Seeing the enraged Tsunade, Kitagawa jumped slightly and prepared to flee at any moment, but his voice remained forceful. "Tsunade-sama wouldn't be a sore loser, would you?"
"You dare say I'm a sore loser?!"
Tsunade's eyes practically shot fire. Her twin tails even floated up, and cracks spider-webbed across the ground beneath her feet.
Kitagawa's eye twitched, but he forced himself to sound calm. "Tsunade-sama, how about this instead: I'll do home visits every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. And I'll buy you drinks. On days without home visits, no drinking."
"Huh?"
Tsunade's anger was doused like a bucket of cold water. "You'll buy me drinks?"
"What's your scheme?"
Kitagawa spread his hands helplessly. "Consider it an apology."
"Actually, the best choice would be for Tsunade-sama to abstain from alcohol until Shizune graduates."
Tsunade snorted coldly. "Impossible!"
"Then it's settled. Home visits Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. You pay for the drinks."
Kitagawa nodded. "No problem."
"By the way, Tsunade-sama, you don't have a job right now, do you?"
Tsunade said coldly, "What business is that of yours?"
"You're just a school teacher. Stop sticking your nose everywhere."
Kitagawa sighed. "I just think that being too idle isn't good for health. It makes people age faster."
Tsunade's brow shot up. "Are you saying... I'm old?"
Just as she was about to explode, Kitagawa quickly backtracked. "Of course not! What I meant is, someone with your abilities would be wasting their talents if they weren't being used."
"How about becoming a teacher at the school instead?"
"You could specialize in teaching medical ninjutsu!"
Tsunade pouted. "That's not realistic. I'm not interested."
"Besides, stop meddling in things!"
She turned and walked away.
Kitagawa watched her back with a smile. Looks like I need more time to work on her.
But Tsunade stopped not far down the path, her brow furrowing. Wait... didn't I fall for his trap?
From now on, I can only drink when he's around?
Damn it!
She wanted to go back and settle this with Kitagawa, but she couldn't bring herself to lose face by backing down. So she gritted her teeth and left. Next time I get a chance, I'm beating him up!
Kitagawa continued his training. Time flew by until Monday.
After afternoon classes, Kitagawa didn't immediately head to Tsunade's for the home visit. Instead, he went to train first.
He understood clearly—strength was the foundation of everything.
Only after finishing his training did Kitagawa knock on Tsunade's door.
"Teacher Kitagawa!"
Shizune opened the door, not surprised at all. She'd already been told Kitagawa would visit at fixed times.
"Has Shizune eaten dinner?"
Kitagawa asked as he entered.
Shizune nodded. "Yes, I have! Did you just finish training, Teacher?"
She could smell the sweat on him.
"That's right. Even though I don't have active missions, I need enough strength to teach you all more things."
Kitagawa said with a smile.
Shizune spoke sincerely. "Teacher really is the best teacher!"
"Hahaha~"
Kitagawa laughed and ruffled Shizune's hair, then noticed Tsunade leaning against a pillar with her arms crossed.
Her expression seemed... a bit resentful?
"Shizune, time to study."
Tsunade spoke.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
Shizune quickly nodded and waved goodbye to Kitagawa before hurrying to the study.
A moment later, Tsunade also came to the study.
Shizune looked up. "Did Teacher Kitagawa leave already?"
Tsunade nodded calmly, then asked, "What, do you like that guy?"
Shizune answered honestly and nodded. "Teacher Kitagawa is a very good teacher. Everyone likes him."
"Does Tsunade-sama hate him?"
Tsunade's expression froze, then she said, "That guy is extremely verbose."
Shizune couldn't help but smile. "Teacher Kitagawa is indeed a bit wordy. He likes repeating and emphasizing things when teaching."
Tsunade was curious, raising an eyebrow. "Like what?"
Shizune answered without hesitation. "For example, Teacher always emphasizes the fundamental nature of chakra. He says only by remembering chakra's nature can you truly master this power."
"The fundamental nature of chakra?"
Tsunade looked thoughtful.
Shizune nodded. "Teacher also frequently emphasizes the power of will, the power of understanding, the power of knowledge."
"He says with will strong enough, you can use chakra to do anything within your comprehension."
Within your comprehension?
Tsunade frowned, then asked, "For example?"
Shizune thought for a moment. "Like Clone Technique versus Shadow Clone Technique."
"The former creates illusory clones with no physical form, but they have the caster's consciousness and will. They can act independently to deceive enemies."
"Shadow Clones are real physical clones with all the original's abilities."
"Why can they do this? It's because chakra's fundamental nature is a combination of physical and spiritual energy. It naturally carries all the original's genetic information and can bear human spiritual consciousness."
"Especially that last part—chakra can bear spiritual consciousness. That's the key to controlling chakra."
After finishing, Shizune asked, "Tsunade-sama, is everything Teacher Kitagawa said correct?"
Tsunade nodded with a somewhat complicated expression. "He didn't say anything wrong."
"However, some of this might be difficult for you all to fully understand."
Shizune nodded, then smiled again. "Teacher told us to treat chakra like our hands and feet—control it like we control our limbs."
Meanwhile, Kitagawa and Tsunade were at an izakaya.
After the sake arrived, Tsunade immediately downed three cups in rapid succession, then let out a long breath and exhaled directly in Kitagawa's face.
If she were ugly, he'd definitely slap her.
But Tsunade? Top-tier lung capacity?
Kitagawa held back.
He'd already built the image of a "little pervert" in her mind. Adding "lecherous guy" would be hard to overcome.
However, after the appetizers arrived, Tsunade looked up with a raise of her eyelid. "Pay the bill and you can leave!"
So blatant about burning bridges.
Kitagawa didn't budge. He said seriously, "I also need to make sure Tsunade-sama doesn't get drunk."
Tsunade snorted coldly. "I never get drunk!"
Kitagawa changed the subject. "Tsunade-sama, how about taking me as your student?"
"Huh?"
Tsunade blinked, thinking she'd misheard. "What?"
Kitagawa spoke seriously. "I'd like to ask Tsunade-sama to teach me medical ninjutsu!"
Tsunade frowned. "Why?"
"I asked Shizune, and your medical ninjutsu isn't bad."
Kitagawa shook his head. "That's just what I taught myself."
"I need better instruction so I can teach my students properly."
Tsunade took a sip of sake, speaking lazily. "What you know is more than enough to teach those brats at school!"
Kitagawa smiled. "If I encounter a gifted student, my limited knowledge might not be sufficient."
"Besides, I want to recruit disciples specifically to teach."
"The village has too few medical ninja. If every small team had a medical ninja, it would greatly increase their survival rate and ability to sustain operations."
Tsunade paused as she set down her sake cup, then scoffed. "Don't daydream."
"Medical ninja have weak combat ability. In battle, they become weak points that enemies exploit. They're more of a burden than an asset."