"…It's nothing."
Uchiha Haru suddenly lowered her head like a startled quail.
"Alright, alright. If you won't say it, then fine."
Kushina Uzumaki still wore that same mysterious smile.
If Yuki Seisui had heard what Uchiha Haru said, he might've sensed the deep malice of the old, wicked Uchiha bloodline.
"If you like someone, then love them."
Right... losing love triggers the Mangekyo, huh?
What a naturally twisted Uchiha ghost!
After school, as a particularly rude classmate glanced at him in terror, Yuki gave him a meaningful smile and pointed toward the school gate.
Then he left, just like that.
Ambushing someone after school? Nah, he wasn't that childish.
But giving him a scare? That, he could do.
"You really have a twisted sense of humor," Minato said, walking beside him, clearly speechless.
"Well, he did say he was super brave," Yuki shrugged. "I'm just doing him a favor."
"If he keeps throwing that phrase around, he's bound to get what's coming to him eventually."
Minato didn't buy it. "You're just messing with him for fun."
"But hey, finals are coming up."
"Yeah, vacation's just around the corner," Yuki nodded in agreement.
Finally, break time was near.
"But I heard Shikaku and the others are going to do some special training on their own," Minato said.
"Right, they're practicing their clan techniques. Plus, they have to train under adult supervision."
"No, what I meant was…" Yuki sighed dramatically, "I won't be able to earn money from those three anymore."
A bit behind them, Kushina and Uchiha Haru both wore the same exasperated expression.
Seriously, what kind of person is this guy?
"What do you even need all that money for?!" Kushina snapped.
"It's not like you have anything to spend it on!"
"You don't get it," Yuki rolled his eyes. "Go play with your precious Minato."
"Brat."
Kushina flared up. "Bastard! You're the brat here!"
Yuki ignored her tantrum and turned to Minato and Haru. "Wanna have a thrilling, heart-pounding, adrenaline-fueled, R-rated showdown?"
"I'm teaming up with Haru!" Kushina jumped in right away.
"Nope."
Yuki shook his head and scoffed. "You're too weak. Minato and I are the strongest here. I'll team up with Haru, and you pair with Minato. That way, it's a fair fight."
"You damn bastard, Yuki Seisui!" Kushina rolled up her sleeves. "I'll show you just how strong the Uzumaki clan really is!"
Yuki just shook his head. "No one's denying the Uzumaki are powerful."
He paused, then added, "Born with massive chakra reserves, incredible vitality, exceptional sensory abilities, unmatched healing, and mastery of sealing techniques."
"That's impressive."
He sighed. "But… do you know any sealing techniques?"
Kushina immediately fell silent, unable to retort.
"I'll start learning sealing tomorrow!" she barked back. "And when I do, I'll seal your entire house!"
"Even if I teamed up with Minato, I can still wipe the floor with you!"
"Really? I don't believe it."
Soon, the group arrived at their secret training base. For the next two to three months, it would just be the four of them training here.
Well, to be accurate, three and a half.
After today's humiliation, Kushina was determined to start learning sealing techniques first thing tomorrow.
Uchiha Haru, on the other hand, showed up without fail every day.
Just like Minato.
But Yuki couldn't shake the feeling… that Haru had a bit of a thing for him.
"Dueling Grounds!"
Yuki made a grasping motion in the air, and in the blink of an eye, the scenery around them shifted into a vast, empty battlefield.
No matter how many times they experienced it, the sight was always awe-inspiring.
One blink, one breath, and suddenly they were standing in an endless arena.
The sheer scale was breathtaking.
Yuki didn't give them much time to recover. A three-second countdown appeared in midair.
As soon as it hit zero, Uchiha Haru activated her Sharingan, two jet-black tomoe swirling in crimson eyes.
"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"
This was the illusion technique of the Sharingan.
A single tomoe allowed the user to perceive and anticipate an opponent's movements.
With two tomoe, the Sharingan gained hypnotic capabilities, basic genjutsu to manipulate and distract enemies.
In theory, the two-tomoe Sharingan could replicate techniques and strengthen illusion-based attacks.
With three tomoe, all of that would be amplified.
Just a brief moment of eye contact with Minato was enough, he froze, dazed.
That was the power of the Sharingan's genjutsu: it forced the target into their deepest fears, paralyzing their body with mental overload.
But Minato wasn't completely under. He broke free after a few seconds, though he was panting hard, clearly, it hadn't been easy.
Kushina looked at him with concern.
"You okay?"
Minato shook his head. "I'm fine. No big deal."
Watching the exchange, Yuki smiled and gave Haru a thumbs-up.
"That genjutsu was seriously strong!"
Haru smirked, clearly pleased with herself.
"We've got our work cut out for us," Minato said, pulling out two special tri-pronged kunai from his pouch, one held forward, the other in a reverse grip. His face was dead serious.
"But I'm not backing down!"
"Minato, let's dance."
Yuki summoned two shadow clones. His real body placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, crouching like a spring compressed to its limit, ready to explode into action.
"Iaijutsu: Water Severing Strike!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Haru cast a fireball toward Kushina as the two clones unleashed wind-style jutsu from both flanks.
It wasn't ideal. Fog-based or vision-blocking jutsu would've been better.
Too bad he didn't know any.
He didn't even know any mid-to-long-range water jutsu, just Water Prison, which was close-range only.
Tragic.
Minato effortlessly dodged the wind attacks. After getting beaten up by Yuki so many times, he had a solid read on his fighting style.
But just as he was about to charge forward, several shuriken flew out from within the fireball aimed at Kushina.
On the other side, Haru smiled faintly, thin chakra threads danced from her fingers.
This was the Uchiha clan's famous shuriken manipulation technique.
"You jerks! Ignoring me like I'm not even here!"
Kushina shouted angrily and charged straight at Haru.
Just like a young Naruto, she didn't know many jutsu, but with her Uzumaki body and sheer stamina, she was no pushover.
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