Refusal

"Good. Then, starting today, you'll be my..." Tsunade smiled as she prepared to take on her first student. Before she could finish, she froze. "What did you say?"

"I refuse! I'm not willing!" The smile had long since vanished from Riyue's face. He looked at Tsunade and said firmly, "I refuse."

"Why?!" Tsunade was astonished, confused, and a little angry.

"Because you're not qualified to be my master! You're not good enough!" Riyue's gaze sharpened. He stared straight at Tsunade, matching her presence without the slightest hesitation, and enunciated each word.

"I'm not qualified? I'm not good enough?!" Anger flared in Tsunade's chest. She was one of the Sannin, and her Medical Ninjutsu was famous throughout the continent. She had both strength and experience, and she was the First's granddaughter. If she wasn't qualified, who was?

Tsunade held back her anger and glared at Riyue. "Why am I not good enough? Is it because I'm not strong enough? Or because my Medical Ninjutsu isn't good enough?"

Riyue shook his head. "Lady Tsunade, you're very strong, and your Medical Ninjutsu is the best."

Tsunade's expression darkened further, and she knitted her brows. "Then do you think your medical skills are so advanced that you don't need to learn Medical Ninjutsu?"

Riyue lifted his chin, unafraid. "I know my own medical skills very well. There probably aren't many people in the entire Land of Fire who can compare with me. But there's always more to learn. Medical Ninjutsu would greatly benefit my medical practice and make up for many of my shortcomings. I really do want to learn it."

"Then why am I not good enough?!" Tsunade put her hands on her hips and glared at Riyue, furious.

"Lady Tsunade! You don't get to decide that I have to become your student just because you want to take me on. I've also been judging whether you're qualified to be my master. Unfortunately, you aren't!" Riyue wagged a finger at Tsunade.

A huge vein bulged on Tsunade's forehead. She was so furious that it seemed smoke might pour from her hair. She gritted her teeth and glared at Hyuga Nichigetsu. If Dan Katō woke up and saw her like this, he would be terrified. Riyue knew how frightening Tsunade could be when angry, but he looked at her defiantly. He wouldn't back down when his dignity was at stake.

"Yes, I'm only six years old. But that doesn't mean I'm not capable! My abilities are there for everyone to see! I became a Chunin at five and earned all these merits. Isn't that enough for you to even take notice of me?"

"Lady Tsunade! It's one thing to look down on my abilities. Compared with a great figure like one of the Sannin, my skills as a mere Chunin might not amount to much. But you can't insult my medical skills! Of course, you haven't seen them, so it's understandable that you sent me to the Logistics Department. But my abilities are right there in front of you. What would it cost you to test my medical skills? What would you lose by giving me one chance? You didn't even give me a single chance. So why should I give you one?"

"I..." Tsunade's words caught in her throat. She really had underestimated Riyue. She hadn't expected a six-year-old to have such advanced medical skills. At the time, he had asked her to give him a chance, but she had still rejected him. She had thought he was just "a conceited brat"...

"Back then, I didn't send you to the Medical Station. Medical work demands great care, and at the time, I thought you were just..."

"Just what? Just a six-year-old kid, right? Because I'm only six, my abilities as a Chunin don't count, and I can only go to the Logistics Department. Because I'm only six, my contribution to the transport team's defeat of the ambushing enemy doesn't count for much. Because I'm only six, my medical skills don't count either. Isn't that right?" Riyue shook his head in disappointment.

"But... your medical skills have already been recognized. I didn't notice them before, but I recognize them now." Tsunade looked earnestly at Riyue. She knew what it felt like to be dismissed, and she knew she was in the wrong.

"But, Lady Tsunade, you haven't earned my recognition! People have dignity!" Riyue shrugged indifferently, showing Tsunade no consideration at all, and turned to walk out of the hospital room. At least he had stood up for himself this time.

"What a conceited brat! Plenty of people want me to take them as students! I'll tell you the truth: someone even asked the Third Hokage to put in a word for him, hoping to become my student before I could refuse. I turned him down outright! And now I'm the one asking you, and you still won't agree! Fine, then! I'll find someone else to teach! I can't stand you, you insufferable brat!" Tsunade clenched her fists until her knuckles cracked and shouted angrily toward the hospital room door.

Tsunade would have been better off not bringing it up. The moment she did, Riyue remembered the recommendation letter from the Third Hokage, how Tsunade had flatly refused to take him on, how she had looked down on him, and all the ways she had ignored him. A wave of fury swept through him.

Riyue stopped, turned around, and walked back. Tsunade wondered, "Did he change his mind?"

Riyue pulled an envelope from inside his vest and casually tossed it to Tsunade. "I almost forgot to give you this. Good thing you already refused. Whatever this letter says, consider it void! From now on, you and I have no connection whatsoever! After all, neither of us wants this, right? I'll just ask the old Third Hokage to recommend another master for me."

As he spoke, Riyue left the hospital room, listing names as he went. "Jiraiya would be pretty good. Orochimaru's worth considering too. It'd be even better if the old Third Hokage taught me himself—he is the Shinobi World Professor, after all. Yakushi Nonō could be an option, too... Anyway, plenty of people want me as their student! Just not that Tsunade woman..."

