Months have passed since I started training with Tsunade, so my physical strength has increased considerably, as has my control of yang-style chakra.
Kushina came by from time to time to continue her instruction in sealing techniques, and for some reason, when we ate, she would sit me on her lap and feed me right there.
I'm not complaining, because it saves me from having to move to eat, which gives me time to think about other nonsense.
Examples of what I think about while I eat would be ideas for new stories to sell, whether it be a compendium of short stories, 4koma-style stories, or even a diary of thoughts or ideas, imitating a little bit the style of Mein Kampf or Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto and my opinions on those ideologies.
I won't go into too much detail, but I've given some examples of how each one is applied, as well as recounting the history of the Third Reich and the Soviet Union while giving some opinions on what happened.
For some reason, it became very popular, being in a way a good source of income, but I'm afraid that some idiot might want to imitate those ideas, so sometimes I regret having written them.
If someone uses my writings as justification to do something crazy... well, I guess I can sell a new book on how not to be a fanatic idiot.
Ñom
Kushina puts some food in my mouth while I think about these things, but because of my racing thoughts, I can't taste the food, so you could say that even if they put a delicacy in my mouth, it would taste like paper.
Tsunade and Kushina have been chatting for a while, it's a trivial conversation, such as questions like, "How have you been?" or "Look, the other day this happened," so I avoid paying attention, as it's not of interest to me and they're not talking to me.
Kushina brings another piece of food to my mouth, and I chew it slowly while thinking about what I could do to earn more money.
It's ironic: in my past life, I signed million-dollar contracts while eating breakfast alone... and now a hyperactive redhead is feeding me like a baby. How life changes.
"Do you see him as your son now?" Tsunade said mockingly.
But Kushina just made a face as she protested.
"It's just that I've gotten used to him coming over every time you hurt him until he can't move. Don't be silly."
And they continued chatting like that while I remained immersed in my thoughts.
Anyone who tells you that money can't buy happiness is lying, because money itself can't buy it as such, but it can buy what can make you happy, so it doesn't hurt to get money to buy what you want.
Summary: money DOES buy at least what gives you happiness.
Now that I can't go back to my workshop during this time, I'm buying materials and storing them in the usual cave where I sent some servants to manage them.
I should also mention that I hired some mercenaries to protect the area, because even though it's a very hidden area, it doesn't hurt to have guards.
Ironically, while I was thinking about money, someone just as excited about that resource as I was appeared.
I hired Kakuzu. When I posted the ad, that old man showed up immediately, because making money just by guarding materials is a bargain.
"Boss, I won't let anyone lay their hands on your materials."
Although Kakuzu had most of his face covered, you could tell he was smiling, and if this were some kind of anime, you could even see the symbol of money in his eyes.
Although the area around it is surrounded by skeletons and very dangerous arthropods and insects, it doesn't hurt to protect it. Besides, that way I can gain Kakuzu's trust a little, although finding him was pure luck.
My servants were now more involved in researching and managing my business than taking care of the house, as some of them are a little older and can already start in that field.
For some reason, I've noticed that there have been spies watching me lately. I noticed they were spies because some of them had dark skin and their customs are very different from those of Konoha.
But if it's just to spy, I don't think it does any harm as long as they don't meddle where they shouldn't, because as soon as I enter the Senju residence or pass by an Uchiha, they leave immediately, as they are not stupid enough to show themselves in front of a Sannin, a Jinchuriki, or a bunch of Uchiha.
But from time to time, just for fun, I would send some bullet ants that would sting them, causing them to scream loudly, making the Uchiha detect them immediately.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH IT HURTS, IT HURTS!"
"Stop right there!"
That's how it went when I sent my ants after those spies.
How come they didn't detect those ants? They probably did detect them, but they greatly underestimated their sting, as it's not very common to find Paraponera clavata.
You could say that they appear very rarely, as no tribe has ever thought of using them in initiation rituals as they do in their native land.
Thanks to my contribution in capturing spies, the Third Hokage praised me... but what do I want that for? Give me money, damn it, or at least kick Danzo's ass.
Anyway, the third Hokage found out about the capture of the spies because Yamanaka reported that the ants that stung the spy were mine. They detected my chakra influencing them, so in the end they came to me.
When he found out that I had tamed ants, the head of the Aburame clan gave me a thumbs up for some reason... I thought they would be angry.
Perhaps it's because ants are arthropods, not insects, so it's not necessarily the same secret technique as their clan's, but a variant, since I don't let the ants live inside my body either.
For some reason, Danzo was there when I was being praised for using those ants, but for some reason he was smiling at me.
Don't do that, it gives me the creeps.
Tsunade walked beside me when Danzo was about to approach me, leaving Danzo with no choice but to back away.
I can't help but smile mockingly as I watch Danzo retreat like a sewer rat.
But Tsunade hits me on the head, making me wipe that expression off my face.
By the way, the chunin exams are in a few days, so now I have to prepare.
Tsunade gave me this week off to study, because I already know more or less what the exam is like, but I want to at least be competent at gathering information.
As for my coding style of writing a different language with letters that don't correspond to it (like Spanish with the Cyrillic alphabet), that's one way, but now I have to study the ways of this world, because I also have to decode secret messages from other villages or even my own.
But I think Kakashi will still take this exam, but if we talk about his mission history, I have no idea what it could be, although I don't care, because the only thing I want to know is that he is already strong enough to be a Chunin.
