple could successfully survive that crisis, it would only benefit Konoha and the Hyūga Clan.
Perhaps his current strength could not influence the battle's outcome, but the intelligence he possessed, if utilized well, could definitely change the course of the future.
It was even possible that Shinichi's presence could help the Minato couple raise one of the supreme war gods of the Naruto world—a "killing intent" Naruto raised on healthy food...
To influence those events, he first needed to establish a deep relationship with the Minato couple and build a certain level of mutual trust.
Kushina's spontaneous offer truly gave Shinichi an excellent opportunity. Shinichi had originally been planning for his mother, Hyūga Hanako, to find an excuse to approach Kushina. As both were pregnant, they should have some common ground.
If his mother could establish contact with Kushina, it would be easier for Shinichi to engineer "accidental meetings." If possible, he could also leak information about Obito during their daily conversations.
But now, it seemed like that trouble wouldn't be necessary.
Hyūga Shinichi's swift agreement naturally made Uzumaki Kushina very happy. Before Shinichi decisively accepted, Kushina had been somewhat nervous; if this genius brat had been too arrogant and looked down on her as a female ninja, she wouldn't have been able to back down gracefully. But this Hyūga Shinichi...
"Good eye, kid!"
"I will definitely teach you well!"
Kushina, now with a task to perform, was beaming with joy. Seeing his wife so happy, Minato, as her husband, didn't want to spoil the mood and could only try to smooth things over for Kushina:
"Shinichi, Kushina has this kind of personality; you don't need to take it to heart."
"Go on up first. If you encounter any difficulties during the process of learning the Flying Thunder God, you can ask me."
As Minato spoke, Kushina was staring intently at him with a look of grievance. Unable to endure his wife's gaze, Minato laughed awkwardly and quickly added:
"Of course, you can also ask Kushina."
"Don't let her appearance fool you. She is from the Uzumaki Clan and is proficient in Sealing Techniques (Fūinjutsu). To learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, you need a solid foundation in Sealing Techniques, and Kushina can truly help you with that."
It wasn't until Minato finished those words that a satisfied smile returned to Kushina's face. Kushina then slapped Hyūga Shinichi's head affectionately and said with a proud, somewhat haughty air:
"Alright, kid! I'm your sensei now!"
"Call me Sensei Kushina first!"
It was unclear who triggered Kushina's special affinity for teaching, but the Kushina now was completely different from the gentle demeanor she displayed while being a guest at the Hyūga compound; she exuded the aura of a confident elder sister figure.
"..."
"Sensei Kushina."
Hyūga Shinichi didn't feel disadvantaged at all. Calling Kushina "sensei" felt fine to him. She was an Uzumaki orphan, and unlike the Uzumaki scattered elsewhere after the destruction of Uzushio, Kushina was the successor to Uzumaki Mito.
She was proficient in the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Techniques. This power was strong enough to rival the knowledge in the Forbidden Scroll, and if possible, Shinichi genuinely wanted to learn advanced Sealing Techniques.
More importantly, Shinichi intended to improve the Hyūga Clan's Caged Bird. To achieve that, a strong foundation in Sealing Techniques was also necessary.
In Hyūga Shinichi's view, the Caged Bird Curse Mark was a vital technique that allowed the Hyūga Clan to survive since the Warring States Period, but it was also a shackle that restricted the clan's potential ceiling.
The Caged Bird certainly protected some weaker Byakugan users, but it also limited the potential of generations of Branch Family geniuses. For the Hyūga to thrive, relying only on the rare appearance of a genius in the sparse Main Family was not a sustainable development model.
Moreover, the Caged Bird controlled the life and death of the Branch Family. One day, when the resentment of the Branch Family accumulated to a certain extent, the tragedy that occurred on the moon would repeat itself in the main Hyūga branch on Earth.
During the few short minutes of walking to the Hokage's office with the Minato couple, Hyūga Shinichi had pondered many things in his heart. Some things required planning; others could only be temporarily buried in his mind. He could only act on them when he gained power and influence.
Upon arriving at the office, Kushina, who now saw herself as Shinichi's teacher, had no intention of leaving. Namikaze Minato did not avoid his wife, retrieving the Forbidden Scroll from the hidden compartment and handing it to Hyūga Shinichi.
The Third Hokage did not seem to have started his "workday." The person accompanying Hyūga Shinichi to review the scroll today was Kushina.
However, Shinichi also had no intention of reviewing other Forbidden Jutsu today. Under Kushina's guidance, he quickly flipped to the Flying Thunder God chapter and began to read carefully.
From Kushina's familiarity with the Forbidden Scroll, Shinichi gathered some information. It was likely that Uzumaki Kushina had read the Forbidden Scroll quite a bit as well... He wasn't sure if it was when Uzumaki Mito was still alive or after she married Minato and leveraged his Hokage status.
While reviewing the Flying Thunder God Technique, Hyūga Shinichi also noticed another familiar chakra signature lingering outside the door. Through his Byakugan, Shinichi recognized the person as Hatake Kakashi.
Kakashi was currently the direct Anbu assigned to protect Kushina by the Fourth Hokage. He followed Kushina everywhere, and even inside the Hokage Tower, Kakashi was secretly tailing her. This made Shinichi contemplate making contact with Kakashi again.
However, the most important task at hand was still to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Just as Hyūga Shinichi had predicted, the Flying Thunder God Technique was not just a single Ninjutsu; it was a series of Space-Time Ninjutsu.
t progressed from simple to complex. Body Flicker Technique, Substitution Jutsu, Storage Ninjutsu, Summoning Jutsu, Reverse Summoning Technique, etc., etc... The Flying Thunder God could be said to be an aggregation of this series of Ninjutsu. Its learning difficulty was undoubtedly Rank-S.
In just one day, Hyūga Shinichi only managed to browse a rough overview. During this time, under Kushina's guidance, he briefly practiced a Storage Ninjutsu and successfully sealed a small tea table into a scroll drawn with complex patterns.
Of course, the drawing of the Storage Sealing Formula was done by Kushina; Shinichi merely activated it. Even so, Hyūga Shinichi's success on the first attempt slightly surprised Kushina.
This indirectly showed that Hyūga Shinichi truly had the talent for learning Space-Time Ninjutsu. This trial also greatly boosted Shinichi's confidence in learning the Flying Thunder God.
As Shinichi's cheap sensei, Kushina, after personally experiencing Shinichi's talent, began to indulge in her fantasies—imagining her future disciple dominating the Ninja World.
If Kushina had any regrets in life so far, it was that she hadn't become the first female Hokage in Konoha history, but rather the wife of the Hokage... If her disciple could become Hokage in the future, it would bring some glory to her as a teacher. It was clear which of the two titles—Hokage's Wife or Hokage's Teacher—the strong-willed Kushina preferred.
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