"Teacher, there is something I want to discuss with you."
During dinner, Minato said to Tsunade, "For the next few days, I plan to let a Wood Clone go to school in my place."
Tsunade found it a bit strange: "Is something the matter?"
"Regarding Wood Release, except for some large-scale Ninjutsu, I've almost finished learning everything. I plan to start cultivating Light Release tomorrow."
Minato explained, "However, the ability of Light Release is very special. Only the main body can perform it, so there's no way to use a Clone for cultivation."
"Only the main body can use it?"
Tsunade showed a look of doubt; it was her first time hearing of a Clone being unable to use a Bloodline Limit ability, but she didn't doubt the truth of Minato's words.
She indeed hadn't seen Minato's Clones use Light Release, whether they were Shadow Clones or Wood Clones.
Furthermore, this ability was indeed very special. Although it was called Light Release, judging from the fact that it was released directly using physical strength alone, this ability, strictly speaking, was not within the Chakra system.
So in this regard, she really couldn't help Minato with anything; he could only rely on himself to develop it.
"Very well."
After thinking for a moment, Tsunade nodded happily. "This way, I won't have to wake up early every day to take you to school~"
"So Sister Tsunade was only picking us up and dropping us off for Minato's sake?" Kushina suddenly felt like her feelings had been misplaced.
"Of course~"
Tsunade acted as if it were only natural. "Have you heard of Wood Release?"
"I've heard of it. I remember it was the First Hokage's Bloodline Limit."
Kushina was puzzled. "Is there a problem? Konoha should have many users, right?"
"Not at all!"
Tsunade shook her head, her tone complex. "General Bloodline Limits are indeed inherited by descendants, but Wood Release is different. Since my grandfather passed away, Wood Release hasn't appeared in Konoha for many years."
"For certain reasons, the power of Wood Release is extremely important to Konoha. And Minato not only possesses Wood Release, but also another Bloodline Limit, as well as a Physique as strong and a Chakra as vast as my grandfather's."
"Therefore, even if I die, nothing can happen to Minato!"
"Is it really like that?"
Kushina stared blankly at Minato.
With such talent, it was no wonder Sister Tsunade had been showing off so much before.
"I didn't expect you to be so incredible?"
Kushina's tone was full of wonder. "Two types of Bloodline Limits!"
"It's alright..."
Minato looked at Tsunade. "By the way, speaking of Wood Release, I've had some conjectures during this time."
"Go on."
Tsunade's interest was immediately piqued; she was curious about what Minato could have researched.
"I think that Wood Release, in addition to the Nature Transformation of Water and Earth Chakra, also requires the support of extremely strong vitality. In fact, to a certain extent, it can be viewed as an alternative type of Bloodline Selection."
"What?!"
Hearing this, Tsunade suddenly sat up straight. "How do you know?"
Minato explained, "My Physique is very strong; I can heal quickly even if I'm injured. Teacher, you said the First's Physique was also very powerful. I don't think this is a coincidence."
"In the Senju Clan's Ninjutsu scrolls, the most common are Water Release and Earth Release. It's clear that in history, people with these two types of Nature Transformation were not few, yet hardly anyone could combine them into Wood Release."
"I think something must be missing—something unperceivable and easily overlooked. Some things that happened later during my cultivation process made me more certain of this conjecture."
Tsunade swallowed hard, unable to hide her excitement. "What things?"
"Part of the First's Wood Release was split off from his body by stimulating the mutation of cells within his body."
Minato recalled the day he first learned Wood Release Ninjutsu and continued, "My Shadow Clones cannot use this type of Ninjutsu, but Wood Clones can. From this, it's evident that Wood Release, besides the Water and Earth Chakra attributes, also has a certain connection with the user's body."
"Additionally, something else I discovered later is that if the same Chakra is used to release the same Ninjutsu, the Wood Release released by a Shadow Clone is far less powerful in terms of both might and suppression than that of a Wood Clone."
"In other words, without support from sufficiently strong vitality, even if one could truly awaken or synthesize Wood Release, its power would likely not be very ideal."
"Is that how it is?" Tsunade's expression was complex.
Minato didn't know that since the First passed away, Konoha had been researching his body's cells, hoping to reproduce Wood Release. Even she had researched Hashirama cells.
Precisely because of this, Tsunade was very aware of how abnormal the vitality of Hashirama cells was, which indirectly proved that Minato's conjecture was correct.
"How big is the gap between them?"
"In terms of power, the Shadow Clone is only half as strong as the Wood Clone, and its suppression is only a quarter of the Wood Clone's."
"The gap is actually that large..." Tsunade's brow furrowed slightly.
Strong vitality indicated that one was born with powerful Yang Release Chakra. As a portion of Chakra split from the main body, a Shadow Clone naturally also possessed Yang Release attributes.
If there was such a large gap even with Chakra from the same source, the gap between an ordinary person and Minato would likely be even greater.
"In other words, even if I could synthesize Wood Release, because of the difference in Physique, I wouldn't be able to reach your level of power, Minato?"
Nawaki was a bit blunt, but he wasn't stupid; he quickly understood what Minato meant.
"Likely so, but I think you should still give it a try, Nawaki."
Minato nodded. "After all, it is a Bloodline Limit; it's definitely stronger than a single attribute. Even if the suppression is slightly worse, it's sufficient for combat."
This thing was used to suppress Tailed Beasts. Yamato's Wood Release was only a fifth as powerful as the First's, yet he was considered outstanding among Jonin and could even suppress Naruto's Tailed Beast transformation to a certain extent.
"I see..."
Nawaki's tone was faint, and he didn't have any feelings of jealousy; he had already grown accustomed to being outshined.
"In a sense, you're also quite unlucky, kid."
Tsunade chuckled. "Whether it's Wood Release or Light Release, no one can teach you anything; you can only grope your way through it bit by bit."
"It's fine. According to the records in the scrolls, many of the First's Wood Release techniques were also self-created."
Minato didn't mind these things. Compared to functional Ninjutsu, attribute-based Ninjutsu was relatively simpler.
"So that means starting tomorrow, I can only go to school with a Wood Clone?"
Kushina pouted. "It feels a bit weird."
Nawaki was suddenly taken aback. "Wait, if that's the case, if I can learn the Shadow Clone, can I also let a Clone go to school for me?"
"You go to school properly for me!"
Tsunade raised her hand and knocked on Nawaki's head, making a soft 'thud' sound.
"Ouch!"
Nawaki rubbed his head, feeling indignant. "Why is it that Minato can use a Clone to skip class?"
"Listen carefully. Although Shadow Clones are convenient, they have the drawback of accumulated fatigue. Minato has a powerful Physique and recovery power comparable to my grandfather's, so he can withstand it."
Tsunade warned seriously, "But with an ordinary person's Physique, it's impossible to completely recover overnight. Fatigue that cannot be fully recovered will accumulate over a long time and place a heavy burden on the body. Once it exceeds the threshold of endurance, it can even threaten one's life!"
"Your body is currently in its growth phase. Doing so would very likely affect your physical development!"
"I see."
Kushina felt a bit disappointed. "I originally wanted to try it too."
Tsunade glanced at Kushina. "You can."
"Eh—"
Nawaki's eyes widened. "Why can Kushina do it too?!"
"The greatest characteristic of the Uzumaki Clan is their exuberant vitality."
Tsunade said indifferently, "If it's just one Shadow Clone, the impact won't be large. However, it's still a bit too early now. We'll talk about it in two years."
"Okay!"
Kushina nodded obediently.
Nawaki watched this scene with cold eyes, only feeling that the world was so unfair and so chilling...