But I'm Not Him

The merchant ship swayed as it sailed into the distance.

Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, leaning lazily against the cabin doorframe. Yet there was a rare seriousness in her golden eyes.

"Medical ninja are the first targets on the battlefield. The enemy won't spare you just because you're saving someone. On the contrary, they'll specifically target you."

Sōji said nothing, merely listening.

"So, a qualified medical ninja must not only know how to heal, but also know how to survive. Only by surviving beneath the enemy's blades can you continue saving others."

As she spoke, Tsunade raised a hand and pointed to the blue diamond-shaped mark on her forehead. "Do you know what this is?"

Sōji shook his head, pretending not to know.

"The Yin Seal. Do you know what it does?"

"I can see it. It should be able to seal chakra, storing away the chakra accumulated over time. When it's released, it lets you gain an excessive amount of chakra in a short period."

Tsunade nodded, then shook her head. "You're half right."

As she spoke, she lowered her hand, her gaze deepening.

"The Yin Seal can indeed accumulate chakra, but its true value lies not in quantity, but in quality."

"When used together with Creation Rebirth, it can instantly accelerate cell division and repair any injury. Severed limbs can regrow, organs can regenerate. As long as someone isn't completely dead, they can be saved."

Hearing that, Sōji feigned surprise. "Medical Ninjutsu can reach that level?"

"It's an S-Rank jutsu."

Tsunade's voice was calm, but it carried a trace of pride. "More accurately, it's a combination of two S-Rank jutsu: the Yin Seal and Creation Rebirth."

After saying that, she looked at Sōji, the corners of her lips curving upward. "Well? Do you want to learn it?"

Sōji fell silent for a moment before answering firmly, "I do!"

Tsunade smiled. "Good. Then I'll teach you this jutsu."

As she spoke, she straightened up and clapped her hands. "Starting tomorrow, it's time to change your training."

Meanwhile, Shizune stood nearby with her mouth hanging open. "L-Lady Tsunade, you're going to teach Sōji the Yin Seal?"

Tsunade glanced at her. "What? Is there a problem?"

"No, no!" Shizune hurriedly waved her hands. "I just... I just..."

She could not continue. She was simply too shocked.

The Yin Seal. Creation Rebirth.

Those two jutsu were Lady Tsunade's core secret techniques, the foundation that had made her one of the Sannin.

Shizune had followed Tsunade for so many years, constantly studying and practicing, yet she had never managed to master them.

It was not because she had not worked hard. The threshold for those two jutsu was simply too high.

They required an enormous amount of chakra, incredibly precise chakra control, a profound understanding of the human body's life force, and also...

Tsunade had once said that only one person in ten thousand could learn them. And now, she was going to teach them to Sōji.

Shizune looked at the silver-haired boy, and her feelings suddenly became complicated. But more than anything, she approved.

Because Sōji deserved it. Over the past three months, she had watched him grow with her own eyes.

This boy was no longer the traveler who had first joined them. He was... a disciple. Yes, he had long since become Lady Tsunade's disciple.

Though Lady Tsunade had never admitted it, in Shizune's heart, Sōji had long been her junior disciple.

That night.

The merchant ship docked at the harbor of an unnamed island. Moonlight spilled over the sea, its glittering waves dancing like countless shards of silver.

Sōji sat at the bow, gazing at the distant sea as he recalled what Tsunade had said that day.

The Yin Seal. Creation Rebirth. An S-Rank Yang Release ninjutsu.

In the original story, Tsunade had taught many people in Konoha, but only Sakura had mastered it. It was not because Tsunade withheld her knowledge, but because these two jutsu were simply too difficult.

The demands on chakra control, on understanding life force, and on willpower—each alone was enough to eliminate ninety-nine percent of people.

But Sōji had the Six Eyes. He could see the flow of chakra, the structure of the meridians, and the essence of jutsu formulas.

What took others ten years to slowly figure out, he only needed to see and imitate.

