"Before anything else," Tsunade said, veins bulging on her forehead, "there's something I absolutely have to do."
Souma looked at her calmly.
She jabbed a finger at his chest.
"Brat. I've been holding this in for a long time. Even if we don't fight, I need to compete with you once."
Souma raised an eyebrow.
"Compete how?"
"By creating ninjutsu," she said flatly. "Let's see who invents one faster."
Souma shook his head.
"That's not a fair contest. I'd win."
"Bah! Dream on." Tsunade snorted. "We're arm-wrestling."
She slammed her palm down.
"If you refuse, I'll make sure you get promoted to jōnin and assigned to babysit genin teams."
"...?"
Souma stared at her.
That was… a threat?
An effective one.
Being promoted to jōnin was considered an honor—something many shinobi never achieved in their lifetime.
But to Souma, it was pure trouble.
More responsibility.
More meetings.
More nonsense.
He sighed.
"…You win."
Tsunade grinned.
"Good. Then we go outside. I'm not paying compensation again."
They left the lodging.
Jiraiya sensed it instantly and stood up.
"You two—"
"I'm going too!" Naruto shouted.
"So am I," Sasuke said at the same time.
Jiraiya rubbed his temples.
Kids these days were impossible to fool—especially Naruto, who used to be simple as blank paper.
Now he actually thought.
Annoying.
With no choice, Jiraiya followed, bringing Naruto, Sasuke, and Shizune along.
They trailed Souma and Tsunade out of Tanzaku Town, stopping at a small hill outside the city.
Tsunade halted beside a massive boulder.
"So," Naruto whispered, eyes shining, "are they gonna fight?"
Jiraiya's expression grew serious.
"If this turns into a real battle, something big will happen."
Without Sage Mode, it was hard to say who'd win.
With it?
Jiraiya didn't even need to calculate.
Then—
Souma and Tsunade sat down.
They placed their elbows on the stone and clasped hands.
Silence.
"…Arm-wrestling?" Naruto croaked.
"…Yes," Sasuke confirmed after a moment.
Shizune inhaled sharply.
"The last person who arm-wrestled Tsunade-sama was the Fourth Raikage."
Naruto gulped.
"Who won?"
"…The Raikage," Shizune said quietly.
Before Naruto could react, the contest had already begun.
"Don't underestimate me, brat," Tsunade said, smiling dangerously.
"My strength isn't something you copy in a few days."
"I've studied monster strength techniques," Souma replied evenly.
"Same technique doesn't mean same results."
Tsunade pushed.
BOOM.
Chakra erupted outward.
Cracks spread across the stone beneath them.
Both arms tensed, veins bulging.
For a moment—
They were evenly matched.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
She increased chakra output.
Souma's strength rose with it.
"…Interesting," Tsunade muttered.
She focused, channeling chakra more precisely, doubling her output in an instant.
Shizune gasped.
"They're still equal?!"
Sasuke's Sharingan spun violently.
The chakra control on both sides was terrifying—perfect, waste-free, pushed to the absolute limit.
Even seeing it didn't mean it could be learned.
Jiraiya frowned.
Something was wrong.
Souma glanced up casually.
"…Are you using your full strength?"
The world froze.
"…What?"
Tsunade's smile vanished.
Veins exploded across her arm.
"You little—!"
She unleashed everything.
Muscle, chakra, intent—pushed beyond safety.
Then—
CRACK.
The boulder shattered from the inside.
Souma's strength surged—briefly, precisely.
He released immediately.
"…My mistake," Souma said calmly, standing.
"The platform broke. I'll count this as my loss."
"No."
Tsunade stood as well.
"I lost."
She'd felt it.
For an instant, Souma's strength had leapt—two, maybe three times higher.
And worse—
Even without that burst, he had matched her.
At fourteen.
She laughed softly.
"The future of Konoha is terrifying."
Souma brushed stone dust from his sleeve.
"I'm still growing."
Naruto stared, mouth open.
Sasuke wasn't surprised.
Jiraiya looked away.
Instant Sage Mode… again.
That wasn't fair.
He wisely chose not to say it out loud.
On the way back, Tsunade finally spoke.
"You maximized muscle output instead of over-relying on chakra."
"Yes," Souma replied.
"At the limit, it approaches the Gate of Opening without opening it."
"…Ridiculous," Tsunade muttered. "I thought of that once. Never had the time."
War.
Medicine.
Reforming the medical system.
She'd chosen her path.
Souma nodded.
"And because of that, medical ninjutsu reached its current height."
That much was undeniable.
Shizune caught up, hesitating.
"S-Souma-kun… you studied medical ninjutsu before?"
"A little. Medical theory."
"How long?"
Sasuke answered flatly.
"Two or three months."
Shizune froze.
"…What?"
"He created chakra scalpels in the first month," Sasuke added.
"And graduated early."
Tsunade's face darkened.
She walked faster.
So much for kindred spirits.
That wasn't talent.
That was a monster.
That night, silence filled the rooms.
No one discussed ninjutsu.
Some truths didn't need repeating.
In the dark, Sasuke spoke quietly.
"Souma-senpai… when can I enter ANBU training?"
"After Tsunade-sama takes office."
"…I understand."
"Also," Souma added, "the Police Force will likely be restructured."
Sasuke went still.
"…I expected that."
"The Uchiha won't disappear as long as you're here."
Souma chuckled lightly.
"If I have time, I'll ask Tsunade-sama to help research a 'population recovery technique.'"
"?!"
Sasuke's face burned red.
"WHO WOULD STUDY THAT?!"
But later, alone—
He thought about it.
Too much.
The last Uchiha heir did not sleep that night.
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