I'm supposed to be studying, but I'm just rolling around on the floor with a pencil in my mouth.
It seems that my bad habit of biting my pencils followed me even after death.
Wait, I shouldn't be thinking about nonsense right now, I should be studying.
What was I supposed to study? I forgot.
And to my regret, that's how my days of theoretical study passed.
On the practical or combat side of my studies, I would have gone on extermination missions, but since I don't have a jounin instructor with me, it wasn't possible for me to go alone, either because that's the rules or because I suspect Danzo would try something.
So instead, I practiced with Tsunade, but since I don't have her automatic healing with her hundred seal, I had to heal myself manually, so that way I could withstand her blows much better.
It doesn't hurt as much as a bullet ant sting, but I can say that it hurts like a stab wound, where you feel the puncture and the affected area starts to feel hot.
Author's note: Yes, I was stabbed once, so I know how it feels.
Every time she punched me, it felt like I was being stabbed, but it wasn't unbearable pain, so I ended up exchanging blows while enduring the pain.
I finally managed to defeat Tsunade in pure hand-to-hand combat, as I infused some lightning chakra to paralyze her and sometimes cause her sharp pain.
Of course, if we had used our entire arsenal, I would have lost miserably, because with her Hundred Seal active plus her use of Lady Katsuyu and so on, I wouldn't have stood a chance.
But this was almost a boxing and martial arts match.
Furthermore, although I am strong, it is not as if I am stronger than Tsunade in physical power, but rather that I occasionally let her hit me in order to capture her arms and/or legs and then use her own momentum to knock her down or deliver a blow, because due to my size, I took advantage of her weight and strength against her.
In my previous life, I was good at mixed martial arts, so I was able to use my previous knowledge to improve and combine it with chakra.
But because my mother's Sharingan drains a lot of chakra, I don't usually use ninjutsu, so I preferred to go to the taijutsu branch so I wouldn't run out of chakra in the middle of a fight, as if I had the same condition as Might Guy.
Still, the use of ninjutsu wasn't something I was particularly interested in or had a great affinity for, since I'm not used to memorizing katon techniques or others as my main strength.
But in the case of taijutsu, or martial arts as such, it's not something you have to think about too much; it's more instinctive, so I don't have to think too much about what to do next.
That's why, even though I hate socializing, I see Might Guy and Might Duy from time to time, as they are the best taijutsu teachers I could have, besides Tsunade, of course.
As for the Eight Gates, I don't think I'll be able to learn them until I reach a certain age. I can't push my body any harder or I'll become crippled.
The funny thing is that even though I was beaten up by Tsunade, no blood ever flowed from my body, because it seems that she mixed in some chakra to heal those areas to prevent the blood from flowing, but of course, leaving the pain behind.
Maybe that's also why I was able to take so many hits before defeating her for the first time...
"Well, you defeated me in the first stage. Next time, I'll take it a little more seriously," she said with a smile... Damn, I don't have a good feeling about this.
Yes, as I suspected, she was holding back.
Massive pain is on its way, probably now almost at the level of my bullet ants.
All that's left is to smile as tears run down my cheeks, knowing that it's going to hurt a lot.
"And if you fail the chunin exam, you'll be worse off," she said, now showing a fist that looked like her veins were bulging a little due to the tension.
I have to pass no matter what. Although I can withstand pain well, I'm not one of those who enjoy it, so if I can avoid it, I will.
Now that I've finished training, I'm going home right away, as I have nothing else to do, but suddenly I feel hungry, so I go to a candy store.
Walking around here is somewhat relaxing. For some reason, the wind is cooler in this area, and the smell of sweets abounds here.
"Ma'am, some colored dango, please."
I notice a couple shopping in one of the stores. They have a girl of about 4 years old in their arms with dango chopsticks in her mouth.
She has dark, unruly hair, although with a slightly purple hue? I can't quite tell if it's purple, violet, or blue, but the point is that it's not completely black or brown.
She has something like a short ponytail in the back.
I think I recognize her by her hair and her taste for dango, but who knows, maybe she's just another girl from Konoha.
"Here you go, Mr. Mitarashi," said the shopkeeper as she came out of the dango shop with four sticks of dango in a small box.
If that's her last name, I think the girl is Anko...
To think that her addiction to dango started at such a young age, I don't know what to think.
But meeting little Anko Mitarashi is interesting, because even though she wasn't as relevant as the main characters in the series, she was a girl with a good sense of humor despite what Orochimaru put her through after her defection.
It was an interesting scene, but I don't know them at the moment, so I'd better buy something sweet and go back home.
At that moment, little Anko sees me and smiles at me while holding the dango in her mouth.
I smile back at her and say hello, then go about my business.
I explored the shops in the commercial district and ended up buying sweets for everyone in the house and a few other things I needed, such as some condiments and even some hair accessories that would look good on Maki.
When I returned home, I was greeted by Maki and other servants of the house. I handed the purchases to Maki and ordered her to distribute them among everyone.
Of course, I put names on the things I wanted delivered to a specific person, so there would be no mistake.
And that was my experience before the chunin exams began.
As I entered the house, I felt a tingling sensation on the back of my neck. It wasn't the wind.
Someone else is watching. The chunin exams are near... and not everyone watching is a spy.
If my mother were here, would she be proud of me?
Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs," so all I can do is think about my revenge against Danzo when the time comes.
The day will come when I can shove bullet ants up Danzo's ass.