Tsunade went back to her room and took out a sheet of Chakra Paper.
Dongfang Mao infused the paper with Chakra. It first began to burn, then dried out and crumbled to pieces.
"Fire and Earth Release Chakra? Good thing Konoha specializes in Fire Release. There are plenty of powerful Fire Release Ninjutsu. I'll put together a list of the Fire Release techniques you'll need to learn at each stage.
"As for Earth Release, the techniques I have may not be as good as Iwagakure's, but I have a wide variety, enough for you to study at your current level."
Tsunade rested her chin on her slender fingers, her expression serious as she carefully planned out Dongfang Mao's training.
Dongfang Mao's eyes lit up, but he asked with some confusion, "Tsunade, did you empty out Konoha before you left?"
Tsunade glanced sideways at him and snorted. "The Senju Clan collected all this after Konoha was founded. The Senju are gone now. Was I supposed to leave the clan's belongings in Konoha?"
It was clear that Tsunade still held a lot of resentment toward Konoha. If, one day, he really could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Second Hokage of old, he would definitely help Tsunade avenge the destruction of her clan. But that wasn't something he needed to think about now.
His attention had been caught by Tsunade's last sentence. The Senju Clan's belongings?
"Tsunade, doesn't Konoha have some kind of Scroll of Sealing? Did the Senju Clan collect any copies?"
Tsunade's expression turned strange. "Where did you hear about that, kid? You're pretty well-informed."
"I've always dreamed of learning ninjutsu, so I liked making friends with ninja. I heard it from them."
Dongfang Mao lied without batting an eye.
"Honestly, you little rascal!"
Tsunade affectionately tapped Dongfang Mao between the brows, then shook her head apologetically. "The Senju Clan did collect some forbidden techniques created by my Second Grand Uncle in his early years. But after he became Hokage, all the techniques he created later went into the Scroll of Sealing. He didn't bring them back to the clan.
"And the Scroll of Sealing is now kept in Konoha's Hokage Building, under tight guard. So I can't satisfy your curiosity."
"Techniques he created in his early years?"
Although he was a little disappointed, Dongfang Mao immediately spotted something he'd missed.
"What about the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
Tsunade stared at Dongfang Mao in surprise. "You even know about the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, then nodded. "We do have that one. The Flying Thunder God Technique was created by my Second Grand Uncle during the Warring States period to fight the Uchiha Clan. It even earned him a victory over Uchiha Izuna, the younger brother of Uchiha Madara, the Asura of the Ninja World, who was as famous as my Grand Uncle back then.
"A technique that impressive was naturally recorded by the clan. But unfortunately, the Flying Thunder God Technique seems to carry some kind of curse, just like my Grand Uncle's Wood Release. No one in the clan besides my Second Grand Uncle ever learned it."
As she spoke, Tsunade glanced at Dongfang Mao. "You're very talented, but the Flying Thunder God Technique is too difficult. I can't teach it to you yet. First, you need to master these Fire and Earth Release techniques, as well as my Medical Ninjutsu."
"No problem."
Dongfang Mao nodded obediently. The ninjutsu was with Tsunade, after all; it wasn't going anywhere. When the time was right, she would teach it to him.
At the thought of having the chance to master such a powerful Space-Time Ninjutsu as the Flying Thunder God Technique, Dongfang Mao's excitement surged.
Seeing that Dongfang Mao wasn't getting ahead of himself by demanding to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique right away, Tsunade nodded with satisfaction.
She turned and stepped over the crumbling wall to return to her room. After sorting through some things, she came back carrying two scrolls.
"These are Space Scrolls. They contain the Fire and Earth Release techniques you'll be training in. As for Medical Ninjutsu, I'll teach you that myself."
Tsunade handed the scrolls to Dongfang Mao, but a hint of regret crossed her face as if she'd just remembered something.
"It's a shame I didn't meet you sooner. If you'd started training in ninjutsu when you were little, you might already be at jonin level by now."
Dongfang Mao didn't feel there was anything to regret.
Chakra wasn't like cultivation in the immortal arts. If you didn't train as a child, it wasn't as if your whole future was ruined.
Put simply, Chakra was refined from the energy within the body. If you started training when you were young, before your body had fully developed, you would be draining your body's potential and putting a heavy strain on it.
That was why most ninja didn't live very long.
But in the past, the Ninja World had been in turmoil. Children had to take up blades and go to war before they were even six, so naturally, the earlier they started training in ninjutsu, the better.
Although things were peaceful now, that habit had remained.
Dongfang Mao wanted to live a long life, so starting his training at his current age was actually perfect.
Dongfang Mao took the scrolls from Tsunade, and his attention was quickly drawn to them—not the ninjutsu inside, but the scrolls themselves.
He suddenly realized how useful these scrolls were.
"Tsunade, how much can these scrolls hold?"
Tsunade noticed Dongfang Mao staring at the Space Scrolls in his hands with burning eyes. She found it a little strange, but answered anyway. "About fifty shi. Why?"
Dongfang Mao immediately began calculating.
Fifty shi—about ten cubic meters. Enough for ten tons of grain, a thousand or so weapons, or over a hundred sets of armor.
These scrolls were practically portable granaries and arsenals!
Even more importantly, they were so discreet that you could launch a medium-sized campaign without anyone noticing!
"Tsunade, how many of these scrolls do you have?"
Having thought it through, Dongfang Mao suddenly looked up, his eyes fixed intently on Tsunade.
Tsunade had never been looked at by him with such longing before, and she couldn't help feeling uncomfortable. Her legs tensed instinctively. She quickly cleared her throat and said, "These are high-grade scrolls. I brought quite a few when I left, but they're all full of the things I took from the clan. I don't have any spares.
"Otherwise, I would've packed up all the things we had to transport the other day. We wouldn't have had to spend so long on the road."
Dongfang Mao didn't seem disappointed. He stood up and hugged Tsunade of his own accord.
"I see. Still, thank you, Tsunade. These scrolls are very important to me."
Dongfang Mao's sudden gesture made Tsunade stiffen all over, her pupils contracting slightly.
She could clearly feel her cheeks growing hot in an instant. Her ears burned, and her heart pounded wildly in her chest.
This feeling was completely different from when she pulled Dongfang Mao into her arms herself!
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