Inside the Senju Ancestral Home, Tsunade stood before the two of them, her expression unusually serious.
She explained in great detail, from the microscopic control of Chakra to the distribution and flow of human meridians, and from the stress response of wounds to the tolerance thresholds of different organs to Medical Ninjutsu.
If this material were in a Ninja Academy textbook, it would take up at most three pages.
But Tsunade spoke for nearly an hour, and every single sentence was packed with valuable information.
Nohara Moku felt his scalp tingle as he listened.
He knew Tsunade was formidable, but he hadn't realized she was this formidable.
The things he thought he had already mastered through the system were dismantled by Tsunade in just a few words, revealing deeper, more fundamental principles.
It was like someone who had always operated a machine using just the manual suddenly taking it apart to show you exactly why every gear turned the way it did.
After Tsunade had been speaking for nearly an hour, the lesson finally came to an end.
"Can both of you understand?"
The siblings both nodded earnestly. "We understand."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, a flash of satisfaction in her eyes. "Hm, very good. You both catch on quickly, which saves me time."
She then looked at Shizune, who was standing to the side. "Shizune, go catch two fish."
"Understood, Lady Tsunade."
Shizune nodded. Not long after, she returned carrying two lively, jumping fish. Their tails were still thrashing, splashing water all over her face.
"Lady Tsunade, the fish are here."
Tsunade took the fish and tossed them into the air.
Then she slapped them.
"Smack!"
The two fish hit the ground, bellies up, motionless.
Hmm, that was a powerful slap!
Then, Tsunade placed one fish in front of each of them.
The fish were still warm, their bellies rising and falling slightly—they weren't dead, just stunned.
Tsunade crossed her arms and looked down at them.
"Did you both memorize the advanced application of the Mystical Palm Technique I just explained?"
The two nodded.
"Then give it a try." She paused. "Heal the fish and let it swim back into the water, lively and healthy."
Nohara Moku looked down at the fish in front of him, which was rolling its eyes, and fell silent for a moment.
In truth, he still didn't understand. Treating a person is treating a person, and treating a fish is treating a fish... could they really be the same?
But out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Rin Nohara already focusing intently and gathering Chakra, a green light glowing in her palms.
Forget it. His own sister was already at it; could he really back down?
Nohara Moku took a deep breath and formed hand seals.
Time ticked by second by second.
Fine beads of sweat seeped from Rin Nohara's forehead, but the green light in her hands remained steady, seeping into the fish's body bit by bit.
The fish, which had been rolling its eyes, began to twitch its tail slightly.
Tsunade stood behind her, her gaze focused, nodding slightly from time to time.
And on Moku's side—
He closed his eyes, his hands covering the fish. The green light flickered unsteadily, as if he were... probing?
Tsunade narrowed her eyes slightly.
This kid, is he looking for the fish's Chakra meridian system?
For creatures like fish, the meridian structure is vastly different from humans. Using Medical Ninjutsu on them often results in significantly diminished effects.
Her intention in having the siblings treat the fish was to test their ability to adapt—textbook knowledge is rigid, but patients are living, and every body is different.
And Nohara Moku's current approach was the clumsiest, but also the most correct way: not applying human standards, but using his own Chakra to "feel" the fish's body and find its own unique system.
The problem is, this requires extremely precise Chakra control and sufficient patience.
A six-year-old brat...
Just as Tsunade was thinking this, the green light on Moku's hands suddenly stabilized.
Then, its brightness suddenly increased.
The fish, which had been half-dead, gave a violent jolt. Its tail slapped against the Tatami, and it began to thrash wildly.
Nohara Moku opened his eyes and scrambled to pin it down.
"Don't move, don't move! You're healed! You can swim back to the water! Stop thrashing here!"
But the fish didn't listen; it thrashed even more vigorously.
Finally, it broke free from Nohara Moku's hands, landed on the Tatami with a "plop," and began hopping toward the door.
Shizune: "Ah, the fish ran away!"
Then the few people in the room watched as that fish hopped all the way back to the pond.
Not long after, Rin Nohara finished as well.
Her fish slowly woke up and lay quietly on the Tatami, its gills opening and closing. Although it wasn't as vigorous as Moku's, it had indeed come back to life.
Rin Nohara looked up, her forehead covered in sweat, but her eyes were bright.
"Lady Tsunade, I've finished."
Tsunade nodded, a rare look of approval appearing on her face. "Not bad. Your Chakra control is steady, and your reasoning is clear. Although your technique is still green, your foundation is very solid."
She turned to look out the window; the sky had already darkened.
"It's so late, you two shouldn't go back. Just stay here tonight. We can have a meal together to celebrate the successful completion of your first lesson."
She paused, her gaze landing on the Tatami.
"As for the ingredients..."
Tsunade bent down and picked up the fish. "Let's use this fish."
Poor fish, just escaped the wolf's den only to fall into the tiger's mouth.
"Then I'll cook," Nohara Moku said, decisively raising his hand.
"Then I'll help," Rin Nohara said, standing up as well.
Shizune watched the siblings steal her job, stunned for a moment, then turned around silently.
"Then I... will go buy some more vegetables."
As she walked out the door, her back revealed an indescribable sense of desolation.
At the dinner table, the aroma of the food filled the air.
Tsunade picked up a piece of braised fish with her chopsticks, her eyes widening slightly.
"Kid, your cooking is this good?"
[Gained favorability from Tsunade +1]
[Gained favorability from Tsunade +1]
[Gained favorability from Tsunade +1]
[Triggered Favorability Critical Hit]
[Obtained: Intermediate Medical Ninjutsu Proficiency X1]
Huh? It dropped a finished item directly this time?
Nohara Moku smiled obediently. "Not at all. Actually, my sister has always done the cooking at home; I've only learned a bit of the basics."
This was half-true and half-false.
The true part was that Rin did indeed cook often; the false part was that his cooking skills were actually learned from short videos in his previous life—he used to watch food videos while eating, never expecting that one day he would be able to put them to use.
Tsunade took another two bites, then suddenly put down her chopsticks.
"How about you two just live here from now on?"
The siblings both looked up at the same time.
"It'll be more convenient for daily training," Tsunade said nonchalantly. "Besides, this ancestral home is just sitting empty, and it's lonely living here by myself."
Rin looked at her younger brother, some hesitation in her eyes.
Moku thought about it and nodded. "Sure, that works. It's just the two of us at home anyway."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something. He looked up at Tsunade with a subtle expression.
"Teacher..." He paused. "Actually, you just want us to cook for you, right?"
Tsunade's chopsticks paused.
'Looks like I hit the nail on the head,' Nohara Moku thought to himself.
Hearing this, Shizune's expression changed instantly.
She looked sharply at Tsunade, her eyes filled with complex emotions—shock, grievance, and a subtle sense of crisis.
What does that mean?
Am I unemployed?
Tsunade picked up another piece of food as if nothing had happened. "What are you talking about? Am I that kind of person?"