The Dilemma of Choice

"Shizune, when it comes to medical theory, you really did lose to Takizawa Dan."

Tsunade had seen a great deal thanks to her high level of expertise, so she quickly understood what was going on and spoke to Shizune.

Even she couldn't help admiring Takizawa Dan's analysis.

As for this disciple of hers, never mind his medical abilities—his extraordinary insight alone set him far above ordinary people. She simply couldn't believe he wouldn't achieve great things in the future.

"Shizune, you've lost. Admit it."

Tsunade looked at Shizune beside her and spoke in a very calm voice.

"What... I... I lost?"

Shizune looked at Takizawa Dan, then at Tsunade, her expression disbelieving.

How could this be?

She was, after all, Tsunade's direct disciple, and she had been renowned throughout the Shinobi World for over a decade. Although everyone acknowledged Tsunade as the greatest medical ninja in the entire shinobi world, she was so elusive that it was hard to even see her.

As a result, Shizune had received far more praise from every direction!

But now Tsunade was asking her to admit that she had lost. There was no doubt that it was a terrible blow to her pride!

Shizune's face immediately fell.

"Um... Lady Tsunade, Shizune's skills are impressive too. I only know a little about the subject... How about we call it a draw?"

Takizawa Dan wasn't a cruel person. Seeing Shizune looking so aggrieved, he immediately softened and pleaded with Tsunade.

Tsunade furrowed her brow, about to say something.

"I don't need you to pity me! Stop saying things just to provoke me!"

Shizune's expression turned stubborn.

"Shizune, you..."

"Lady Tsunade, if you mean control over the decisions made in a confrontation, then maybe I really am inferior to Takizawa Dan. After all, I've always been softhearted. I could never abandon my comrades." Shizune spoke through her tears.

The reprimand that had been on the tip of Tsunade's tongue vanished, replaced by a long sigh.

How could she not know how much Shizune had suffered over the years?

When Shizune was young, her parents had died in the chaos of war. What was even harder to accept was that their injuries hadn't been too serious. If they had been carried back for treatment, they could have been saved.

But their captain at the time was a deranged egoist. To keep the wounded from holding his squad back, he had taken advantage of a moment when no one was watching and killed Shizune's parents on the spot!

In the end, the captain was severely punished. He lost his status as a ninja and had been serving his sentence in prison ever since.

But Shizune had lost the only people in the world she had—and the most precious ones: her mother and father. For a child, justice that came too late meant nothing at all!

Because of that childhood trauma, Shizune had refused to fight others throughout her later career as a ninja, despite her exceptional talent and aptitude for combat. She wanted nothing to do with violence.

Every time she tried to strike someone, she remembered the scene of her parents being brutally killed, and her limbs would go weak!

Her condition was much like the blood phobia Tsunade herself had suffered from. Both were psychological illnesses.

Psychological illnesses could be easy to treat. Sometimes all it took was a shift in belief for a patient to become normal again in an instant.

But if someone couldn't bring themselves to take that first step, it was entirely possible for the illness to haunt them for the rest of their life!

That was why Tsunade understood Shizune's feelings so well.

Tsunade had recognized Shizune's nature back then. She had felt sorry for a girl with such outstanding talent who couldn't become a ninja, so she had taken her on as a disciple. Through Medical Ninjutsu, Shizune had become an elite ninja—a sort of roundabout way of achieving her dream...

Of course, that had all happened later.

"Takizawa Dan, what do you think...?"

Tsunade couldn't help looking to Takizawa Dan for an answer.

Before this written test, she might have thought of Takizawa Dan as a child who didn't understand much about the world.

But after he had displayed such astonishing talent, his standing in Tsunade's eyes had changed completely!

Tsunade felt deeply for Shizune, having raised and trained her from childhood. At the same time, Takizawa Dan had undeniably earned the right to win this contest.

So, after some hesitation, Tsunade simply handed control over to Takizawa Dan.

If he wanted to win, Tsunade would declare him the victor without a moment's hesitation!

Takizawa Dan shook his head, then looked at Shizune.

"Shizune, you just said that I'm better than you at making decisions, and that your nature was affected because you suffered misfortune from a young age. In other words, it wasn't your fault—it was the world's, right?"

Takizawa Dan's voice was low, but it held a peculiar charm. Tsunade and Shizune heard every word clearly.

"..."

Shizune lowered her head. She now understood exactly what Takizawa Dan meant.

At first glance, her explanation seemed perfectly reasonable. But when Takizawa Dan distilled it down, wasn't that the logic behind it?

A pitiful young girl had suffered misfortune in childhood, so she had sought comfort in every way she could, yet she had never managed to overcome the obstacle in her heart.

In the end, the girl had come to see the world as the one at fault. She began to pity herself, never found a way forward, and shut her heart away...

"If we're talking about unhappy families, I think you were much luckier than I was." Takizawa Dan shook his head. "Like you, I lost my parents on a mission. But every day, I also had to endure people humiliating me and calling me useless. I was born frail and couldn't mold chakra, so I was no use to the village."

"Isn't that ridiculous? You're deliberately suppressing your own talent, forcing yourself to become useless. I, on the other hand, have no way to become strong. I'm fundamentally unable to control my own fate."

"You're just being held back by your past. Do you really want to stay a little kid in your teens forever, crying and needing adults to protect you?"