Days passed one after another, and the Three Body Technique was slowly being learned; everything was as usual.
However, Yueshu recently solidified his position as Konoha's top genius.
After the Kushina incident, the Ninja School's practical combat courses steadily increased. Because of this, Minato Namikaze and Yueshu's sparring sessions became more frequent. It was also due to this that Yueshu managed to solidify his position as Konoha's top genius.
How did he solidify it? It was simple: Yueshu never lost a single match against Minato Namikaze, even crushing him, and this happened more than once.
Gradually, Yueshu's position as Konoha's top genius became firmly established.
However, it was also fortunate that Minato Namikaze was not an ordinary person; even after being defeated repeatedly, Minato would not admit defeat and would always stand up resolutely, never choosing to give up and abandon his climb to the top. This also led to Minato Namikaze's strength being somewhat greater than in the original work, at least at this current time.
During this period, Yueshu also cultivated in an orderly manner. After the Kushina incident, Konoha's defenses temporarily strengthened, and spies from outside were rooted out one by one. Konoha also became much more peaceful, and Yueshu's system did not appear again.
Kushina, however, had undergone some changes. Both Yueshu and Minato Namikaze had little contact with peers due to their training and had no friends, but Kushina recently found a female peer, and their relationship has been steadily improving.
Yueshu was also somewhat curious, and after extracting some information, he learned the girl's identity.
Uchiha Mikoto, the girl Kushina had recently befriended, had medium-length black hair and, unlike Kushina, possessed a gentle personality and a soft, somewhat introverted appearance.
Yueshu was slightly surprised when he found out about Uchiha Mikoto.
Why? It's simple.
That's the mother of Sasuke, how could he not be surprised?
However, in the original work, Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto were indeed best friends; he just hadn't expected them to only be meeting now.
School was as usual, but things at home had changed somewhat; Yueshu could feel Tsunade's transformation.
Normally, when he returned home, he would always see Tsunade leisurely lying or sitting and drinking tea, but recently, he rarely saw Tsunade, and even Shizune, who always followed Tsunade, didn't know Tsunade's whereabouts.
However, Yueshu didn't think too much about it; he just assumed Tsunade was on a mission. As one of the Sannin, Tsunade was a top Ninja even with her hemophobia, so having some missions was quite normal.
Another day of classes ended. When Yueshu walked home, Tsunade was already there. She was sitting leisurely, drinking the tea Shizune had brewed, just like before.
"What's been going on lately? I haven't seen you much."
Yueshu asked Tsunade while tying his apron. He and Shizune took turns cooking, which saved Shizune too much trouble, and Yueshu was quite interested in cooking.
"Something came up."
Tsunade took a small sip of tea, exhaling a warm breath.
"Is it big?"
"In a sense, it's quite big."
"Is that so? Remember to be careful."
Yueshu showed some symbolic concern and prepared to start cooking.
"Yueshu, let me ask you a question."
Tsunade's voice began to grow a little more serious, but Yueshu didn't notice it; instead, he had already picked up the kitchen knife and started chopping vegetables.
"What?"
"Do you know the First Hokage?"
"Of course! The founder of Konoha Village, a legendary Ninja known as the God of Shinobi."
"Then do you know the First Hokage's unique Bloodline Limit?"
"Wood Release, right? Even a three-year-old knows that."
Tsunade and Yueshu spoke back and forth, chatting casually as usual, though the topic was somewhat different.
"Then."
"You should know that no one from the Senju Clan has awakened Wood Release since the First Hokage, right?"
The sound of chopping vegetables abruptly stopped, and the scene instantly fell silent.
"I know."
A moment later, Yueshu's voice came from the kitchen.
Yueshu continued chopping vegetables, but this time he slowed down. He sensed the probing in Tsunade's words.
"Is that so?"
"What if, and I mean if, you could use Wood Release like the First Hokage, what would you think?"
Tsunade's voice came from outside, and Yueshu understood some of what she meant.
Perhaps it wasn't exposure yet, but Yueshu had definitely been noticed.
"I'd be really happy, I guess. After all, that's the First Hokage's Bloodline Limit, the God of Shinobi's Bloodline Limit. Just thinking about it is exciting."
Yueshu's voice was somewhat excited, but the next moment it calmed down.
"But I don't have any grand ambitions. Even with Wood Release, I wouldn't do much. After all, I'm just a guy who wants to open a small shop and live a leisurely life, unlike those who want to be Hokage."
"That's Wood Release, you know."
"I know. So what?"
Tsunade listened to Yueshu's words, his tone calm and even, not like a young boy, but rather like an old man, without any drive.
"You really are like an old man, I don't know who you learned that from."
Tsunade complained helplessly.
"Well, these are just my normal thoughts. Being Hokage or whatever, it's too much trouble. Managing so many things, maybe after becoming Hokage, you won't even have time to go home, just dealing with documents all day."
"And then, because of that, the family isn't harmonious, and the son has a bad relationship with you. Even on a holiday, you might suddenly have to go back to work overtime. That's too tiring."
Yueshu spoke sentence by sentence, leaving Tsunade utterly bewildered.
"Hey, hey, it's not that bad, is it? That's the Hokage, a position everyone wants, but in your mouth, it's become such a miserable job."
Tsunade smiled a little. What Yueshu said indeed made her want to laugh. The glorious Hokage, representing Konoha's strongest Ninja, was described by Yueshu as being so miserable. Hiruzen Sarutobi, her teacher, would probably spit blood if he heard it.
"Well, anyway, it's for various reasons. Being Hokage isn't that great; it's better to open a small shop and live a leisurely life."
Yueshu's voice, mixed with the sound of chopping vegetables, came out, and the atmosphere between Tsunade and Yueshu returned to how it was before.
"You really are a strange kid."
"Maybe, but I don't dislike myself like this. Peace is the best; fighting all the time is meaningless."
"Haha, indeed."
Tsunade laughed, taking another sip of her tea.
The sunlight outside slowly faded, and night gradually crept in, with the aroma of food quietly wafting from the kitchen.
"Peace, huh."
Tsunade looked outside.
"Wow, it smells so good! Is Yueshu cooking today? I've been looking forward to it for ages."
Shizune's energetic voice came from outside. The door opened and closed, and another dark figure appeared in the living room.
"Shizune, come help me serve."
"Coming, coming!"
The aroma wafted out, high and far, evoking pleasant feelings. Every word at the dining table floated with the aroma, then slowly passed with the day.
Trees that should grow will naturally grow, and flowers that should bloom will blossom with the seasons; everything repeats itself—