Most of what had happened on the Sunagakure battlefield had already been written into the battle reports by Jiraiya, and Tsunade had basically read them all at the Hokage Building, so she was not unfamiliar with it.
However, when Yuu personally recounted it, Tsunade still smiled warmly and listened with great interest. From time to time, she would ask a question or two, such as whether the Sword of the Thunder God felt comfortable to use.
There was nothing much in the other parts.
But when Yuu mentioned that he had already "learned" the Mystical Palm Technique and had used it on wounded people like Nohara Hiroshi, Tsunade's eyes instantly widened, disbelief appearing on her face.
"Wait… did you just say you've already mastered the Mystical Palm Technique?
"Seriously? How long has it been?"
"Mm… counting from then, it should be about three months, right?"
Yuu recalled the first time he had seen the Mystical Palm Technique scroll from Tsunade and answered softly.
"Three months… You learned the Mystical Palm Technique in three months! Do you know what that means?"
Tsunade was stunned for a while before finally coming back to her senses. Her eyes burned as she looked at Yuu.
"Show me."
"…Right now?"
"Mm."
Tsunade nodded and stood up straight. Then she placed one hand on Yuu's wrist.
"It doesn't matter if there are no wounded people. Just form the seals and release the ninjutsu. By observing the path of chakra flowing through your body, I can judge your level."
If they found an injured person to test on, Tsunade probably would not be able to examine it properly. After all, her hemophobia had not been cured. Usually, looking at a patient from a distance through the glass of a ward was still fine, but if she had to observe the process of a wound tearing and healing at close range, she most likely would not be able to endure it.
Yuu knew this too, so he did as she said.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes slightly and carefully sensed the chakra pathway inside the boy's body. Her brows first furrowed, then slowly relaxed. A trace of disbelief flashed through her eyes.
"This chakra flow path… it really is the Mystical Palm Technique! And it circulates without the slightest stiffness, almost like you're an old hand who has practiced it for years. Even in Konoha Hospital's medical team, there probably aren't many people with this level of skill… Heh, you brat really are a… monster!"
Tsunade almost did not know what to say.
After all, back then, she had taken five months to learn the Mystical Palm Technique, and that had already made her a recognized genius. Now Yuu had pushed that record forward by nearly half. That difference represented a gap in talent that was far from small.
"Good, good, good. As expected of a disciple I taught. In the middle of such intense warfare, you actually managed to train medical ninjutsu to this level. It's truly unbelievable!"
Tsunade grabbed Yuu's arm.
"Come on, I'll take you to celebrate properly!"
"Celebrate?"
Yuu hesitated slightly.
"Are you going to the casino?"
"…Of course not. What are you thinking?"
Tsunade scolded him with a laugh, then said, "A new dango shop recently opened in Konoha. I've eaten there a few times, and the taste is pretty good. This time, I'll take you there to try it. Kana, do you want to come?"
Uzumaki Kana, whose name had been mentioned, shook her head.
"No, I still need to go back and review the medical knowledge you just taught me. Next time. I'll go with you when there's another chance."
During this period, Uzumaki Kana and Uzumaki Naoto, the two Uzumaki descendants rescued from the Land of Grass, had gradually integrated into Konoha and begun trying to support themselves.
The former intended to become a nurse at Konoha Hospital, so she had been learning basic medical knowledge from Tsunade recently in preparation for later enrolling in the medical training class. The latter had become an auditing student at the ninja school and planned to become a ninja, though the prerequisite was first verifying whether he had talent in that area.
For Tsunade and Kushina's sake, Konoha's attitude toward them was not forceful. It was basically a hands-off approach. But because of their bloodline, Konoha still placed some hope in them, so the village was happy to see the two taking initiative.
Yuu had originally wanted to talk to Tsunade about Sasori's poison and see whether she could research some antidotes, or directly improve the poison and apply it to his own blade. But seeing Tsunade in such high spirits, he temporarily suppressed the thought and planned to bring it up later.
The two left the Senju clan district
and walked toward the street where the dango shop was located.
Halfway there, a powerful voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Yuu—!!"
"?"
