Tsunade (Maiden)

Surprise flashed across Tsunade's eyes, yet her movements remained unhesitating.

She easily seized the wrists of two Shadow Clones and kicked the final one away.

"Bang!"

Shadow Clones possess a certain degree of durability, but that was useless against Tsunade; to her, the Shadow Clones of Akiyama Shun shattered at the slightest touch!

After kicking the last clone to pieces, the space cleared, and Tsunade grabbed the remaining two clones in her hands, slamming them into the ground simultaneously to easily neutralize the improved Dance of the Crescent Moon.

"Not bad, kid. I didn't expect you to have already mastered sword techniques; the rumors were true after all!"

As Tsunade spoke, her eyes held undisguised appreciation.

The only answer Tsunade received was a massive Great Dragon Fire Technique.

Facing such an attack, Tsunade simply threw another punch. The giant fire dragon struck her fist, and the moment the flames engulfed her, a scorching heatwave violently exploded outward!

Ninjas are indeed "glass cannons," but that condition only applies under specific circumstances; at the very least, both sides must be at the same level, and the defense must be penetrable for that to hold true.

The gap between Akiyama Shun and Tsunade was even greater than the gap between him and an ordinary person, so the Great Dragon Fire attack caused no damage whatsoever.

However, Akiyama Shun didn't mind; while Tsunade was dealing with the Great Dragon Fire, he had already prepared his next move.

A dense, piercing sound of electricity erupted from Akiyama Shun's hand.

Chidori!

This time, Akiyama Shun would not intentionally aim wide. While Tsunade's back was turned as she handled the Great Dragon Fire Technique, Akiyama Shun charged straight at her with Chidori in hand!

At that moment, Tsunade was still surrounded by scorching flames, but in her peripheral vision, she had already spotted the charging Akiyama Shun.

Just before the attack was about to land, he felt the scene before him flash, and when he could see clearly again, Tsunade had already vanished from his line of sight.

Following that, Akiyama Shun felt himself flying through the air.

Tsunade had appeared at his side and hoisted him up!

"Very good. I already know your level; no need to keep fighting."

After saying this, Tsunade tossed Akiyama Shun onto the ground.

Akiyama Shun lay on the ground, gasping for air as he recalled the battle just moments ago.

Just as he had thought, the gap between them was ridiculously large. He had given it his all, but against a "stat monster" like Tsunade, it was completely useless.

"Whether it's your grasp of combat timing, the transition between ninjutsu, or your taijutsu coordination, you've done very well. Especially the fact that you thought to combine the Dance of the Crescent Moon with the White Fang Sword Technique—it shows you have excellent creativity in taijutsu."

The expression on Tsunade's face was very serious; the last time Akiyama Shun had seen this look on her was when he was helping out at the hospital.

"Also, what was that Lightning Release just now? Your own original ninjutsu? It's very impressive, with extremely strong offensive power. Have you thought of a name for it yet?"

Tsunade recalled that the Third Hokage had specifically mentioned to her that Akiyama Shun had created a new ninjutsu, though he hadn't told her exactly what it was.

She hadn't taken it to heart at the time, but seeing it today, she realized it had already reached the level of an A-rank ninjutsu!

"Chidori. Because the sound of this jutsu when used is very similar to the chirping of a thousand birds, it is called by this name."

Akiyama Shun replied as he braced himself against the ground to sit up.

"Not bad at all, kid. The rumors outside were right; it seems teaching you will be much easier than expected."

Tsunade returned to her usual expression, laughing as she patted Akiyama Shun on the back before reaching out to pull him up from the ground.

"Rest for a moment; I'll take you to pick up a mission later."

Akiyama Shun nodded and asked, "I heard that when genin first take missions, they are all D-rank—like helping find cats and dogs or babysitting. Do I have to do those too?"

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively: "Those missions are meant to cultivate a genin's basic execution skills and help them adapt to the feeling of working. With your ability, doing those missions would be nothing but a waste of time."

Akiyama Shun breathed a sigh of relief. He had already planned to use the Shadow Clone Technique to skip out on those if he had to do them, but it seemed that wouldn't be necessary now.

"Once you've rested, follow me. I'm taking you to get a mission."

"Understood, Teacher Tsunade."

Under Tsunade's lead, Akiyama Shun soon arrived at the Mission Assignment Hall.

It was standard procedure for newly graduated genin to take D-rank missions, but that rule became void the moment Tsunade arrived.

Akiyama Shun's first mission was a common C-rank task: to clear out bandits in the east of the Land of Fire.

In this world of constant warfare, bandits were truly common; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they refreshed every so often.

After accepting the mission, the two didn't waste any time. Taking advantage of the early hour, they bought some food for the road and set off.

After leaving the village, Tsunade kept observing Akiyama Shun's expression.

Many genin would appear very excited after leaving the village for the first time.

But Akiyama Shun was different. Although he was looking around after leaving the village, it wasn't the same curiosity others showed.

He was observing; he was recording the surrounding terrain.

Tsunade watched from the side and nodded to herself.

Sure enough, this brat was a natural-born ninja!

As night approached, the two found a hot spring inn nearby.

At this moment, Akiyama Shun stood at the entrance of the inn, falling silent.

"..."

"What's wrong, you brat? Never stayed in an inn and afraid you won't get used to it?"

Akiyama Shun shook his head.

"Lady Tsunade, there are so many inns; why did we have to deliberately choose the one closest to the casino?"

"What would a brat like you know? This is exactly the kind of place where you can sleep the most soundly."

Tsunade grabbed Akiyama Shun and marched inside.

Nighttime.

Tsunade had already fallen asleep, reeking of alcohol, but Akiyama Shun remained wide awake, his mood somewhat agitated.

Because today happened to be the start of a new month!

It was time to collect his welfare again!

Akiyama Shun looked at the transparent panel before him.

[Gold Coins: 2150]

Now, Akiyama Shun finally had enough for a ten-pull!

Let's go!

[Artifact]
[Kusanagi Sword Fragment x1 (2/100)]
[Secret Scroll]
[Fire Style: Ghost Lantern Dragon Fragment x1 (2/5)]
[A-Rank Ninja]
[Haruno Sakura (Strength of a Hundred) Fragment x4 (4/40)]
[B-Rank Ninja]
[Kimimaro Fragment x4 (12/40)]
[C-Rank Ninja]
[Tsunade (Young) Fragment x2 (10/10)]
[...]

His luck wasn't bad; he got another Kusanagi Sword fragment.

It was a pity he didn't pull Haku for the B-Rank ninja; it seemed he was still some time away from his first Kekkei Genkai.

As for the C-Rank ninja, it could be said to be quite excellent.

Young Tsunade!

In the Naruto mobile game, Young Tsunade was a pure taijutsu ninja, displaying only one ninjutsu.

It was also Tsunade's signature technique!

Strength of a Hundred!