"Where did you pick up Sakumo-senpai's sword style?"
Inside the Senju Compound, Tsunade watched with a look of mild confusion as Tatsuma wielded his short sword with surprising proficiency. Although she wasn't a Kenjutsu specialist herself, she recognized the movements; his strikes bore a striking resemblance to Hatake Sakumo's.
Tatsuma paused his training. "I ran into Sakumo-sama yesterday. We chatted for a bit, and he gave me a scroll containing the fundamentals of his style."
"Oh."
Tsunade nodded, not pressing the matter further. In the shinobi world, it was generally considered impolite for a student to seek instruction from someone other than their primary master. It could be seen as a slight to either the teacher's capability or the outsider's boundaries.
However, the dynamic between this master and disciple was... unique. Truth be told, Tsunade didn't have much left to teach Tatsuma at his current level. Her "Monster Strength" technique required a physical constitution that was simply too demanding for a child; regardless of Tatsuma's strange, gifted physique, he wasn't yet at the threshold required to learn it safely.
As for her two primary fields of expertise—Eruptive Taijutsu and Medical Ninjutsu—she could tell Tatsuma wasn't particularly interested in the latter.
Over the past six months, Tatsuma had used his superior chakra control and prodigious talent to master several high-level medical techniques, including the Mystical Palm Technique and the Chakra Scalpel. But those were just the technical applications. To truly master medicine, one had to delve into the endless depths of human anatomy, surgery, genetics, and pathology—a lifelong pursuit.
Tatsuma clearly lacked the "Will of Fire" required to dedicate his life to a hospital. Consequently, Tsunade had stopped pushing the academic side, settling for teaching him clinical jutsu and having him memorize medical case studies.
As a result, their interactions lately consisted mostly of playing cards. Tatsuma's proficiency in Sealing Arts had already surpassed her own, so she didn't mind him learning from Jiraiya or Sakumo. After all, if she were to object to him seeking outside knowledge, she'd have to start by picking a fight with her own grandmother, Mito.
Seeing that Tsunade had fallen silent again, Tatsuma returned to his training. The Ninja Academy had resumed sessions, meaning Nawaki and Kushina were back in class. Minato was apparently still out on a mission, leaving Tatsuma to train in solitude.
However, over the last half-year, Tatsuma's potential ceilings had skyrocketed. He needed a significant amount of time to translate that "talent" into actual stats, so he never felt bored.
Many people give up on learning or practicing a skill because they can't see their own progress. But Tatsuma was different. With the system at his side, he could see his improvement every single day. His motivation was boundless. Compared to when he first arrived at the Senju estate, his status panel had undergone a massive transformation:
Host: Sakamoto Tatsuma
Stats:
STR (Power): 2416 / 6426
SPD (Speed): 2911 / 7781
PHY (Physique): 2689 / 6153
INT (Intelligence): 2013 / 3120
NIN (Ninjutsu): 2174 / 4512
GEN (Genjutsu): 1501 / 3633
ENG (Energy): 2263 / 6571
SEA (Seals): 2315 / 4237
Special Talents:
Space-Time Talent: 100%
Ninjutsu Development: 95%
Ninja Tool Projection (Minato Namikaze Limited Edition): 100%
Sensing: 90%
Sealing (Uzumaki Kushina Limited Edition): 75%
As the saying goes: "A name might be wrong, but a nickname never is." Tsunade being known as the Legendary Sucker (The Big Fat Sheep) wasn't just a joke—and she was an even bigger "sheep" than Minato.
When "shearing" Minato for stats, Tatsuma had to come up with excuses and engage in various games or spars. Tsunade was much simpler. All he needed was a deck of cards, and she would practically jump into the shearing machine herself.
Tatsuma practiced extreme restraint, however, carefully controlling his win rate. Unlike the good-natured Minato, Tsunade tended to get violent when she lost too many hands in a row. Tatsuma had unfortunately been on the receiving end of her fists twice. The worst part? There was nowhere to complain. Tsunade would beat him senseless and then immediately heal him with her peerless medical ninjutsu, leaving not a single bruise or trace of trauma behind. If he tried to report her, it would look like a false accusation.
So, Tatsuma limited himself to winning thirty or forty rounds a day, farming roughly 200 points of attribute potential before calling it quits. Supplemented by the bits and pieces he picked up from Nawaki and Kushina, his growth was steady.
He knew that sustainable development was far better than "draining the pond to catch the fish." Lately, however, after completing a few missions and getting some cash in his pocket, he had another idea for farming her... but now wasn't the time to bring it up. The political climate of the shinobi world was growing tense. Tsunade had already warned him that high-level missions were imminent.
Tatsuma stopped his movements and sheathed his blade. He looked at Tsunade. "Teacher, the meeting yesterday... was there an assignment for you?"
Tsunade nodded, not hiding the truth. "Yeah. I'm heading to the border of the Land of Wind. Why?"
"If possible, I'd like to go with you," Tatsuma said seriously.
Tsunade burst into laughter. "Hahaha! You? On the battlefield? Hahaha! You little coward, you haven't even killed a man yet!"
She wiped a tear from her eye. "On those missions we did, you had plenty of chances to finish off the targets, but you always hesitated and waited for me to step in. You really think you're ready for a war zone?"
This was one of the few things Tsunade found frustrating about Tatsuma. He could capture an enemy in a dozen different ways, but he always hesitated at the final blow. If he were a fresh graduate, she would understand, but he'd been a Genin for nearly a year and had completed several C-rank missions without a single kill to his name.
If he weren't so exceptionally talented in every other aspect of being a shinobi, she would have advised him to quit. She didn't believe someone with his hesitation belonged on a battlefield where people died every second. One moment of doubt there meant your own death.
Her laughter died down, replaced by a stern expression. "I won't allow it."
"Teacher, I know what you're worried about, but I still want to go," Tatsuma said, taking a deep breath. "If you don't think I'm ready for the front lines, I can stay in logistics or serve as a medical ninja."
Tsunade frowned. "Why? Konoha isn't so desperate that we need to send children like you to the front."
"But I'll have to go eventually, won't I? The missions I'm taking now don't provide enough pressure. I can't force myself to become a... 'true' shinobi this way. Maybe I'm just the type who needs a big stage to perform? Who knows, maybe once I'm on the battlefield, I'll start racking up the kills."
"Haha! That's a good one." Tsunade's voice held a trace of humor, but her eyes remained sharp. "Once we're on the battlefield, I might not be able to look after you. Are you truly prepared for that?"
Tatsuma nodded. "I am. And since my teacher is so incredible, I have to work hard to prove that her eye for talent was right. How about a wager? I bet I'll perform brilliantly. And given our track record of wins and losses... I don't think I can lose this bet."
Tsunade nodded. "Fine. I agree to take you. However..."
Her gaze turned dangerously sharp as she stood up. "As for that crack about my gambling record... Don't you run!"