Yuu glanced back and saw a green figure approaching them at extremely high speed… mm, walking with his hands while maintaining a handstand. Only when he got very close did the person perform a neat flip and land on his feet. Then he raised a thumb and grinned.
"Long time no see, Yuu! And Lady Tsunade!"
"…Uncle Duy?"
Yuu opened his mouth slightly, a little stunned.
He and Might Duy had known each other for a long time. He had even learned the Eight Gates from Duy before, making him something of a one-move teacher.
But…
the current Might Duy looked a little different from Yuu's impression.
The bowl cut had not changed, and neither had the thick eyebrows and large eyes. But his physique had expanded by a full circle compared to one or two months ago. His iconic green bodysuit was almost being stretched apart by bulging muscles, and his arms and thighs seemed much thicker as well, making him look very sturdy.
"Haha, you don't recognize me?"
Might Duy patted his own chest, producing thumping sounds.
"I have you and Mr. Mikami to thank for this! During this period, I've been helping out at Mr. Mikami's cola factory. My income is several times higher than before. Plus, Guy has also become a chūnin, so the food at home has improved, and my burning youth has been activated!
"I've already decided! At the end of this year, I'm going to sign up for the chūnin exams again! With this burning youth, I'll carry out higher-level missions!"
"…"
Yuu thought, Good grief. He was already in his thirties, yet he could still have a second growth spurt?
But then again…
Might Duy's frame had always been broad. The reason his body had not looked especially burly before was mainly because he trained too hard, his nutrition could not keep up, and many hidden injuries in his body had remained untreated for a long time, affecting his muscle mass.
Now that he had money, those two shortcomings had basically been made up for, which was why he had changed so much that Yuu almost did not recognize him.
At once,
Yuu glanced at Tsunade, then coughed lightly.
"Um… Uncle Duy, why don't you consider it a bit more? Review for another year or two before taking the exam. That would be safer."
In truth, what Yuu wanted to say was that being promoted to chūnin at this stage was very risky. The most intense period of the Ninja World War was about to arrive. At that time, forget chūnin—even genin might be sent to the battlefield, where survival would be uncertain.
Everyone else was trying to withdraw from the front line, yet Might Duy wanted to advance against the current. That was honestly a little hard to understand…
"Cough, cough."
Tsunade curled her lip and said casually, "If you want to say something, say it directly. Why beat around the bush? Konoha and Kumogakure are still fighting right now, and maybe Iwagakure will join in soon too. You've been a genin for years, so it's better for you to stay steadily in the village.
"The cola this brat created is already selling well throughout the Land of Fire. Helping out there is better than becoming a chūnin who might die at any moment, isn't it?"
"…Lady Tsunade, is that something you can say directly?"
Yuu hesitated a little.
Although it was the truth…
it did not seem like something one of the Sannin should say, right?
Across from them,
Might Duy also froze, a confused look appearing on his face.
Although he usually spoke and acted in a wild and eccentric way, he was not stupid. He still had some understanding of how cruel the battlefield was. It was just that retreating from difficulty did not feel very "youthful," so for a moment, he did not know how to respond.
But soon,
Might Duy took a deep breath and once again revealed his signature shining smile.
"Lady Tsunade, Yuu, you're right! Youth also requires steady steps! I will continue training hard and add more fuel to the burning passion of youth!"
After saying that, Might Duy stood on his hands again, supporting himself with both palms as he ran away upside down with the same speed he had arrived, thump, thump, thump.
Tsunade watched his back and sighed.
"That guy's character isn't bad, but his brain is far too single-track. I really don't know how he's lived all these years… Come on, Yuu. Let's go inside and see what you want to eat. If we're any later, the dango will be sold out."
"Oh."
Yuu nodded and followed her into the small shop not far away.
…
This "Three-Color Dango" shop was located at the corner of the commercial street. In terms of location alone, it was even better than Ichiraku Ramen. A warm curtain hung from the wooden lintel, and milky-white steam drifted out from inside, along with an enticing sweet fragrance.
Tsunade seemed to have been here before. As soon as she entered, she spoke familiarly.
"Boss, three servings each of red bean filling and matcha-flavored dango, plus a pot of hot barley tea!"
