Tsunade's Recognition, a Massive Boost in Strength, and the Old Man's Summons!

Chidori!

It sounded as though a thousand birds were shrieking at once.

The piercing crackle of electricity exploded in an instant. Blue-white lightning wrapped around Tobirama's right hand, ionizing the surrounding air and filling it with a scorched smell.

Tsunade's pupils suddenly constricted.

This was... chakra nature transformation?!

Before she could react, Tobirama had vanished.

Only a blue afterimage remained.

Too fast!

That kind of thrusting speed could not be tracked with the eyes at all. It could only be dealt with by instinct!

Tsunade's scalp tingled. Her body reacted before her mind did, and she abruptly dodged to the side.

Rip—

The sound of fabric tearing rang out.

That bolt of lightning grazed her waist. Though it did not touch flesh, its terrifying heat sliced a tear through her combat uniform.

"Tch, you dodged it?"

Tobirama tapped the ground with his toes, forcibly twisted his waist in midair, and used his momentum to swing a roundhouse kick at the back of Tsunade's head.

"Kid, don't get too cocky!"

Tsunade roared, chakra erupting from her body as she turned and struck with a hand chop.

Bang!

Fist and foot collided.

Tobirama felt as though he had kicked a steel plate. His leg went numb in an instant.

But he borrowed the force to redirect himself, spinning away like a top as his hands formed seals again in midair.

The entire sequence flowed smoothly, without a single unnecessary movement.

Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!

Not Great Fireball, but the more advanced Great Dragon Fire!

Three massive fire dragons roared forth, sealing off all of Tsunade's escape routes. The intense heat instantly charred the grass beneath them.

This time, Tsunade had nowhere to dodge.

"An ninjutsu of this level... do you think your chakra is free?!"

Tsunade cursed and sharply pressed her hands together.

She did not use ninjutsu to counter it.

She was Tsunade. Her fighting style could be summed up in one word—head-on!

"Break for me!"

With a furious shout, a pale blue chakra cloak instantly covered her entire body. She actually charged straight through the three fire dragons!

The chakra gathered around her fist was so dense that it even shone white.

One force breaking through ten thousand techniques!

Rumble—!

The fire dragons were smashed apart by that punch, sparks scattering across the sky like a meteor shower.

But after the flames... no one was there?

Alarm bells blared in Tsunade's mind.

Above!

She suddenly looked up.

Tobirama hung upside down from a tree branch, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan spinning wildly. Kunai tied to Explosive Tags rained down from his hand as though they cost nothing.

"It isn't over yet, Teacher Tsunade."

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A chain of explosions erupted.

Smoke and dust billowed as shattered stones flew everywhere.

The entire training ground looked as if it had been plowed over, covered in crater after crater.

Was this even a sparring match between teacher and student?

This was clearly a real battlefield where lives were on the line!

Tsunade rushed out of the smoke looking somewhat disheveled, her face covered in soot and several strands of her once-smooth blonde hair singed.

Yet the fighting spirit in her eyes only grew stronger, carrying even a trace of... excitement.

"Good! Very good!"

"Tobirama Uchiha, you've given me a huge surprise!"

The two clashed once more.

They fought from the ground to the trees, then from the trees to the water's surface.

With the Sharingan's predictive ability and Lightning Release: Body Flicker Technique, Tobirama was as slippery as an eel, always evading Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Fist at the very instant before it struck him.

Meanwhile, Tsunade was a humanoid war machine. Wherever she passed, not even grass remained. If one so much as grazed her, broken bones and torn tendons were guaranteed.

Ten minutes passed.

Twenty minutes passed.

Not only did their pace not slow, it became faster and faster.

Tobirama panted heavily, sweat dripping from his chin.

Amazing.

Fucking amazing.

So this was what it felt like to fight a Kage Level powerhouse?

Though Tsunade had not yet reached her peak, she was undoubtedly among the very strongest in the Ninja World.

[Self-assessment: Taijutsu, ninjutsu, and reaction speed have all fully reached the threshold of an elite jonin. Weaknesses: chakra reserves and endurance.]

Tobirama now had a clear understanding of his abilities.

Without counting the trump cards provided by the system, relying solely on his own strength, he could probably last half an hour against Tsunade without losing.

If he fought desperately... he could probably seriously injure her?

That was enough.

At that moment, on a distant tree branch.

The two unfortunate people who had been knocked unconscious, Jiro Tanaka and Ai Suzuki, finally slowly came to.

The moment they opened their eyes, they saw a massive explosion ahead.

A huge tree that would take three people to encircle was uprooted and hurled toward a figure in midair.

