"You're just treating me like a fool!" Uchiha Dan laughed in exasperation. "Once I sign the contract, can I even use it? No. So what's the point of learning it?"
"And if I remember correctly, Senjutsu from Shikkotsu Forest is supposed to be the hardest Senjutsu to learn, right?" Uchiha Dan continued.
"According to the historical records, the only person who ever learned Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu was your grandfather, Hashirama Senju. Even your Second Grandfather couldn't learn it. Do you really think I have the aptitude?"
"You can stop saying things like that!" Uchiha Dan said. "I'm certainly interested in secretly studying Katsuyu to improve my Medical Arts, but that alone isn't enough."
"After all, I didn't just create the Revival Technique you saw last time. I've got several other techniques I haven't shown you because of my Chakra limitations. Your offer is far too poor."
"Several others?" Tsunade's breathing quickened.
And that technique was called the Revival Technique? Did that mean it could bring someone back from the dead?
Before Tsunade could make another offer, the office door opened and a nurse walked in. "Doctor Dan, there's a patient here asking specifically for you to treat him."
"Got it!"
Uchiha Dan grabbed his medical kit and darted off, leaving Tsunade looking thoroughly disgruntled.
The days passed one by one.
At night, Uchiha Dan coached Namikaze Minato in his training while testing his theories about ninjutsu.
During the day, he went about his usual work.
The only difference was that Tsunade had joined him in the office.
As time went by, Uchiha Dan gradually stopped resisting Tsunade's presence.
On the surface, it didn't look as though he'd accepted her. Instead, it seemed more like he'd resigned himself to her presence, which infuriated Tsunade.
Still, during their time as colleagues, the two discussed Medical Arts and Medical Ninjutsu often. Whenever they did, they became so engrossed that they could barely tear themselves away.
As the best Medical Ninja around, Tsunade had no one to discuss things with if Uchiha Dan wasn't there.
No one could keep up with her or offer constructive advice.
That was because she was the best.
Now that she had someone to discuss things with, everything had changed.
Tsunade's occasional insights made Uchiha Dan's eyes light up.
And Uchiha Dan's ideas and proposed solutions left Tsunade utterly fascinated.
More than once, Tsunade had wondered how this man could be so capable and yet so infuriating.
As they treated more patients, Tsunade's reputation gradually grew.
More and more people came to recognize the pair as Konoha's Peerless Duo in the medical field.
When they encountered cases that interested them, the two would study them together and work out how to treat them.
Three months passed like this. Then Uchiha Dan received a notice ordering him to develop a new Antidote in the Pharmaceutical Department.
Uchiha Dan keenly sensed that his opportunity had arrived.
To speed up his path to freedom, he decided to take a dangerous gamble.
Seven years had passed. He was tired. He truly didn't want to wait any longer. After all, how many seven-year stretches did a person get in life?
A secret room in the Pharmaceutical Department had become Uchiha Dan's private laboratory.
But Utatane Koharu didn't trust him, and always sent someone to keep an eye on him.
Uchiha Dan was used to it. Having no freedom wherever he went had become the norm in his life.
He could put up with everything else. The real problem was that he didn't even have a chance to test the Flying Thunder God Technique.
As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Konoha was a formidable force. If he wanted to escape successfully, Uchiha Dan needed the Flying Thunder God Technique.
For most people, learning the Flying Thunder God Technique was a hopeless task.
But the Flying Thunder God Technique had been invented by the evil Tobirama Senju, and Uchiha Dan possessed all of Tobirama Senju's talents.
So he'd never doubted that he could learn it.
Over the past seven years, Uchiha Dan had long since figured out how the Flying Thunder God Technique worked, but he hadn't dared to practice it.
He was afraid they'd mercilessly eliminate him before he could master it.
But the Flying Thunder God Technique wasn't something you could use just by understanding its principles. It required extensive practice, too.
Without mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique, Uchiha Dan felt as if there was nowhere for him to live in this vast Shinobi World.
Sighing, Uchiha Dan took out various medicinal ingredients and began processing and extracting each one.
About ten minutes later, Utatane Koharu herself showed up.
"Leave," she ordered the Security Section members. Once they were gone, only Uchiha Dan and Utatane Koharu remained in the laboratory.
"Evil Uchiha brat!" The moment Utatane Koharu saw Uchiha Dan, she looked down at him with cold disdain. "You have until noon to make the Antidote and write out the formula. Otherwise, you're dead."
Utatane Koharu's words made Uchiha Dan's blood boil.
This had happened plenty of times before.
And the coward Utatane Koharu wouldn't dare call him an "evil Uchiha brat" whenever anyone else was around. She wasn't nearly as straightforward as Tobirama Senju.
Only when they were alone would the old hag instantly start running her mouth, making Uchiha Dan want to kill her more than once.
If I can't beat Hatake Sakumo, who's watching me, surely I can beat you.
Among Tobirama Senju's many students, Utatane Koharu was the only woman.
She'd been quite pretty when she was young. And with Tobirama Senju still around back then, she'd been very well-behaved, making her the undisputed darling of the group.
She was also a Medical Ninja, and one of the best at it, with the strength of an Elite Jonin.
It was common knowledge in the Shinobi World that Medical Ninjas were generally weak in combat. Tsunade was an exception.
So Utatane Koharu was already remarkably strong for a Medical Ninja, having reached Elite Jonin level.
But after Tobirama Senju died, seven years had passed. As the old hag grew older and went without training for so long, her strength had declined considerably.
What nobody knew was that, during those seven years, Uchiha Dan had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
With his current abilities, killing the old hag would be quite easy.
One genjutsu, and she'd be dead.
But killing Utatane Koharu would only bring him momentary satisfaction.
It wouldn't do him any practical good, and he'd lose his own life in the process.
It wasn't that he'd never trade his life for someone else's.
But trading it for Utatane Koharu's?
Just thinking about it felt like a massive loss.
Uchiha Dan knew, though, that Utatane Koharu's hostility toward him had little to do with Tobirama Senju.
They were both Medical Ninjas, but Uchiha Dan's talent left the old hag in the dust by a mile.
Especially as time went by, Utatane Koharu couldn't help feeling like a complete failure.
Narrow-minded and once a pampered prodigy, Utatane Koharu had become so jealous of Uchiha Dan that it had twisted her face.
If Uchiha Dan weren't genuinely making her money, she'd have killed him long ago.
There was another reason she targeted Uchiha Dan, and it had to do with Kagami Uchiha.
In truth, Utatane Koharu hadn't always been so prejudiced against the Uchiha Clan.
So, after serving on the same team and fighting in the First Shinobi World War, she'd become rather taken with Kagami Uchiha—a handsome, powerful, and warm-hearted Uchiha who had saved her more than once.
But Kagami Uchiha had always kept his distance from Utatane Koharu.
Then, without even telling her beforehand, he started dating someone, got married, and now had a child old enough to run errands.
Utatane Koharu nearly went mad over it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi pursued me, and I turned him down.
Mitokado Homura pursued me, and I turned him down.
Shimura Danzō never pursued me, but he seemed to have a little interest in me once.
And you, Kagami Uchiha, dared to treat me this way?
So the old hag ended up hating the entire Uchiha Clan, and took all her anger out on the completely unrelated Uchiha Dan.
Even though Kagami Uchiha had died seven years ago, the hatred in Utatane Koharu's heart hadn't faded.
Before you continue