If the village had properly trained Uchiha Dan and given him effective training from a young age, how strong would he be now?
Tsunade couldn't even begin to imagine.
Even if he couldn't reach the level of her great-grandfather, he could probably have easily reached Second Grandfather's level.
But just because his surname was Uchiha, they had let him waste all those years.
As time passed, Uchiha Dan would surely become more and more proficient in the Monster Strength Technique. It was only a matter of time before he learned Monster Strength Technique: Ultra Precision Mode, and his combat experience would improve sooner or later, too.
Once Uchiha Dan activated Sage Mode and his Mangekyō Sharingan, then combined them with the Flying Thunder God Technique he'd soon master—
Just imagining how strong he'd become in the future was terrifying.
It was practically a foregone conclusion.
That's right. In addition to all the training mentioned above, Uchiha Dan had also been practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Every time he was reverse-summoned back and forth, Uchiha Dan focused all his senses and devoted himself to feeling the fluctuations in space.
After becoming thoroughly familiar with the spatial nodes and pathways, he compared them one by one with his previous theories about the Flying Thunder God Technique.
And so, under Tsunade's watchful eye, Uchiha Dan made a start on the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Before long, he'd probably be able to use it proficiently.
Thinking about all this, Tsunade couldn't help complaining that she shouldn't have taught Uchiha Dan the Monster Strength Technique in the first place. That way, she could've kept him suppressed for at least a little longer.
But she'd never expected that Uchiha Dan could learn in less than a month the technique she'd spent two whole years creating!
Uchiha Dan hadn't had the heart to explain that he'd actually been studying the Monster Strength Technique for years. He might as well have already mastered it; all he'd lacked was practice.
After all, even Tobirama Senju couldn't master the Monster Strength Technique in a month. Naturally, Uchiha Dan couldn't either.
Fortunately, Tsunade had always had a clear sense of her role: she was a Medical Ninja. So if she couldn't beat him, she couldn't beat him!
Once Uchiha Dan had rested enough, Tsunade reached out and pulled him to his feet.
"Dan, are you okay?" Tsunade looked him over and asked worriedly.
Uchiha Dan laughed. "Why do you ask me that every time? What could possibly happen to me?"
"Ah, I just feel like we go all out every time we spar. What if one day we accidentally—"
"But if we don't give it our all, how will we improve?" Uchiha Dan asked with a slight shake of his head.
"And have you forgotten who we are?"
"We're the number one and number two Medical Ninja in the Shinobi World. As long as we don't die, we can beat each other to a pulp without worrying."
"All right."
Feeling the faint distance Uchiha Dan had been keeping from her lately, Tsunade opened her mouth as if to say more, but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to.
After that day's training, the two of them left Shikkotsu Forest as usual.
The next day, Uchiha Dan entered the office with a yawn. Seeing the empty desk across from him, he felt conflicted.
He'd been spending every day with Tsunade and constantly had to endure her smoldering gaze. Uchiha Dan had thought a brief separation might help him relax.
But he realized that wasn't the case. With Tsunade suddenly taking a day off, he actually felt a little lost.
"I'm such an idiot!" he cursed himself, then forced himself to focus on work.
After what had happened before, Tsunade no longer dared to make decisions about Uchiha Dan without consulting him. She discussed everything with him, so there was no need to worry about her trying to help and making things worse again.
What he didn't know was that Tsunade hadn't taken the day off because she had something to do. She'd gone straight to steal someone else's brother.
And her target was Namikaze Minato.
Tsunade had been feeling rather gloomy lately. Although she and Uchiha Dan spent every day together, their relationship had never progressed any further.
So she'd decided to start with Namikaze Minato and see if she could find a way to change things.
In an empty training ground,
Tsunade was deeply shaken as she looked at Namikaze Minato, sprawled on the ground and panting heavily, exhausted in exactly the same way as Uchiha Dan.
Tsunade had originally planned to take Namikaze Minato out for some fun since he had the day off. She'd even looked up the places Konoha's children liked to visit and the food they enjoyed, preparing a whole itinerary.
What she hadn't expected was that Namikaze Minato would be just as unusual. He'd said he didn't want to go anywhere, then asked hopefully if he could fight her.
And so, just a moment ago, the two of them had sparred.
"Sister Tsunade, you have no idea how frustrating it's been." After a while, Namikaze Minato slowly sat up, looking thoroughly satisfied. "My big brother's always being watched, so he never dares show his strength."
"The kids at the Ninja Academy are way too weak. I never get the chance to fight at full strength."
"And my big brother won't let me show what I can do. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for a chance to go all out."
"That was so satisfying!"
What could Tsunade say?
Her goal today had been to cheer Namikaze Minato up. However she did it, as long as he was happy.
Still, she couldn't help asking, "Minato, how are you so strong? You're so young, but you've already reached Chunin level."
"Being talented and strong would be one thing, but how do you know so many ninjutsu? And you clearly had an accomplished teacher guiding you for a long time. None of this makes sense."
"Uh..." Namikaze Minato just scratched his head sheepishly and said nothing.
"Is it because of Dan?" Tsunade asked tentatively.
Namikaze Minato froze for a moment at her question.
Then he remembered his big brother telling him that Sister Tsunade could be trusted. He nodded and said,
"Even though my big brother can't train, his understanding of ninjutsu is the best there is. He's been guiding me in my training since I was two."
His understanding of ninjutsu was the best there was...
And then there was what Minato had just said: "My big brother's always being watched, so he never dares show his strength."
Namikaze Minato's words made Tsunade clench her fists.
So this guy had been pretending he knew nothing in front of me all along?
Now that Uchiha Dan was temporarily out of danger, Tsunade had gradually calmed down over the past month and slowly begun to sense that something was off.
During this time, countless questions had kept popping into her head, and she'd started to doubt some of the things Uchiha Dan had once told her.
How should she put it?
Tsunade had actually begun to realize that Uchiha Dan seemed to have been using her all along, concealing plenty of things from her and deliberately steering her in many situations.
But she'd never dared to think about it. She hadn't wanted to.
Still, some things remained a thorn in her heart.
So the real reason she'd come to see Namikaze Minato today was to see if she could get some information from him and confirm her suspicions.
"Then what about your body..." Tsunade pressed on, forcing down her emotions. "I've met your parents. They're both completely ordinary. How did you end up so strong you're like a little beast?"
Namikaze Minato grinned again. "Starting when I was two, my big brother used all kinds of precious medicinal herbs to give me medicinal baths. He also taught me the Chakra Body Forging Method."
"What Chakra Body Forging Method?" Tsunade's heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly asked.
"Uh!" Namikaze Minato hesitated for a while, but finally answered, "It's a body-forging ninjutsu he created himself. It guides Chakra to stimulate and strengthen the body's cells. Didn't my big brother tell you about it?"
Finally understanding everything, Tsunade punched a tree beside her and smashed it to pieces. "That guy! He insisted on telling me he was born with monstrous strength. So he was lying to me again! I'll never forgive him."
Before you continue