Chapter 16

Her face immediately filled with delight, and she urged in a low voice, "Yan! Hurry and thank Lady Tsunade!"

Being accepted under Tsunade would be like a windfall from heaven for her son.

She was thinking of more than just learning Medical Ninjutsu.

More importantly, Tsunade was the princess of the Senju Clan and also the Third Hokage's disciple.

By that logic, wouldn't Yan be the Third Hokage's grand-disciple?

With that connection, her son would at least be safer moving around the village in the future.

Even if those higher-ups wanted to make a move against Yan, they would have to think twice before doing so openly.

Ever since hearing Yan analyze the situation—just how deep the higher-ups' hostility toward the Uchiha clan ran—Meixin had been worried sick.

Now, she could finally breathe a little easier.

"Greetings, Teacher."

Yan respectfully bowed to Tsunade, his tone deferential.

Being accepted as Tsunade's disciple was a tremendous opportunity for him. He was quite satisfied with this outcome as well.

"Haha! Now let's see if that old fool Jiraiya still has the nerve to show off his disciple in front of me!"

Tsunade straightened up, planted her hands on her hips, and laughed smugly.

Yan: "..."

Meixin: "..."

So—you took on a disciple just to compete with Jiraiya?

Tsunade put away her smile, turned to Yan, and spoke seriously. "I've more or less figured you out."

"Honestly, you're a strange one. You managed to study medicine so thoroughly just by tinkering around on your own. Even my talent in this area can't compare to yours."

"And if I'm not mistaken, you've already extracted chakra, haven't you?"

The fluctuations of chakra within Yan's body could not escape her eyes.

Well—the little bit Yan had deliberately revealed was indeed true.

As for what he had hidden... heh.

Yan nodded lightly. "I extracted a little. I was born with a strong constitution and had a solid foundation to begin with. Then I modified the Foundation-Building Medicinal Bath formula, which made it even more effective. Once I felt my body had become sturdy enough, I tried extracting some chakra so I could practice chakra-related abilities."

"Oh? Your foundation is solid? Let me feel."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and casually grabbed Yan, feeling him over several times. A ghostly expression appeared on her face. "What did you do, kid? Is this really the body of a three-year-old? Are you some kind of monster?"

She would have believed it if someone said his physique belonged to an adult.

No, it was far sturdier than that of many adults.

His meridians and bones were broad and strong, with absurdly powerful resilience.

And then there was that vitality.

If she had not confirmed that Yan had been born to two Uchiha, she might have thought he was a direct descendant of the Senju clan or a main-line descendant of the Uzumaki clan.

That life force was nearly on par with her own.

With Yan's foundation, extracting chakra was indeed no problem at all.

In fact, the amount of chakra he possessed in the future would definitely frighten people to death.

"It's alright, I guess."

Yan smiled and spread his hands. "Natural talent plus some postnatal conditioning. I'm only a tiny bit stronger than ordinary people."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Yes, just a tiny bit."

Then Tsunade turned to Meixin with a baffled look. "Meixin, are you sure this child was born to you and your husband?"

Meixin: "???"

I respect you because you're Tsunade, but you can't just slander me like that.

"Haha, just kidding!"

Before Meixin could lose her temper, Tsunade hurriedly waved her hand with a laugh, then asked, "Could someone in your family have had Senju clan or Uzumaki clan blood?"

Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain it.

"Probably not. My husband never mentioned anything like that."

Meixin shook her head helplessly.

She knew full well that it was all Yan's own ability.

That Innate Art was inherently bizarre. The more one practiced it, the more it strengthened one's foundation, enhanced vitality, and raised the level of one's life.

If the two of them could learn it, they would have started practicing it long ago.

"Alright, enough joking."

Tsunade turned serious, propping her chin up with one hand while pinching her jaw with the other as she thought for a while. "Since you already have chakra, it looks like I don't need to teach you the basics. From now on, come work at the Ninja Hospital directly. Learn while you work, get some hands-on practice, and train in Medical Ninjutsu."

