Disappointment

Chentian had anticipated all of Konoha's changes, since he had been the one to come up with the plans, but he had never expected the progress to be so fast.

Of course, he did not know any of that yet. By the time he returned to Konoha with Tsunade, the two of them would think they had gone to the wrong place.

At this moment, Chentian was already on the road, heading for Hengyang Town.

At the casino in the previous town, Chentian had learned that the big fat sheep was in Hengyang Town.

Upon hearing the news, Chentian smacked his forehead in annoyance. Hengyang Town was nearly as famous as Chengdu in the Land of Fire.

Aside from Chengdu, Hengyang Town was the most famous gambling city in the Land of Fire.

There were dozens of casinos inside, every one of them lavish and renowned.

Tsunade, the woman who represented gambling among the Three Sannin, was most likely in Hengyang Town!

Two days later, Hengyang Town came into Chentian's sight.

From afar, Hengyang Town was bustling with voices and activity, no less lively than Konoha.

"Finding Tsunade in there... Hiss—!"

Drawing in a sharp breath, Chentian rubbed his forehead gloomily. He felt utterly helpless, and his desire for a sensory ninjutsu grew even stronger.

If he had a sensory ninjutsu, he would not have needed to launch a sneak attack in the earlier battle, nor would finding Tsunade now be such a hassle.

Just like at the bounty exchange, that young man had clearly only been a Chunin, yet he had made Chentian nervous for so long.

However, along the way, Chentian had discovered that before his physique broke through, even the drop rate for ninjutsu cards had decreased considerably.

Otherwise, he would probably have already picked up all the ninjutsu he needed.

Shaking his head and casting away all those messy thoughts, he strolled into Hengyang Town before him.

The closer he got to Tsunade, the closer he got to breaking through his physique's limits. Thinking of that, Chentian could not help feeling excited.

So after entering Hengyang Town, he did not wander around. He immediately headed for a casino.

"The big fat sheep ran away! Go after her!"

"She ran that way! Chase her!"

"She still owes me five million ryo! Don't let her get away!"

Before Chentian even entered the casino, more than a hundred people came rushing out in a flood.

One of them pointed in a direction and shouted, and the crowd surged after him.

Their momentum was no weaker than a stampede of ten thousand horses. Once the cloud of dust settled, there was practically no one left at the casino entrance.

The reason it was only practically empty was because two little girls were still standing not far from Chentian. The older one had black hair and held a pink pig in her arms. She looked fourteen or fifteen, around Kakashi's age.

The younger one had a head of beautiful golden hair. She looked six or seven, about Chentian's age.

The six- or seven-year-old blonde girl stood with her hands on her hips and laughed loudly. "You want money from me? One Shadow Clone had you all running in circles!"

The sheer arrogance of her manner made cold sweat break out on Chentian's forehead.

He knew that appearance all too well. The familiar blonde hair, the familiar flat chest—wasn't this Tsunade's little-girl transformation from the original story?!

The black-haired girl beside her was Shizune, and the pig in her arms was Tonton.

Even Chentian had not expected to find Tsunade so smoothly. He even felt a tiny bit of pride at being the chosen one.

But before he could finish feeling proud, Tsunade noticed a little boy staring blankly at her and spoke up.

"Kid, keep staring and I'll break your legs!"

As she spoke, Tsunade deliberately put on a fierce expression. But in the form maintained by her Transformation Jutsu, she did not look vicious at all. Instead, she looked rather adorable.

"Is she always like this? You've really had it hard."

Too lazy to pay Tsunade any attention, Chentian gave Shizune a sympathetic look.

At the same time, he opened his storage space, took out his Konoha ninja forehead protector, and put it on.

The moment they saw the forehead protector, Tsunade and Shizune knew Chentian's identity. Shizune was so excited that she nearly cried.

With a bang, Tsunade released her Transformation Jutsu and revealed her original appearance.

"She really is huge!" With just one glance, Chentian realized the original story had not exaggerated at all. Tsunade truly had the assets.

"Kid, who exactly are you?"

Tsunade's feelings toward Konoha were extremely complicated, so her attitude toward Chentian was equally complicated.

If Chentian had not looked like a child, she would have kicked him away long ago.

Chentian knew Tsunade's situation and immediately said, "My name is Chentian. I'm the younger brother of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and currently a Konoha Genin!"

Tsunade revealed an expression of realization, and her gaze toward Chentian softened considerably.

Although she did not wish to return to Konoha, she was still aware of Konoha's situation.

What was more, Chentian was Kushina's adopted younger brother, and she and Kushina were as close as sisters. Naturally, her attitude toward Chentian became much friendlier.

"Come on. Let's go to the tavern... I mean, where I'm staying, and talk."

She had originally wanted to say they should go to a tavern, but seeing Chentian's small stature, she changed her words.

Within just a few minutes, the group of three people and one pig arrived at the inn where Tsunade was staying.

With a bang, she shut the room door and asked, "Go on, then. What did you come looking for me for, little guy?"

As she spoke, she carefully examined Chentian. She had learned of the boy's existence long ago from Kushina's letters, but this was their first meeting.

After sensing him slightly, even Tsunade was deeply shocked.

This kid had far too much chakra—far more than she had at six years old!

After all, she had inherited the bloodline of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi. Chakra had always been one of her strengths.

Tsunade even felt that the boy before her might reach her grandfather's heights in the future.

At that thought, she quickly shook her head and dismissed it.

Other than Madara Uchiha, no one could reach her grandfather's level.

"I came to ask Sister Tsunade whether there's a way to break through... the limits of the body."

Chentian directly threw out his question.

Tsunade was straightforward by nature, so there was no need to beat around the bush.

Thanks to Kushina, he already had a good relationship with Tsunade. There was no need to make things difficult for himself.

Tsunade did not answer Chentian's question right away. Instead, she gave him a surprised look.

Why would a genius like this ask about ways to break through the body's limits?

Still, she did not ask further. After thinking for a moment, she answered, "I only know of one way to break through the body's limits: the Eight Gates. I'm sure you've heard of it."

Chentian's eyes immediately dimmed upon hearing Tsunade's words. Of course he knew about the Eight Gates, but it was not what he needed.

What he needed was a permanent way to break through the body's limits, not something temporary like that.