Rumors and Tsunade

"Captain!" The three emerged through the breach in the Earth Prison and saw Uchiha Fukuyama leaning against a tree nearby, smoking. Three dead wandering ninja lay at his feet.

"Hmm. You're a little faster than I expected. Good work."

Seeing the three of them, Fukuyama gave a rare smile.

"Captain, did we complete our mission?!"

"Mm!" Fukuyama nodded. "All the wandering ninja have been dealt with."

"Do we need to take these bodies back?!"

"Just cut off their heads!" Fukuyama glanced at Haku, whose face had gone pale. "Haku, you do it. Cut off their heads and seal them in a scroll!"

"Ah!"

"Captain, let me do it?!" Hideki volunteered, but Fukuyama glared him back into silence.

"I-I'll do it," Haku said timidly.

"Suifeng, go help him. You take care of the last two!"

"Yes!" Suifeng was just as reluctant. He knew this mission was mainly meant to familiarize him with the battlefield and the feeling of killing, so he wouldn't still be a rookie when he eventually went to war. He didn't have any real objections.

A ninja was, by nature, a tool. A ninja who didn't want to be a tool wasn't a good ninja.

At least, that was true until one became a Kage. In fact, even someone with Kage Level strength could still be a tool if there was something wrong with his head. White Fang, for instance...

This was an abnormal world. The rules, the system of power, and the institutions were all abnormal. As Suifeng saw it, this was a world with something wrong with its head. It was sick and needed treatment!

But he wasn't capable of treating it yet, so he could only obediently play the part of a tool and keep his head down until he was strong enough to make his voice heard.

So, figuring out how to make better use of himself as a tool had become his most urgent concern.

Come to think of it, he was already a proper Genin. Even against a Chunin, he could defeat most of them. This mission had undoubtedly given him a new understanding of Body Techniques. Unlike his past sparring sessions with Fukuyama, this had been a real fight to the death. After an experience like this, he wouldn't panic when he faced an enemy on the battlefield.

At the same time, this mission had shown him where he fell short.

He lacked a powerful single-target attack ninjutsu.

Put simply, his damage output was too low.

His Lava Release was strong, but it consumed chakra. He wasn't an Uzumaki with that sort of enormous chakra reserve. His Kekkei Genkai had improved his physical constitution and greatly increased his chakra, but only compared with ordinary ninja. At the moment, his reserves were merely at the Chunin level. And what could someone with Chunin-level reserves do?

Fire off one or two big moves, more or less.

Just now, he'd had to use the Great Fireball—his Lava Ball Technique—six times before he could break through the Earth Prison's barrier. It had taken a lot of time and effort. How could that compare to Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred, which was so convenient?

All right, what he really wanted was to learn a Nintaijutsu like Strength of a Hundred.

But he knew that, as a member of the Uchiha Clan, learning it was practically impossible. Tsunade wasn't going to teach it to him, and even if he secretly learned it, could he use it openly? Of course not.

A burst of instantaneous power, or a powerful single-target attack ninjutsu... He'd think about it some more when he got back.

He needed to make sure his imagination was big enough.

On the way back to Konoha after completing their mission, nothing unexpected happened. But when they passed the site where the Rock Ninja had attacked them, the Rock Ninja were gone, and every trace of the battle had been cleaned up.

"Captain, those Rock Ninja...!"

They had killed the Rock Ninja, completed their mission by wiping out the wandering ninja, and returned from the wandering ninja camp to this spot—all in less than a day.

"This place is so close to Konoha that it's within the Anbu's patrol range. They're hard to spot when they're concealed, but there was a battle here, with bodies all over the ground. Do you think the Anbu are blind?" Fukuyama said coldly. "In any case, Konoha is the greatest of the ninja villages. Do you have so little faith in its defenses?"

"No, no!"

Hideki hurriedly denied it. So many unexpected things had happened on this mission. He'd been unhappy with Fukuyama's decision to give up taking the Rock Ninja back for interrogation and a reward, but by now, most of his frustration had faded.

The clan didn't want Suifeng getting involved with the Anbu for the time being!

That was the conclusion Hideki had reached from this mission.

As a Chunin, he wasn't just a Genin who knew how to accept missions anymore. He knew the village's situation fairly well and understood that there were some problems between the clan and the village. There was nothing he could do about them at the moment. All he needed to know was that the waters ran deep and he shouldn't get involved.

Suifeng was a genius of the clan. He'd awakened his Sharingan at a young age, developed a brand-new Body Technique, and awakened the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai. How to handle a clan member like that wasn't something a lowly Chunin like Hideki could presume to weigh in on.

As soon as the four of them returned to Konoha, they could tell something was off. More people than usual were whispering in the streets, and a strange atmosphere hung over the entire village.

White Fang had failed his mission while saving his comrade, bringing enormous losses upon Konoha!

The four soon learned what had happened. Fukuyama's expression changed slightly. After hurriedly turning in the mission, he sent Suifeng and Hideki to take Haku to Konoha Hospital for treatment, while he headed straight for the Great Elder.

Was White Fang about to kill himself?!

So it was happening now!

When Suifeng heard the news, he wasn't as shocked as everyone else. White Fang's suicide was a fixed part of history, and he had no intention of changing it. Only someone with something wrong with his head would try to change it.

White Fang was a staunch supporter of the Hokage faction. If the Hokage faction and the Uchiha Clan ever came into conflict, he would undoubtedly side with the Hokage faction and might even become its sharpest blade.

If they didn't take this chance to let him die, were they supposed to save him for the holidays?

The Hokage faction was tearing itself apart and making such a mess of things. What a rare and splendid sight!

At Konoha Hospital, Hideki supported Haku as they slowly walked out of the entrance. Suifeng followed behind, looking unconcerned.

"Wow, what a huge pair!"

Just as he stepped through the gate, Suifeng saw a pair of enormous basketballs swaying toward them, with golden hair fluttering in the breeze.

"Just as the rumors said. Absolutely true!"

Suifeng stared at the golden-haired woman walking toward the three of them, his breath catching.

"Lady Tsunade!"

Hideki and Haku both stopped.

The Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan might not get along, but in the presence of someone like Tsunade, they still had to show respect.

"Hmm." Tsunade recognized the two and nodded. Her expressionless gaze moved on as she continued walking.

"Lady Tsunade, please wait!"

At that moment, Suifeng had an idea and suddenly called out.

Tsunade stopped and looked at Suifeng, her gaze sharpening slightly.

There was no denying it: beauty really did mean justice. Even though she didn't get along with the Uchiha Clan, she couldn't bring herself to dislike Suifeng, the exceptionally handsome little boy.

She was simply curious why he had suddenly called out to her.

"What is it?"

"Well, I heard that Lady Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred is unmatched, so I wanted to ask you about it!"

"Ask me about it?!" Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "You're that Uchiha Clan genius, Uchiha Suifeng, aren't you?"

"That's right!"

"You want to test my Strength of a Hundred?!"

"Of course not!" Suifeng smiled. "I just wanted to confirm something with you. Is the principle behind the Strength Enhancement Technique to concentrate chakra in one part of the body, then release it all at once to achieve tremendous destructive power?"

"So what if it is? Are you thinking of learning it?!"

"That's right. I'm missing a destructive ninjutsu, and I'm very interested in the Strength of a Hundred. But I know you wouldn't teach it to me easily, so I want to study it on my own and see if I can make it work!"

"Kid, that's the principle, but everyone knows it. Not many people can actually use the Strength of a Hundred!" Tsunade said slowly. A faint pressure emanated from her and pressed down on Suifeng.