"Washed-Up Uncle" Tsunade

At night, the quiet forest echoed with vigorous grunts of "hngh, hah," along with faint panting that was barely audible.

"Shizune, you should head back and rest first." Watching Shizune throw soft, weak punches, Setsuna shook his head.

Shizune looked at Guy, whose training volume was ten times hers yet who was still full of energy. Gritting her teeth, she steeled herself. "It's fine. I can keep going."

"We're both used to this kind of training. Won't your family worry about you?" Setsuna asked.

Shizune's small body suddenly stiffened, and her face turned pale with horror. "Oh no, I forgot to make dinner for Lady Tsunade! Lady Tsunade won't starve to death, will she?"

Setsuna froze. Tsunade did not cook for herself and instead made a nine-year-old girl do it. Was that reasonable?

Guy voiced the question in Setsuna's heart. "Does Lady Tsunade not know how to cook?"

Shizune said worriedly, "Lady Tsunade gets drunk every day. I'm worried she might starve to death in her drunken sleep."

"Little Shizune, thank goodness you still remembered me!" A voice like that of a female ghost from the underworld drifted over, weak and filled with resentment.

Setsuna looked up and saw a female ninja approaching with a "shameful disgrace" of a figure, reeking of alcohol.

Shizune gave an awkward laugh. "I did remember."

Tsunade approached and sniffed. "Have you eaten already?"

Guy gave a thumbs-up. "We had grilled meat."

Tsunade ground her teeth and stared at Shizune, enunciating each word. "Lit... tle... Shizune..."

Setsuna was rather speechless. Why did this feel so much like Kogoro Mouri and Ran Mouri? Had Tsunade fallen into becoming that sort of washed-up uncle after Dan Katō died?

Shizune laughed awkwardly. "How about we go get a late-night meal now?"

Tsunade said irritably, "Do you really think I came looking for you because I was about to starve to death? I searched the village worried sick all night! I thought some strange brat had lured you away!"

As she spoke, Tsunade's gaze fell on Guy, who was close to Shizune's age. Looking at his "eye-searing" bowl cut, thick eyebrows, and skintight outfit, the corner of Tsunade's mouth twitched slightly. Shizune's taste could not possibly be that bad, could it?

"What do you mean, lured away? I was training with my teammates." Shizune was initially helpless, but then said seriously, "Lady Tsunade, please teach me Monster Strength. If I'm going to inherit your name, I absolutely cannot hold everyone back or disgrace you."

Tsunade's gaze softened. She ruffled Shizune's hair. "It's good that you think that way. Medical ninja do need the ability to protect themselves."

Guy leaned close to Setsuna and whispered, "Big Brother Setsuna, why are Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya both so strange? They have none of a strong person's bearing. Could Lord Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin be like that too?"

Setsuna did not answer. He merely gave Guy a look, and only then did Guy realize that Tsunade's gaze had somehow already turned toward them.

Tsunade paid no attention to Guy, who was scratching his head furiously in embarrassment. She only asked in confusion, "That Jiraiya is back? And he didn't come harass me?"

"We met Lord Jiraiya outside the bathhouse yesterday," Guy hurriedly answered, changing the subject.

"Outside the bathhouse..." Tsunade's eye twitched slightly. She had already guessed what Jiraiya had been doing, but she still asked, "And then?"

Guy replied, "We thought he was peeping on the women's bath, so we fought him. But none of us were a match for him. Only Big Brother Setsuna chased after him. We were worried he might be a spy, so we hurried to ask Lord Hokage for help. When Lord Hokage brought us there, Lord Jiraiya had already been beaten so badly by Big Brother Setsuna that his face was swollen..."

Tsunade could not help interrupting him. "Wait, are you sure you didn't get that backward? Jiraiya lost?"

Guy hesitated. "Lord Hokage shouldn't have mistaken him for someone else, right?"

Tsunade was deeply shocked. Jiraiya had actually lost to a kid who was only thirteen or fourteen.

Seeing Tsunade fall silent, Guy continued, "Later, Lord Hokage said Lord Jiraiya had actually been carrying out a surveillance mission, and that it was all a misunderstanding. So Big Brother Setsuna let Lord Jiraiya go."

"A surveillance mission? That old man really dared to say that." Tsunade shook her head helplessly, but she did not expose the lie. She also understood why Jiraiya had not come looking for her.

Tsunade once again turned her gaze toward Setsuna, who was visibly much older than Shizune and Guy. "Are you Shizune's team leader? I haven't paid attention to village affairs in too long. I didn't expect the village to produce such a young Jonin."

Shizune tugged at Tsunade's sleeve. "Senior Setsuna graduated in the same class as me. Our teacher is Jonin Hizashi of the Hyuga Clan."

"A genius who could defeat Jiraiya only graduated now?" Tsunade was a little bewildered.

Shizune explained, "Because Senior Setsuna has no talent for ninjutsu and only knows Taijutsu, he could never pass the Three Body Technique exam. It was only because Lord Hokage recognized his potential that Senior could graduate smoothly."

"Someone who only knows Taijutsu can defeat Jiraiya?" Tsunade grew even more curious about Setsuna, but she quickly shook her head.

In the past, she might have been curious about Setsuna's Taijutsu and might even have challenged him herself. But now, she had lost interest in most things. She merely requested, "Please take better care of Shizune in the future."

The deaths of Nawaki and Dan Katō had made her fear the battlefield, but Shizune was unwilling to give up her dream of becoming a ninja. Now that Shizune had such strong teammates, Tsunade naturally had to earnestly entrust her to them.

Setsuna agreed. "Teammates should help each other, of course."

After thinking for a moment, Tsunade said, "I don't have anything to offer as thanks. How about I teach you my Taijutsu?"

Setsuna quickly seized the opportunity. "Lady Tsunade, I heard that you developed a powerful sealing technique called the Yin Seal. Could you give me some guidance on it?"

Tsunade asked in confusion, "I can, but what do you want to learn the Yin Seal for?"

She was famous throughout the Ninja World for her medical ninjutsu and Taijutsu. She truly had not expected Setsuna to want to learn her sealing technique.

Setsuna said, "Although I have no talent for ninjutsu, sealing techniques and ninjutsu are still somewhat different. I still want to give it another try."

If that truly did not work, he wanted to try modifying the Yin Seal into a technique for storing "qi."

At most, his current qi could blast apart a small hill. If he could store it to the level of Master Roshi, then even if Madara Uchiha returned to his prime, he could blast him into scraps.

Tsunade naturally hoped that Shizune's teammate could become stronger as well. She nodded. "Tomorrow, I'll have Shizune bring you the scroll for cultivating the Yin Seal. But you should prepare yourself. Sealing techniques have always been extremely difficult to master."

Although Tsunade would not be teaching him personally, Setsuna was already very satisfied. Connections really were a cultivation resource. "Thank you, Lady Tsunade. I only want to give it a try. I do not particularly care whether I succeed or fail."