"Sorry, Kushina. You lost."
With a clean, decisive strike, Seikyū Hikaru ended their spar.
Though Uzumaki Kushina had a massive chakra pool—far beyond the average student—she had no idea how to properly use it. Born with the blessings of the Uzumaki clan, she had refined her chakra from an early age, but that alone didn't translate into combat ability.
Not without jutsu.
And right now, her only specialty was sealing arts.
Elemental ninjutsu? She hadn't learned any yet. She'd need to study under Mito-sama before she could even begin.
So despite her vast chakra, she couldn't leverage it.
In terms of pure hand-to-hand combat…
Hikaru—trained daily by a former jōnin like Yakushi Ten—could effortlessly overpower someone like her, who barely had any martial foundation to speak of.
Unless Kushina pulled out some surprise sealing technique mid-fight, this was never going to end any other way.
DING! Defeated opponent. Material dropped: Kagura Mind's Eye (Blue).DING! Defeated opponent. Special Material dropped: Nine-Tails Chakra Fragment ×1.
Hikaru's eyes lit up.
Kagura Mind's Eye?!
That was a secret sensory technique from the Uzumaki clan. No wonder she had it. Considering her background—and the fact that Namikaze Minato would later master Reaper Death Seal—it was clear that Kushina had passed on a lot of sealing knowledge.
If Kushina had mastered Kagura Mind's Eye, then she definitely had more to offer.
And the more jutsu she knew, the more materials he could farm.
The higher the rank of the jutsu, the better the material tier.
If I could ever farm something like the Reaper Death Seal…
At minimum, that would be a purple-tier item.
Of course, that was a dream.
Kushina likely hadn't learned such a complex jutsu yet. Given her age, Kagura Mind's Eye might already be pushing the limit of what she could know.
Besides, the system's rules were clear:
Normal materials could only drop from abilities the opponent actually possessed.
If they didn't know it, it wouldn't drop. No exceptions.
So as amazing as Reaper Death Seal would be, if she hadn't learned it, it was off the table.
Still… this was a great pull.
Kagura Mind's Eye as a blue material had a high potential synthesis return. Maybe he could get a high-grade sensory ability, or even push it to purple if luck struck again.
And then—there was the real prize.
A special material.
Even if it was just one fragment, it was still Nine-Tails Chakra.
Just the name alone made his blood pump.
Sure, it was only a piece.
Sure, collecting ten would be a pain.
But still…
Nine-Tails Chakra.
What if—someday—he could collect chakra from all nine beasts?
Add in the Gedo Statue…
Could he forge the Ten-Tails?
Or maybe even… synthesize the True Chakra Fruit?
It was far off. Way too far to chase seriously.
He'd need to defeat actual jinchūriki to gather that kind of material. Aside from Killer Bee, most of them were protected or sealed away.
Even Gaara?
His father Rasa was only four years older than Hikaru. By the time Gaara was born, Hikaru might already be strong enough to punch a tailed beast himself.
So, this drop was an anomaly.
A one-in-a-million chance because Kushina, as the future Nine-Tails jinchūriki, already had traces of that chakra within her.
But still—it was a huge win.
"Wow, you're really strong, Hikaru."
Kushina wasn't discouraged in the slightest. She smiled brightly despite her defeat.
"I'm not that strong," Hikaru said humbly. "If I went up against the orphanage director, I wouldn't last three moves."
That wasn't modesty. It was a fact.
Even with one leg, Yakushi Ten was still a former jōnin. Against him, Hikaru wouldn't stand a chance.
Kushina nodded. "Well, of course! A jōnin's no joke. But one day, I'll be even stronger."
"I'm gonna be the first female Hokage!"
She said it with the kind of confidence that made people believe her.
Hikaru gave her a gentle smile.
"To become Hokage, you'll need strength. And to get stronger… we should train together."
Kushina's eyes lit up again. "Okay!"
After that, Hikaru introduced her to tree climbing and water walking—basic chakra control exercises that were still advanced for Academy students.
Kushina was amazed. She'd never seen anything like it.
He demonstrated.
She tried.
And failed.
Again and again.
But each time she slipped and fell, Hikaru caught her. He guided her, taught her how to control the flow of chakra, how to distribute it evenly through her feet.
It was exhausting—but fun.
Kushina didn't mind the failures. She was having too much fun to care.
And Hikaru?
He didn't mind at all. Watching her fail, helping her back up… it was all part of the plan.
Letting her train while he farmed.
By the end of the day, Kushina had finally reached the treetop.
Her face was flushed with pride.
"Hikaru, let's train again tomorrow!"
"Of course," he said, smiling.
This was exactly what he wanted.
Why didn't he train himself?
Because he didn't need to.
Spar once, farm the right materials, synthesize the right items… and boom—he'd surpass months of hard work in hours.
Forget slow grinding.
Smart grinding was where it was at.
Kushina was his perfect training partner.
He wouldn't abuse it. That would drive her away.
But a little sparring every day?
That was just right.
A steady stream of special materials, farmed over time.
He didn't need to kill the chicken for a golden egg.
He'd just collect those eggs—every single day.
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