At the intersection, Uchiha Tatsumi was currently hiding in the shade of a building.
He looked up—the sun was already scorching, casting bright light on the stone-paved road.
Uchiha Tatsumi had been waiting here for almost twenty minutes, but Kushina, who had agreed to meet him for tutoring, still hadn't shown up.
He sighed. Girls always take ages to get ready before heading out.
If I ever date in this world, I better factor in a 20-minute buffer.
"…She didn't get into trouble, right?" Uchiha Tatsumi frowned slightly. He remembered clearly from the manga: Kushina was once abducted by Hidden Cloud ninja.
He was just about to head toward Nawaki's place to ask if she'd seen Kushina when a rush of footsteps echoed down the road.
Tatsumi looked up. Kushina had finally arrived.
Today, she wore a sleek black training outfit, and her signature crimson hair was tied into a high ponytail.
Seeing him, she broke into a sunny grin.
"Sorry I'm late, Tatsumi! Tsunade-sensei held me back to lecture me on a few precautions!"
"Huh? You mean training precautions?" Tatsumi raised a brow.
Tsunade might be lazy, but she occasionally showed flashes of reliability.
Kushina pouted. "Nope… she went on for ten minutes about how to guard against weirdos."
Tatsumi coughed awkwardly. Hopefully she wasn't referring to me... probably not.
"Well, whatever. Let's get moving," he said, leading the way.
"Okay!"
Summer was in full swing, and the main street of Konoha bustled with activity—merchants, shinobi, and civilians flowed past them like a river.
"Wow, there are so many people here!" Kushina looked around in wonder, as though seeing the village anew.
"Kushina, haven't you explored Konoha before?" Tatsumi asked, half-curious.
She nodded shyly. "Not really. Lately, I've been learning some really complicated symbols and stuff from Grandma Mito, so I haven't had time to just wander."
Sealing techniques, Tatsumi thought. As expected of Uzumaki Mito's heir.
"And she let you out today?"
"I asked her yesterday if I could go train today. She said yes… and told me to enjoy myself."
Tatsumi nodded to himself. He didn't bother checking if ANBU were tailing her—he already knew they were.
Knowing too much about that sort of thing would only be trouble.
Soon, they approached a small food stall.
"Uncle Nagayama, two ice creams, please."
The old vendor chuckled. "Off to train again, eh, kid?"
"Yep."
Tatsumi handed one cone to Kushina.
"Ahh—this is so good!" Kushina beamed, savoring the cold sweetness. "I've never had anything this tasty before!"
Tatsumi watched her smile and felt a pang.
Because of the war, Uzushiogakure was destroyed. Kushina grew up surrounded by conflict… things like ice cream must've been rare.
War is truly terrifying. It can crush even the most spirited soul, drown the strongest hopes, and numb the kindest hearts.
He offered softly, "Once we're done with training, let me treat you to something even better."
"Really? Yay!" she perked up immediately.
After they left the commercial district, they jogged through the village. Tatsumi kept his pace slow so Kushina could keep up, but even then, she was struggling a little.
Eventually, they arrived at the small forest behind the Hokage Monument—Tatsumi's usual training spot.
"Huff… huff…"
Kushina was breathing heavily, bent over with her hands on her knees. Even with her above-average stamina, the summer heat and the run had taken a toll.
For Tatsumi, this was nothing special—just a light jog.
They rested under a tree. A soft breeze rustled the leaves, offering some relief from the heat.
Kushina tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. In the sunlight, her vibrant hair looked almost ethereal.
But she recovered quickly—thanks to her Uzumaki vitality.
"So," Tatsumi asked, "what do you want to train today?"
Kushina scratched her head, a little sheepish. "Umm… Can you teach me how you threw that kunai last time? It was so cool!"
"There's no problem with that," Tatsumi replied. He eyed her thoughtfully.
"…W-Why are you staring at me like that?" Kushina's face turned redder than her hair.
"Just checking your chakra control."
"You can see that?!"
"Nope, just messing with you." Tatsumi smirked.
"…"
"First off, I can't throw your kunai for you. That part takes your own effort," he said. "The real power of kunai throwing only shines when paired with Sharingan. But even without that, you can reach a solid level with practice."
Kushina looked a bit deflated.
"Let me put it this way—your strength lies elsewhere," Tatsumi continued. "Do you know where?"
Kushina tilted her head. "Where?"
"Your chakra reserves."
"Your chakra right now is probably greater than even Uncle Nishimura's, and he's a Chūnin. It's kind of ridiculous."
"But whether you want to use explosive taijutsu like Tsunade or learn ninjutsu, there's a hurdle you have to cross first: chakra control."
"Chakra control is the foundation of ninjutsu and almost everything else. Everyone starts off equally clumsy. Some people are born with small chakra pools and naturally develop precise control. You, though, have a ton of chakra—and that makes control harder."
"I'm not saying you need perfect control. But it has to reach a certain baseline."
He walked toward a nearby tree and, with practiced ease, began walking up the trunk vertically using the soles of his feet. When he reached a certain height, he jumped down lightly.
"Gather chakra at your feet, focus it steadily to generate strong adhesion—and you can walk up trees. This exercise is great for chakra control."
"Once you've got that down, I'll teach you the next step."