I see they are quite ashamed

Ye Ning's heart softened.

Tsunade meant well.

Although her methods might have been a bit extreme, her intentions were good.

If he were in Tsunade's shoes, he might not have agreed to let himself become a ninja either.

But he had no choice but to defy her. Whenever he thought about the future—where powers like Super Shinra Tensei and Complete Body Susanoo, capable of wiping out entire ninja villages, were commonplace—Ye Ning's thirst for strength grew increasingly desperate.

Not to mention techniques like Infinite Tsukuyomi that could cover the entire Shinobi World.

He did not want to entrust his life to the two main protagonists who had not even been born yet.

He wanted to master his own destiny.

Besides, it wasn't as if he lacked a cheat code; who wasn't a "hacker" these days?

"Don't worry, I won't die." Ye Ning curled his lip, offering comfort: "I value my life more than anything. I'm going to be the Daimyo of the Land of Fire in the future; I can't afford to die."

Realizing that Tsunade would not strike again, Ye Ning relaxed and sat cross-legged on the ground. "I spent two and a half years talking to my father about coming to Konoha to become a ninja. Actually, my father had the same concerns as you."

"We both know that being a ninja is dangerous. That's exactly why my old man came to Konoha in person to pressure the Third Hokage into handing over the Scroll of Seals for me..."

His goal had always been just to go to Konoha.

Yet, his cheapskate of a father had gone ahead and demanded the Scroll of Seals. How could he not understand the reasoning behind that?

Perhaps in the mind of an ordinary person like him, the Scroll of Seals, kept by successive Hokages, must contain the most powerful ninjutsu, right? If his son learned the techniques within, he wouldn't end up in trouble, would he?

"The Daimyo visited in person to demand the Scroll of Seals?"

Tsunade walked over and sat down beside Ye Ning, curious:

"The old man actually agreed?"

Although the Third Hokage was not yet old enough to truly be called an "old man," Tsunade still referred to him that way, her tone lacking much respect.

"The Third Hokage originally wanted to refuse, but my old man threatened that if he didn't let me read the Scroll of Seals, Konoha wouldn't receive its annual funding. That's what forced the Third Hokage to agree."

Tsunade was stunned, then broke into a smile: "That's a good method."

It was likely that only the Daimyo could force the Third Hokage and Danzo to swallow their pride and back down.

"Here, this is the Scroll of Seals the Third Hokage gave me."

Ye Ning pulled a scroll from his ninja tool pouch and tossed it casually to Tsunade.

After just one glance, Tsunade scoffed:

"This Scroll of Seals is incomplete."

As a descendant of the First Hokage, Tsunade's status made her unique. The Scroll of Seals, which ordinary ninjas could never touch, was not so mysterious to her. Furthermore, her family possessed collections of most of the ninjutsu found within the scroll.

She could tell at a glance that techniques were missing, which was no surprise.

"It would be a miracle if the Third Hokage actually lent me the original Scroll of Seals."

Ye Ning put his hands behind his head, using his arms as a pillow, and returned to the previous topic:

"I really want to become a ninja. I know I'm still far from being a true ninja, and I have deficiencies in genjutsu, taijutsu, and other areas, but don't I have you?"

"Tsunade, you wouldn't have the heart to refuse to teach me, would you?"

Tsunade hesitated.

In her original plan, she intended to leave Konoha and travel.

Now that the war was over and there was no one left in Konoha she cherished, leaving this place of sorrow might help her clear her mind.

But now...

"Fine."

Tsunade agreed, and she did so quite readily:

"But you need to prepare yourself. My training will be very strict."

Hearing this, the corner of Ye Ning's mouth hooked into a subtle arc.

In the original story, Tsunade chose to leave due to severe psychological trauma and her complete disillusionment with Konoha following the suicide of Hatake Sakumo—the White Fang. But now, in order to ensure he could survive his life as a ninja, Tsunade had chosen to stay.

This was a good start.

Ye Ning believed he could mend Tsunade's wounded heart, bit by bit.

A cousin is still a brother, after all.

There was no reason why she could heal someone as unrelated as Naruto but not him.

If nothing else, he would just spend more time on it.

As for the hemophobia...

That condition was just a side effect of psychological trauma, right?

Once the knot in her heart was untied, the hemophobia would naturally vanish.

"By the way, do you know Hatake Sakumo?"

"Hatake Sakumo? I know him; he's a man worthy of respect. If it weren't for him, the war against the Land of Wind wouldn't have been so easy to win."

Hearing this, Ye Ning suddenly realized something.

Compared to Jiraiya and Orochimaru, perhaps Tsunade felt the White Fang incident more deeply.

After all, Tsunade was present on the battlefield in the Land of Wind; otherwise, Konoha would have had no way to counter the poisons of Chiyo.

Having fought on the same battlefield for such a long time, the friendship between Tsunade and White Fang was likely quite significant.

It was precisely because of this that White Fang's suicide caused Tsunade to become completely disillusioned with Konoha and the Third Hokage, ultimately serving as the catalyst for her departure from the village.

Ye Ning pondered for a moment and said softly:

"You've been locking yourself at home drinking heavily, so you probably don't know, right? When I arrived, I heard some rumors in the village about Hatake Sakumo. They are basically all accusing him of abandoning his mission to save his comrades. The impact should be quite substantial."

Tsunade was slightly stunned. Possessing a sharp political mind, she quickly grasped the crux of the matter. Anger surged instantly, and she said through gritted teeth: "How dare they?"

Watching Tsunade's reaction, Ye Ning couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing. Seeing her storming off, intending to rush to the Hokage Building to demand answers, he hurriedly pulled her back and pacified her: "Rest assured, I have heard of Hatake Sakumo's reputation, and I know he is a great hero of Konoha."

"I was so furious at the time that I already confronted the Third Hokage and the Lord Advisor."

Lord Advisor...

Danzo!

Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly. She didn't speak, but it was clear she had already reached her own conclusion.

"Under my impassioned speech, the Third Hokage and the Lord Advisor felt a deep sense of remorse and shame, and they have promised to thoroughly investigate this matter and catch the true culprits spreading the rumors. By now, those rumors should have vanished from the village."

"Shame? They actually know what shame is?"

"I think they were quite ashamed; in any case, they have already offered a sincere apology."

Although he said this, Ye Ning sneered inwardly.

Shame?

They were capable of things like sending Hizashi Hyuga to his death; slandering White Fang was nothing more than a drop in the bucket for them.