---
Just then, both Kushina and Megumi returned to where they were.
Kushina was not surprised to see both Minato and the Third Hokage in the room.
"*Sigh*," she breathed in.
"What's going on here, old man?" Kushina reverted back to her old self as she sensed a murderous intent outside her house.
She had already figured out that it was the Nine-Tails' chakra that would make the old man visit her.
The Third Hokage drew a puff from his smoking pipe before speaking. "I hope all is well, Kushina. We were informed that you were losing control, which is why we came to check on you."
As he spoke, his eyes never left Megumi. According to the report, the Nine-Tails' chakra had been surrounding him, but here he was, fine, and the Nine-Tails was gone.
"Okay, you can leave now. I'm trying to teach my student about sealing techniques, and he's a great learner, so don't worry everything is under control."
Kushina couldn't let Hiruzen take Megumi away, as she could see he had the same look in his eyes that she'd seen before. But she had just called Megumi her student, so what was he going to do about that?
"When did he become your student?" Sarutobi was puzzled when he heard that.
*This boy has been living under your roof, and his stay hasn't even been a full day yet, but now you're telling me he's become your student? How? Tell me.* He thought this as he struggled to find the right words to say.
Minato was also surprised that Kushina and this boy, who had still been having disagreements last night, were now teacher and student. And why had the Nine-Tails' chakra tried to engulf Megumi and not Kushina?
"Lord Third, I think you shouldn't worry. I'll get you the report," Minato said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Okay, stay safe, Kushina," Sarutobi said as he walked to the door before Minato teleported him away with the Flying Raijin.
She sensed that the killing intent was gone and there was no strange chakra except from Kakashi.
She set up a barrier that would block eavesdropping because she wanted to ask some sensitive questions.
"So now it's you and me. How about you tell me how it's possible you have two kekkei genkai without the support of chakra?"
She knew that she hadn't sensed a drop of chakra from him, yet he could know people's names. And as an Uzumaki, she knew that you needed chakra or natural energy to use a kekkei genkai.
"I use something called cursed energy," he replied.
Kushina's mouth twitched after Megumi said that. "Huh, what is cursed energy? I've never heard of that."
She didn't expect him to talk, but he said something she'd never heard of, making her think he was playing tricks on her.
Megumi knew that it might sound like he was lying, but he would tell her.
"You see, cursed energy... You can think of it like emotional pollution. It's born from negative human emotions like anger, fear, sadness, and regret."
"Is that all? You'd better not hide a single thing about it. What I showed you you saw that even the Hokage came to check on us, so don't you dare try to cheat me."
Kushina could tell that there were more things to cursed energy than what this brat was letting on.
"Okay, what do you want to know?"
Megumi asked with a smile because that would help him talk less while he thought.
"What is the difference between cursed energy and chakra, and tell me all the hidden mechanics in them."
Megumi's smile faded away quickly as he realized he would have to keep explaining, even though he didn't know everything about cursed energy and how he was going to explain all the hidden conspiracies.
"Well, cursed energy is different from chakra in a lot of ways. One: you can't increase your cursed energy reserve once you're born, unlike chakra, which grows as you train and mature."
"Two: the moment you start using cursed energy, you'll have an innate technique which you can't have the same abilities as someone else. Unlike chakra, where you only have five elements or rather seven, if I'm including Yin and Yang."
"Three: cursed energy can be used to infuse body parts like chakra, and on weapons as well."
"Four: there are three techniques that make chakra look like a joke."
Megumi finished talking and looked up, only to see Kushina grinning like a butcher eyeing a fat sheep on his table.
"Okay, continue and tell me what those moves are." Kushina couldn't believe there were more things she wasn't aware of.
"One is called Domain , the second one is called Reverse Cursed Technique, and..."
Megumi would rather be beaten to a pulp than say the last one.
"And what?!" Kushina now knew that Megumi not saying it meant it was either a powerful technique or a dangerous one.
"What you're giving me right now doesn't compare to what I gave you, young man." Kushina would do anything to know the last one.
Megumi knew that he had nowhere to go and he was powerless until next week. "It's called a Binding Vow."
Kushina was speechless. Was this what he was hiding? And what was a Binding Vow? She couldn't guess it.
"What is a Binding Vow?" she asked.
"We should talk about the first two, then we'll get to that." Megumi pushed the question away.
"Okay. Domain is the ultimate move of a sorcerer. It's when they unleash their full cursed energy to create a pocket dimension that's totally under their control. Inside this domain, their attacks are guaranteed to hit, and they can make the environment work for them to traps, amplified abilities, you name it. Think of it like bringing your enemies to your house where everything is under your control."
"Every sorcerer's domain is unique to them, reflecting their cursed technique and personality. For example, me . I have a shadow technique, so my domain is guaranteed to be a shadow domain."
Kushina was shocked. That was a dangerous ability that could overturn the shinobi world.
She leaned in closer to Megumi, covering her mouth. "Can you use it now? Is that summoning your innate technique?"
Megumi shook his head. "No, I can't unless I'm fully awakened. And yes, the summoning is my innate technique."
"Okay, can you talk about the Reverse Cursed Technique you mentioned now?" Kushina said as she devoted her full attention to learning about cursed techniques.
---
