"What's wrong with that? Doesn't that just prove I'm qualified... Wait, what did you just say?!"
Tsunade had originally meant to say that she was the most qualified person to be Uchiha Chen's teacher, but halfway through, she suddenly realized that the kid hadn't meant that at all!
Uchiha Chen then watched as Tsunade's pretty face visibly began to turn red. A huge "#" appeared on her forehead.
Seeing Tsunade slowly raise her fist, Uchiha Chen's eyes went wide. He couldn't help thinking that he should run, but in the end, he gave up on the idea.
After all, the difference in their strength was plain to see.
Tsunade's punch ultimately turned into a slap, and she gave Uchiha Chen a hard smack on the back of the head!
"Smack!!"
"Ow!!!!"
Seeing Uchiha Chen grimace in pain, Tsunade finally smiled faintly. Her red lips parted.
"Kid, you dared to flirt with me. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Ahem, Lady Tsunade, you can't blame me for that. What you said was ambiguous and easy to misunderstand!"
Uchiha Chen was also kicking himself. He shouldn't have teased her just then. If he really angered Tsunade, one punch from her, with her monstrous strength, would probably...
"You want to learn Medical Ninjutsu, and I'm... Tsunade, one of the Konoha Sannin. Surely you can guess what that means?"
Normally, Tsunade wouldn't call herself one of the Konoha Sannin in front of other people, but today, she'd made an exception.
She had no choice. Uchiha Chen seemed a little slow on the uptake, so she felt it necessary to remind him of her achievements in Medical Ninjutsu.
"It's already an honor for a junior like me to have Lady Tsunade, one of the Konoha Sannin, bring me books on medical techniques. I wouldn't dare ask for anything more!"
Uchiha Chen didn't tease her again. Instead, he cupped his hands and spoke respectfully.
But his refusal was obvious.
"Don't you want to become my apprentice?"
"With my guidance, your Medical Ninjutsu will improve by leaps and bounds..."
Tsunade had naturally heard the unspoken meaning in Uchiha Chen's words. Her brows knit slightly as she spoke, sounding a little unwilling to give up.
"Lady Tsunade, Medical Ninjutsu is really just a hobby of mine. I study it in my spare time, and that's about it. I don't plan to spend too much time on it.
"If I became your apprentice for that reason, only to disappoint you in the end, that's not what I want."
Uchiha Chen smiled and stated his "true feelings" with complete "sincerity."
"All right. If that's the case, I won't force you. I'll bring you some basic medical books tomorrow."
Seeing how firm Uchiha Chen was, Tsunade's eyes shifted. She stopped pressing him and spoke calmly.
"Then thank you, Lady Tsunade!"
Uchiha Chen was naturally delighted.
"Mm."
Tsunade nodded indifferently, then turned and left.
If the direct approach didn't work, she'd try another way.
I, Tsunade, am not the sort to give up easily!
At the thought, the corners of Tsunade's mouth curled into another lovely smile.
"She's finally gone!"
Watching Tsunade's retreating figure, Uchiha Chen let out a long sigh of relief. Now he finally had time to continue studying the Innate Breathing Technique!
Over the next few days,
Tsunade kept up her routine, stopping by Uchiha Chen's place for a "visit" almost every day. Each time, she brought him a few medical books.
To her surprise, Uchiha Chen only needed to read each book once to master everything in it. He didn't need her guidance at all!
Tsunade, who'd had other ideas, felt completely superfluous.
Putting those other ideas aside, her desire to take him on as an apprentice only grew stronger.
"Whew, after five whole days, I've finally learned Sage Mode!"
Uchiha Chen let out a long breath and murmured to himself, his face full of delight.
Although he had previously used his Max-Level Comprehension to create a method for cultivating Senjutsu Chakra, that didn't mean he immediately had enough Senjutsu Chakra to enter Sage Mode.
So during these five days, aside from studying Medical Ninjutsu on his own, Uchiha Chen had spent all his remaining time accumulating Senjutsu Chakra!
"But with the amount of Senjutsu Chakra I've stored up, I can probably only maintain Sage Mode for six minutes."
"That's nowhere near enough. I'll have to keep building up my Senjutsu Chakra!"
With that, Uchiha Chen sat cross-legged and resumed his cultivation.
After several days of practice, Uchiha Chen finally dared to use the Innate Breathing Technique at full strength and absorb Senjutsu Chakra in great quantities.
Energy from the natural world surged into the courtyard where Uchiha Chen sat, eventually transforming into Senjutsu Chakra and entering his dantian.
Meanwhile, on a street somewhere in Konoha,
On the roof of a women's bathhouse, Jiraiya, also one of the Konoha Sannin, was peering through a window, nostrils twitching as he stared at the enticing scenes inside.
Just then, Jiraiya seemed to sense something. He abruptly turned to look in a certain direction, his face full of surprise.
"What's going on? Why do I feel someone absorbing Natural Energy? Minato isn't in the village right now. Could someone else in Konoha know Sage Mode?"
Having learned Sage Mode himself, Jiraiya was highly sensitive to Natural Energy. He immediately sensed that something was amiss.
Jiraiya leaped into the air and, in no time, covered several hundred meters.
"Hm? That direction... is the Uchiha clan's district? Never mind. I should go take a look!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
Jiraiya leaped several times in succession and soon appeared on a rooftop. He found some cover and stared in shock at the young man sitting in the courtyard.
Natural Energy was constantly pouring into the young man's body. That young man was Uchiha Chen.
"So it really is Sage Mode?!"
Seeing the familiar markings around Uchiha Chen's eyes, what else could it be but Sage Mode?
Jiraiya was stunned.
"Who's there?"
Uchiha Chen's brow furrowed as he trained. He opened his eyes, looked up in Jiraiya's direction, and snapped out a warning.
"Oh? He noticed me that quickly?"
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
But now that he'd been spotted, Jiraiya stopped hiding. He stepped boldly out from behind the cover, leaped down in front of Uchiha Chen, and praised him.
"Ha ha ha ha! Not bad, kid. You noticed me so quickly."
"Huh? Pervy Sage?"
The moment Jiraiya appeared, Uchiha Chen recognized him.
That long white hair, the Forehead Protector with the character for "oil," the red markings beneath his eyes...
There was no helping it. Jiraiya's appearance in the original story had left a deep impression.