Become a disciple?

He had just followed the Third Hokage into the tavern when a pungent smell hit him, making Uchiha Yue furrow his brows.

However, with the Third Hokage right beside him, Uchiha Yue quickly concealed his feelings. At the same time, he eagerly awaited the teacher the Third Hokage had promised to introduce him to.

Without a doubt, when Uchiha Yue saw the Third Hokage bringing him to a tavern, he already had a pretty good idea who it would be.

The only ninja the Third Hokage would think highly of who also had time to spend in a tavern was Jiraiya, one of the Sannin.

In his previous life, when he watched the Naruto manga, Uchiha Yue had thought Jiraiya seemed like a decent teacher. The members of the Akatsuki organization—Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko—as well as the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and the savior, Uzumaki Naruto, had all been taught by Jiraiya. Nearly every one of them had become an outstanding ninja.

Clearly, that wasn't because Jiraiya had simply chosen talented students. It was because he was an excellent teacher.

So if Jiraiya could become his teacher, Uchiha Yue wouldn't have the slightest objection.

After all, Uchiha Yue thought that as long as he could grow stronger, it didn't matter who became his teacher.

Besides, with someone as powerful as the Third Hokage recommending a teacher for him, Uchiha Yue had no room to refuse.

Since he couldn't refuse, all Uchiha Yue could do was hope his future teacher would teach him well. With that in mind, he followed the Third Hokage into a private room.

But...

When Uchiha Yue followed the Third Hokage into the tavern's private room and saw the figure holding a wineglass inside, he froze.

"The teacher the Third Hokage was introducing to me..."

"How could it be her?"

Uchiha Yue was utterly astonished. He had never imagined the Third Hokage would go to such lengths for him!

Golden hair, fair skin, a striking figure...

The teacher the Third Hokage wanted to introduce to Uchiha Yue was none other than Tsunade, the only woman among the Sannin!

"I can't believe the teacher the Third Hokage wanted to introduce me to is Tsunade!"

"Still... I don't think I could learn anything useful from her, could I?"

"Is he introducing Tsunade as my teacher so that someone from the Senju Clan of the Forest can keep an eye on me?"

After learning that the teacher the Third Hokage had picked for him was Tsunade, one of the Sannin, Uchiha Yue was deeply displeased.

It wasn't that Tsunade wasn't qualified to teach him. It was that having her as his teacher didn't fit his plans at all!

At this stage, Uchiha Yue had shown talent in ninjutsu and shuriken techniques, while Tsunade followed a completely different path.

Tsunade had earned her reputation as one of the Sannin through her mastery of Medical Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, both of which were renowned in the ninja world.

Of those two fields, it was her Medical Ninjutsu that had made Tsunade famous. But that kind of ninja was completely different from Uchiha Yue!

If either Jiraiya or Orochimaru became his teacher, Uchiha Yue believed he could grow quickly under their guidance. But if Tsunade became his teacher, he felt she had nothing to teach him. At this point, Uchiha Yue had no interest in training in Taijutsu or Medical Ninjutsu, so having Tsunade as his teacher would be practically useless.

Moreover, Tsunade was from the Senju Clan of the Forest. It was obvious this arrangement had been made specifically to keep Uchiha Yue in check!

Uchiha Yue immediately saw through the Third Hokage's intentions. There was no way he wouldn't be angry; he felt the Third Hokage had played him.

However, the Third Hokage hadn't noticed the change in Uchiha Yue's mood. At that moment, he had eyes only for his beloved student.

Before the Third Hokage could speak, Tsunade's bleary gaze shifted to Uchiha Yue.

Then, noticing the Uchiha Clan crest on Uchiha Yue's clothes, Tsunade gave a faintly mocking smile and said coldly, "Old man Sarutobi, did you call me back just to ask me to take him as my student?" She didn't spare the Third Hokage's dignity as she pointed at the crest on Uchiha Yue's clothes. "Take a good look. He's from the Uchiha Clan! You're asking me to take someone from the Uchiha Clan as my student? Are you joking?"

As she spoke those last words, Tsunade raised her voice, and her tone was openly challenging.

Yet when he was with his beloved student, the Third Hokage didn't put on the airs of a Hokage. He didn't even acknowledge Tsunade's anger.

Then the Third Hokage sat down across from Tsunade with Uchiha Yue, poured himself a glass of wine, and said, "Tsunade, I know you don't want to return to a place that brings you so much pain. But Shizune is still so young, and you're taking her all over the place with you. Don't you think you'll be a burden to her?"

The Third Hokage paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to Uchiha Yue. "The war may have just ended, but things outside are still unsettled. I know you have no trouble protecting Shizune with your strength. But having no one her own age around isn't good for her future. So I hope you'll take Yue as your student. That way, Shizune will have some company, too."

"Even if I wanted to find Shizune a playmate, I wouldn't choose someone from the Uchiha Clan."

Before the Third Hokage could finish, Tsunade glanced at Uchiha Yue with disgust and said, "You should know how my grandfather died, old man!"

Tsunade's words suddenly stopped the Third Hokage in his tracks. How could he not know how the First had died in battle?

Moreover, Uchiha Yue was a direct descendant of Uchiha Madara living in Konoha. If Tsunade found that out, the plan to have her take him as her student would fall apart. But the Third Hokage had never expected that, while he and Tsunade were discussing the matter, their conversation would anger Uchiha Yue.

Even though he knew he needed to be patient, Uchiha Yue was an intensely proud person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have challenged Hatake Kakashi at the Ninja Academy.

Now Tsunade was looking down on him, and Uchiha Yue suddenly felt a nameless fire burning in his chest.

Then Uchiha Yue merely glanced at Tsunade before respectfully bowing to the Third Hokage. "Third Hokage, since Lady Tsunade doesn't want to take me as her student, I'll head back. After all... the Ninja Academy's break is almost over."

With that, Uchiha Yue had no intention of staying any longer. He turned and headed for the door.

But before Uchiha Yue could take two steps, Tsunade raised her eyebrows and snapped, "Who said you could leave? I haven't finished speaking!"

"I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade, but I don't want to hear what you have to say."

Facing Tsunade, one of the Sannin, Uchiha Yue showed no sign of backing down. His voice was calm as he said:

"My goal in becoming stronger is to protect the people who matter most to me."

"If you can't even protect the people you want to protect, what makes you qualified to be my teacher?"

"Goodbye!"