First Time Leaving the Village

"Terrifying! Is this the Senju Clan?"

Watching Tsunade punch the testing machine until it smoked, Orochimaru let out a faint sigh.

"Why did A hit me?" Jiraiya said, half his face swollen and his words slurred.

Hiruko stared at Tsunade in astonishment. "Amazing! As expected of Princess Tsunade!"

The little group was caught up in envy, jealousy, and resentment.

The Sarutobi Hiruzen who had come was only a Shadow Clone. Once he learned that Tsunade was fine and had instead grown much stronger, he dispelled it. Uzumaki Mito, however, was still here watching Tsunade's tests.

Holding the test results, Sarutobi Toru jogged over to Uzumaki Mito. She was a living legend—Hashirama Senju's wife. Now in her fifties, she was at the final peak of a ninja's life. In terms of strength, this elderly woman was probably Konoha's strongest.

If Tsunade had not slept for two days, he truly would not have gotten to meet the First Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Grandma Mito, the results are out. Tsunade's physical abilities have reached the level of a Chunin, while her Chakra reserves exceed those of most Jōnin. The exact increase is difficult to determine because the gap is too large, but it is estimated to be ten times what it was before. Most importantly, her bodily vitality and recovery ability are dozens of times stronger than before!"

Even Toru found those figures unbelievable. It was also the first time he had witnessed the terrifying nature of the Otsutsuki bloodline.

"Is that so? You've worked hard, Toru."

"No, no, it was my oversight. I didn't expect Tsunade to remain asleep for so long and make everyone worry."

"All right, Toru. You didn't do it on purpose. Besides, I gained such a huge improvement that I don't even know how to thank you." After finishing her tests, Tsunade came over to the two of them and said with a smile.

As she spoke, she gave Uzumaki Mito a meaningful look.

Uzumaki Mito chuckled helplessly and shook her head. "You young people can chat among yourselves. This old woman won't stay here and get in your way."

With that, Uzumaki Mito's figure flashed, and she vanished.

What an incredible Body Flicker Technique. So this old lady isn't some useless fraud with only impressive attributes, Toru thought.

"Toru, thank you for this," Tsunade said with a grin as she walked to his side, gazing at him with infatuation.

For some reason, after waking up this time, Tsunade felt that the attraction Toru had always held for her had increased tenfold. She could barely control herself.

"That's mostly because your own potential is so great. Why thank me?"

"Is that so? I was going to use the Flying Thunder God Technique as a gift to thank you." Tsunade smiled mischievously. After hearing Toru mention that he wanted to see the Flying Thunder God Technique, she had long since made preparations.

"Then thank you, Tsunade!" Toru did not even continue the conversation. He simply reached out and rubbed Tsunade's head.

"Mmm~" Tsunade nuzzled against Toru's palm like a cat. Then she came to her senses, hurriedly backed away several steps with a flushed face, and put on a fierce expression. "Don't touch my head!"

Toru laughed and lowered his hand. He had not expected Tsunade to have a bit of a tsundere side.

More than a month had passed since Tsunade's enhancement had been a great success. At Training Ground No. 9—

Toru closed his eyes and sensed the mark he had left behind. In an instant, his figure disappeared and reappeared dozens of meters away.

Opening his eyes, Toru picked up the Kunai from the ground, excitement appearing on his face. "I've finally mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. It was even easier than I imagined. Is this my soul's talent for space-time? Next, I just need to keep practicing until I'm proficient. Now, no matter what happens, I have a way to save my life."

"Toru! Gather at the gate tomorrow morning at eight! We've got a mission!" Hiruko's voice rang out as he jumped down from a large tree and shouted.

What perfect timing. Am I really this lucky? A smile appeared at the corner of Toru's mouth.

Early the next morning, at Konoha's gate, Hatake Sakumo stood by the entrance, coolly holding a short sword in his arms.

Hiruko was both excited and nervous, repeatedly checking his ninja tools, medicine, and equipment.

Toru leaned against the gate with a smile on his lips.

Teacher Danzo had one good point: he neither arranged any graduation tests nor made them carry out time-wasting D-rank missions. Sure enough, their first mission was one that took them out of the village.

At seven fifty-five, Danzo instantly appeared before the three of them. He casually handed the mission document to the two gate guards. "Everyone's here? Follow me!"

On the road, Danzo explained the mission with a cold expression. "This is a B-rank mission. We are going to the Daimyo's Mansion in the Land of Fire to report on the Third Hokage's succession and obtain the Daimyo's signature."

Well, it wasn't easy, but my uncle's position as Acting Hokage has finally become official.

But to have his rival go collect the Daimyo's Commission for him... no wonder Teacher Danzo has such a long face. You've become sly, Uncle Hiruzen.

"Although this mission is only B-rank and we generally will not encounter enemies, if we do, they definitely will not be ordinary opponents. In other words, this mission could be upgraded to A-rank or even S-rank at any time. Understood?"

"Understood!" ×3

Of course, the odds of truly encountering enemies were low. Danzo was only going to collect the Commission. It was not as though Konoha would no longer have a Hokage if he were killed. At worst, someone else could be sent to collect it.

If this were truly a mission with a high chance of running into several Jōnin, Danzo would not dare bring Toru along.

A day later—

"The Capital of Fire is so lively!" Hiruko looked around, like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.

Konoha was prosperous as well, but it was ultimately an important military base with strict management. It could not compare to the Capital of Fire.

Setting everything else aside, the population here alone was more than ten times that of Konoha. The streets were packed shoulder to shoulder with people, bustling with life.

Although Hatake Sakumo did not like to talk, his eyes were darting around as well. He was clearly quite interested in the bustling Capital of Fire.

Especially after spotting several high-end sword, blade, and ninja-tool shops, he looked eager to go inside.

"All right, I'm going to the Daimyo's Mansion to complete the handover. You are free to do as you please. Gather at the city gate in one hour!"

Hiruko and Sakumo's eyes lit up. Toru also glanced at Danzo. The younger Danzo was not quite so unreasonable after all.

Although Toru was not as inexperienced as Hiruko and Sakumo, he was also very interested in the economy, technology, and social structure of the Hokage World. Naturally, he wanted to investigate the Capital of Fire for himself.

"Toru, I just saw a really good restaurant. How about we go—" Hiruko began excitedly, but Toru directly interrupted him. "Sorry, I want to gather some information in the Capital of Fire. You two go have fun on your own."

As he spoke, he took out two hundred thousand ryō from his pocket and handed it to them.

"Ah? I see..." Hiruko said disappointedly as he accepted the money.

Unlike Hiruko, who had more or less sold himself to Toru as a research assistant, Hatake Sakumo was unwilling to accept such a large amount of money. "No, I have enough money."

Toru ignored Hatake Sakumo's refusal. The things this kid liked were rather expensive, and he did not believe Sakumo's little bit of money could buy any decent weapons.

As the developer of the Virility Pill, even though he only held the smallest one percent share of the patent fees, he was still a minor millionaire. Spending a little money to build a good relationship with the future Konoha White Fang was well worth it.