Take Me As Your Disciple

The scent on Tsunade seemed to be some kind of floral fragrance. It was hard to tell if she had applied something or if it was her natural scent—the latter being scientifically impossible, but then again, the existence of the Naruto world itself was hardly scientific!

"That... achoo..." Li Tong wanted to say something, but couldn't help sneezing.

He still couldn't adapt to the scent on Tsunade. For someone with a clean-freak streak, many fragrances were simply categorized as foul odors.

"How are you doing, brat?" Tsunade hugged Li Tong with extreme familiarity. Perhaps it was because Li Tong was still a half-grown boy, or perhaps because Tsunade herself had a tomboyish personality, but she didn't feel there was anything wrong with holding him like this.

Li Tong, however, was very uncomfortable!

"Can you... achoo... can you... achoo... can you..." Li Tong wanted to speak, but he just couldn't get it out.

"What's wrong, brat?" Tsunade tilted her head to look into Li Tong's eyes. Her lips held a smile, yet there was a faint sense of threat behind it. "You'd best not play dumb with me. I, Tsunade, have been gambling against others since I was three. It's been nearly twenty years now; I don't need to see anything to judge whether or not you're cheating..."

"You... you... achoo..."

"What about me?"

"Can you... please stay a little further away from me?"

"What?"

"Stay! Away! From! Me! Achoo!"

Li Tong felt like he was going to fall apart; that fragrance was truly more than he could bear.

Tsunade's face turned green. Li Tong's words were not just an offense; they were an insult to her character. In all of Konoha, there wasn't a second person who dared to say such things to her!

"Brat, are you looking to die?" Tsunade tightened her arm around Li Tong's neck with force.

Li Tong's face was instantly buried into the softness of Tsunade's chest. Everything went black before his eyes, and he nearly passed out from the suffocation. He felt he couldn't breathe—partly because of the scent, and partly because he was being smothered!

On both sides of the forest path, deep within the trees, the many Anbu ninjas hidden in the shadows all wore expressions of horror. This was immediately followed by a wave of admiration for Li Tong; to actually dare say "stay away from me" to Tsunade was truly a masterclass in courting death!

Only Chen He frowned slightly. He was considering whether or not he should step in to save Li Tong.

Could he even save him?

Even if these few people banded together, they wouldn't be a match for Tsunade. Besides, no one could stop Tsunade's unreasonable, explosive temper.

But if he didn't intervene, what if this brat had his neck snapped by Tsunade?

What a miserable way to die!

"Wuu wuu wuu..." Li Tong struggled, his body twisting.

"Brat, you're pretty arrogant, aren't you?" Tsunade loosened her grip slightly and said with a sinister tone.

"I, cough cough cough... I'm allergic! I'm allergic to perfume! Cough cough cough..." Li Tong took the opportunity to explain quickly.

"Oh?" Tsunade was stunned. She blinked twice, recalled how Li Tong had been sneezing the whole time, and released her grip on his neck. She even took a step back, crossed her arms over her chest, and tilted her chin at him. "So it's an allergy. You should have said so earlier."

"Cough cough cough! Cough cough... Did you give me the chance? Cough cough cough..." Li Tong rubbed his throat and coughed; he was feeling quite uncomfortable from being choked by Tsunade.

"Enough! Let's not talk about that!" Tsunade waved her hand, showing Li Tong a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Brat, you might as well confess! Let me remind you, I understand the principle that nine out of ten bets are rigged, so you can't fool me."

Li Tong finally felt much better. He raised a hand to rub his nose and said, "Since you know that nine out of ten bets are rigged, why do you still gamble with them?"

"Because it's fair. They can cheat, and I can too! It just depends on who has the better skills!" Tsunade spread her hands toward Li Tong. "It's just that I'm still not very good at cheating, and I'm afraid of being caught."

Idiot, Li Tong thought with disdain, though he wore a smile on his face. "Since that's the case, then... first of all, I don't admit to cheating, and secondly..."

