Chapter 20 Protecting Yamato

The members of the Senju clan had mostly relocated to the Land of Fire. The remaining ones had spread out and integrated into various families in Konoha.

Within the clan's territory, besides Tsunade and Yamato, only a few elderly Senju persistently stayed there, creating an atmosphere that was ancient and desolate.

"Sis, I'm back!"

Yamato excitedly returned home carrying two books.

"Oh, you're back."

Tsunade didn't seem to want to pay him much attention, lost in memories of the previous night, a faint smile on her lips.

Feeling dissatisfied, Yamato quietly walked to Tsunade's side and shouted into her ear:

"Hey! I'm back——!"

With a light thump, Yamato covered his head with both hands, tears welling up, as he squatted down.

"You little punk, how are your classes going? I found the best teacher in Konoha for you."

Tsunade asked with a slight lean on her recliner.

"I actually wanted to call brother-in-law," seeing Tsunade's threatening gaze, he earnestly replied, "Teacher Hanma is very nice. He gave me two books and told me to study them seriously."

"He also said he'd prepare an S-rank forbidden technique for me, and if I understand these two books, he would teach it to me in the future!"

Tsunade was puzzled. A student from the ninja academy learning an S-rank forbidden technique, what does that mean?

Looking at the books in Yamato's hands, a large question mark seemed to appear above Tsunade's head.

"The Past and Present of Explosive Tags."

"How to Use Explosive Tags Effectively."

And there was an author's name that left her speechless: Wandering Hanzo. Could it really be the Hanzo of the Salamander?

And what did explosive tags mean? Was he to become a ninja craftsman? That didn't seem too bad.

Tsunade thought oddly.

Konoha Park.

Minato and Kushina sat under the shade of a tree, holding juices and each reading a book, studying together.

From Minato's focused expression, it was clear he was deeply engrossed.

S-rank Ninjutsu — Flying Thunder God Technique.

He, Namikaze Minato, aged 13, understood.

Kushina was also looking at the essentials of taijutsu written by Hanma, reading with great interest. Occasionally her face would tighten seriously as she nodded, marking in the book.

This was truly a model of mutual learning among top students!

If Yamato saw this, he would definitely feel extremely embarrassed. Yamato would never admit that he was nearly beaten by Tsunade for not studying.

Minato sighed lightly, scratching his head. He had been studying this mark for a long time but still couldn't understand it.

Kushina leaned over, looking at the large mark Minato had circled and understood slightly.

"It seems familiar?"

Her eyes suddenly brightened. She patted Minato and said, "This mark, Granny Mito taught it to me!"

"This is a Dual Element Seal, generally used for fixing spaces. This one is a Flame Seal, used to seal chakra."

"For this mark, you can use the Five Elements Seal to cover it."

Kushina, who had been taught by Mito Uzumaki, was extremely familiar with various seals and explained the pre-requisite techniques needed for Flying Thunder God to Minato in detail.

To learn the Flying Thunder God technique, one must first understand the various small seals that make up the Flying Thunder God mark, have a sense of space, and only then start to get into it.

Just getting started required a vast knowledge of sealing techniques, spatial awareness, large-scale chakra sensing, and ample chakra.

The threshold of the Flying Thunder God technique definitely wasn't lower than that of the Mangekyō Sharingan or Sage Mode; it was a technique that could only be learned by geniuses with absolute talent.

Bloodline and talent, in this ninja world, were essential for the strong.

As Kushina's explanation continued, Minato's eyes grew brighter. He had already touched that seemingly unreachable threshold.

Uchiha Compound, Number 2 Courtyard.

Though they were both extraordinarily talented, history had definitely been altered with his powerful influence.

In the ninja world, geniuses were never in short supply; what was lacking were geniuses who survived.

Having resources, bloodline, opportunities, and a diligent heart were all required to become a kage-level powerhouse.

Hanma was very satisfied with Minato's tactical literacy in combat; he was cautious yet bold. Such a ninja was bound to have a bright future.

On the other hand, Yamato and Kushina were impulsive. As ninjas, their personalities still had a bit of innocence that needed correction.

He needed them to realize their own weaknesses and understand the fragile nature of being a ninja.

In the original story, Yamato got killed by explosive tags. In fact, most genin died like this—blundering onto the battlefield, feeling overconfident from a few jutsus they had mastered, and then getting killed by simple explosive tag traps, ninja tools, or even an animal trap.

Ninjas below the rank of jounin, in some respects, were less lethal than a fully armed mercenary.

The battle power divide among ninjas in this world was extremely severe.

Hanma's ears twitched as he heard familiar footsteps.

Tsunade walked in, gave him an affectionate kiss, and picked up the lesson plan written by Hanma to read.

Hanma looked at Tsunade, contemplating her strength. In fact, she had a lot of room for improvement.

Tsunade's sealing abilities were absolutely solid, with both Senju and Uzumaki blood in her. She inherited the Strength of a Hundred Seal and even created the phenomenal jutsu "Creation Rebirth."

She also had the most friendly of sage summonings at Shikkotsu Forest, was highly skilled in medical ninjutsu, and had exceptional chakra control.

In terms of potential, she was undoubtedly a candidate for kage-level, combining Sage Mode with the Strength of a Hundred Seal, and even opening the Eight Inner Gates. Such power-packed punches would be something few in the ninja world could withstand.

But eventually, because of emotional and personal losses, she completely fell into despair, becoming a chakra battery for her village.

Hanma squinted at his girlfriend, realizing she was so strong.

Suddenly, he thought of himself and felt a sense of crisis. What if, in the future, he—a master of taijutsu—couldn't withstand a punch from his own girlfriend? That would be quite amusing.

"Ahem—"

Hanma signaled Tsunade, who was still reading the lesson plan, and explained:

"I had Yamato study explosive tags to make him understand that he's still very fragile."

"War is ruthless; he must recognize his own shortcomings and lose his playful attitude."

"To become a great ninja, I believe being able to fight is secondary; what's important is being able to withstand hits and run away."

Tsunade raised her beautiful eyebrows slightly, implying, "Aren't you talking about yourself?"

Hanma unabashedly nodded.

Then, he proudly explained his theory on resilience.

To sum it up, ninjas are too fragile. You either toughen up your health bar or run fast enough.

Obviously, Hanma was a master of this path—strong, fast, and resistant to control—one of the hardest types of ninjas to deal with.

The essence of this style was: if you make a mistake, you die; if I make a mistake, I'll just be more careful next time.

Tsunade, surprisingly, listened to this theory, furrowed her brow, and thought, "Besides you, this also sounds like Orochimaru."

Hanma's eyes brightened at this. Orochimaru was still rather open-minded at this stage.

After training Yamato well, he could send him to Orochimaru for further guidance.

Learning Orochimaru's replacement techniques, body transformation—things like that—had to ensure stability.

For the safety of this impulsive brother-in-law, Hanma was really racking his brains and putting in hard work.