Looking at the puff of smoke dissipating in front of him, Uchiha Tatsumi's eye twitched.
"Waterfall..."
He had gone all out for so long, only to realize he'd been fighting Tsunade's shadow clone the entire time.
Is this some kind of habit all Konoha jōnin develop after becoming teachers?
Just then, a mechanical voice echoed in his ear:
"Congratulations to the host for defeating a jōnin-level shadow clone of Tsunade. Special reward: 3,000 Ninja Points. Additionally, for defeating a jōnin-level opponent for the first time, bonus: 2,000 Ninja Points."
System update:
Current Ninja Points: 5,100
"Huh?"
Uchiha Tatsumi was stunned. Tsunade's shadow clone was only supposed to be jōnin level? Then why was it so ridiculously strong?
This doesn't make sense.
It's not like he hasn't seen jōnin in action before. His system usually ranks enemies with pretty good accuracy, so how could Tsunade's clone feel more like a mid-Kage level monster?
Was the system drunk?
He was about to ask for clarification when Tsunade herself strolled into the training field.
"Well done, kid. I thought you'd only manage to beat my shadow clone after exhausting all your chakra," she said with a grin.
She gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder, and Tatsumi nearly collapsed on the spot.
Of course. Tsunade the Bruiser. In terms of raw power, even Raikage had to think twice.
"I didn't expect you to be this strong at just six years old. A real genius." Tsunade beamed at him. "That clone was deliberately limited to a standard jōnin level."
She'd conveniently ignored all the damage and drama that had unfolded earlier. After all, she wasn't about to hold a grudge against a six-year-old.
As for Jiraiya? If he got smacked around a little, well... not the first time.
Still, Tsunade seemed genuinely pleased. She reached out to ruffle Tatsumi's hair.
"How about it? Want to graduate early? I'll talk to the Old Man—let you become my personal student."
Tatsumi dodged her hand like a kunai.
Excuse me? I'm the one who does the head-patting around here!
"Tsunade-sama, don't you know it's rude to touch a man's head?" Tatsumi squinted up at her.
"Tch. Just a brat," Tsunade smirked. "Give it a few years—when you grow up a little more, then you can prove you're a man."
With one hand, she lifted his chin teasingly.
Uchiha Tatsumi's face flushed bright red. This kind of thing... he'd only ever seen in TV dramas in his last life.
Single dog instincts, activate.
"Haha! Look at you blush. Such a little kid."
Tatsumi's face burned. In this battlefield of teasing, he was clearly outmatched.
"How about it, huh?" Tsunade continued. "Come train under me after graduation. Back in my day, I was a genius even stronger than you. Jiraiya and Orochimaru? I beat them both."
She grinned as she shamelessly praised herself.
"I've never taken on a student before, you know."
Ah. So that's the point.
Tatsumi suddenly felt like he was just Tsunade's new toy.
So he quickly changed the subject.
"Uh... Tsunade-sama, when does training actually start?"
Time was short. The training period was only seven days, and half of the first day was already gone.
But judging by Tsunade's behavior... she didn't seem in a hurry to do any actual training.
Well, she is a jōnin. Guess she can get away with it.
Tsunade cleared her throat, realizing she'd been sidetracked.
"Ahem. Impatient, are you? I was just thinking about your future. You kids these days…"
"Wait, that's not—"
Her narrowed eyes silenced him.
"By the way, Uchiha Tatsumi… Have you paid your tuition for the week?"
Tatsumi blinked.
…Tuition?
Wasn't this supposed to be free one-on-one instruction for the academy's top students?
Tsunade, completely unfazed by his skeptical expression, continued, "Sure, it's free. But do you know how much money I'm losing by not taking missions for a week? I have to look after Rope Tree every day, and now there's you. Food, lodging, medical supplies, venue maintenance… It adds up."
She pointed toward the cracked training field. "And don't forget the repairs. You did break that."
You broke it, Tsunade-sama!
"Okay, okay, no need to be polite," Tatsumi sighed. "It's just a little money—"
"—Which you don't have," she interrupted flatly. "You're a kid. Where would you even get spare cash in a tight economy like this?"
Tatsumi sighed. Of course he knew what she needed money for.
She'd probably blown the rewards from her last mission at the casino again.
Tsunade scratched her chin and nodded. "Yeah, you're broke. Makes sense."
Tatsumi exhaled in relief.
"Still," Tsunade said suddenly, "I heard a healthy pair of young kidneys can fetch a decent price on the black market."
"..."
"Don't look at me like that. I was just saying—hypothetically."
"Do you really expect me to sell organs just so you can gamble, Tsunade-sama?!"
"Hahaha, what are you saying? That's absurd. I would never—never—do something like that."
Tsunade chuckled nervously as sweat beaded on her forehead.
Damn, this kid's too sharp. Does he know about my debts already? Did Jiraiya tell him?
— — —
"Jiraiya-sensei, let's go. Peeping is wrong," a young Minato Namikaze whispered behind a bush.
"Watergate, you don't understand," Jiraiya whispered back. "This is field research. Vital reference material. My sensei once quoted the Third Hokage: 'Observation refines both stealth and analysis. And most importantly—'"
"Ah-choo!" Jiraiya sneezed loudly.
"Who's there?!"
"Someone's watching us!"
Jiraiya's sneeze had blown their cover.
Grabbing Minato, he turned tail.
"And most importantly," he shouted over his shoulder, "you learn how to run! If we get caught, it's straight to the Konoha Military Police!"