A Dream That Shakes the World Needs Someone to Make It Real, and I Happen to Be That Person

"Your jutsu is still lacking in two areas. The first is how to repair damaged internal organs and missing limbs, though I have some ideas about that."

Got it. The Strength of a Hundred Technique.

"The other is that achieving the automatic healing you described will be difficult. First and foremost, there's the problem of anchoring the body's condition. Do you have any ideas on that?"

"My idea is to use Sealing Jutsu. I'd seal the body's condition as a kind of information, then activate the seal when I'm injured."

The idea actually came from the Ōtsutsuki Clan's "Kāma." Though it was a Shinjutsu rather than a Sealing Jutsu, Tamaki wasn't looking for such a sophisticated effect at the moment, so he wanted to try starting with Sealing Jutsu.

"As far as I know, no such Sealing Jutsu exists right now. You'd have to develop it from scratch, and Sealing Jutsu has always been difficult to learn, so your jutsu just got even harder. Besides, I don't know any Sealing Jutsu."

"That's all right. I'll study it on my own. I not only synthesized Wood Release, but also awakened the Uzumaki Bloodline. I'll figure something out myself."

"The Uzumaki Bloodline? All right, handle that however you see fit."

"Aside from those two points, there isn't much more I can teach you about Medical Ninjutsu. Judging by this jutsu alone, you're already a medical-nin no worse than me."

"You're too modest, Teacher. I haven't been studying Medical Ninjutsu for long enough. I can't compare to your experience."

"All right, kid. Don't think I can't tell. You've got just as many little schemes as those old geezers in their dozens of years."

"How could that be? I'm just a weak, helpless rookie ninja."

"Stop putting on that act. It's painful to look at."

"Yes."

"Shizune, go get a room next door ready for this kid to rest in."

"Huh? Yes, I'll go right away."

"Sorry for the trouble, Sister Shizune."

"You're welcome."

With that, Shizune left the room to take care of it.

Tsunade looked at Tamaki, seeming to have something she wanted to say but holding back.

Tamaki noticed and pulled two more scrolls from the large bundle. One had a pure white cover; the other had a green cover bearing a subtle pattern of Konoha's emblem.

He handed her the white one first.

"Teacher, my eldest uncle asked me to bring this. It contains letters from several elders of my granduncles' generation."

"Is that so?"

"And then there's this."

Holding the green scroll, Tamaki said, "These are my insights into fusing Wood Release. I thought they might be useful to you too, Teacher."

Tsunade looked up and glanced at it, disbelief on her face.

"With your mastery of Yang Release, Teacher, as long as you become proficient in the nature and shape transformations of Earth Release and Water Release, obtaining Wood Release shouldn't be difficult. The hard part is figuring out how to fuse them. This should help you with that."

"You? Why? We've only just met, haven't we?"

"Well, I have plenty of reasons."

Hearing that, Tsunade nearly rolled her eyes up to the heavens.

"I knew you weren't an honest kid. Go on, what are your conditions?"

"I hope that while I'm traveling with you, Teacher, you can accompany me to a few places when I need you to."

"That depends on where."

"Then it's settled."

Tsunade rolled her eyes again when she heard that, but she didn't object.

"Also, I'd like to learn the Yin Seal from you, Teacher."

"All right."

Even if Tamaki hadn't mentioned it, Tsunade had intended to teach him the jutsu when the time was right.

"Lastly, I hope you'll support me in becoming the Fourth Hokage."

"Kid, don't you know I've already left the village?!"

"But you haven't been struck from the village's rolls, have you?"

"Hah, even so, it wouldn't be your turn. It should go to those two, Jiraiya or Orochimaru."

"Lord Jiraiya has no interest in such things. As for Lord Orochimaru, Lord Hokage doesn't seem too keen on seeing him become the Fourth. Besides, you aren't interested in becoming the Fourth either, are you, Teacher?"

"And that means you can do it? Have you given any thought to your age? You're best suited to being the Fifth."

Tsunade understood the succession between generations of Hokage well. She also knew that as long as this disciple of hers didn't die, he would surely become Hokage. But she didn't want to get involved in these matters now.

"Teacher, did you know that a little over two months ago, if I hadn't been strong enough, Asuma, Kurenai, and I might all have died in the Land of Earth?"

