Tsunade's Disciple, or is it the Other Way Around?

No, I must change this boy's way of thinking!

"Your way of thinking is wrong; war only brings endless suffering."

"Alright, alright, big sister, what I think has nothing to do with you, and you aren't my master. Mind your own business. I'm going to treat the wounded now, so stop getting in my way."

A master, huh?

Tsunade's lonely expression shifted, as if she had made a decision.

"I won't stop you from treating the wounded, but I will stop you from harming them. Transplanting animal limbs into people at random could cause unknown complications, and in severe cases, it could even lead to the patient's death!"

"Ugh, so annoying. Why are you nagging like an old hag? You seem to know medical ninjutsu, too. How about we make a bet? The loser has to become the other's apprentice. Let's bet on whether I can reattach his arm. You're here anyway, so if anything goes wrong, you can save him."

Kimura Takuya had been acting for a long time, and finally, his true colors were showing.

Becoming someone else's apprentice would be so embarrassing, but having Tsunade become his? Wouldn't that be absolutely exhilarating?

"Fine, I'll see what kind of tricks you have up your sleeve, but my assistant will have to act as the judge."

"Sure, no problem."

What kind of judge? She's just afraid she'll have a sudden bout of hemophobia and cause an accident.

Kimura Takuya agreed without hesitation.

After waiting a moment, Tsunade went out and brought back Shizune.

Shizune was shocked when she saw Kimura Takuya.

She hadn't expected the humble boy she saw yesterday to be so arrogant as to want Lady Tsunade to become his apprentice.

Even if he didn't know Lady Tsunade's identity, asking a senior to become his apprentice was incredibly rude.

Hmph, when he loses, I'll show him how a senior disciple handles someone like him!

The group walked through the butcher shop and arrived at the small courtyard used for slaughtering.

Tsunade was clearly uncomfortable, but she gritted her teeth and held on.

In the courtyard, the Ninja Leopard, most of whose bones had been shattered, was tied up in the corner.

Kimura Takuya had Oda Lang wait to the side while he condensed a high-temperature chakra scalpel and detached the Ninja Leopard's front leg.

Throughout the entire process, the Ninja Leopard didn't even shed a drop of blood.

Next, he used ninjutsu to drain the blood from the leopard's leg.

He walked over to Oda Lang and prepared to attach it to his arm.

"Wait a minute! You aren't even going to use anesthesia? And you're planning to perform surgery right here?"

"Is there a problem? A medical ninja should be able to work without being affected by harsh environments!"

That sounded so logical that they couldn't even refute it.

Tsunade and Shizune were speechless.

Oda Lang, however, looked as if it were only natural; why were they so speechless?

Yesterday, the surgery was performed right on the side of the main road!

When it came down to it, Oda Lang let Kimura Takuya do as he pleased and didn't waste any more breath.

Kimura Takuya used the Flesh Substitution Technique to first sever the pain nerves at the site of the amputation.

He then closed the blood vessels at the stump and removed the high-temperature cauterized layer.

After the treatment, less than ten centimeters of the original arm remained.

Kimura Takuya picked up the leopard leg and shoved it directly onto the stump.

He steadied the arm with one hand and gripped the leopard leg with the other.

He pressed the two ends together, though the leopard leg was much thicker than the arm.

Kimura Takuya didn't care about that at all; he just kept shoving while releasing the Flesh Substitution Technique with both hands.

In this way, the severed arm and the leopard leg slowly began to fuse together.

Yet, Kimura Takuya still didn't stop "shoving."

He continued to push the leopard leg into the arm.

Slowly, the thick leopard leg completely engulfed the severed arm.

Oda Lang's arm had completely merged into one with the leopard leg.

However, it still looked a bit uncoordinated.

Kimura Takuya released his hands and began to weave hand signs with both hands, a rare sight.

"Ninja Art: Flesh Substitution Technique!"

Poof!

A puff of white smoke rose, and after it dissipated.

The leopard leg on Oda Lang, which had looked incredibly strange and mismatched just a moment ago.

Had completely vanished.

In its place was a human arm, indistinguishable from his own.

Even the skin tone was an exact match.

It was as if it had never been severed in the first place.

"Alright, give it a try."

"Right!"

Oda Lang excitedly raised his hand.

Snap!

The speed was so great that he immediately suffered a fracture and dislocation.

Kimura Takuya looked speechless, reset the joint for him, and told him to try again.

"This is amazing, truly amazing. Takuya-kun, it looks just like my original arm, but in reality, it's much sturdier, more powerful, and faster than my old one!"

Oda Lang felt the power surging within his new limb and was overjoyed.

The chakra hidden inside this arm even exceeded his own; once he fully adapted to it.

His total chakra reserves would more than double!

It would instantly push his chakra levels past those of an average Jonin, reaching the level of an Elite Jonin.

If measured in units of Kakashi, he would likely reach a chakra capacity of 1.5.

How could he not be thrilled?

One had to remember he was only a Special Jonin; in terms of chakra volume, he was inferior even to an average Jonin, yet now his reserves had leaped straight into the Elite Jonin tier.

He thanked Kimura Takuya profusely, beaming with joy.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, there's more! Focus on this new arm, and then try using the Transformation Technique with it as the foundation."

"Uh, wouldn't that just turn me into a hand?"

"Not a hand. Focus your attention entirely on this arm and cast the Transformation Technique directly. Don't think about the hand, and don't think about anything else."

Oda Lang pondered for a moment, then followed the instructions.

Poof!

A cloud of smoke cleared.

Oda Lang had transformed into the appearance of that Ninja Leopard, though slightly smaller, it was still much larger than an ordinary leopard.

"Sugoi! I've really turned into a leopard, and it's not just the superficial appearance of a normal Transformation Technique."

He ran and leaped joyfully around the small courtyard, his speed and strength significantly improved compared to when he was in his human form.

It was a success!

Oda Lang's current state wasn't actually him mastering the True Transformation Technique, but rather him possessing two physical forms.

Both the animal form and the human form could now be considered his body.

Therefore, he could use the Transformation Technique to switch his body back and forth between these two states.

This might seem useless at first, as the leopard form couldn't weave hand signs to cast ninjutsu.

However, once he truly became familiar with both forms, he would be able to combine them to create a form similar to a beast-man.

In this beast-man state, he would possess the strength and speed bonuses of the animal form while still being able to cast ninjutsu.

Kimura Takuya estimated that by then, Oda Lang would reach the strength of an average Kage-level ninja.

After Kimura Takuya shared his vision with those present.

The group fell into a silence; they had so easily grafted an animal leg onto a Special Jonin and created an Elite Jonin with Kage-level potential?

Wasn't that too absurd?

But with Tsunade's level of insight, she could certainly see that this was highly possible!

No!

This technique must never be known to the Konoha higher-ups, especially Danzo!

Tsunade secretly made up her mind that she must protect this secret at all costs.

"Oda Lang, Kimura Takuya, this matter must never be known to anyone else!"