"Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?"
These three ultimate questions of life suddenly flooded Tsunade's not-so-clear mind. She distinctly remembered getting drunk yesterday, so why was she playing cards now?
Could it be that she had amnesia? But amnesia doesn't just make you lose memories of playing cards, does it? Could it be that she lost so badly that she fainted from anger, and that anger even caused her amnesia?
"Tsunade-jie, what are you dawdling for? Play your card! I'm definitely going to win this round, so get ready to lose money."
Ling began to urge her on in all seriousness. She had undergone professional training and absolutely would not laugh, but seeing Tsunade's bewildered expression, Ling was already laughing like crazy internally.
This was definitely an iconic scene. It was a pity there was no video recorder; otherwise, if she recorded it, she could hold this secret over Tsunade for a lifetime.
Tsunade smoothed her messy hair, looking annoyed at the terrible cards in her hand. Then she looked at the big cards Ling had played and realized she probably couldn't beat them.
"Damn it, why are these cards so bad again? Pass!" Tsunade, as expected of a big spendthrift, instantly entered gambling mode, transitioning very smoothly.
It was as if she hadn't just woken up. At this moment, not only was she not angry, but her gambling addiction had been triggered. Now, she wasn't planning on stopping until she had gambled to her heart's content.
Because the cards Ling had dealt Tsunade were indeed too bad, Ling quickly won. Tsunade felt her deflated wallet and twitched an eyebrow awkwardly.
"Tsunade-jie jie, you haven't run out of money, have you? You've lost everything, and you're still playing cards with me. You're not planning on welching, are you? Where do you get off thinking such a good thing would happen?"
Ling placed her hand of cards face down on the Hokage Office desk, immediately dispelled her Shadow Clone, and leaned back in her chair, watching the somewhat guilty Tsunade with amusement.
"Who… who said I'm out of money? I just didn't bring enough money, that's all. You wait, I'll call Shizune to bring me money right away."
Tsunade slammed the Hokage Office desk, almost shattering the newly replaced one. Meanwhile, Shizune, who was helping at the hospital, heard a Medical Ninja passing by say that Ling had gone to find Tsunade, so she immediately ran upstairs.
It wasn't that she was worried about what would happen to the two of them, but mainly that whenever they were together, most of the time they were gambling, and it was the kind where two novices pecked at each other.
Shizune was afraid that Tsunade would pass on her gambling addiction to Uchiha Ling, otherwise the Uchiha Clan would definitely never let it go. Fortunately, Ling only gambled with Tsunade, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
"Lady Tsunade! Why did you look for Ling to play cards with you as soon as you sobered up? Last time, Elder Uchiha Setsuna already warned us."
As soon as Shizune walked in, she saw the playing cards in front of Tsunade, and combined with Tsunade's sulky expression from losing money, Shizune immediately assumed Tsunade was the culprit.
Tsunade also subconsciously shrank her head. Although she wasn't afraid of the Uchiha Clan, being constantly nagged and warned by those old men was very annoying.
Ling hadn't expected that the Uchiha Clan had actually discussed and specifically warned Tsunade about her gambling with Tsunade. Were they afraid that she would lose all the Uchiha Clan's money like Tsunade?
She wouldn't! She didn't like playing cards or gambling!!
"Hmph! You make it sound like I'm afraid of those old men. They even said the decline of the Senju Clan was because of my gambling, which is pure slander."
Tsunade was quite indignant. The Senju Clan had already fallen apart before she even became an adult. Could she be blamed for that? No, she couldn't.
"Alright, Tsunade-jie, I didn't come to you to gamble this time. I want to learn some Wood Release Ninjutsu."
Ling didn't treat herself as an outsider at all. After all, she also planned to give Tsunade her insights into integrating the Wood Release Bloodline Limit. Uchiha Ling was not a greedy person.
"Wood Release? Why do you want Wood Release Ninjutsu?" Tsunade didn't react for a moment, rubbing her head and looking at Uchiha Ling in confusion.
Ling confidently placed her hand on the Hokage Office desk. As Wood Release Chakra surged, branches quickly grew from the wooden desk, forming a potted plant.
"How is it? Surprised? Unexpected? Exciting?" Ling raised her head proudly.
"This is… Wood Release? Is this really Wood Release? How is that possible? Did you research the Shodai(1st)-sama's cells?"
Tsunade was first astonished, then incredulous, and finally suspicious.
The Senju Clan hadn't failed to research Wood Release, but Senju Tobirama's research only allowed some clan members to use a degraded version of Grass Release.
"I researched this myself! How can you suspect me of researching Shodai(1st)-sama's cells? This is my Wood Release Bloodline Limit integration insight, which I comprehended entirely through the nature transformation of Earth Release and Water Release."
Ling was quite indignant. Although she had indeed researched Hashirama cells, Wood Release didn't come from Hashirama cells, so she could respond with righteous indignation.
Tsunade also knew that her words were a bit inappropriate. Obtaining Wood Release by researching Hashirama cells would necessarily rely on transplantation, and Ling clearly didn't have the aura of Hashirama cells on her.
Tsunade opened the Wood Release Bloodline Limit insight and, after reading it, indeed found it to be a complete method for cultivating a Bloodline Limit.
After all, Hashirama had also written one, but compared to Ling's scientific, reasonable, and logical one, Hashirama's insight could only be described as nonsensical.
"I'm sorry, I wronged you. However, this scroll is too precious; I cannot accept it. I will give you the Wood Release Ninjutsu."
Tsunade looked at Uchiha Ling with a complicated expression. The Wood Release Bloodline Limit that their Senju Clan had spent decades researching, Ling, a seven-year-old Uchiha girl, had researched it.
Although Uchiha Ling had the bloodline of the Senju Clan, it was only one-quarter, and it was also possible that Ling herself combined the strengths of both clans.
"It's alright, Tsunade-jie jie, this scroll isn't that precious. It's not like anyone who reads this scroll and meets the basic requirements can learn Wood Release."
Ling felt that very few people in Konoha would be able to learn Wood Release, or perhaps none at all, as this kind of comprehension wasn't something everyone possessed.
"And I will also hand over a copy of this scroll to the Village. Is that alright?"
Ling handing over the Wood Release Bloodline Limit cultivation method was only to increase her qualifications and gain more Jonin support, as there were indeed many ordinary Jonin who desired a Bloodline Limit.
No matter who learned this Wood Release Bloodline Limit cultivation method, they would owe her a favor, and Ling doing this was also to complete this aspect of Konoha's inheritance.
After all, besides Konoha, the other four Ninja Villages all had such inheritances that could stably pass on Bloodline Limits. Now, it could be considered that Ling had simply filled a gap.
However, Wood Release was, after all, of the Senju Clan. Although the Senju Clan no longer existed, Ling still had to consider Tsunade's thoughts.
"It's alright. Wood Release is Konoha's Bloodline Limit. It's a good thing that it can now be passed down in Konoha." Tsunade was not someone who clung to her possessions. She and the Senju Clan were happy to see Wood Release flourish anew in Konoha.
Ling accepted all of Tsunade's Wood Release Ninjutsu inheritance and was then pulled by her to the Hokage Office. Now that the Wood Release Bloodline Limit had been researched, this was also a major event.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"