"Also, you can read any medical book in my study whenever you want. You can borrow them anytime."

"Later, I'll announce publicly that you're my final disciple. Study hard, don't embarrass your teacher, and try to stomp Minato Namikaze underfoot as soon as possible. Got it?"

She had been stifled for so many years. Now that she had finally found a freakishly gifted disciple whose talent surpassed even that fellow Jiraiya's disciple, how could she not take the chance to show him off?

"Understood. Thank you, Teacher!"

Yan bowed respectfully, a smile at the corners of his lips.

This was enough.

It seemed becoming Tsunade's disciple was the most reliable path for now.

With Tsunade at his side, his situation in Konoha had become much safer.

Moreover, the village's medical knowledge and Medical Ninjutsu were practically opening their doors to him.

Put simply, Tsunade had single-handedly upheld Konoha's entire medical system.

Of course, the Senju Clan's accumulated foundation over the years had also played no small part.

Still, Tsunade could settle all of those matters with a single word.

That very day, Yan began learning Medical Ninjutsu.

He started with the most basic Chakra Healing Technique.

With Yan's intelligence, powerful mental strength, and chakra control that came as easily as breathing, he learned anything after seeing it once and mastered it as soon as he learned it.

Tsunade was stunned again.

"Oh? Come on, try this Mystical Palm Technique!"

"Teacher, I already know it."

Less than half an hour later, Tsunade saw thick, steady green light emerging from Yan's hands, while the fish on the table was still flopping about energetically.

Her eyelid twitched fiercely.

"This is the Mystical Palm Technique! This kid learns that fast? And his chakra control is this absurd?"

Tsunade felt that her eyes had truly been opened today.

Over the next half month, Yan followed Tsunade every day to learn all kinds of powerful Medical Ninjutsu.

Tsunade even sent him to perform operations and treat patients personally.

Before long, the entire Ninja Hospital knew that Tsunade had accepted a genius disciple.

That boy's talent in Medical Ninjutsu was simply inhuman.

Hokage Office.

Bang!

Tsunade shoved the door open and looked impatiently at the Third Hokage, who was sitting there smoking. Catching the smell of smoke, she waved a hand before her face in disgust and shouted, "Old man! What did you call me here for?"

Seeing Tsunade's disgusted expression, the Third Hokage could not help twitching at the corner of his eye.

He muttered inwardly, What sin did I commit to take in disciples like these?

Tsunade and Jiraiya alike, not one of them gave him peace of mind.

Even Orochimaru, once his proudest disciple, had become increasingly unreliable in recent years. He had grown obsessed with experiments, become more and more unscrupulous, and gotten closer and closer to Danzo.

Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

He snuffed out his pipe, exhaled a mouthful of smoke, then stood and opened the window to air out the room.

Then he sat back down and looked at Tsunade. "I heard you recently accepted that genius from the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Yan, as your disciple?"

"Tch!"

Tsunade looked at the Third Hokage with disdain. "It's been half a month. Didn't you already know? Why are you asking me now?"

Third Hokage: "..."

Could she speak properly?

Was it that this teacher of hers could no longer lift his blade, or had Tsunade become too full of herself?

Whenever Tsunade brought up names like Nawaki, the Third Hokage could not quite keep his expression steady, and his tone softened somewhat.

He sighed and asked again, "Even though I know, I still want to hear your reasoning. Also, what exactly is Uchiha Yan's background?"

"To be honest, I was quite surprised that you were willing to accept an Uchiha as your disciple."

The Senju Clan and the Uchiha clan had fought for countless years. Their blood feud was not something that could be resolved overnight.

The two clans had been killing each other for nearly a thousand years.

Of course, the Third Hokage did not intend to investigate those matters too deeply. What truly concerned him was still the Uchiha clan's pile of problems.

"That kid is a monster."