With the enthusiastic farewells from the proprietress and several Onee-chans, Seiryū and Kurenai left the hot spring inn.
It was only a little past one in the afternoon.
They had originally planned to stay until evening, since soaking in the hot springs at night was the most comfortable and romantic.
However, because the proprietress and the Onee-chans had been overly enthusiastic, Kurenai didn't dare let Seiryū stay there any longer.
She was afraid he would be led astray.
Those adults were completely different from the girls in their class.
They were far too bold. The girls at school only looked for excuses to get close to Seiryū and chat.
But these adults would actually make physical moves.
They loved stroking Seiryū's head, and even she hadn't done that yet, so how could they?
If it were just patting his head, that would be one thing, but some of them even tried to hug him. It was simply too much.
Kurenai was angry, so after lunch, she dragged Seiryū away... As they walked, she was still fuming, "Hmph, Seiryū, you absolutely can't go to that hot spring inn again, understand?"
"Uh... okay!" Seiryū replied with a helpless chuckle, but still nodded. The little girl was in a bad mood.
To be honest, he had been a bit overwhelmed too... "Where are we going next? Home?"
Honestly, soaking in a hot spring every now and then was quite nice. Seiryū felt his body was completely relaxed.
If only the Onee-chans hadn't been so overly enthusiastic, they really could have stayed until evening.
Kurenai thought for a moment and shook her head. "I don't know. It feels like there's nowhere else to go."
Seiryū couldn't think of any places either and casually said, "Then let's just wander around a bit and go home when it's time."
Kurenai had no objections. "Alright."
The two of them strolled along, and before they knew it, they arrived at Training Ground Three.
The Konoha training grounds were public.
However, Training Ground Three was located near the Forest of Death, so very few people usually came here.
Most people preferred Training Ground One or Training Ground Two.
Buzz! Boom!
As soon as they got close, Seiryū heard a loud noise coming from the training ground. He looked over curiously.
He saw two people practicing Ninjutsu.
One had dazzling blond hair, and the other had long white hair down to his waist.
It was Minato and Jiraiya!
Seiryū thought to himself, Are they practicing the Rasengan?
After meeting Minato and Kushina, as expected, and likely because he had revealed that he possessed the Uzumaki Clan bloodline, over the past month, Seiryū had run into Minato and Kushina a few times, gradually getting closer.
From their casual conversations, he had heard Minato mention that he was developing a Ninjutsu, which must be the Rasengan.
He hadn't expected to come across them practicing it here... Kurenai also heard the noise and looked over. "Oh, it's Jōnin Minato. Is he training?"
She wasn't unfamiliar with Minato, having met him a few times alongside Seiryū. He was a Jōnin of Konoha.
In terms of looks, he could even compete with Seiryū.
Hmm, though she thought Seiryū would be even more handsome when he grew up!
But that white-haired person... Looking at Jiraiya, Kurenai blinked and asked suspiciously, "Seiryū, doesn't that white-haired guy seem familiar somehow?"
She just couldn't quite remember... "No." Seiryū didn't speak the truth. That person was one of the Sannin, after all, so he decided to give him some face.
He said, "Let's go. Jōnin Minato is practicing Ninjutsu. That's private. We shouldn't stay here and watch..."
Seiryū was indeed curious about the Rasengan, but now wasn't the right time. A shinobi practicing Ninjutsu was a very private matter.
There would be opportunities in the future.
Besides, Seiryū already knew the method for training the Rasengan.
It was far simpler than Lightning Release: Kirin. If he really wanted to, researching and developing the Rasengan on his own wouldn't be hard.
But it required the right moment. Not now.
In any case, his relationship with Minato and Kushina was solid, so he wasn't worried about missing the chance later.
"Oh." Kurenai naturally understood that, but her mind kept circling around something.
Where had she seen that white-haired person before?
Just as she took a step forward with Seiryū, her sharp mind suddenly recalled an image. She couldn't help but shout, "That's right, I remember now! It's that Peeping Tom!!"
She remembered.
Why did that white-haired guy look so familiar? Because she had seen him this morning. Wasn't he the Peeping Tom at the hot spring inn!?
Even though his clothes had changed a bit, that head of white hair was far too distinct.
And... now that she looked closer, even though his eyes weren't bruised, they still looked a little swollen!
Seiryū: "..."
How did this little girl's brain suddenly get so sharp?
Wasn't she usually a bit slow on the uptake?
Sorry, Pervy Sage. Looks like you won't need the future Naruto to give you a nickname. Kurenai already confirmed your identity...
Kurenai's shout also drew the attention of Minato and Jiraiya, who were in the middle of their training.
Both were powerful shinobi, and even within Konoha, they remained constantly alert.
Naturally, they wouldn't miss such a loud exclamation.
Jiraiya turned to look, and when he saw Seiryū and Kurenai, he froze. "Uh..."
Wasn't that the red-haired brat who punched him this morning? Peeping Tom... oh no, I've been recognized!
Minato also looked over in surprise. "Oh, it's Seiryū and Kurenai?"
Hearing this, Jiraiya glanced at his student, feeling a bit guilty. "Minato, you know them?"
Actually, Jiraiya had a very deep impression of Seiryū.
Although he had been careless, he did get punched by the kid... His eye socket still ached, and he had to cover the bruise with makeup... More importantly, could you believe the kid actually knew Tsunade's Monster Strength Fist!?
Minato nodded. "That's Shinku-senpai's daughter and... well, I guess his adopted son? Kurenai and Seiryū."
"Oh right, Seiryū is a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, just like Kushina."
Minato naturally told his teacher everything he knew.
The matter of Seiryū's Uzumaki bloodline had already been confirmed by the Sandaime Hokage. It was basically settled, only awaiting final proof.
"Shinku... Oh, him." At first, Jiraiya didn't react much, but he vaguely remembered Shinku.
"Hmm?" But hearing the next part, he was surprised. "You said that red-haired kid is a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan?"
He was quite familiar with the Uzumaki Clan.
Tsunade, one of the Sannin. His student's girlfriend, Kushina. And even his former student, Nagato. All were members of the Uzumaki Clan.
He knew quite a few Uzumaki.
He hadn't expected that the red-haired brat who punched him this morning was also a member of the Uzumaki Clan?
Wait, if that red-haired brat is part of the Uzumaki Clan, then that Monster Strength Fist... could it really have been taught by Tsunade?
He had been traveling outside the village and had only returned today. Could it be that Tsunade had taken on a student without him knowing?
Jiraiya voiced his suspicion. "Could he be Tsunade's student? When did she take on a disciple?"
Minato found his teacher's question odd and explained, "Seiryū isn't Tsunade-sama's student. She hasn't returned to the village for a long time. Why do you ask?"
Based on his teacher's tone, it didn't sound like he knew Seiryū or Kurenai.
But it seemed he had seen them before?
Wait, didn't Kurenai just shout "Peeping Tom"?
Could it be that his teacher... Sigh. Having a teacher like this was really exhausting.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)