Chapter 290: Tsunade Understands Everything
It was the sixth day since meeting Mugetsu, and as usual, Tsunade woke up around noon.
After finishing the meal Shizune prepared, she glanced at the clock. The hour hand pointed at twelve, and the minute hand had already passed halfway.
"Since he was busy yesterday, maybe he'll come at twelve today, like the first time," Tsunade thought to herself.
She sat down on the wooden walkway under the eaves, idly swinging one leg as she occasionally glanced toward the courtyard entrance, watching for a flash of gold.
"How lazy. Training should not be delayed. The more you procrastinate, the more it becomes a habit," Tsunade muttered, already blaming Mugetsu's gradually later arrival on bad discipline.
"Lady Tsunade, I think you have a point. Why don't you start waking up in the morning from now on and lead by example to motivate Teacher Mugetsu?" Shizune suggested, trying to nudge Tsunade toward a healthier routine.
"I don't need to study anymore, so it's fine for me to sleep a bit more," Tsunade replied without hesitation. Waking up early was absolutely out of the question.
Whether because he was still busy or simply did not plan to study long today, there was still no sign of Mugetsu by two in the afternoon.
"Could it be that yesterday's matters still aren't finished?" Tsunade considered.
It was a perfectly reasonable thought. That was how life worked for most adults.
Realizing she would be eating either restaurant food or Shizune's cooking again today, Tsunade sighed inwardly.
As her mood dipped, she suddenly noticed that the sky, which had been clear not long ago, had turned heavy and oppressive.
Dark clouds pressed down, and big raindrops began to fall one after another. In moments the rain thickened into a sheet of water.
Lightning flashed across the sky, thunder rumbled without pause, and the wind howled around the house.
"This cursed weather. It was fine just a moment ago," Tsunade grumbled, then pulled Shizune back inside.
Despite the constant thunder and wind outside, neither battle hardened Tsunade nor nine year old Shizune felt afraid. They simply went about their own tasks indoors.
Shizune quietly read through Medical Ninjutsu scrolls while a bored Tsunade picked up her notes on improving the Yin Seal.
Tsunade was not someone who could sit still for long. After an hour of research, she could not resist teasing Shizune twice, which lifted her spirits a little.
She glanced at the clock again. It was already past three in the afternoon.
"He must still be busy with whatever he had to do yesterday. With this kind of rain, he probably won't come today," Tsunade concluded.
If it were her, she would not want to do anything in such weather except lie down.
Ninja could move freely in a storm if needed, but Tsunade felt that heavy rain created an atmosphere suited only for sleeping or playing cards, not studying.
With that thought, her heart gradually calmed. So what if she could not eat that food that tasted almost like a genjutsu? It was not the end of the world.
"Shizune, I have an important mission for you," Tsunade suddenly said, looking at her with a serious expression.
Shizune had rarely seen Tsunade so solemn. She straightened instinctively and answered carefully,
"Lady Tsunade, please tell me. I will definitely complete it."
"Go and learn all of Mugetsu's cooking. I mean to the point you can make it exactly the same," Tsunade said gravely.
"I refuse."
"Shizune, didn't you just say you would definitely complete the mission?"
"This doesn't seem like an important mission, and Teacher Mugetsu might not teach me to cook. Even if he did, I might not be able to learn it."
Shizune did not believe Mugetsu's level of cooking could be mastered easily, and she knew her own talent in the kitchen was nothing special.
"How will you know if you don't try? Young people need to be brave and take chances. Just ask him directly," Tsunade said, patting Shizune's shoulder with a look of approval. "I have high hopes for you."
"Lady Tsunade, I am here. May I come in?"
Just as they were talking, Mugetsu's voice carried in from outside.
Shizune looked at Tsunade. She really wanted to call out "please come in," but this was Tsunade's house, not hers, so she held her tongue.
"Ahem, come in," Tsunade said, suppressing her surprise and answering as calmly as she could.
She watched as Mugetsu stepped through the doorway. Even though he had an umbrella, in a downpour like this it clearly could not keep him completely dry. The lower parts of his pants and back were damp with rain, and his hair was still a little wet.
"Excuse me," Mugetsu said. He left the umbrella outside, wrung some water from his clothes, changed his shoes, and walked into the house.
"Teacher Mugetsu, let me help you dry off," Shizune said, taking out a clean towel.
"Then I will trouble you," Mugetsu replied with a smile, crouching down slightly so she could reach.
He did not refuse her kindness. He had given Shizune pastries and always made sure she ate with them, so he felt he should also give her chances to repay him in her own way.
"Did you finish what you were busy with yesterday?" Tsunade asked, folding her arms under her chest.
"Yes," Mugetsu nodded.
"Then why come in this kind of heavy rain?" Tsunade continued.
"Because I wasted a lot of time yesterday by not being able to study with you, Lady Tsunade. I cannot afford to lose more. Never mind rain, even if it were raining shuriken, I would still come," Mugetsu said in a light, joking tone.
Tsunade could not help laughing. "If it were really raining shuriken, you would be pierced full of holes before you got far."
Ninja were strong, but if blades truly fell like rain, you could only block them with defensive Ninjutsu. A normal body would be shredded.
"That is why I need to learn Medical Ninjutsu from you even more. If I could heal while running, maybe it really would be possible," Mugetsu answered as he stood up once Shizune finished drying him.
"Today I will study for two hours as well," he added, taking out two hundred thousand ryo and handing it to Tsunade.
"Why not stay a bit longer? It is raining, and I do not feel like going out. I could extend the time today," Tsunade suggested after a moment of thought.
It was a small way of compensating Mugetsu. These past two days she had often made unfair assumptions about him.
"Because I am almost out of money," Mugetsu replied bluntly.
"I am a teacher at the Ninja School and rarely accept missions outside, so I do not have much saved. After today, I will not be able to study with you for a while. I will have to wait until the school pays me next month after classes resume."
Tsunade instantly understood everything.
Why he had come so early those first two days and studied for six hours. Why he had started arriving later and later, and why his lessons had become shorter and shorter.
The reason was simple: money. Mugetsu was paying one hundred thousand ryo per hour, the equivalent of a B rank mission reward.
She did not know his exact combat strength, but a Ninja working at the school, no matter how strong, would not earn much. The Ninja School did not pay based on power, but on position and overall performance.
A faint guilt rose in Tsunade's chest. She had never once considered that his changing schedule might be tied to money. She had always thrown ryo around carelessly, even though she lost constantly, and never cared much about it.
"After today, I can only study again next month… which means I will not be able to eat that food for an entire month," Tsunade realized with dawning horror.
She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. It was easy to go from simple to extravagant, but going back was torture.
For her, not eating Mugetsu's cooking for a month over something this trivial felt unbearably painful.
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