Tsunade was thoroughly confused, and her anger flared. "Is this brat close with Teacher Sarutobi? What does he mean, he and I have no connection? What's void? Jiraiya? Orochimaru? He wants Teacher Sarutobi to recommend another master? Plenty of people want him as their student? And what's in this envelope? Fine, if he doesn't want me as his master! Hmph!"

Tsunade broke the wax seal on the envelope. It looked like Riyue hadn't opened it. Inside was a letter marked "Recommendation Letter." The handwriting looked familiar, and it was signed "Sarutobi Hiruzen." The recipient was Tsunade herself.

"Huh? A letter from Teacher Sarutobi?" Tsunade was surprised, then began to read.

"Tsunade, how are things at the front? Take care of yourself, all right? Don't bury yourself in medical research all the time, and be careful of the enemy's schemes when you're in battle. Things have been peaceful in the village. Everyone is doing well..." Tsunade took a closer look. Sure enough, it was Teacher Sarutobi's handwriting.

She continued reading. "By the way, I wanted to tell you about something. Not long ago, I unexpectedly met a very interesting child. He's from the Hyuga Clan, and his name is Hyuga Nichigetsu. He enrolled at five and demanded to take the Graduation Exam on his second day of school. His teacher, Ebiki, tried to teach him a lesson, but ended up being taught one himself..."

Then the Third Hokage went on to explain how he had met Hyuga Nichigetsu and how Riyue had trained. The more Tsunade read, the more surprised she became. This child... was a genius!

"The circumstances of this child's birth are rather complicated. To protect him, I've decided to find him a master. I thought of you three. At first, I wanted to recommend Orochimaru, but Riyue insisted that he wanted you, Tsunade, as his master. He also said he loved medicine and wanted to learn your Medical Ninjutsu. Seeing how determined he was, I agreed. Don't turn him down just because he's an easy student to take on..." Tsunade felt a pang as she read that. Had this child wanted to be her student from the very beginning?

"He's about to graduate from the Academy. To keep people from taking an interest in him too soon, I used your name and told the whole village that, at his mother's request, you'd decided to take him on as your student. He'll be your student eventually anyway, so there's no harm in letting him be your student for now, right? Heh..." Tsunade finally understood who the student that had come through connections was.

"I can't believe he accomplished so much in a month with Dan Katō. He's already reached Chunin level. He took the Chunin Exam... He used a Gentle Fist technique of his own creation to paralyze the elite Chunin sent by the Hyuga Main Family to cause trouble. I can still picture Danzo's old face twitching. Hahaha... Everyone in the village says you have a good eye for talent, to have found such an excellent student. You aren't taking him on because of connections. He's worth teaching properly..."

Tsunade suddenly remembered the report about the attack on the transport team. From discovering the enemy's tracks and planning the ambush against the Hidden Sand, to surrounding the enemy, intercepting the shinobi who escaped, and killing or capturing the enemy's Jonin, Riyue's name had appeared throughout the report. He had made great contributions, yet she had ignored them... Only now did Tsunade realize that Riyue was a Chunin in every sense of the word. She had thought he was "just a conceited Genin brat"...

"I sent him to the front to find you so he could gain experience in real combat. As his master, you must guide him at all times."

"Although his mother was an ordinary member of a branch family of the Senju Clan, he is also a descendant of the Senju, just like you. He has the same blood running through his veins. As his elder, you should look after him."

"Both his parents are dead, and the Hyuga Main Family has its eyes on him. As his superior, you must protect him..."

After finishing the Third Hokage's letter, Tsunade felt as if her heart were a jumble of conflicting emotions. She would never forget the crisis at the Medical Station, when everyone had given up hope. Riyue had been disappointed in her, yet he had still stepped in, turned the tide, and saved the Medical Station. When Dan Katō's heart stopped, she had broken down in despair, but Riyue had arrived just in time to save his life and help her pull herself together again.

"He must be so disappointed in me. From the very beginning, he was determined to become my student, but before I'd even met him, I flat-out refused to take him on. I treated him like some burden foisted on me through connections. If Riyue had come to me with the letter and told me he was my student, I probably would've driven him out without even looking at it. I rejected him like that. What would the people in the village think of him if they knew?"

"I ignored his strength the moment we met, overlooked his contributions, denied all his hard work, and didn't even give him a chance. I sent him straight to the Logistics Department. I didn't even know who my own student was, yet I hurt his pride so badly without even looking him in the eye..."

"And from beginning to end, I had no idea what kind of person this student foisted on me really was. Maybe he's better off without a master like me..."

"After hurting his pride, I came back and asked him to be my student. How could he possibly agree? He really does want to learn Medical Ninjutsu, but he still refused me outright. He did it for no other reason than his dignity, just to stand up for himself..."

Without realizing it, Tsunade had already come to think of Riyue as her own student. It suddenly hit her that she had lost a good student, one she would never find again in her life, and regret flooded her heart. Perhaps there had been many misunderstandings and prejudices, but she really had looked down on him. Had she truly been that arrogant?

"Maybe... I really wasn't good enough..." Tsunade murmured to herself.