The Bet (2)

Rasengan was the jutsu Uchiha Yue needed to master at this stage, and it also gave him a goal to strive toward in his chakra control training.

But just as Uchiha Yue was about to begin training in Rasengan, Tsunade suddenly appeared within his field of vision.

As Tsunade drew closer step by step, Uchiha Yue frowned slightly, wondering if she had come to give him trouble.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he shook his head and dismissed it.

After Uchiha Yue had impulsively offended the Third Hokage and Tsunade, the Third Hokage had already explained the circumstances to her, and hadn't blamed him at all. If Tsunade came after him now, she would be showing disrespect to the Third Hokage. Uchiha Yue was sure a shinobi like Tsunade wouldn't make such a foolish mistake.

So when Tsunade stopped in front of him, Uchiha Yue suppressed his dislike of her and quickly set aside his training, hoping to make a good impression. He bowed respectfully. "Lady Tsunade, hello. I'm sorry about what happened at the tavern today. I acted on impulse. Please forgive me."

"Forgive you?"

Unlike what Uchiha Yue had expected, Tsunade's voice gradually turned cold as she listened. Her eyes blazed with anger. "I never thought someone from the Uchiha Clan would apologize. How interesting! Uchiha Yue, you knew you'd offended me, so why didn't you come to apologize? Why did you make me come find you?"

"Uh..."

Seeing that Tsunade seemed to have come looking for trouble, Uchiha Yue had no idea what to do.

After all, with a forceful shinobi like Tsunade, no matter what you said to her, she always had something to say in reply.

Once Uchiha Yue realized that Tsunade hadn't come in good faith, he lowered his head and fell silent, thinking about how to handle her.

But as Uchiha Yue stood there in silence, Tsunade studied him with interest.

Then she spotted the balloon in Uchiha Yue's hand, and a mocking smile tugged at her lips. "So the talented young man of the Uchiha Clan likes playing with things only brats would want, huh? Heh. Konoha's getting more and more boring. Looks like leaving really was the right choice!"

There was no doubt that Tsunade was mocking the balloon in Uchiha Yue's hand. She thought he was using it as a toy.

Her mockery made Uchiha Yue bristle, but he knew he had to keep himself in check. He held back his anger and said, "Lady Tsunade, if there's something you don't understand, you can ask me. But please don't jump to conclusions. I bought these balloons for training, not for play."

"Training?"

At last, much of the anger in Tsunade's eyes faded. Intrigued, she took the balloon from Uchiha Yue and asked, "You can use this for training?"

"That's right!"

After Tsunade asked, Uchiha Yue blew up another balloon and placed it in his palm.

Then, right in front of Tsunade, Uchiha Yue attempted to train in Rasengan for the first time.

Fortunately, Uchiha Yue already had decent chakra control. When he began the first stage of Rasengan training, he used his immense mental energy to guide the chakra in his body, gathering it bit by bit inside the balloon. The chakra inside formed the initial shape of a Rasengan, though it still lacked power.

No matter how Uchiha Yue used his mental energy to control the chakra, though, the chakra gathered inside the balloon simply couldn't burst it. Uchiha Yue was so focused on the balloon that he didn't notice Tsunade's eyes growing brighter and brighter. She stared at the balloon in his hand in astonishment, as if she'd discovered a whole new world.

A moment later...

Once the chakra in Uchiha Yue's body had finally run out, he held the balloon, still intact, and took a deep breath. "Lady Tsunade, you should have seen my training method just now. I don't have much chakra to begin with, so I can't afford to waste any of it in battle. Right now, I'm training my chakra control. If I succeed, I should be able to create a new jutsu!"

"A new jutsu?"

Hearing Uchiha Yue's words, Tsunade nodded thoughtfully and slowly lowered her gaze to the balloon in her hand.

Then, hoping to make his earlier words more convincing, Uchiha Yue continued explaining. "That's right, a new jutsu! I'm developing a hand-seal-less jutsu. If I can complete it, my strength will rise to another level. The only problem is that my new jutsu is still in its early stages. If I had more information, I could definitely develop it within two months!"

"Heh! That's quite a boast!"

Uchiha Yue had thought his words would impress Tsunade, but instead she gave a contemptuous laugh.

Before Uchiha Yue could say anything else, Tsunade waved a hand at him. "Uchiha Yue, I'm not trying to crush your confidence, but you're being a little fanciful! There are countless powerful shinobi in the world, but how many of them can create new jutsu? You're not even a Genin yet, and you want to create a jutsu of your own. Doesn't that sound like a fool's dream?"

Tsunade paused briefly, a strange light appearing in her eyes. Then she changed her tone and continued, "Still, I find you rather interesting. Why don't we make a bet? If you can create this new jutsu within two months, I'll listen to old man Sarutobi and take you as my student! But if you can't do it in two months, you'll have to agree to do something for me. What do you say?"

"Deal!"

By the time Tsunade said this, Uchiha Yue finally understood why she had come.

So Tsunade really hadn't come to give Uchiha Yue trouble. She had come to test him.

If Uchiha Yue truly had the talent the Third Hokage had mentioned, Tsunade wouldn't mind taking him as her student. And when Uchiha Yue had talked about developing Rasengan, she had clearly approved of the idea. That was why she'd gone out of her way to make a bet with him. The wager, of course, was just Tsunade's mischievous streak showing.

But when Tsunade saw Uchiha Yue agree without even thinking, she couldn't help feeling curious. "Uchiha Yue, aren't you afraid I'll cripple all your meridians and make it impossible for you to be a shinobi ever again?"

"Of course not!"

As soon as Tsunade finished speaking, Uchiha Yue replied with righteous conviction. "Lady Tsunade, you're one of the Sannin. You wouldn't make fun of someone like me. So I'm sure you won't make things difficult for me, right?"

"You've got quite a sharp tongue, brat!"

At that, Tsunade's face turned cold again. "Since you're so sure I won't cripple all your meridians, then I'll do just that! Uchiha Yue, if you haven't completed your new jutsu within two months, you can look forward to spending the rest of your life in bed! I've always found you Uchiha Clan types despicable, anyway!"

After saying this, Tsunade snorted and vanished from in front of Uchiha Yue.

As Tsunade left, Uchiha Yue's gaze drifted back to the balloon in his hand, and a confident smile tugged at his lips.

"Two months?"

"Tsunade, you really never win a bet!"