The battles of the Third Great Ninja War gradually subsided. Although there were still frequent skirmishes among the Five Great Nations, no large-scale wars occurred again. The impact of the war on the residents of Konoha Village was almost invisible now.
However, as Kushina's belly grew day by day, Hyūga Shinichi could clearly sense that Konoha's high-level officials were becoming nervous.
In the months Shinichi had spent learning the Flying Thunder God Technique from Kushina, he had encountered several important figures from Konoha at Minato's house.
During this time, Jiraiya, who had been traveling, also received the news that Kushina's due date was near and specifically rushed back to visit his disciple and his disciple's wife. Through prenatal checkups, Minato and Kushina knew the child in her belly was a boy.
After Minato read Jiraiya's latest finished novel, he asked Jiraiya for the name of the novel's protagonist, planning to name his son Naruto!
During Jiraiya's stay at Minato's house, Shinichi also came to study and train in the afternoons, but his interaction with Jiraiya was very limited.
Although Jiraiya was impressed by Hyūga Shinichi's ninja talent, having seen many geniuses, he did not particularly pay extra attention to Shinichi. He had already seen the legendary Rinnegan, and a child from the Hyūga Clan with "a little bit" of talent was not enough to catch his eye.
Furthermore, Shinichi was not talkative and had no intention of climbing the social ladder by associating with Jiraiya. For the current Shinichi, he had enough to study and would be very busy for a long time.
Besides Jiraiya's return, Sarutobi Hiruzen and his wife, Biwako, also visited Minato's house several times to check on Kushina.
Even Tsunade, who had been away from the Village for years, specifically returned once to personally perform a prenatal checkup on Kushina.
After examining the fetus and confirming its health, Tsunade did not linger in the place that brought her pain and soon left to continue her "sucker" hunting journey.
It must be said that although the Minato couple was young, their influence in Konoha Village was considerable. This was closely related not only to their personal strength but also to their network of relationships.
It is worth mentioning that Jiraiya's original intention for returning to the Village was due to Kushina's approaching delivery date. Considering the risks associated with a Jinchūriki giving birth, he specifically returned to see if he could be of any help. However, his goodwill was subtly turned away by Sarutobi Hiruzen's meticulous arrangements.
The location for Kushina's delivery had been selected. The Anbu tasked with guarding Kushina had gathered early, and after the addition of the Hyūga elites, these Anbu squads had rehearsed emergency scenarios multiple times, with results that satisfied the Third Hokage.
Although Jiraiya was powerful, Sarutobi Hiruzen was confident in his arrangements. Furthermore, adding Jiraiya now would mean having to redraw the entire security plan. More importantly, in the Third's view, the powerful Jiraiya was not necessarily stronger than the Anbu squads he had arranged! As of now, Jiraiya's most glorious achievement was briefly holding off Hanzō of the Salamander, the "Demigod" of Amegakure, along with Tsunade and Orochimaru, thus earning the title of the Legendary Sannin.
While Jiraiya had improved since then, he never had the opportunity to use his full power again. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen himself was not entirely sure of Jiraiya's true capabilities.
In the Third's mind, with Minato personally protecting Kushina, combined with the support of the Anbu squads, nothing could go wrong. At this stage, the name "Yellow Flash" was far more resounding in the ninja world than the Sannin.
Knowing he couldn't be of much help, Jiraiya grew bored after a short stay in the Village and soon left again. Even Hyūga Shinichi, who knew the future outcome, had no reason or justification to intervene and persuade Jiraiya to stay.
As Kushina's due date approached, Hyūga Shinichi officially started his "break" in mid-September.
Evening, the setting sun cast long shadows.
Uzumaki Kushina slowly rose from the sofa, stretched, and then quietly walked to the dining table. Shinichi was sitting on a chair, and on the table in front of him lay dozens of kunai. Shinichi was gripping one kunai, diligently carving his unique seal onto it.
Shinichi had actually mastered the basics of the Flying Thunder God Technique about a week prior. Marking the seal and performing the spatial jump—Shinichi could do all of this.
However... compared to Minato's ability to instantly mark an opponent upon contact, Hyūga Shinichi's application of the Flying Thunder God Technique was very immature. The time it took him to carve one Flying Thunder God seal was about 15 seconds.
Through continuous practice, he had now shortened the carving time to about 7.5 seconds. But needing this much time to carve a seal was undoubtedly a massive handicap in real combat.
However, carving the seal was like weaving hand seals for Ninjutsu. This was a skill that relied on continuous practice, and even a genius like Shinichi needed repeated training.
Similarly, for the Water Dragon Bullet Ninjutsu, people with different levels of understanding of the technique executed it at vastly different speeds. Some had to slowly perform 44 hand seals, while others only needed three simple seals. Some performed one seal per second, others six seals per second, and some could simply clap their hands and manifest the jutsu instantly.
As Kushina arrived behind Shinichi, he slowly opened his eyes, placed the kunai on the table, and let out a heavy sigh.
The straight handle of the kunai bore a "Hyūga" seal; this Flying Thunder God kunai was now complete. However, the completion of the seal did not bring a smile to Shinichi's face; instead, he sighed deeply, his small face etched with disappointment. The progress of the Flying Thunder God Technique was still not ideal.
"Shinichi, why the long face again?"
"Didn't I already tell you? You're doing very well."
"You need to know that you are the third person in Konoha to successfully train the Flying Thunder God Technique in all these years."
"Even Minato, when he first mastered the Flying Thunder God, took about a minute to carve the seal."
"All you need to do now is practice repeatedly until you are fully proficient. Even if you're a genius, this is something that cannot be rushed."
Kushina looked at Shinichi's frustrated little face and smiled brightly. She came up behind Shinichi and affectionately pinched his face, forcing a smile onto his lips. Kushina had been closely observing Shinichi's training progress and adored her talented, worry-free student. Through their time together, Kushina already regarded Shinichi as one of her own.
Shinichi was good in every way, except that he lacked confidence. For some reason, the child never seemed to feel proud or satisfied with his achievements. Even accomplishments that were remarkable in the eyes of others rarely brought joy to Shinichi's face.
"Shinichi, relax and don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"My due date is near. I need to take time off to prepare for the delivery."
"You should take a break, too. You're still just a child; stop walking around with that stern face, just like your father."
Kushina's upcoming maternity leave was already decided and known to Shinichi. Although he was still a child, his status meant the Minato couple was not secretive around him. Not only him, but Kakashi, who was guarding outside, also knew.
"Yes, I will."
"Sensei Kushina, please accept this as my gift to little Naruto!"
Shinichi gently rubbed his cheek, then took one of the marked kunai from the table and handed it to Kushina.
Seeing the kunai, Kushina's smile widened. She pressed down on Shinichi's head and laughed:
"Are you worrying about me, kid?"
"Hahaha, don't worry! It's just having a baby, after all!"
"I already asked Hanako and Mikoto; having a baby is nothing major!"
Hanako and Mikoto, one was Shinichi's mother, and the other was Uchiha Itachi's mother. Both were close friends of Kushina. Unlike Kushina, they both had experience giving birth. Since it was her first time, Kushina was not as calm as she pretended to be and had secretly consulted with her girlfriends.
"But I will gladly accept your kind offer!"
"You are Naruto's prenatal big brother. Naruto will definitely grow up to be an excellent ninja—even better than Minato, even better than you~"
Listening to Kushina's hopeful words, Shinichi smiled and agreed:
"Absolutely. After all, he's your son, Sensei Kushina."
The sunset streamed through the window, illuminating the faces of the master and disciple, Kushina and Shinichi. The large and small figures smiled at each other.
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