Without concerning himself with what choice Shisui would ultimately make, Shinji first returned to his now-ruined home. He found the half-destroyed wardrobe and rummaged through it for a few pieces of clothing that could still be worn and washed. Picking up the wooden box containing Medical Ninjutsu books, he was just about to turn and leave.
"Shinji! Wait!"
Jukai came running quickly from a distance and stopped him.
"Uncle Jukai," Shinji greeted with a smile.
Jukai carefully looked Shinji up and down, confirming he was completely unharmed, and only then let out a sigh of relief.
Last night, two giant snakes had appeared here, causing quite a commotion. The nearby neighbors, afraid of being caught up in it, had all kept their distance, only vaguely seeing Shinji confronting Orochimaru, one of the Sannin.
Everyone had been worried.
Now, seeing Shinji return from afar, Jukai couldn't rest easy and hurried over.
"What exactly happened yesterday?" he asked with concern.
Not wanting to worry him, Shinji patted Jukai's shoulder and reassured him:
"Thank you for your concern, Uncle Jukai. It was nothing serious."
His affairs would only cause unnecessary worry for this uncle. Shinji didn't want to add another burden to those who cared about him.
"I... see, alright then!"
Jukai immediately understood he probably couldn't be of much help.
He patted his chest and smiled honestly, "It's good to see you're okay. If you need anything, just tell us. We'll do our best."
Shinji thanked him with a smile, exchanged a few casual words with Jukai, then waved goodbye.
He went straight back to Tsunade's residence.
Pushing open the front door and entering the living room, the air carried a quiet atmosphere.
"What's going on?"
Shinji looked curiously at Tsunade and Shizune in the living room.
Tsunade was lazily lying on her side on the sofa, one hand hanging limply over the edge, her entire being exuding an air of listlessness and dejection.
Shizune sat on a nearby chair, burying her head in a Medical Ninjutsu book.
"Teacher Tsunade, I'm back."
Shinji cleared his throat lightly, breaking the silence.
Tsunade just glanced up at him briefly, waving her hand weakly:
"Mhm."
After saying that, she let her hand drop again, maintaining that same lazy, powerless posture.
Shinji moved closer to Shizune and asked quietly, "What's wrong with you two?"
Shizune's face darkened. She slumped onto the table, extending one finger to weakly draw circles on the surface. "We're almost out of money."
After saying this, she sat up straight and looked directly at Tsunade, her eyes filled with unconcealed resentment.
Sensing Shizune's gaze, Tsunade felt a pang of guilt. She turned her body away, facing her back to Shizune, and stubbornly said, "Money isn't important. It'll come back sooner or later."
Shinji understood instantly.
No need to guess; Tsunade must have gambled all the money away again.
This kind of thing was no longer surprising in Tsunade's household; it was practically daily routine.
He gently set down the wooden box in his hand, pulled out a stack of silver from his Ninja Tool Pouch, and slapped it onto the table with a crisp smack.
The sharp sound instantly caught the attention of both women.
Especially Tsunade, who turned her head and saw the stack of silver on the table, her eyes instantly lit up with startling intensity as she abruptly sat up straight.
Shizune stared at Shinji in disbelief:
"Th-this is...?"
Shinji pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Shizune, explaining:
"After becoming Tsunade-sensei's disciple, I received some support from the clan. Since I'm living at sensei's place now, consider this my rent."
This stack of silver, roughly three hundred thousand ryo, was personally handed to Shinji by Fugaku when he left the Police Force.
From now on, he would receive monthly dividends from the clan's businesses, along with dedicated training funds.
Shinji didn't refuse. Money was indeed important, just as he could clearly feel Tsunade's intense gaze right now.
The ultimate weapon against Tsunade—money!
However, Shizune refused with a serious expression: "This won't do!"
She immediately pushed the silver on the table back toward him.
Shinji smiled and persuaded her: "Aren't we almost out of money? Besides, between us, there's no need to draw such clear lines."
"This..."
Shizune hesitated slightly.
Shinji had already put it that way. If she stubbornly refused, it would seem distant, as if she didn't consider him one of them.
After a moment's thought, she came up with an idea: she could simply take better care of Shinji from now on.
"Exactly!"
Tsunade immediately chimed in, not even bothering to put on her shoes as she rushed over barefoot.
Seeing this, Shizune's expression changed slightly, and she quickly pulled the stack of silver back into her arms to protect it.
"Shizune, what do you mean by this?"
"Tsunade-sama, this money belongs to Shinji."
"Shinji said it's rent. This is my house, and I'm his teacher!"
"Tsunade-sama, that's sophistry. Once the money is in your hands, you'll gamble it all away in no time!"
Watching Tsunade and Shizune tugging and arguing, Shinji felt only excitement and didn't step in to stop them.
Hmm, he quite enjoyed watching two women fight.
In the end, after Shizune's reasoned arguments, Tsunade reluctantly received half of the silver with a dissatisfied expression.
She weighed the silver in her hand, a smile curling at the corner of her mouth, but when her gaze fell on Shinji, she inexplicably blushed.
Tsunade thought to herself: A student having to pay to support his teacher... I'm such a failure...
I'll just have to be even better to Shinji from now on, more serious.
She cleared her throat lightly, walked over to Shinji, and patted his shoulder firmly: "Shinji, well done!"
As if suddenly remembering something, she added:
"By the way, your test results are out."
She turned to Shizune. "Shizune, give the report to Shinji."
Shizune shot Tsunade a resentful glance before heading upstairs. Not long after, she returned with several reports and handed them to Shinji.
Shinji took them and carefully flipped through them, his brow gradually furrowing.
Soon, he picked out several key pieces of information: his genes were abnormally active, his cell compatibility far exceeded that of ordinary people, and the detected Chakra attributes were actually four—Wind, Water, Fire, and Lightning.
Shinji was slightly taken aback.
When he had tested with Chakra Test Paper before, he only had Lightning and Fire attributes.
Now, with the addition of Wind and Water, these were likely newly awakened attributes after unlocking Transparent Escape and Storm Release.
Just as he was silently speculating, Shizune spoke up: "I personally conducted your blood test. The final blood sample has already been destroyed. Storm Release won't harm your body, so you can use it without worry."
A ninja's physical information has always been of utmost importance, especially confidential details such as bloodline, chakra attributes, and cellular condition. Once leaked, it could easily attract the attention of those with ill intentions or even be exploited for forbidden technique research.
Therefore, for this examination, Lady Tsunade specifically insisted on handling it personally, not daring to be the slightest bit careless.
Shinji, however, wasn't worried about this.
He trusted Tsunade and Shizune and knew that the two would never leak his physical secrets.
Nevertheless, he still spoke earnestly to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Tsunade-sensei, and thank you too, Shizune."
Tsunade sat back down on the sofa, crossed her legs, and chuckled lightly. "The gene and cellular activity within your body are over five times that of an ordinary ninja, making it easier to accommodate multiple different chakra attributes. This might be the reason you were able to awaken Storm Release."
Leaning back against the sofa, she casually joked, "Who knows, you might even awaken other Kekkei Genkai in the future."
But Shinji slowly nodded. It was truly possible for him to awaken even more Kekkei Genkai.