At dinner that evening, with no outsiders present, Uzumaki Mito said, "Night Maple, don't take risks like that next time. Tell Granny Mito right away, understand? With me here, no one will dare bully you."
Beside her, Kushina nodded hard.
Night Maple smiled. "It's fine, Old Madam."
Kushina glared at Night Maple. "Call her Granny Mito."
"All right, Granny Mito."
Uzumaki Mito gazed at Night Maple with grandmotherly warmth.
Night Maple had always wondered whether the Senju and Uzumaki clans had ultimately been wiped out.
Who was the hidden hand behind it all?
After a moment's thought, Uzumaki Mito said, "Night Maple, none of the other younger Senju were particularly outstanding, and the clan didn't pass down any Kekkei Genkai. So they branched out, set up their own households, and stopped living together under the banner of the great Senju."
Night Maple mused, "So the Senju just declined like that?"
Uzumaki Mito felt a stab of pain and nodded.
She thought of her grandson, Senju Nawaki. If he hadn't died, he would be about the same age as the Night Maple before her.
It's fate.
Under Hashirama and Tobirama, the Senju reached their peak.
After the peak came the inevitable slide.
War came right then, and as the clan that produced two Hokage, the Senju naturally took the front lines.
Konoha won the war, but the Senju were weakened.
More and more Senju died, and even Nawaki was lured out of the village…
Now it seemed that high-ups like Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu—the ones who inherited the Will of Fire from the Second—really had gone astray.
The topic was too heavy. Uzumaki Mito smiled and said, "Actually, whether Senju or Uzumaki, there are still clansmen who have married."
"Young people like new things. They don't want to live with an old woman like me. It's only natural to move out and start their own households."
She turned to Kushina. "I wonder when our Kushina plans to leave this old woman."
"Granny Mito, Kushina will serve you all her life and never leave!"
Uzumaki Mito chuckled. "Nonsense. Rain must fall and a girl must marry. That's the way of heaven and earth, right, Night Maple?"
Kushina's face heated at once.
Granny Mito was too much.
Night Maple smiled at Kushina's shy look and couldn't resist teasing, "The Old Madam is right. That's simply nature's course."
Uzumaki Mito nodded in satisfaction. "Yes. Back when I was still a maiden, I went to war carrying my clan's mission. I met the old man by chance, we started a family unexpectedly, and only later did we found Konoha."
"So, Night Maple, as the ancients say, first start a family, then build your career."
Uzumaki Mito gave Night Maple a meaningful look.
If she could bring Night Maple and Kushina together, then have a child—no, two or three—then the bloodlines of the Senju and Uzumaki could continue.
Also, Night Maple was too lazy, lacking drive and grit. Young people are like that. Once they marry, they naturally shape up.
Kushina's face turned red at once, dewy and radiant. She didn't even dare look up at Night Maple.
Uzumaki Mito chuckled. "Eat, eat."
There was no need to rush. Let the two spend time together and it would sort itself out.
…
Starting the next day, the atmosphere in Konoha Village wasn't quite the same.
A large number of masked ninja appeared in the streets and alleys, investigating who knew what.
According to Uzumaki Mito, these were Anbu, not Root, which had attacked Night Maple earlier.
They should be looking into Danzō and Root.
At this time, Night Maple was in the Uzumaki courtyard, watching Uzumaki Mito teach Kushina various sealing techniques, all Uzumaki clan secrets.
Among them was the Yin Seal.
Listening at the side, Night Maple found her explanations matched the knowledge the system had poured into his mind, and were even more detailed than that download.
After all, people can make mistakes in their explanations.
After a whole day of trying, Kushina finally found the thread of it. A nearly invisible little dot began to form on her forehead.
Uzumaki Mito said with satisfaction, "Very good. Kushina, you really are a ninjutsu prodigy. Even Tsunade didn't learn this fast back then."
Kushina looked happily at Night Maple. From now on she could help him, instead of him saving her every time.
But when she turned her head, she froze.
A rhombus-shaped mark had appeared on Night Maple's forehead, clear as day.
"This…"
Uzumaki Mito let out a soft gasp. "Night Maple, when did you learn the Yin Seal?"
Night Maple scratched his head. "I watched your demonstration, felt something click, and then used it."
"A genius, truly a genius. You have Hashirama's Kekkei Genkai and Tobirama's talent for ninjutsu?"
Kushina stared hard at Night Maple, eyes sparkling.
She was strong, but Night Maple was stronger.
He really was a man who could realize his dreams.
Uzumaki Mito considered for a moment. "I wasn't planning to teach you the next sealing technique so soon, but you're both learning too quickly. Next, I'll pass on our Uzumaki clan secret art, the Four Symbols Seal."
"The Four Symbols Seal is used to confine powerful enemies or demons. It harnesses the cycle of the four symbols to lock away evil."
Night Maple was awkward. The system had taught him the Yin Seal. If he learned the Four Symbols Seal now, wouldn't he give himself away?
So much for his name as a genius. It hadn't even lasted a day before it was gone.
Over this, Night Maple felt a little sad.
[Ding. Based on the host's current situation, here are your choices.]
[Choice One: Study hard and make daily progress. Reward: A-rank Sealing Technique — Four Symbols Seal.]
[Choice Two: Go home and sleep, be a salted fish. Reward: A-rank Ninjutsu — Telescope Technique.]
[Choice Three: Refuse Uzumaki Mito's instruction and be a top student off to the side. Reward: A-rank Sealing Technique — Four Symbols Seal, S-rank Advanced Sealing Technique — Dead Demon Consuming Seal.]