"Come on, why can't you just lend it to me?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. To think he refused so bluntly! I mean, seriously, she's a super cute and ridiculously pretty girl, right? Not to mention, they were both Konoha shinobi. Now was the time to stick together! You've been showing off for so long—aren't you tired already? Shouldn't it be someone else's turn to shine now? It's just borrowing a flashy prop, it's not like it'll get you pregnant or anything!
"As long as the blade is with me, I live. The White Fang is as dear to me as my life—unyielding."
Kakashi's older brother, Hatake Sayun, replied crisply and firmly. His conviction was absolute. This kind of obstinacy ran deep in the Hatake clan. Stubborn as oxen, they would never back down from a battle no matter how formidable the opponent, always ready to fight to the bitter end.
Put simply, their philosophy was: "If you've got a problem, then let's throw down. Life or death, who cares."
That's why the Hatake clan suffered massive casualties during the First Great Ninja War. As the young leader of the clan, Sayun was practically a lone wolf commander. Tsunade could relate to that all too well—after all, the Senju clan wasn't faring any better. There hadn't been a single noteworthy successor in ages.
"Besides… you're not worthy of wielding a blade."
Sayun was sharp when it came to analyzing his enemies, always able to spot weaknesses and launch the most effective counterattacks. Tsunade was best known for her terrifying taijutsu—her monstrous strength. Few could take a punch from her and remain standing. But from what Sayun observed, she didn't actually seem like a taijutsu user. Her joints and skin were too smooth, lacking the callouses or wear and tear typical of hand-to-hand combatants.
And judging from her fighting style, Tsunade didn't move like someone trained in close-quarters combat. A real taijutsu user would know how to use the simplest moves for the most efficient kills. Tsunade, on the other hand, clearly lacked refined combat technique and awareness. Her edge in melee came purely from overwhelming strength and speed, not skill.
Sayun had even heard stories of her wildly swinging punches and flattening entire squads of ninja.
So yes, Tsunade had one glaring weakness—she could demolish weaker opponents with ease, but when up against someone of equal strength… Sayun could think of at least a hundred ways to teach her a lesson.
Of course, that's assuming Tsunade was just a taijutsu specialist. But rumor had it her ninjutsu was just as outrageous as her brute strength. And based on what he'd seen, those rumors weren't wrong. If they really went head-to-head, Sayun wasn't entirely confident he could take her in a straight-up fight.
And he wasn't wrong—Tsunade had never done a proper workout in her life. Even her trademark "Monstrous Strength" taijutsu was a gift from the system. Naturally, her body didn't have six-pack abs or anything close. She was soft all over. Without chakra enhancement, she'd be exhausted after just a few kilometers.
No joke—she had actually tested her stamina once. After realizing how pitifully low it was, she decided to turn over a new leaf and made a plan to do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and a 10 km jog every day…
Two days later, she gave up—her hair hadn't even thinned a bit.
So when Sayun bluntly said she wasn't worthy of the blade, Tsunade had nothing to say. She couldn't help but wonder—if she did manage to get her hands on a short sword, would she really be able to fight gracefully like Lady Shiki?
The answer was obvious: absolutely not.
What she really needed was a technique that could instantly determine the best course of action mid-fight—something like future prediction. Okay, that might be aiming a bit too high, but at the very least, she should be able to read the wind and use her instincts to dodge attacks, right?
Having figured that out, Tsunade gave up on the idea of borrowing the short sword to show off. It was clearly impossible to pry the White Fang blade from Sayun's hands.
Of course, she could solve the problem with violence—one punch didn't work? Fine, two punches. Two didn't work? Then a whole combo. But this was the Chunin Exams arena, and even Tsunade understood now wasn't the time for infighting.
Which brought up a new problem—how was she supposed to show off now?
It was honestly frustrating. No task completion meant no gold coins. No coins meant no gambling. No gambling meant no chance at unlocking more powerful jutsu. Then a quote she'd heard long ago popped into her mind:
"As long as you have money, you can become stronger!"
While Tsunade was stressing over how to flex, the rest of the arena was still stunned by her Fireball Jutsu. Especially Jiraiya. Having just returned from Mount Myoboku, he thought he'd finally caught up to Tsunade a bit… only to realize she'd become even more terrifying.
He remembered how her old Fireball Jutsu could only blow up a small crater. Now? The thing carved out a freaking massive hole in the earth.
It was unreasonable. Straight-up bullying.
But Jiraiya, who'd been humbled by Tsunade more times than he could count, had long since developed an unbreakable will. He never gave up. This persistence was part of why someone with his average talent got to train under Hiruzen Sarutobi alongside Tsunade and Orochimaru. Even as the "dead last" of the trio, he never lagged too far behind.
That kind of tenacity was something Tsunade lacked.
Orochimaru, who was standing beside Jiraiya, had also fallen deep into thought. He had watched Tsunade's Fireball Jutsu evolve firsthand. What started out as just a slightly stronger-than-average fireball had now become something with explosive destructive power… Did the Fireball Jutsu have some kind of hidden evolution effect? The more you use it, the stronger it gets? That made no sense!
Could this be a Senju clan bloodline trait?
The secrets behind the Senju bloodline were highly classified. Orochimaru had only picked up vague references to the First Hokage's Wood Release from old texts. Other than that, nothing. The odds of awakening it were supposedly so low that only the First ever had. It was nothing like the Uchiha clan—rare, but still fairly common.
As for the Hyuga's Byakugan? Forget it. That thing spread like a disease. If the Main Branch didn't keep such a tight leash, it'd be as common as street dust by now.
That led Orochimaru to a bold theory:
What if Wood Release was just one expression of the Senju bloodline?
Just like how Tsunade used the Fireball Jutsu—same technique, but the outcome was completely beyond what it should be. Honestly, if you didn't see the hand seals or hear her call out the name, who would believe that was the Fireball Jutsu?
Even with the seals and the incantation, Orochimaru still didn't believe it.
And let's be honest—no one else in the room did either.
Meanwhile, Tsunade, still mulling over her failed sword-lending scheme, finally came up with a new plan. She reached inside her kimono.
No, it wasn't some kind of fourth-dimensional boob storage—come on. She used to tie her ninja tool scroll to her thigh with her forehead protector, but now that she wore the protector on her arm, she had to stash the scroll somewhere else she could keep it secure.
(End of Chapter)