That was his advantage, but an advantage did not guarantee success.

Tsunade had made it very clear. The Yin Seal required a long period of chakra accumulation, while Creation Rebirth demanded that the body endure an enormous burden.

Accelerated cell division meant consuming life force. The more it was used, the greater the damage to the body. This was not power without a price.

At that moment, Sōji lowered his eyes.

And he had long grown accustomed to paying prices.

Ever since he had been reborn into this world, he had constantly been paying one price after another.

The Kaguya Family in the Bloody Mist, the Bloodline Disease of Shikotsumyaku, the information overload of the Six Eyes... every step he took in this world came with a price.

Yet he was still living freely, still growing stronger. That was enough.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Footsteps sounded behind him, light and quiet, but Sōji could tell who it was. Tsunade.

"What, are you too excited about learning an S-Rank jutsu to sleep?"

She walked over to Sōji and sat on the deck beside him.

Moonlight fell over her, making her golden hair glow softly. She wore a thin yukata with its collar slightly open, revealing her delicate collarbones and a patch of snowy skin.

She held a sake flask in her hand, but did not drink from it, merely gripping it.

Sōji withdrew his gaze and looked into the distance. "No."

Tsunade took a swig of sake and curled her lips. "Then what are you thinking about? You look like you're at a funeral."

Sōji tilted his head slightly. "I was wondering why you were willing to teach me."

Tsunade froze for a moment, then smiled.

There was a trace of helplessness in that smile, a trace of complexity, and something else she could not put into words.

"Kid, do you know?"

She paused before continuing, "You remind me of someone."

Sōji did not respond. He knew who she meant—Nawaki, or perhaps Dan. But he could not understand it. Had Tsunade's eyesight gotten worse with age? He should clearly have been more handsome.

"My little brother, Nawaki. Back then, he was just like you."

Tsunade's voice was quiet, so quiet it sounded as though she were speaking to herself. "Desperately trying to become stronger, desperately trying to protect others, desperately trying to become Hokage... and then he died."

"Heh—"

As she spoke, she gave a derisive laugh and took another drink, as though she utterly disdained the position of Hokage.

Under the moonlight, her profile looked especially gentle, and especially lonely.

"Tsunade, but I'm not him." Sōji suddenly spoke, calling her by name.

Tsunade looked at him, and Sōji looked back at her. His gaze beneath the black cloth was as calm as water.

"I am Yamada Sōji, not anyone's replacement."

Tsunade stared at him for two seconds, then smiled.

The complexity was still there, as was the helplessness, but there was something more now.

"I know."

She looked away toward the distant sea. "That's why I'm going to teach you, so you don't end up dying in some forgotten corner one day."

Sōji said nothing. He simply sat there, feeling the night breeze brush against his cheeks.

Moonlight fell over them as the waves gently rocked.

After a long while, Tsunade rose to her feet and brushed off her clothes.

"All right, quit acting so brooding. Training starts tomorrow, and it'll be exhausting. Get some rest early!"

Before her words had even faded, she turned and walked toward the cabin. After taking two steps, she stopped without looking back.

"Kid!"

"Yeah?"

"Don't go dying so easily."

Sōji was slightly stunned, but Tsunade had already walked away.

He watched her back disappear through the cabin door, then turned his gaze back toward the distant sea.

Moonlight spilled over the ocean, its waves glittering brightly.

Inside the cabin.

Shizune was already asleep, holding Tonton and breathing steadily. Tsunade lay beside her with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling.

She recalled what that boy had said earlier.

"I'm not anyone's replacement."

The corners of her lips lifted. That was right. He was not Nawaki. He was himself. And she was willing to teach him not because he resembled anyone, nor because she wanted him to replace anyone.

It was simply because he was the kid willing to stand in front of her and shield her from everything.

Tsunade closed her eyes. Moonlight filtered in through the window and fell across her face, gentle as water.