Tsunade's First Assignment

The Byakugan could see through ordinary clones, but Shadow Clones? Those were another matter.

Uchiha Yi couldn't remember whether the Byakugan could see through Shadow Clones in its early days. Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Byakugan couldn't, at any rate—not quickly enough to distinguish a Shadow Clone from the real Naruto in an instant.

Otherwise, Naruto wouldn't have caught her out so many times during their fight.

"It was just something I wanted to try. The Sharingan can't see through Shadow Clones.

"As for whether the Byakugan can, I don't know. It was worth a try. Even if it failed, I wouldn't lose anything. I could just win another way." Uchiha Yi wagged a finger, a confident smile on his face.

He had to admit, Tobirama Senju was devious. The man had tried everything to counter the Uchiha Clan.

The Sharingan could see through ordinary clones, so he developed Shadow Clones.

To fight Uchiha Izuna, he developed the Flying Thunder God Technique, which even the Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't track.

To counter the Uchiha Clan's Fire Release, he devoted himself to Water Release. He was better at it than the Mizukage, if you could believe that.

Tobirama Senju had even developed the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique specifically to deprive the Uchiha of their Sharingan's advantage.

No one had ever gone after the Uchiha quite like Tobirama Senju.

He couldn't handle Madara Uchiha, but against an ordinary Uchiha, Tobirama Senju had every answer ready.

Hyuga Rinka was speechless. Did he really think that little of her?

Still, she had to admit Uchiha Yi was stronger than she was. He was also two years younger. He truly deserved to be called the top genius.

"Mm." Tsunade nodded slightly. Given that Uchiha Yi was stronger than Hyuga Rinka, there was nothing wrong with his approach.

She was a little disappointed, though. He hadn't beaten Hyuga Rinka with Taijutsu and shown off his Monstrous Strength.

Tsunade checked the time. "All right. We've done introductions, and I have a rough idea of what you can do. I'll work out your training when I get back.

"It's about time we started our assignment. I picked it up yesterday."

"Great! We're going on an assignment!" Kushina Uzumaki exclaimed, eager to get started. Would they get to leave the village? Fight other Ninja?

Even Hyuga Rinka's usually impassive face showed a flicker of excitement. For this young lady of the Main Family, going on an assignment outside the village had become an obsession.

Many Main Family members never got a chance to leave the village in their entire lives, let alone the Land of Fire.

Only Uchiha Yi looked uneasy. He had a feeling Tsunade might use this opportunity to make trouble for them.

When Tsunade led them to the entrance of a hot spring resort, his heart sank. She was doing this on purpose.

"Tsunade, are you treating us to the hot springs?" Kushina Uzumaki asked hopefully.

Tsunade had brought her here before, and it had felt wonderful.

But Tsunade had also told her to keep an eye on Uchiha Yi and never let him come here too often, or he'd forget to go home.

Uchiha Yi's eyelid twitched. "Our assignment isn't here, is it?" he asked, his voice strained.

Tsunade gave him an approving look. "You're a sharp one.

"That's right. Your assignment today is to clean this entire hot spring resort. Think you can manage it?"

"What?" Kushina Uzumaki and Hyuga Rinka stared at her. One had once been a princess of the Uzumaki Clan; the other was the young lady of the Hyuga Main Family. Neither had ever done work like this.

Now Tsunade wanted them to clean a hot spring resort—the largest one in Konoha. Who knew whether they could even finish? And if they did, they'd be exhausted.

"Do your best. I'm counting on you.

"This is the Tsunade Squad's first assignment. You won't let me down, will you?

"Failing your very first assignment could affect the ones you're allowed to take later." A mischievous glint flashed in Tsunade's eyes.

Back when she had first become a Ninja, Teacher Sarutobi had given her team plenty of infuriating assignments. They had nearly broken down. Even Orochimaru, with his temperament, had lost his composure.

Now she could put her own students through them one by one. Maybe that was the fun of being a teacher.

Still, she wasn't making things difficult for Uchiha Yi and the others purely for her own amusement. Ninja sometimes had to face awful conditions. If they couldn't even clean a hot spring resort, they might as well give up.

"Lady Tsunade, you're here!" The owner hurried over when he saw her.

"Mm. These three will be cleaning the resort. Just give them the equipment.

"And arrange a private room for me, with some snacks and beer. That won't be a problem, will it?" Tsunade asked, pointing to Uchiha Yi and the other two.

"Of course not! I'll get your room ready right away!" The owner readily agreed. Tsunade was always a generous spender. Her bill this time might well exceed what it had cost to hire the Ninja to clean the place.

"All right, get started. Don't disappoint me!" Tsunade waved to them, then headed for the private room the owner had arranged, leaving Uchiha Yi and the two girls staring at one another.

Even Hyuga Rinka looked displeased now.

"Well, let's get to work. If we finish quickly, maybe we can get Tsunade to treat us to the hot springs." Uchiha Yi picked up the cleaning tools and sighed. "Kushina, I'll use Shadow Clones to help. You can use them too, if you want. And cleaning while standing on the water could be good training."

With that, Uchiha Yi walked into the public hot spring area and stepped onto the surface of the water. "Water Walking is an essential part of a Ninja's training. It takes fine Chakra control.

"You haven't practiced Water Walking yet, so this is a good chance to learn."

"Yes! I understand!" Realization dawned on Kushina Uzumaki. So Tsunade had brought them here to train them. She had misjudged her.

Hyuga Rinka gave Uchiha Yi a thoughtful glance. Was that really it?

It didn't matter. She could use the opportunity to train.