Even a Pig Can Succeed

Ye Ning suddenly realized a problem.

Tsunade had not paid the bill yet!

Several people had come to the table, but apart from freeloading, not a single one of them had any intention of settling the tab.

Now, Tsunade was dead drunk as well.

Was he supposed to pay for the meal Tsunade invited him to?

Ye Ning seriously suspected that Tsunade wasn't actually drunk, but was just trying to skip out on the bill.

However, after calling her name several times without receiving a response, Ye Ning had to abandon the idea of waking Tsunade up to pay and obediently settled the bill himself.

Fortunately, his dear old man had left him a large sum of money before leaving, otherwise, he would have had to carry a drunken Tsunade and flee the scene.

The son of the Land of Fire Daimyo and one of the Konoha Sannin, skipping out on a barbecue bill—if that got out, people would laugh their heads off!

Speaking of this large sum of money, Ye Ning suddenly thought of something.

If Tsunade found out he had this money, wouldn't she just snatch it away to gamble?

With Tsunade's luck at gambling, never mind this bit of money, she would probably lose the entire annual budget of the Daimyo Mansion!

It seemed he would have to hide this money away...

After settling the bill and returning to the table, Ye Ning unceremoniously hoisted Tsunade onto his back. Having been swindled out of his money for nothing, he was naturally in a foul mood, and his movements were inevitably much rougher.

"Drink, drink, drink, all you know is how to drink! I know you're hurting inside, but does that mean you have to drink every single day? Drinking is one thing, but skipping the bill and acting like a deadbeat—how old are you anyway..."

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Ye Ning simply raised his hand and slapped Tsunade's plump, moon-like cheeks twice.

"Smack!"

The crisp sound of the slaps echoed through the twilight street.

The impact on those two full, shapely moons instantly sent ripples through them, causing them to quiver with a distinct, fleshy sensation.

Ye Ning hadn't held back his strength, and the drunken Tsunade finally reacted:

"Stop messing around!"

"Behave yourself, stop moving!"

He finished speaking and raised his hand to slap her twice more.

Truth be told, the texture was indeed quite bouncy.

"..."

The next day, the sun was high in the sky.

Ye Ning slowly crawled out of bed, his waist aching and his entire body stiff and uncomfortable.

Don't get the wrong idea.

Ye Ning finally understood what it meant when they said an angry woman is harder to pin down than a pig waiting to be slaughtered for the New Year.

Although Tsunade hadn't been angry last night, merely acting like a drunken fool, it was practically the same thing.

Ye Ning had used every ounce of his strength to tuck Tsunade into bed, but the moment he turned around, she would kick the blanket onto the floor again.

Then she would sit bolt upright, not saying a word or doing anything else, just staring straight at him.

That night had been absolute torture for him.

And could someone explain to him why, when drinking with Tsunade, the alcohol from the night before was still there when he woke up, and the alcohol from the day before that was also still there?

Hiss...

What a headache.

By the way, Tsunade said she would find him a genjutsu master today to teach him, right?

She couldn't still be sleeping, could she?

Ye Ning shook his head and got up to leave the room.

Passing through the courtyard, Ye Ning saw several figures sitting inside.

One of them was none other than the drunken Tsunade from last night.

Of the other two, one was wearing a Konoha jonin uniform, with fair features and a cold, feminine temperament; the other was dressed in a clan robe, with a ruddy complexion and a booming, energetic presence.

Ye Ning froze in place.

He didn't recognize the man in the clan robe, but he would never mistake the other one!

That signature gesture of flicking his tongue to lick his lips... there was no mistaking it!

One of the Sannin... Orochimaru!

After a brief moment of stiffness, Ye Ning let out a long sigh of relief.

Orochimaru at this period was not yet as insane as he would become during his later human experiments. Although he looked cold and aloof, he was actually someone who could be considered cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

He still had to be wary, but Ye Ning wasn't exactly afraid.

As for the other guy... Ye Ning observed him carefully, but couldn't figure out who he was.

Could it be that Tsunade intended to have Orochimaru teach him genjutsu?

That didn't seem entirely impossible, did it?

It was common knowledge that Orochimaru was surprisingly good to his students.

He had been dedicated when teaching Nawaki, and he treated Sasuke like his own son. Even when teaching Anko, he wasn't bad, and he hadn't laid a finger on her even after defecting from Konoha.

Moreover, before he began his reincarnation experiments, Orochimaru's genjutsu was definitely not weak.

Although in terms of combat record, Orochimaru was taken down by a single genjutsu from Uchiha Itachi, in reality, his genjutsu was formidable. Otherwise, his genjutsu rating in the Databook couldn't possibly be a 10.

"Yo, you're finally awake. Come over and meet your future teachers."

Noticing Ye Ning in the hallway, Tsunade waved at him with a beaming smile.

Wait a minute, "teachers"... what did that mean?

Was that unknown ninja also a teacher to instruct him in genjutsu?

Or perhaps... was he there to teach him taijutsu?

In his memory, there didn't seem to be many ninjas in Konoha famous for taijutsu.

Aside from the father-son duo of Might Duy and Might Guy, Ye Ning couldn't think of any other taijutsu specialists.

The guy in front of him was clearly neither Might Duy nor Might Guy.

Might Duy was a perennial genin who would never have access to high-level Konoha officials like Tsunade, and as for Might Guy, the age didn't match up at all.

Filled with doubt, Ye Ning walked over and stood before the three of them, letting them look him over.

"So this is your other younger brother, Ye Ning-kun? Unexpectedly handsome, isn't he?"

Orochimaru curled his lips, revealing a wicked, charming smile.

Ye Ning couldn't help but shiver.

If someone else, especially a woman, had complimented him like that, he might have been happy, but coming from Orochimaru, he really couldn't bring himself to be pleased!

Furthermore, Ye Ning noticed something strange.

Orochimaru's attitude toward him...

Was inexplicably friendly?

"Well, brat, these are the teachers I've invited for you: Orochimaru, who is one of the Sannin like me, and Kurama Dequn, a jonin from the Kurama Clan. The two of them will be responsible for teaching you genjutsu and helping you develop your Kekkei Genkai, respectively. At the same time, you will follow me to learn taijutsu and medical ninjutsu."

"Heh, kid, from today on, your easy days are over. Because what you're about to face is hellish training!"

Tsunade crossed her arms, her expression unreadable, yet Ye Ning could sense the concern hidden beneath.

With Orochimaru helping him develop his Kekkei Genkai, a jonin from the Kurama Clan teaching him genjutsu, and learning taijutsu and medical ninjutsu from Tsunade—he might even get to learn Lightning Style ninjutsu from Hatake Sakumo...

With a teaching lineup like this, even a pig could become a talent, right?

Ye Ning's mouth twitched.

Just how afraid was Tsunade that he would follow in Nawaki's footsteps?

Yet, a warmth flowed through his heart.