As he spoke, Li Tong took all his money notes out from his robes, quickly straightened them, took out about half—roughly forty thousand ryo—folded them, and handed them to Tsunade. "Here, for you!"

"What's the meaning of this?" Tsunade didn't take them. She glanced at the money, then looked at Li Tong and asked, "Splitting the loot on the spot?"

"Forget it if you don't want it." Li Tong shrugged and was about to pull his hand back.

Tsunade was faster than Li Tong. With a lightning-fast movement, she snatched the forty thousand ryo, tucked them into her clothes as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and then stood there with her arms crossed, looking at Li Tong as if nothing had happened.

"Very good! That's that!" Li Tong said as he began to back away. "Now we shouldn't have any disputes or conflicts! You don't owe me, and I don't owe you, so... goodbye!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Tong turned abruptly and walked away with his head down and long strides!

The corner of Tsunade's mouth twitched. She tilted her head, watching Li Tong walk away. Her beautiful eyes were bright and sparkling, as if she had seen something incredibly interesting. That's right, she had never encountered such an interesting brat before!

Li Tong was already far away.

"Interesting!" Tsunade muttered, a smile appearing on her face. Suddenly, she erupted into motion, turning into a blur.

In an instant!

Tsunade appeared at Li Tong's side, hooked her arm around his neck, and tightened it. "Brat! You haven't answered my question yet. Why don't you teach me?"

"Achoo..."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot!"

Tsunade released Li Tong again, shifted her body slightly to block his path, and smiled with ill intent. "How about it? If you teach me your gambling techniques, I'll give you a reward!"

Tsunade was smiling, but the "ill intent" was something Li Tong felt instinctively.

"Lady Tsunade, please just let me go!" Li Tong rubbed his nose and said weakly.

"Do you think that's possible?" Tsunade's smile became even more beautiful. This was a blatant, open threat! She wasn't hiding it at all!

Li Tong was going crazy on the inside, but on the surface, he forced a smile and managed to say, "Alright! Actually, it's not impossible." Li Tong's heart skipped a beat, and after a pause, he added, "That's right, I do indeed possess the gambling techniques you mentioned. And I dare say, in all of Konoha, no one's gambling skills are stronger than mine! However! Such a craft cannot be taught to just anyone, don't you agree, Lady Tsunade?"

"Of course I agree!" Tsunade understood perfectly. She adjusted her tone, smiling from ear to ear like a witch. "But I also said I would give you a reward. Name your price!"

"It's not a matter of payment!" Li Tong's expression turned serious.

"Then what is it?" Tsunade countered.

"You must take me as your master!" Li Tong stated with extreme earnestness.

"Hm?" Tsunade's eyes widened.

Silence!

Absolute silence!

It seemed as if even the wind in the forest had ceased. Tsunade stared at Li Tong, the atmosphere becoming suffocating.

In the woods on both sides, four Anbu ninjas were already prepared to flee at a moment's notice. If Tsunade were to lose her temper, there would be no need to consider saving anyone; they would have to worry about whether they could escape before the shockwave destroyed this entire forest.

Li Tong's expression remained serious and earnest. Although he was somewhat nervous, he did not regret it.

Because he had done this on purpose, not to actually take Tsunade as a disciple—that was impossible... Precisely because it was impossible, Li Tong had done it! Tsunade was a disciple of the current Third Hokage; it was fundamentally impossible for her to take anyone else as a master! Especially not for a skill like gambling, which was of no benefit to a ninja.

If she refused, it would save him from future trouble and prevent Tsunade from pestering him.

Li Tong locked eyes with Tsunade, his attitude extremely resolute. He was just waiting for her to refuse.

"Fine! I agree!" Tsunade suddenly said.

"Pfft! Cough! Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough!" Li Tong nearly coughed up blood, clutching his chest as he hacked violently.