Then that figure casually swung a Raikiri and split the tree in half.

"Am... am I still unconscious?"

Jiro Tanaka rubbed his eyes, his mouth hanging wide open, his jaw nearly dislocated.

"Is that... Tobirama Uchiha?"

Ai Suzuki trembled in fear. Was that really her classmate? He was clearly a monster!

Was this still that cool guy who always wore a cold expression and never spoke?

With that combat strength, he was probably even stronger than the clan heads in their families!

"Is he really a Genin who just graduated... are we really in the same class..."

The two exchanged a glance and saw despair and awe in each other's eyes.

The gap was too great.

So great that they could not even feel jealous.

In the field.

Tobirama could feel that more than half the chakra in his body had already been consumed.

Too much was as bad as too little.

He had shown off enough today. If he kept fighting and truly provoked Tsunade into activating the Strength of a Hundred Technique, it would be difficult for him to wrap things up.

He had to give his superior a way out.

With that thought, Tobirama's eyes flickered.

As he dodged Tsunade's next heavy punch, his steps "imperceptibly" faltered.

Just like a momentary mistake caused by exhaustion.

When experts fought, that was a fatal opening.

Who was Tsunade? A battle-hardened Valkyrie.

She instantly caught that opening.

"Got you!"

Tsunade instantly closed in. Instead of using a Strength of a Hundred Fist, she changed her fist into an open palm and stopped it one centimeter from Tobirama's nose.

The powerful force of her strike stung Tobirama's cheeks, scattering his bangs.

The world seemed to fall into stasis at that moment.

Tobirama slowly exhaled. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan faded, returning to black pupils.

He raised both hands, wearing his signature harmless smile.

"Teacher Tsunade is amazing."

"I'm out of chakra. I lost."

"Please continue to teach me in the future."

Tsunade withdrew her hand, her chest rising and falling heavily.

She stared deeply at Tobirama.

There was shock, confusion, and appreciation in her gaze.

That opening just now... had this kid done it deliberately?

To preserve her dignity as his teacher?

At twelve years old, he possessed the strength of an elite jonin, along with the worldly tact of an old hand...

The Uchiha Clan had produced a monster.

"Hmph."

Tsunade gave an arrogant snort and casually smoothed down her messy hair.

"At least you know what's good for you."

"However, you still need to train your taijutsu fundamentals. When you dodged for the third time just now, your movements had too much wasted motion."

She forcibly found herself a way out.

Then she turned toward the two teammates in the distance, who had shrunk together like quails.

"Hey! You two watching the show over there, if you're not dead, get over here!"

Jiro Tanaka and Ai Suzuki scrambled over in terror, standing ramrod straight without daring to breathe too loudly.

Tsunade swept her gaze over the three of them before finally settling on Tobirama. Her tone softened ever so slightly:

"Dismissed for today."

"Tomorrow morning at eight, gather at this same place."

"The fighting on the front lines is intense. You don't have time to rest. Starting tomorrow, we'll be carrying out a B-rank mission."

After saying that, Tsunade did not waste another word. She vanished directly with the Body Flicker Technique.

She had to go find the old man immediately.

A genius of this caliber in her squad meant the previous training plan had to be completely overturned and redone!

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the achievement: Fighting Tsunade to a Draw!]

[Calculating rewards...]

[Reward obtained: Mastery of all swordsmanship in the Naruto series, including Konoha Style, Kumogakure Style, and Samurai Style!]

[Reward obtained: Ninja World War-era Tsunade Peak Strength Card. Fusion rate: 100%. Your chakra reserves, Strength of a Hundred, and recovery ability will reach peak Tsunade's level!]

[New function unlocked: Naruto Duel Arena!]

Tobirama had barely stepped out of the training ground when the system notification sounded like heavenly music in his ears.

Holy shit?

The strength of Ninja World War Tsunade?

That was the power capable of shattering Susanoo and kicking half of Madara's body apart!

An enormous, terrifying amount of chakra instantly surged into his body. His somewhat depleted chakra pathways were filled in an instant, even giving him a swollen feeling.

Tobirama felt that he could punch Hokage Rock into collapse right now.

And that swordsmanship mastery... combined with the Sharingan, he would be a close-combat meat grinder.

As for that "Naruto Duel Arena"...

Tobirama glanced at the interface.

[Naruto Duel Arena: Once per day, you may conduct a simulated Naruto Mobile Duel Arena battle. Opponents are randomly matched. Victory grants a random reward.]

Good stuff!

That was equivalent to getting one free lottery draw every day!

Tobirama was in high spirits as he hummed a tune on his way back.

