Stacking Buffs

"Hmm~ hmph~"

Tsunade was in a great mood today; she had even started to look forward to the expression on Akiyama Shun's face when he discovered she was his team leader.

Given that brat's personality, he'll surely be happy to see me when the time comes~

With this thought in mind, Tsunade arrived at the meeting spot Sarutobi Hiruzen had told her about.

Akiyama Shun was already waiting there, standing atop a large boulder.

"You brat, up so early?"

Tsunade walked up to Akiyama Shun and looked up at him.

Upon hearing Tsunade's voice, Akiyama Shun turned his head, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Lady Tsunade? You actually woke up this early? Usually, you'd still be in a drunken stupor at this hour."

Akiyama Shun's words caused a slight shift in Tsunade's expression, but remembering that this was their first meeting as teacher and student, she forced her brow to stop twitching and steadied her expression.

"I didn't drink at all last night so I could wake up early for today."

"Wow~ Lady Tsunade, you're amazing!"

While speaking in a deadpan tone, Akiyama Shun also clapped his hands in a very cooperative manner to offer encouragement.

However, Tsunade was clearly enjoying the encouragement; hearing his words, a smile spread across her face.

The next second, Akiyama Shun placed his hand on Tsunade's head.

"Then Lady Tsunade, go play by yourself for a while. Today is my first day as a genin, and I have to meet my team leader. I'm very busy, so I'll play with you after I'm done."

After saying this, he ignored her and began scanning his surroundings, seemingly searching for his team leader.

"...?"

The smile that had been on Tsunade's face completely crumbled.

"Why aren't you playing with me? No! What do you mean 'play with you'? In your eyes, am I the type of person who has nothing better to do all day? Is there any possibility that I am your team leader!"

"But I'm still small, I can't drink, and my gambling skills are better than yours."

It was like this again; the look in Akiyama Shun's eyes reminded Tsunade of the first time she asked him to help out at the hospital. He had that same suspicious gaze, and she finally reached her limit.

With a somewhat broken smile on her face, Tsunade prepared to teach Akiyama Shun a lesson, but just as she clenched her fist to strike—

Akiyama Shun had already jumped down from the large boulder and bowed.

"Nice to meet you, Teacher Tsunade!"

As soon as these words left his mouth, Tsunade's anger vanished instantly. In fact, seeing this brat acting so respectful toward her now gave her a strange sense of satisfaction.

At this moment, it wasn't just Tsunade who felt satisfied; Akiyama Shun felt great too.

Perfect!

Having one of the Sannin, Tsunade, as a team leader—it's in the bag!

"Right, brat, you haven't tested your chakra nature yet, have you? Take this."

As she spoke, Tsunade handed Akiyama Shun a piece of chakra test paper, and after taking it, Akiyama Shun began to release his chakra.

As his chakra flowed, the test paper underwent corresponding changes in its properties.

"Oh, five-element chakra, I see."

Looking at the attributes displayed on the test paper, Tsunade nodded, her expression showing no surprise. Given Akiyama Shun's current performance, five-element chakra was hardly unexpected.

Akiyama Shun looked at his chakra attributes and revealed a faint smile.

He hadn't equipped any ninja cards just now, which meant these chakra attributes were inherent to Akiyama Shun's own body.

The boost provided by Akiyama Shun's five-element chakra was far greater than that of anyone else!

For example, if he drew [A (Fourth Raikage)] later, he would gain the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. But if he didn't have the lightning attribute himself, he wouldn't be able to use the Lightning Release Chakra Mode once he unequipped [A (Fourth Raikage)], and he wouldn't even be able to learn it if he wanted to.

But since Akiyama Shun possessed the lightning attribute himself, it was a completely different story!

He could fully master the Lightning Release Chakra Mode and then use it while equipped with other ninja cards to maximize his combat power!

All such special buff-type modes could be stacked using this method.

For instance, if he drew [Uzumaki Naruto (Nine-Tails Chakra)], he could stack the Nine-Tails Chakra with the Lightning Release Chakra Mode!

And if he were to learn other special modes that didn't require a Kekkei Genkai, such as Sage Mode...

Heh heh heh!

"Right, I've always heard that your talent for ninjutsu is quite strong, but I've never seen it for myself. Now that I am your teacher, in order to guide you better, it is necessary to understand exactly what level you are currently at."

Tsunade spoke up, interrupting Akiyama Shun's fantasies about the future.

"Combat ability isn't something you can explain with words; let's demonstrate it with a real fight. You don't need to think about anything right now—just harbor the intent to kill me and attack me with everything you've got."

No sooner had Tsunade finished speaking than a large, round boulder descended from the sky, crashing toward her!

Earth Style: Rock Fall!

This was the first time Akiyama Shun had used this secret scroll; he hadn't needed it against those students at the ninja academy, but now that he was fighting Tsunade, it was different. He would use every offensive means at his disposal!

As for whether doing this would hurt Tsunade, Akiyama Shun didn't consider that question at all; he was well aware of his own strength.

Tsunade was taken aback by the massive boulder, but she reacted quickly, smashing a fist toward the rock above her head.

To Tsunade, this boulder as tall as a person was no different from a balloon.

With a loud "Bang!", the rock shattered on impact, sending fragments flying in all directions.

The debut of Earth Style: Rock Fall ended in such a fashion, failing to deal any damage at all, though this was well within Akiyama Shun's expectations.

"You brat, don't you know how to give your teacher a heads-up before you start attacking?"

After Tsunade dealt with the Rock Fall with a single punch, her expression remained unchanged as she quickly entered combat mode.

"Didn't Teacher Tsunade say to attack with the intent to kill? How can one notify the target when they are trying to kill them?"

Akiyama Shun's reply made Tsunade laugh; she didn't refute him, instead nodding with great satisfaction.

"Very good, brat. That's the right attitude for a fight!"

Equip [Gekko Hayate]!

The moment he equipped the card, Akiyama Shun simultaneously summoned the White Fang Blade from a scroll.

Dance of the Crescent Moon!

Three Shadow Clones appeared, attacking Tsunade simultaneously from different angles!

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected Akiyama Shun to have mastered this swordsmanship so proficiently, as long as...

No!

That's not right!

Tsunade, who had been carefully observing the attack, furrowed her brows as she suddenly discovered a problem.

This Dance of the Crescent Moon was not right!

The Dance of the Crescent Moon that Akiyama Shun was using was far more ferocious than the standard version!

This feeling of high-speed burst, rather than Konoha Style Swordsmanship, felt more like the White Fang Sword Technique.

This was a fusion of Konoha Style Swordsmanship and the White Fang Sword Technique!