"I don't want to be hamstrung by the village anymore. How could we ever bring peace to the Shinobi World with that bunch of vermin?!"

Looking at Tamaki, who had suddenly become a stranger to her, Tsunade felt she had been a little hasty in taking him as her disciple.

"How old are you? There's no need to be thinking about these things. And don't say any more. I won't agree to that condition, and I don't want to get tangled up in the village's dirty politics again."

"I understand, Teacher."

She looked at Tamaki's impassive expression and listened to his even tone.

"Hey, kid, you just spouted such a grand ideal, and now you're giving up so easily?"

"Dreams have to be realized one step at a time. You'll see my determination in the days to come, Teacher. There's no need to win an argument now."

"You..."

"I'm back. Tamaki, your room is ready."

"Then, Teacher, Sister Shizune, I'll go get some rest."

With that, Tamaki picked up the large bundle again and headed to his room.

Watching the young boy, Tsunade suddenly had a strong premonition that he would change the entire Shinobi World.

Then she shook her head. How could she have such an absurd thought?

That was a feat even her grandfather had failed to accomplish!

But a peaceful Shinobi World... I'd really like to see it too.

I really must be drunk, to have a thought like that.

Tsunade took a few more swigs of wine, trying to push the thought down.

Shizune, meanwhile, began making the bed. She really was a dutiful little assistant.

Early the next morning, Tamaki got up on time and began his morning training.

After coming into contact with Shrouding the Heavens, he had wondered whether the gates of the Eight Gates Released Formation, the Gate of Spirit, and the gates of the Body as a Seed Method might be manifestations of the same thing under different systems and ways of thinking.

He couldn't be sure yet, though. After all, the Shrouding the Heavens Wang Chuan hadn't come online since returning.

For now, Tamaki planned to familiarize himself thoroughly with Wood Release, then keep training and improve his Eight Gates Released Formation.

He opened the door and went to the courtyard of the hot spring inn.

The courtyard had none of those elaborate landscape decorations, just a small, simple pond and a Japanese black pine, one on either side.

Pebbles were laid around the pond, and a few small fish lived in it.

A path ran between the black pine and the pond. There wasn't much space, but it was enough for morning training.

After training for a while, Tamaki heard a door open. He turned to see Shizune approaching.

"Good morning, Sister Shizune."

"Good morning, Tamaki. But you don't have to call me Sister. I'm only a few years older than you."

"Then, Shizune?"

"That's fine. Are you practicing Taijutsu?"

"Yeah, it's a habit."

"Then I won't disturb you. I'll go prepare breakfast. Wash up later and come eat with us."

"Okay."

After working up a good, satisfying sweat, Tamaki took a bath and went to the room they'd been in the night before, ready for breakfast.

Tsunade was drinking hangover soup and clutching her head, looking for all the world like a middle-aged uncle nursing a hangover.

"Shizune, my head hurts so much. Give me a massage."

"Who told you to drink so much last night, Lady Tsunade?"

Though she complained, Shizune still walked over and began massaging Tsunade.

Tsunade hummed and groaned as she enjoyed the massage, while Tamaki ate the inn's breakfast on the other side. There wasn't much variety, but it tasted pretty good.

"Kid, what are you planning to do next?"

"Next? I want to visit the Land of Whirlpools first. Even though the Five Great Nations carved it up completely, I want to see if anything was overlooked. It would be even better if the elders of the Land of Whirlpools studied how to seal information about the body."

"Trying your luck? Sure. The Land of Hot Water isn't far from there."

Tamaki, meanwhile, was deep in thought. He actually didn't have much hope of finding Sealing Jutsu on this trip to the Land of Whirlpools.

The main point was to bring up his sorrow over the Uzumaki Clan, then go to the Land of Grass to pick up Karin and her mother. He didn't know whether Karin had been born yet.

It wasn't just the handful of surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan. Tamaki hoped to gather as many bloodlines around himself as possible, so he could gain more power.

Tamaki wanted to see if he could get himself an Ōtsutsuki Bloodline, collect as many bloodlines as possible, explore their mysteries, and then fuse them into himself.

Even if he couldn't, they could still serve as nourishment for his other selves across the heavens. There could never be too many ways to grow stronger.