Chapter 44: Finding Tsunade
When they arrived at the dining place, the four of them casually found a spot to sit down and started chatting.
Nan asked Minato many questions about the Flying Thunder God technique. Actually, he secretly activated his perception ability to detect if there was any huge chakra response nearby.
Nan guessed that Tsunade might be nearby, but the Tanzaku Street food district was quite large, so it wouldn't be that easy to just bump into her.
Luckily, after awakening the Yin-Yang Release: Phantom Body Technique, he himself had gained a certain perception ability.
While talking with Minato, he was continuously analyzing and searching for Tsunade.
Nan focused most of his attention on small taverns or izakaya-type places. In his opinion, if Jiraiya's intelligence was correct, Tsunade was most likely to show up in those places.
Nan and Minato encountered problems while training the Flying Thunder God technique. While absorbing his experience, he constantly checked one possible place after another where Tsunade might appear.
Nan didn't rule out that Tsunade might have some method to conceal her chakra aura, so he couldn't be 100% sure he would find her.
However, Tsunade of course wasn't hiding her chakra. Although there were many sensory ninja in this world, none of them would casually release their sensory abilities without reason.
Tsunade was hiding from debts, mostly from ordinary people. She couldn't always know if a sensory ninja was looking for her.
Most people in the ninja world have a bit of chakra. Even those who hadn't trained would show some chakra response, though few were strong.
Nan needed to find that one particularly strong chakra among many chakra responses, which should be Tsunade.
To avoid missing anything, Nan searched very carefully. When their meal was almost finished, he finally detected an unusually strong chakra response.
Nan uttered a soft sound of surprise. This chakra was definitely not something a normal person could have. Could it really be Tsunade?
Minato also noticed Nan's abnormality. When he was chatting with him earlier, he seemed distracted, like he was thinking about something else. So he asked,
"Nan, did you think of something?"
Nan explained at this moment,
"Teacher Minato, just now I was trying to use sensory ninjutsu to sense Lady Tsunade's whereabouts.
Although I haven't met Lady Tsunade, I just felt an unusually strong chakra response nearby. It's definitely not something ordinary people possess.
I'm wondering if that response is Lady Tsunade's chakra?"
"Nan, did you really find Lady Tsunade? Didn't expect you to have sensory ninjutsu."
Kakashi said excitedly after hearing Nan's words.
Although Kakashi hadn't known Nan for long, training together for several months made them quite familiar, and Kakashi felt Nan could always surprise him.
At the same time, he wondered how Nan had learned so many things at such a young age.
Minato was also curious about Nan's sensory ability. Seeing that they were puzzled about his sensory ninjutsu, Nan explained:
"Actually, I haven't trained sensory ninjutsu. My sensory ability manifested after awakening the Three Tomoe Sharingan."
Nan's answer explained the source of his sensory ability, but it also raised bigger questions for Minato and Kakashi.
Since their comrade Obito was also from the Uchiha clan, they had some understanding of the Sharingan but had never heard of the Sharingan granting such additional abilities. Kakashi questioned Nan further.
Having revealed his sensory ability, Nan was already prepared with an explanation.
Some members of the Uchiha have extraordinary innate talents and exceptionally strong ocular powers, and may manifest some unique abilities.
This is very rare even within the Uchiha clan, and he just happen to be that one in ten thousand, innately gifted.
This is not nonsense. There are indeed records like this within the Uchiha clan.
Basically, it's like using some abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan ahead of time.
In the original story, Obito, who was crushed by a boulder, once used his special penetrating ability in the absence of the Mangekyo, surviving a normally fatal injury, which allowed later developments in the plot.
After hearing Nan's explanation, Minato and Kakashi could understand—it was all due to their bloodline limit.
Indeed, there are still many unsolved mysteries about bloodline limits. Looking at it this way, no matter what abilities Nan shows, it's actually quite normal.
This also made Kakashi feel even more resentful about Nan having the Sharingan. Originally, Kakashi was the number one genius of Konoha, but next to Nan, who possessed a bloodline limit, Kakashi seemed like an ordinary mortal.
Nan felt uneasy under Kakashi's strange gaze; he noticed Kakashi staring straight into his eyes.
He secretly muttered to himself, wondering if Kakashi was too deeply hurt, and his obsession with the Sharingan was so strong that he might end up following Orochimaru's path.
"Since you sensed a special chakra response, Nan, why don't we go check it out together? But be careful — it might not actually be Lady Tsunade's chakra, and rushing in could lead to other dangers," Minato reminded everyone.
Following Nan's directions, the group arrived in front of an izakaya. According to Nan's perception, that unusually strong chakra was inside this establishment.
Nan felt an immense chakra within the shop, several times stronger than his own, Kakashi's, or even Minato's.
He was almost certain it was Tsunade; no ordinary person could have such a strong chakra. Only Tsunade, being a hybrid of the Senju and Uzumaki clans, possessed such enormous chakra.
Even if there were others with special bloodlines, they would have strong chakra as well, but these were very rare, and the odds of encountering one here by chance were low.
The group entered the izakaya and looked around but didn't spot anyone who looked like Tsunade.
Nan realized Tsunade was probably using that special ninjutsu that changes appearance, disguising herself as someone else.
This suggested she was currently hiding from debt collectors and carefully concealing herself.
But she couldn't fool Nan. At such close range, Tsunade's chakra stood out like the sun among the many ordinary chakra auras around her.
Following his perception, Nan found an elderly woman who looked about seventy, with graying hair—and her front teeth were missing.
From her outward appearance, there was no clue this was Tsunade, who usually maintained the appearance of a 20-year-old through ninjutsu.
Nan's sensory ability did not deceive him—a normal elderly woman couldn't have such a strong chakra.
Moreover, it was very unnatural for someone of that age to be drinking alone and so drunk. This had to be Tsunade; Nan went up and asked,
"Are you Lady Tsunade? We've been looking for you for a long time, and we finally found you."
As a group of people wearing Konoha headbands entered, it was impossible for Tsunade not to notice.
But by then, Tsunade was quite drunk and didn't even look up when Nan approached her.
Today, Tsunade had lost a lot of money again and was in a very bad mood, drinking alone to drown her sorrows.
To avoid being chased by the casino debt collectors, she had specifically transformed into the image of an elderly woman very different from her usual self.
Thinking her disguise was flawless, Tsunade was shocked when someone called her real name and quickly denied it.
"Who did you say is Tsunade? You must be mistaken; I am not Tsunade."
Nan, unlike most ninja, didn't wear his forehead protector in an obvious place; it was tied on his arm.
Tsunade didn't notice his headband at first and didn't recognize him as a Konoha ninja. She thought he was one of the debt collectors and almost spit out the drink she hadn't swallowed yet in fright.
(End of Chapter)