Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki!
Kitagawa's eyelid twitched violently.
I never expected these two to show up.
Equipment: Kushina Uzumaki's Hair Clip
Trait: Senju Body (Imperfect), Kage-Level Sealing Jutsu Talent
Note: Did you nag today?
Oh man, oh man!
Kitagawa nearly had his eyes glowing.
Then he looked at Minato Namikaze.
Equipment: Minato Namikaze's Forehead Protector
Trait: Super Kage-Level Nerve Reaction
Note: You're occasionally naturally spaced out, huh~
Only one piece of equipment each, but both made Kitagawa's heart ache with longing.
However, whether it was a forehead protector or hair clip, these were things incredibly difficult to obtain.
Kitagawa felt a headache and heartache, especially watching these items wave in front of him.
"Tsunade-sama!"
"Jiraiya-sama!"
Minato and Kushina greeted Tsunade first. Kitagawa greeted them alongside Gai and Jiraiya.
Then Kushina laughed openly, "Kitagawa, long time no see! Never thought you'd become a ninja academy teacher!"
"Haha, I remember back in school, you were the most afraid of teachers!"
Yes, Kitagawa, Kushina, and Minato had been classmates.
Both Kitagawa and Minato graduated from the academy at age ten, just as the Second Great Ninja War broke out.
Kushina graduated at twelve but, due to her jinchūriki status, never saw actual combat.
Of course, Kitagawa now had to pretend he didn't know Kushina's identity. Facing her teasing, he smiled sweetly. "Precisely because of that, I became a teacher! The suffering I endured naturally needs to be passed down to someone else."
Kushina immediately burst out laughing. "Kitagawa, you've become funny!"
Kitagawa spread his hands. "When facing a group of troublemaking brats, adjusting your emotions is an essential survival skill."
Kushina gave him a thumbs up. "You're really different from before!"
Tsunade and Shizune exchanged glances.
Is this the little pervert?
This is Teacher Kitagawa?
Kitagawa looked at Minato. "Minato, it's been ages. You're almost a jonin now, right?"
Minato said humbly, "Nothing of the sort. I haven't received such notification yet."
Kitagawa turned to Gai. "Gai, these two are Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki—my classmates and far more exceptional ninja than I am."
Gai immediately gave a respectful bow. "Minato-sama, Kushina-sama, I'm Gai Maito!"
Kushina was delighted. "Never expected to be called Kushina-sama already! Sounds weird, but..."
She stepped forward and patted Gai's shoulder. "Gai, from now on I've got your back. If anyone dares bully you, just tell me and I'll beat them up!"
Gai looked a bit confused.
Minato laughed awkwardly. "Everyone, let's head inside and chat!"
So they all walked into the hot spring resort together.
Unfortunately, there were separate bathing areas, so men and women split up, heading to separate changing rooms.
Men's side:
"What have you been busy with lately, Minato?"
"Besides executing missions, mainly training."
"Haha, I thought you'd be busy with romance!"
"Ah... w-well... a little bit!"
They undressed while chatting casually, wrapping towels around themselves as they headed toward the bath pool.
Jiraiya and Gai fell behind.
"Hey, kid, are you Kitagawa's disciple?"
Jiraiya asked quietly.
Gai scratched his head. "Not really, I suppose?"
"But Kitagawa-sensei said he'd teach me his own unique taijutsu—techniques he developed that are really amazing!"
Developed taijutsu?
Jiraiya glanced at Kitagawa ahead, muttering to himself. "What could be so amazing about taijutsu?"
The four men eased into the bath pool, submerging themselves comfortably with only their heads showing.
"By the way, Kitagawa, how'd you suddenly become a ninja academy teacher?"
Trying to prevent Kitagawa from asking him questions, Minato took the offensive instead.
"Ah, well..."
Kitagawa thought for a moment and smiled. "Probably because I realized my own abilities weren't sufficient, so I wanted to nurture students with greater potential."
Minato heard this and genuinely admired him. "Kitagawa, you'll definitely become an excellent teacher!"
Gai immediately shouted, "Teacher Kitagawa is the strongest, the best teacher!"
Kitagawa heard this and smiled warmly.
Jiraiya then joined in. "Hey, I'm the best and strongest teacher."
Gai looked confused. "Jiraiya-sama, were you also a ninja academy teacher?"
Jiraiya smiled. "Though I'm not a school teacher, Minato is my student."
"Gai, Minato must be stronger than you or any of Kitagawa's students, right?"
Gai went blank, unable to counter.
Minato found this laughable and awkward.
Kitagawa, however, immediately seized the key point and smiled. "Jiraiya-sama, that's not entirely fair."
"Gai is just a school student, while Minato is already graduated—nearly a ten-year age gap."
"Why doesn't Jiraiya-sama take on a student from the ninja academy and teach them, then compare with Gai?"
Minato looked at Kitagawa oddly.
That serious?
Jiraiya was also caught off-guard.
But he had no desire to teach any brat. He just wanted to rest a few days before finishing his first major work.
So Jiraiya immediately shook his head. "I don't have time to teach any kid right now."
Kitagawa looked a bit disappointed.
Jiraiya's eyes rolled, and he smiled. "But Minato could have a sparring match with you instead!"
Minato's eyes went wide. How did this turn on me?
He immediately shook his head. "I'm not qualified to take disciples yet, and I'm developing new techniques. I don't have the time or energy."
Developing new techniques?
Rasengan?
Kitagawa smiled. "We're just joking around. I've been making too many bets with Tsunade-sama lately—she's been influencing me."
Quick deflection!
He continued, "I've been developing new techniques too, which is taxing."
Jiraiya said, "I heard from this kid that you've already finished developing them?"
Kitagawa said, "Not just one. I'm envisioning a series."
A series?!
Jiraiya froze.
Even for taijutsu, isn't that a bit much? Or are they just simple technique variations?
Minato knew even less, so he was quite surprised. "A series?"
Kitagawa nodded, and Gai couldn't help saying proudly, "Teacher Kitagawa has already completed two techniques!"
Minato heard this and genuinely exclaimed, "That's amazing!"
Kitagawa said, "Just two movement techniques within the taijutsu category."
Gai cooperated perfectly. "I heard from Shizune that you defeated Tsunade-sama using the movement technique you developed, Teacher!"
"What?!"
Jiraiya's eyes went wide. He almost stood up, his disbelief evident.
Minato looked at Kitagawa in shock.
Though Tsunade was a medical ninja, her combat strength was no joke.
That terrifying power—absolutely unmatched in the ninja world. No one would dare take a punch from her.