Those two teammates were still showering him with praise behind him. "Brother Tobirama, you're way too strong!" "From now on, you're our boss!"

Tobirama casually brushed them off and sent the two hangers-on away.

He had just reached the entrance to the Uchiha Clan District.

An Uchiha Clan member wearing a Konoha Military Police Force uniform stopped him.

"Tobirama."

The man was expressionless, his tone cold and stiff.

"The Great Elder wants to see you."

The smile on Tobirama's face faded somewhat.

The Great Elder?

Uchiha Setsuna?

That old stubborn fool from the radical faction?

"Understood."

Tobirama nodded, shoved his hands into his pockets, and headed deeper into the clan grounds.

On both sides of the street were Uchiha Clan fan crests.

Every clansman held their head high, their faces practically screaming, "I'm the best in the world." Their gazes toward outsiders were sharp with hostility.

Tobirama sighed inwardly.

Arrogance was an obstacle to survival.

This clan was only a few years away from its extermination night, yet they were still feeling so smug about themselves.

The Great Elder's residence was dark and oppressive.

The air carried the scent of old incense.

The Great Elder sat in the seat of honor. His beard and hair were completely white, and though his aged eyes were cloudy, they glinted with a sinister light.

"Tobirama, you're here."

The Great Elder set down his teacup, forcing a wrinkled smile onto his face.

"Sit."

Tobirama sat as instructed, his back straight, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Did you summon me for something, Great Elder?"

The Great Elder did not answer directly. Instead, he slowly offered a compliment.

"I heard you graduated first in your class. Not bad. You didn't disgrace our Uchiha Clan."

"I also heard that you awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at the academy?"

The news traveled fast.

Tobirama sneered inwardly, but outwardly put on a respectful expression. "I was merely lucky."

"Luck is a form of strength as well." The Great Elder's cloudy eyes fixed on him. "How is your class assignment?"

"Lady Tsunade is my jonin instructor."

At the mention of Tsunade, the Great Elder's hand paused as he raised his tea.

The lid struck the rim of the cup with a clear ding.

It sounded especially piercing in the silent room.

"That woman from the Senju Clan..."

The Great Elder narrowed his eyes, his tone becoming meaningful.

"Tobirama, what do you think of the clan?"

Here it came.

A life-or-death question.

Tobirama's expression did not change, and his answer was flawless. "The clan raised me. I am proud to be an Uchiha."

The standard answer.

The Great Elder nodded, seemingly satisfied, but then cast out the real bait.

"The Senju Clan has always targeted us. That Tsunade probably has no intention of sincerely teaching you either."

"If you are willing, the clan can step in and help you apply to the Hokage for a new jonin instructor. Whether you join the Konoha Military Police Force or have an elite jonin from the clan teach you, either would be better than following that woman."

"Besides, with your talent, if you enter the Konoha Military Police Force directly, the deputy captain's position will be yours within three years."

This was both recruitment and a test.

They wanted him to side with the radicals and completely sever his ties with the village?

Tobirama understood perfectly.

If he agreed now, then in the future, he could only sink alongside the Uchiha Clan's doomed ship.

But he could not refuse outright either. Otherwise, this old bastard might find some way to make trouble for him.

"Thank you for your favor, Great Elder."

Tobirama dipped slightly at the waist, his tone earnest.

"However, Lady Tsunade is one of the Legendary Sannin and a master healer. I would like to learn from her first. Only by knowing oneself and one's enemy can I better serve the clan in the future."

"As for the Konoha Military Police Force..."

Tobirama paused, raised his head, and looked at him with firm eyes.

"Once I become a Chunin, I will apply to join at once. When that time comes, I hope the Great Elder will offer me more guidance."

Those words expressed loyalty while also giving him a reason to politely decline.

He was as slippery as an eel.

The Great Elder stared at Tobirama for a full three seconds.

That gaze seemed to want to see through his very soul.

The air in the room seemed to freeze solid.

After a long while.

The Great Elder's lips twitched, forming something between a smile and a sneer.

"Good."

"It is good for young people to have ideas."

"Then follow Tsunade for now. But remember, your surname is Uchiha. No matter where you go, your roots are here."

"You may leave."

Tobirama gave a bow and turned to leave.

Only after he had walked out the main gate did he feel the gaze on his back disappear.

Inside.

The Great Elder watched Tobirama's departing back. The benevolent smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a grim expression.

"So young, yet so deep-minded."

"He doesn't seem like a twelve-year-old child. He seems more like an old fox who has spent years in official circles."

"Hmph... I hope you do not turn out to be an ungrateful wretch. Otherwise..."

The teacup in his hand instantly crumbled into powder.