Chapter Five: Seizure

When Kato Yufeng saw his elder brother, Kato Dan, it was already the morning of the third day of his short break.

At present, the two brothers held different positions: one had already made a name for himself in the ninja world, a newly promoted Konoha jonin whose strength was formidable and whose methods of killing were as elusive as ghosts; the other was a seasoned Konoha chunin squad captain, leading a three-man ninja team. Both were often busy with their respective missions and personal training. Because Kato Yufeng had been stationed outside the village for a long-term mission, it had been nearly half a year since they last met.

Today, their reunion was filled with enthusiasm.

"Big Brother, it's been so long! I asked Chunin Kubiotani Jin at the Hokage Residence Mission Office when you'd be back, and he estimated you'd return today. Senior Kubiotani really is a reliable veteran; he was right, you did come back to the village today."

Kato Yufeng greeted his brother with joy in the clan council hall, his eyes crinkling with his wide smile, even his spirited brows arching. On one hand, he genuinely missed his brother after so long; on the other, he had been waiting two days to consult Kato Dan about the family’s secret technique, the Spirit Transformation Jutsu. Grinning, Yufeng chatted as he approached, landing a friendly punch to Dan’s chest.

"So, how did the mission go, Big Brother? Was everything smooth? You didn’t get hurt, did you?" He finished with a big hug.

Kato Dan returned the embrace warmly, his brows curving in amusement. "It was just a routine mission for me. With my skills, no problem. But you—your long-term assignment to the Eastern Battlefront has kept you away from home for nearly half a year, hasn't it?"

"How was it? Any injuries? And how's your training? From the look of you, your strength must be nearing the jonin level, right?"

After they both took their seats in the council hall, Yufeng began setting out teacups, selecting and brewing tea leaves. "You really are my elder brother—your mastery of the Spirit Transformation Jutsu makes your senses sharp," he said, fiddling with the tea. "I do feel I'm close to jonin level. I've kept up my training and just recently made a breakthrough. At the very least, the amount of chakra I have is not less than any jonin in the village; what I lack is chakra control and some ninjutsu proficiency."

He poured the tea for both of them, then continued, "The mission at the Eastern Battlefront went fine. I wasn't hurt, though our teammates, Takenouchi Itsuki and Nanri Yuta, did suffer some minor injuries, but they've fully recovered now, so it's nothing serious."

"Judging from the situation at the Eastern Front, the ninja world seems to be growing more and more tense lately."

"I waited in the clan specifically for you this time. I want to consult you again about the Spirit Transformation Jutsu. My training has stalled at the final step, and I don’t know if I can succeed."

Kato Dan took his teacup in both hands, sipping the fragrant tea as he listened to Yufeng.

"You’ve noticed it too? The situation in the ninja world really is getting more tense—not only are there more and more conflicts with the other four great nations’ hidden villages, but even the smaller countries that used to be stable are growing restless."

"No one knows how things will develop, but all we can do is keep training and make ourselves stronger."

The two of them then delved into a deeper, more detailed discussion about the techniques and key points of the Spirit Transformation Jutsu.

...

Yufeng’s feelings about his brother, Kato Dan, were rather complicated.

First, Dan was the closest, most familiar named character from the original manga, and though his appearances in the manga and anime were brief, they were certainly impressive. Being the lover of Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, made a lasting impression on readers.

Compared to the manga and anime, Kato Dan had stepped out of two dimensions and into three—he was now a living, breathing ninja in this world, and the most talented ninja of his generation in their clan.

When Yufeng was young in this life, his parents would often urge him to learn from his big brother, Kato Dan. Yufeng felt both respect and rivalry towards him. After all, Dan had always been the "model child," the prodigy of the clan, their hope for the future—someone Yufeng was constantly told to emulate.

Dan’s personality was also excellent: to family and friends, he was incredibly gentle and caring—a true warm-hearted, handsome man. As Yufeng would have said in his previous life, Dan was the very image of a warm and considerate guy.

Yufeng respected his brother for his strength and gentle care from childhood, but he also felt competitive, believing that, aside from the Spirit Transformation Jutsu, he was not inferior to Dan. Another source of rivalry was Tsunade: since Dan was her canon love interest, Yufeng felt somewhat disgruntled.

Back in his previous life, Yufeng had always admired Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. He liked her bold, heroic, and unrestrained nature, which was balanced by a touch of feminine gentleness. Not to mention her looks: in short, Tsunade had the face of an angel and the body of a goddess—just ten words summed her up perfectly.

In this life, Yufeng and Tsunade were the same age, born in the same year. At the Ninja Academy, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Sakumo Hatake, Kato Dan, and Yufeng himself were all classmates.

Tsunade, as the granddaughter of the legendary First Hokage Hashirama Senju, was a natural magnet for attention. With her straightforward and easy-going personality and her beauty, she had many admirers from a young age.

At this point, Tsunade had not yet fully developed into the "goddess" of the original story, but she was already a fine example of an athletic beauty. She wasn’t overly slim, but exuded a sense of power—a pair of long, straight legs, toned and fair. What man wouldn’t be drawn to that? She was simply stunning.

Yufeng was certainly one of her admirers. He had long ago decided to pursue Tsunade. As for knowing that, in the original work, his brother was her lover—well, since Dan liked her and Yufeng did too, then let them compete and see who Tsunade would choose. After all, they weren’t together yet.

As for Tsunade’s legendary "Three Deaths"—the fatal kiss, the cursed necklace, the death flag—Yufeng had no idea whether he could avoid those fates. But he couldn't concern himself with that. He had liked, pitied, and wanted to protect Tsunade since his past life; now that they were classmates, he decided to pursue her regardless.

During their days at the Ninja Academy, Yufeng did many things to attract Tsunade’s attention. As he grew older, he worked hard in his training, hoping to become the top student in class and thus catch her eye. But their class was full of geniuses—before Yufeng received his "cheat" ability, he couldn’t even beat Tsunade, let alone claim top place. All he could do was harbor a secret crush.

When graduation approached, Yufeng finally mustered the courage to confess to Tsunade in front of the whole class on the training grounds. She didn’t explicitly reject him, nor did she accept, but blushed and said, "I know a lot of boys in class like me. You're the first to confess to me officially. As a reward, let’s make a bet—let’s fight! If you win..."

In the end, Yufeng lost. And that was that.

After his confession, for several days, Yufeng was "tested" in taijutsu sparring by not only his brother but also the likes of Jiraiya and other members of their class, all under the pretext of graduation practice. The sparring went on for a whole month—an utterly brutal ordeal for Yufeng.

They were all envious and jealous. They lacked the courage to confess to Tsunade themselves, and envied Yufeng for being the first to do so. Even though he didn’t succeed, it was still Tsunade’s first confession.

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