"Hold on, wait a second! You're a medical ninja too, kid? You don't even know the basic principle that an animal's body isn't compatible with a human one? You'll get someone killed!"
Kimura Takuya turned to look outside. There stood a familiar figure, tall and striking.
It was Senju Tsunade.
Outside the shop, Tsunade loudly stopped the two of them, but didn't come inside. She simply stood outside.
She'd just sent Shizune to post a mission to find a five-person merchant caravan.
Since she didn't really want to see the Old Man, she'd gone out into the streets to look around first.
She hadn't expected to run into this scene.
Out of professional ethics, she swallowed her disgust at the butcher shop and scolded Kimura Takuya.
"Who are you, miss? Don't think you can say whatever you want just because you're tall. Nobody in Konoha knows more about Medical Ninjutsu than I do! Even if Lady Tsunade were here, I'd say the same thing!"
"Kisama! You're a freshly graduated ninja, kid. That Forehead Protector is so new, you clearly haven't worn it for more than a few days! How dare you say something like that? Do you even know who I am?"
Kimura Takuya's words had enraged Tsunade beyond measure.
She no longer even cared about the blood in the butcher shop. She strode inside and grabbed him by the collar.
At twelve, Kimura Takuya was of ordinary height, about 1.5 meters tall. Tsunade, who stood 1.63 meters, lifted him up in front of her chest.
His eyes landed at just the right height to look down on the world from the summit.
"Miss, please don't treat Tuoye like that, or I won't hold back."
Oda Lang drew a Kunai with his one remaining arm and warily watched Tsunade.
The wound on his severed arm was clean, clearly caused by some kind of tool that had cut through it at a high temperature.
Yet, strangely, there wasn't a scar from an ordinary burn.
It was as if the wound had been sealed, much like with a sealing technique.
If only the charred surface were removed, they could immediately begin surgery to reattach the arm.
It was simply unbelievable.
Like a miracle.
Yes, a miracle!
Wasn't the genius medical ninja Shizune had told her about yesterday the one who'd used some kind of high-temperature Ninjutsu to treat an amputee before helping the kunoichi?
Could this amputee be the very one standing before her?
And was this brash kid that genius medical ninja?
At last, Tsunade released him and fixed her eyes on Kimura Takuya.
"You're Kimura Takuya?"
"Oh? You've heard of me too? That's right. I'm Konoha's greatest medical ninja of all time—the one and only! Even Tsunade would have to take me as her teacher!"
Kimura Takuya spoke arrogantly, his expression haughty and utterly conceited. He was truly shamelessly cocky.
He was acting nothing like his usual cautious self.
He was deliberately putting on this act in front of Tsunade.
Of course, he had his reasons.
Although Kimura Takuya's Medical Ninjutsu had, to some extent, already surpassed Tsunade's, that was only in individual treatment. And Tsunade knew far more than Medical Ninjutsu.
Her monstrous strength, Yin Seal, and the summoning scroll of the Slug Sage were all valuable techniques.
Besides, Tsunade had always been tough on the outside but soft at heart. If he asked her directly to teach him Medical Ninjutsu, she'd surely refuse.
So he had to put on a show.
A genius Konoha medical ninja who was also a nasty kid and seemed intent on going down the wrong path.
Wouldn't a senior of Konoha, and a founder of Konoha's Medical Ninjutsu, be unable to stand by without trying to set him straight?
Sure enough, Tsunade's mouth twisted with anger at his claim that even she would have to take him as a student.
"Kid, you don't know what's good for you!"
"What? You're not even wearing a ninja Forehead Protector. Who are you, anyway? Could you be one of Lady Tsunade's admirers too?"
Tsunade froze when she heard that.
That was right.
Who was she, anyway?
What gave her the right to lecture him?
She'd been wandering outside the village for years, and a ninja Forehead Protector would reveal her identity, so she hadn't worn one in a long time.
She didn't want to wear one again, either. The cruelty of the ninja world had left her exhausted in body and soul.
She'd grown tired of being a ninja long ago.
That was why she'd rarely returned to Konoha over the years. Even when she did, it was only to collect money—and she'd send Shizune into the village to get it. She herself wouldn't set foot in Konoha.
She'd only returned this time because something had happened to Tonton. Otherwise, she probably would never have come back.
Tsunade's eyes dimmed with sadness, but at his last words, they flickered.
"Young man, are you a fan of Lady Tsunade too?"
"Huh? No. Why would I admire someone like that?"
"That's right. She's been away from Konoha for so long, she might as well have deserted."
Nice. Oda Lang had set him up perfectly. Kimura Takuya gave him a mental thumbs-up.
But his face showed nothing, and he continued.
"She had a responsibility, and the ability and talent to match it.
"But she just walked away. She didn't even come back when the Fourth Hokage died.
"If she'd been in Konoha then, a lot of people might have survived that incident.
"But she wasn't! My parents—"
Kimura Takuya stopped himself there. He controlled the tear glands in his eyes, letting a trace of moisture well up before holding it back at just the right moment.
Then he took a deep breath, as if pushing past something painful, and continued.
"Even when it was all over, she still didn't come back. If she had, the village wouldn't have had to send the elderly Third Hokage back into action."
Tsunade looked at the boy before her. Of course she knew what Kimura Takuya was talking about.
The deaths of Konoha's Fourth Hokage and his wife had been a major event. How could anyone have kept it secret?
Even though she was wandering far from home and didn't get much news, she'd heard about it. She even knew that Konoha had lost two of its strongest fighters in the incident.
At a time like that, her teacher, Sarutobi, would surely have sent someone to summon her back.
But during that period, she'd even transformed herself into a child to avoid the ninjas searching for her.
Several times, the Third Hokage had located her, but each time she'd evaded the people he sent.
She'd been like a child who didn't want to go home, running away from everything.
The Third Hokage had eventually given up trying to bring her back.
The incident must have been truly terrible. Even the Hokage had died, and ordinary civilians must have suffered heavy casualties too.
Given the boy's age, he was probably an orphan from that incident.
No wonder. No wonder he looked down on her so much.
"Maybe she had her reasons. The cruelty of the ninja world is more than some people can bear."
Tsunade offered a weak defense of herself, her expression desolate.
She couldn't bring herself to look at Kimura Takuya.
"Maybe. But that has nothing to do with me. I just have to become the strongest ninja, then lead Konoha in crushing the other ninja villages and make everyone feel my pain. That way, there won't be any more wars!"
Kimura Takuya looked like a warmonger who believed violence could end violence.
His little face was full of murderous intent. He seemed even more chuunibyou than Nagato.
"Idiot! War only leads to even greater wars. Your idea is incredibly dangerous!"
Tsunade stared at the boy in shock. He actually wanted to start another Ninja World War!
Did he even understand what war was?
She'd lived through two Ninja World Wars herself.
Her lover and her younger brother had both died in war.
Tsunade hated war with all her heart.
Hearing Kimura Takuya say that, she looked at him with a gaze that had softened only moments ago, but now turned fierce.
No. She had to change his way of thinking!
Before you continue