"Mm..."
"Hiss... it hurts..."
Kushina slowly regained consciousness, feeling pain all over her body—her skin ached, her muscles throbbed, her bones burned. There wasn't a single part of her that didn't hurt.
The first thing that entered her blurry vision was a head of blond hair and a pair of worried eyes. But the moment those eyes saw her awaken, they immediately brightened with excitement.
"Kushina, you're awake!"
"How are you feeling? Anywhere uncomfortable?"
Even as Minato said that, he felt awkward himself. Just looking at her—her bright red hair was singed black, and her body covered in wounds.
That was the result of what he and Gekko Chizan had done, but there had been no other choice. To save her from being consumed by the Nine Tails' chakra, they had to strike hard.
He might've gone a little overboard, but it couldn't be helped.
"What... happened to me? My whole body's numb, and I can't move..."
"And where are we right now?"
Kushina asked in confusion. Besides the pain, her body was weak and tingling all over.
"Kushina, don't you remember?"
"The tailed beast chakra inside you went out of control."
Minato recounted everything that had happened, and Kushina finally understood—it had been her rampage.
Enduring the pain, she forced herself up, looking around at the mess surrounding them, her eyes filled with guilt.
"I lost control, didn't I..."
"Minato... I..."
Seeing Minato in such a disheveled state, covered in bruises and cuts, she could imagine how much he must've struggled to stop her.
"It wasn't just me. Chizan helped too. The humidity in the area—he caused that."
"He played a big role in suppressing you."
Hearing that Gekko Chizan had helped, Kushina nodded slightly.
They were friends after all, so it wasn't strange that he came to help. But somehow, as she felt the pain all over her body and thought about Chizan's involvement, an uneasy feeling crept up inside her. She couldn't help but ask:
"How exactly did you stop me?"
"You know how terrifying the Nine Tails' chakra is."
Minato nodded in agreement. The Nine Tails' chakra was indeed terrifying—so much so that he alone couldn't suppress it.
That half-transformation, with four tails already formed, had pushed him to his limits.
Thankfully, Gekko Chizan had been there.
"Chizan and I both drained some of your chakra."
"Then, using the Lightning Blades' lightning strikes, we hit you directly. The destructive power and penetration of lightning stunned you long enough for us to regain control."
After hearing his explanation, Kushina's brow twitched. She knew it—she just knew it!
That bastard Gekko Chizan had taken the opportunity to get revenge!
He must've used this as an excuse for payback!
"Kushina, calm down. You need rest."
"Come on, I'll take you back."
Because of her tailed-beast state, Minato hadn't dared bring Kushina directly back to the village. Instead, he'd set up a temporary camp nearby to treat her injuries.
Now that she was awake, it was time to take her back to Konoha for proper medical care.
Meanwhile, Gekko Chizan, still in the middle of teaching his students, was quite pleased to receive his system reward.
[Ding! Detected that the host maliciously retaliated against Kushina during her rampage, driving her to extreme speechlessness and frustration. Special reward: Increased resistance to physical attacks.]
Gekko Chizan: ...System, your rewards are getting weirder and weirder.
...
A few days later, by a mountain stream outside Konoha.
"So, you thought I called you here for a picnic?"
"Uh, yeah? I mean, I called you here for training..."
Gekko Chizan looked at Minato and Kushina, both in full training gear, then turned to Pakura in her casual outfit—and then to himself.
He was still holding picnic food. The whole situation left him speechless.
He had helped Minato and Kushina a great deal already, yet instead of inviting him for a proper outing, they'd called him here... to help with training?
Good grief, Minato... how did you even manage to get married?
"Oh no, is it too late for me to leave?"
"Of course not," Minato said quickly. "Chizan, you know the jutsu I created was meant to help Kushina burn off the excess tailed-beast chakra."
"I know that," Chizan said flatly. "But I already taught it to you. You can just teach Kushina yourself, can't you?"
Minato shrugged helplessly.
"If only it were that easy. I saw you use the technique that day, and I understand the principle, but performing it isn't simple."
"To help Kushina through this dangerous phase faster, I need your help."
The phrase "new jutsu" caught Pakura's attention, her eyes lighting up as she asked curiously:
"Chizan, you invented a new jutsu?"
"What kind is it? Can I learn it too?"
Hearing his lover's eager tone, Chizan sighed, realizing their picnic was doomed. Setting down the food, he said:
"Alright, fine. I'll teach you all."
"And Minato, Kushina's from the Uzumaki clan—you don't need me to remind you how strong their sealing arts are, right?"
"You'd better modify a suitable sealing formula to reinforce the seal."
Minato nodded, indicating he'd already started working on that.
But modifying a sealing jutsu was no easier than inventing a new one, so for now, his focus remained on the Rasengan.
"Pakura, you should learn too. This jutsu was developed from observing a tailed beast's power."
"It's quite powerful and doesn't rely on any elemental nature."
"As long as you have chakra, you can theoretically learn it. But whether you succeed depends on your talent."
"And I think you definitely have enough talent."
Hearing that, Pakura's heart leapt with joy.
And so, Gekko Chizan's little training group was formed.
Their Rasengan training began.
As it turned out, with a clear learning path, the three of them progressed at remarkable speed.
To Chizan's surprise, the first one to form a Rasengan prototype wasn't Minato or Kushina—it was Pakura.
In just one day, Pakura could already condense a small Rasengan in her hand. Though not as powerful as a complete one, it had taken form.
This fact dealt a blow to Minato's pride, while Kushina immediately clung to her best friend for tips.
"Pakura, how did you do it?"
Chizan, equally curious, asked the same.
Pakura chuckled softly, dispelling the Rasengan in her hand. Then, with a focused breath, she flared her chakra—summoning a blazing fireball into her palm, the manifestation of her Kekkei Genkai.
Seeing that burning orb, Gekko Chizan immediately understood.
"I see now. Your usual technique already involves gathering chakra into a condensed fireball—that's your Scorch Release."
"That means your chakra control is incredibly refined. Since this jutsu also involves condensing chakra into a sphere, it came naturally to you."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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