Tsunade's Protective Nature

Is Kakashi really not feeling the pressure?

Qingyu glanced at Kakashi, whose expression remained as calm as ever.

The drop of this specific trait was enough to prove that, deep down, Kakashi was already sweating bullets.

But thinking about it carefully, it was only natural.

Generally, the more talented a person is, the more pride they possess when they are about to be overtaken by someone else.

In the original story, Kakashi could be described as standing alone at the peak, an absolute genius, and the loneliness that stemmed from that.

But the one who was about to teach Kakashi the meaning of love was Qingyu!

"I'm afraid you'll be able to surpass me next time."

Kakashi sighed.

Before he had even entered the academy, he was a genius known far and wide.

Yet, after meeting Qingyu, he realized that the title of genius he had enjoyed for several years was about to change hands.

This made Kakashi secretly resolve to work even harder than usual.

"Not at all, not at all."

Qingyu shook his head modestly.

"I believe you must have put in a great deal of effort."

Kakashi spoke up.

He had already seen the effort and sweat Qingyu had poured in; without those, it would have been impossible to progress so much in such a short time.

"Indeed."

Qingyu nodded.

Kakashi only needed to consider how to learn, while Qingyu not only had to consider how to learn but also how to trigger traits.

Applying formulas and solving problems was just that fast!

Evening.

At the home of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood by the window, clutching his pipe, his gaze fixed on Sarutobi Asuma in the courtyard.

Asuma had taken off his flashy jacket and was wearing only a vest, his forehead drenched in sweat as he punched a wooden stake over and over again.

It wasn't as if Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't seen this scene before.

Asuma had been like this since he was a child.

Every so often, stimulated by something unknown, he would suddenly ignite with fighting spirit and train desperately for a few days.

Then, that drive would go out with a puff, just like a Fire Style jutsu running out of chakra, and he would revert to his usual slacker self.

But this time was different.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had calculated that ever since the last monthly exam ended, Sarutobi Asuma had been training every day after school.

He had even shoved his most prized collection of racy magazines under the bed.

At first, Sarutobi Hiruzen thought the boy's "three-minute heat" had just been extended to five minutes, so he didn't pay much attention.

But as the days passed, not only did Sarutobi Asuma not slack off, he even increased his own training load.

This surprised Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He certainly knew the reason.

Qingyu.

That child had brought significant pressure to the students of this generation.

Whether it was Kakashi, Sarutobi Asuma, or even those arrogant brats from the Uchiha clan, they had all begun to increase their training.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe.

This was a good thing.

The appearance of Qingyu was like throwing a stone into a stagnant pool, bringing the surrounding water to life.

Since Tsunade seemed to have something she wanted to discuss with him, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided he would also reach out to Qingyu.

"Go and invite Tsunade to the Hokage Building."

Sarutobi Hiruzen commanded toward the door.

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

The Anbu ninja acknowledged the order and departed.

Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived at the Hokage Building.

Tsunade arrived quickly as well.

Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't even finished half of his pipe before the office door was pushed open from the outside.

Tsunade strode in, sat down in a chair, and got straight to the point.

"Old man, is the Sword of the Thunder God still in the Armory?"

The hand holding Sarutobi Hiruzen's pipe paused slightly.

The Sword of the Thunder God.

An experimental ninja tool left behind by Senju Tobirama, it had been gathering dust in the Armory for over a decade.

With Tsunade suddenly bringing it up, combined with the intelligence reports submitted by the Anbu recently, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't need to guess to know what was going on.

"It's for Qingyu, isn't it?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen said.

Tsunade did not deny it, nodding in admission.

"He wants to practice swordsmanship, and since Second Grandfather's sword is just sitting there gathering dust, what's wrong with letting him use it?"

"That ninja tool is still too dangerous for students."

Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.

Qingyu's talent was indeed outstanding, but for a child who had only just enrolled to take the Sword of the Thunder God—if word got out, people would inevitably say that he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was playing favorites.

He was the Hokage; he had to maintain balance in all things.

The way of balance exists between all things.

This was a phrase Sarutobi Hiruzen had once noted down in a book.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched.

"Dangerous?"

She stood up and pressed both hands onto Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk.

Then, she slammed her fist down.

Bang!

The desktop emitted a dull thud, a crack extending from where Tsunade's fist had landed, and the stack of documents on the desk shuddered three times.

"I've rendered so much service to the village, and you're telling me a ninja tool gathering dust in a warehouse is too dangerous?"

Tsunade spoke.

She rarely took the initiative to make requests of the village.

The last time she made a request, it was for the reform of medical ninjas.

Unfortunately, it didn't come to fruition in the end.

And now, for a matter like this, it still wouldn't work?

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the crack on the desk, then at Tsunade's still-clenched fist, and his eyelid twitched.

Such a violent temper.

Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't know who Tsunade had inherited it from.

Lord First had a gentle temper, and Teacher Tobirama had a calm personality.

How did such an anomaly like Tsunade come to be?

However, Sarutobi Hiruzen thought about it again.

Could it be that she inherited the trait of being protective of her own?

After all, Hashirama Senju and Senju Tobirama were both very good to their clansmen, and Tsunade was very good to the little brat Qingyu.

After all, the Senju clan had disbanded, changed their names, and started new lives; the only Senju left by Tsunade's side was Qingyu alone.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed.

She was, after all, the granddaughter of the First, the niece of his teacher, and his own student.

"You can give it to Qingyu."

Sarutobi Hiruzen relented.

"However, I must personally observe his swordsmanship training before I make a final decision."

Upon hearing the first half, Tsunade's fist loosened slightly.

Upon hearing the second half, she frowned again, but after thinking about it, she nodded in agreement.

"Fine. Tomorrow afternoon, come to my place to watch."

She turned and walked toward the door, but paused when she reached the threshold. She looked back at the desk she had cracked, feeling uncharacteristically embarrassed.

"...Put it on my tab."

The door closed.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat alone in his office, staring at the crack on his desk and then at the extinguished tobacco in his pipe, remaining silent for a long while.

Can you even afford to pay it back?

Sarutobi Hiruzen desperately wanted to ask, but after a moment of thought, he decided against voicing the question.

Because he was afraid Tsunade would ask him for a loan.

None of his three disciples ever gave him a moment of peace.

Orochimaru, the greatest genius of them all, spent his days holed up in a laboratory researching who knows what kind of unspeakable things; lately, he had been getting closer to Shimura Danzō, and the reports submitted by the Anbu made Sarutobi Hiruzen frown just reading them.

Not to mention Jiraiya, who had seemingly lost his mind, abandoning his proper duties to wander the world in search of some ethereal "Child of Prophecy."

It was already the fortieth year of the Konoha era.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had nearly worked himself to death serving as Hokage, yet Jiraiya was still obsessed with that superstitious nonsense.

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head, deciding to stop dwelling on these vexing matters, and picked up his pipe to pack it with fresh tobacco before lighting it once more.

Qingyu was much less of a headache.

Even though he possessed half-Uchiha blood, his commitment to the Will of Fire was higher than that of many other Konoha ninja; with his natural talent and willingness to work hard, who wouldn't like a child like that?