"Got it! Lady Tsunade! Coming right up!"
A clear response came from behind the counter.
As Yuu followed Tsunade toward an empty table at the side, he turned his head and glanced around the shop. His gaze swept over several familiar people.
Two girls and one boy.
Two of the girls had purple hair. One had a round face and was puffing her cheeks as she dealt with a skewer of glutinous rice dumplings, bright syrup sticking to the corner of her mouth. The other had a fair oval face and wore her hair in a ponytail. The boy's face was pale, and he looked somewhat sickly.
Mm, that was right.
These three were the eight- or nine-year-old Mitarashi Sweet Potato… cough, cough, still Anko for now, as well as Uzuki Yūgao and Gekkō Hayate. According to the ninja school system, they had probably just graduated and become genin.
At this moment,
Uzuki Yūgao also noticed Tsunade and Yuu. She quietly said something to her two companions, and the three hurriedly stood up, put down the bamboo skewers in their hands, and respectfully bowed toward them.
"L-Lady Tsunade!"
"Oh, Shigure's child. And you two as well."
Tsunade waved her hand.
"This isn't the ninja school. No need to be so stiff. Eat your food."
"Okay…"
Mitarashi Anko and the others answered, but they did not immediately sit down. Instead, they looked toward Yuu with curiosity on their faces.
"You… are Mikami-senpai Mikami?"
"Hm?"
Yuu raised an eyebrow.
"You've heard my stories?"
"Of course!"
To be fair,
Yuu was indeed a famous figure in Konoha now.
The top student from the previous previous class of the ninja school, the creator of Konoha's fastest promotion to jōnin record, the "White Reaper" who made Sunagakure tremble on the southwestern battlefield… More importantly, he belonged to Sarutobi Hiruzen's teacher-student line and was also a civilian genius.
With so many buffs stacked together, it would be hard not to leave a deep impression on people.
Of course…
for Gekkō Hayate and the others, Yuu also had another label: "someone else's child."
Over the past two years, who knew how many Konoha parents had used Yuu as an example when teaching their children. It was always things like, "Look at Mikami Yuu," or "Mikami Yuu could make a stunning breakthrough during the graduation exam, so why can't you?" Such words had made them suffer greatly.
Therefore, now that they were seeing Yuu himself, aside from a little admiration, Gekkō Hayate and the others felt more of an indescribable resentment.
"…Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"
Yuu felt a little uncomfortable under their gazes.
"…No. We're just used to hearing Mikami-senpai Mikami's name. This is the first time seeing the living version."
Mitarashi Anko said.
Gekkō Hayate coughed to cover his companion's inappropriate words. Then he pushed a plate of dango in front of him over.
"Mikami-senpai Mikami and Lady Tsunade came to eat dango too, right? We still have some here, and none of them have been touched. Would you like to try some first?"
"No need, thank you."
Yuu shook his head.
It was not that he disliked that the dango was leftover. Rather… when Gekkō Hayate handed the plate over, Mitarashi Anko's gaze remained stuck to that plate of dango, looking very reluctant to part with it. It was a little funny.
Soon,
the owner of the dango shop brought over steaming dango and barley tea.
Yuu picked up one skewer and took a bite. A thick mass of red bean paste flowed into his mouth. The soft, glutinous sweetness made him narrow his eyes slightly, feeling the fragrance linger on his lips and teeth.
"How is it? Tastes good, right?"
Tsunade smiled and also picked up a skewer of matcha dango, taking a bite.
"The tea here is good too. Although it's a little bitter, it happens to balance the sweetness of the glutinous rice. The flavor is just right… Oh, right. Your family's Raw Cola is also supplied here. Want two cups?"
"No need."
Yuu shook his head.
Cola was something best drunk occasionally. Drinking too much… the high calories were secondary. The main issue was that it could easily cause cavities. Although dental treatment in the Naruto world was decent, it was still not as good as original teeth, and Yuu did not want to experience the torment of toothache either.
After eating a few skewers of dango, Yuu felt a little full.
At this moment, Tsunade brought up another topic.
"Right, the old man should have told you about the Scroll of Seals, shouldn't he?"
~~~
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