Is This a Threat?

"Of course I won't refuse."

Uchiha You swallowed. A punch like that would probably kill him.

"Good. After all, plenty of people in the village want to become my assistant."

She placed a hand on You's head and ruffled his hair. Kushina suddenly popped out from behind him and added:

"I want to be Lady Tsunade's assistant too, but my chakra control isn't good enough."

"It's not that your control is bad."

Tsunade noticed Kushina's expression and bluntly exposed the reason for her failure.

"It's because you're too lazy. I told you to practice your chakra control properly. With my guidance, there definitely wouldn't have been a problem, but the very next day, you went looking for your little boyfriend."

She shot Minato Namikaze an unfriendly look. Who in the village didn't know that Kushina liked Minato Namikaze?

"Ahem..."

"You, you can come to Konoha Hospital after class and cooperate with me on some examinations. It'll help me understand your body better, though it might hurt a little."

She gave Uchiha You fair warning in advance. After all, medical ninjutsu was still in its developmental stage. Being able to save lives was already impressive enough; whether the patient suffered pain was not something Tsunade considered.

All three of them were laughing, while he sat in his wheelchair with a defeated expression. If he had not been unable to move freely, he would definitely have run away after class.

Damn it, I knew this wasn't going to be anything good.

Aside from his physical condition, Uchiha You was even more worried about something else. After the two friends beside him left, he hesitantly said:

"Lady Tsunade, you should know my identity. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, making contact with you so rashly could cause me a lot of trouble."

"After all, I seriously injured a member of the Uchiha Clan some time ago."

At a time like this, even if he claimed to have nothing to do with the Hokage's faction, Uchiha He would certainly overthink things. He was already having a miserable enough time in the Uchiha Clan. If the clan head deliberately targeted him, even his safety in the village could be threatened.

"That is a problem."

Tsunade fell into brief thought. She lowered her head slightly, considered the matter, and finally came up with a compromise.

"You can come to the hospital for examinations on Saturdays and Sundays. Konoha Hospital has my laboratory. After your regular checkup, I'll take you there."

He could not openly interact with Tsunade, but no rule said he could not do it in secret!

As long as they were careful and did not let the Uchiha Clan discover it, the boy's life would not be affected.

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade."

After letting out a long breath, Uchiha You still could not escape her clutches. He could only obediently become Tsunade's experimental assistant.

Once that matter was settled, Tsunade left. As he pushed his wheelchair around the corner, he spotted two people secretly eavesdropping on his conversation with Tsunade.

Uchiha You immediately flew into a rage!

Well, well! Not only had they sold him off to Tsunade, but now they were even spying on their conversation.

"You two bastards, haven't you gone too far?"

"You'd better apologize properly today, or this won't be over!"

He struck hard at his friends! Their intentions might have been good, but they had sold him off to Tsunade as a guinea pig without the owner's consent.

"Come on, that's Lady Tsunade."

Kushina rolled her eyes and said as though it were only natural:

"You have to know that Lady Tsunade has become a Jonin. She can take disciples now. Once you become her assistant, you can naturally become Lady Tsunade's disciple too."

"That's impossible."

He had not expected Kushina to think so far ahead. If he were from the Inuzuka or Hyuga Clan, then after getting close to Tsunade and becoming her assistant, he really might have become her disciple.

But an Uchiha was destined to never become Tsunade's disciple. There were too many complications involved.

"Why is it impossible?"

They were only five- or six-year-old children. Having never encountered the village's darker side, they naturally knew nothing about the enormous struggles hidden beneath Konoha.

Sometimes, one's birth determined one's future. At least for now, Uchiha You had no ability to resist fate's arrangements.

"You don't understand! Idiot!"

Too lazy to explain this matter, he turned his gaze toward Minato Namikaze, stretched out a hand, and punched him in the stomach. Pain immediately shot through Minato, causing the previously amused boy to curl up on the ground.

"When did you get so strong?"

His face turned liver-colored. In the end, Kushina helped him back to his feet. Rubbing his stomach as though he were looking at a monster, he continued:

"With strength like that, if Lady Tsunade heals your body, you'll definitely become an outstanding ninja."

"Don't change the subject. That punch was interest!"

He could not let Minato Namikaze get away today. He pushed his wheelchair in front of the two of them and blocked their path.

"Tell me, how are you going to apologize?"

Seeing how serious he looked, Minato would probably have to spend a lot this time. He helplessly looked at his small wallet and said:

"Ah, how about I treat you to ramen? The village just came out with a new flavor of ramen."

After counting his money, he added:

"Don't be too ruthless. I don't want to live on instant noodles for the next month."

"That's more like it."

He had been in the world of Naruto for several years now, yet he had never eaten at Ichiraku Ramen.

As a war orphan who was unwelcome in the clan, he was lucky to have enough to eat on ordinary days. How could he have spare money to spend at Ichiraku Ramen?

Konoha at this time did not have many entertainment options. Gathering for meals after school had become a common way to socialize and have fun.

Besides, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen made excellent noodles, so they had barely managed to grab a seat.

But just as the three were about to go over, they saw a drunken man holding a bottle and dropping heavily into the chair.

From the way he acted, one would think the three owed him something!

Unable to swallow this insult, the hot-tempered Kushina rushed straight up to the man and demanded:

"Hey, hey, hey! Those are the seats we reserved! How can you act like that?"

The drunkard who had been confronted did not even look at them, not until Kushina slapped the table.

The leftover ramen broth on the table splashed onto him. Only then did he raise his head and look down on them with bleary eyes.

"Hm? Where did these brats come from? And a little redhead too? You look just like a chili pepper."

In the drunkard's eyes, Kushina had already become a little chili pepper.

Those words instantly ignited Kushina's anger. She swung her fist and smashed it into his face.

"Bang!"

"Ah!"

No one had expected Kushina to attack. It immediately drew quite a few people's attention, though most of them treated it as a joke.

What could three children possibly do?

However, You sensed several gazes falling on Kushina.

"Hold your little girlfriend back."