The next morning, Tsunade irritably raked a hand through her golden hair. She'd been drinking fine wine and crushing everyone at the gambling table, and hadn't enjoyed herself for long before Kushina dragged her awake.
"Teacher Sarutobi wants a parent to come to the office," Kushina said. "Hurry up, Sister Tsunade. We're going to be late."
"What Teacher Sarutobi? Sarutobi Hiruzen? That old geezer ruined my fun. I was just about to win big! I ought to smash his crystal ball. He's always acting so lecherous." Tsunade was still fuming, her tone full of discontent.
Kushina hurriedly explained, "It's not Lord Hokage. It's our homeroom teacher, Sarutobi Kimura. It's about the fight with a classmate yesterday."
"They're calling a parent over something this trivial? I've been fighting since I was little, and no one's ever dared make me call my parents." Hearing it was such a small matter only made Tsunade angrier. "Let's go! Your big sister will back you up."
Uzumaki Mito repeatedly urged Tsunade to take good care of Kushina. If Kushina was being bullied, Tsunade certainly wouldn't stand by and do nothing.
Besides, Tsunade had never thought fighting was a big deal. She remembered a certain lecherous, annoying white-haired bastard from her school days and could only think: Good. Some people deserved a beating every once in a while.
Tsunade kicked open the school office door, immediately zeroed in on her target, and strode up to Sarutobi Kimura with a fierce air. She sneered, "You're the one who made Kushina call her parents?"
When the door burst open, Teacher Kimura hadn't even had time to get angry. Then he saw who was standing before him and thought:
"Who'd go and provoke this menace? Oh no, she's here for me! Lord Hokage only told me to take good care of Kushina. He didn't say her guardian was Princess Tsunade!"
Tsunade's fiery temper was famous. On top of that, her great-uncle was the First, her granduncle was the Second Hokage, and her teacher was the Third Hokage. She was the very definition of a second-generation Hokage, and no one in Konoha dared cross her.
With her monstrous strength and superb Medical Ninjutsu, the Toad Sage—who'd once had his ribs broken by her punch, healed, then been punched again—often explained to others:
"It's not that Tsunade has a bad temper. This is simply part of my training. A body tempered through countless trials is the source of my strength."
Teacher Kimura hurried to his feet. "So Princess Tsunade has arrived. It's nothing serious. Please, have a seat."
In the classroom.
"I think someone saw Lady Tsunade come to the school," Minato said excitedly, turning around.
"What's there to get excited about? Teacher Kimura is more excited than you are right now." Genichi, who knew the whole story, was completely unfazed.
Then he remembered that Minato had originally met Jiraiya during his time at the Ninja Academy. Genichi thought carefully about who would be the best person to apprentice himself to at this stage.
The Third Hokage had taught Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, but by now he probably wasn't taking on any more students.
Danzo was an immediate no. He might have been the strongest Wind Release user in Konoha, and he had plenty of resources and forbidden techniques. But his willingness to sacrifice others for the sake of the Konoha he believed in made him someone best avoided.
Looking to the next generation, the only famous figures seemed to be the future "Konoha White Fang," Hatake Sakumo, and the Sannin: Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.
Considering that his future enemies might include the Otsutsuki clan, and that ordinary ninjutsu would be useless against them, the Sannin—who had contracts with the Three Great Sage Regions—were the best choice.
Jiraiya... well, he was a good person. He was also a good teacher. In Shippuden, the three he taught—Minato Namikaze, the trio that included Nagato, and the "Child of Prophecy," Uzumaki Naruto—could be said to span the entire main storyline.
But Mount Myoboku's Great Toad had lived for over a thousand years and could make prophecies. It was always going on about things like the Child of Prophecy, and in his previous life, there had been endless online debates about "predestination" and "conspiracy theories."
As a transmigrator, Genichi chose to keep his distance for now.
I'm not strong enough yet. Once I am, things will change.
What's more, Mount Myoboku's Sage Mode was ugly. If you weren't proficient, you'd develop toad-like features on your face. Strength only mattered for one era, but good looks lasted a lifetime. Since all three sage regions excelled at using Natural Energy, Genichi naturally didn't want to pick the ugly one.
"Then it's settled. Regarding the fact that our teacher writes smut and likes taking his students to peep at women bathing, the organization has discussed it and decided that you'll bear the burden."
Genichi patted Minato on the shoulder. He said nothing, only giving him a meaningful nod.
Minato looked baffled, but quickly accepted the situation and nodded back.
He couldn't help it; he was used to this by now. Over the past month, his new friend had often acted strangely, doing things that defied common sense.
He was too young to understand, but considering Genichi's extraordinary strength, perhaps this was the price of becoming stronger.
That left only Tsunade and Orochimaru.
With Tsunade, he could learn a great deal about medicine and the human body. She was also closer to Konoha's mainstream, which would make it easier to rise through the ranks in the village or consult the Scroll of Seals later.
Orochimaru was a high-risk, high-reward option. He disregarded human life and might defect from the village, but he really did possess the core technology, and had plenty of good stuff.
Genichi fretted inwardly, Ugh, this is so hard to choose. Can't you come and recruit me yourselves?
The future strongest in the Ninja World was still waiting.
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