Chapter 22 – Dinner with the Three Sannin
"Looks like I've answered everything I needed to, Hokage-sama."
Hatake Yusuke ignored the stunned expressions of the Three Legendary Sannin as he spoke casually, turning toward the door.
"I see... Then you may go," Hiruzen Sarutobi replied with a small nod.
"Alright then, I'll be taking my leave."
With a half-hearted wave, Yusuke walked out of the Hokage's office.
He was fully aware that after today's events, the Third Hokage would surely keep a closer eye on him. But that was fine. Within the borders of Konohagakure, no one would dare to lay a finger on him anymore.
Using brute force? Unthinkable. The name of Konoha's White Fang wasn't for show. And trying to assassinate him to steal his secrets? Equally pointless.
If he died, the secrets of Haki would die with him. Even though the Six Styles were impressive, no one in their right mind would sacrifice a genius of his level just to get them.
"Hey, brat! Wait up!"
Tsunade's voice called out from behind as she quickly chased after him.
"Tsunade? What do you want with me now?" Yusuke turned around with mild curiosity.
"Brat, can you speak a little more respectfully? I'm your senior! At least try calling me with some honorific!"
Tsunade frowned in irritation. The way he casually threw around her name was annoying—especially since his father, Sakumo, was one of the most polite men in the village.
"Tsunade-obasan, what brings you here?" Yusuke replied lazily.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"
Tsunade snapped, raising her fist in rage. Everyone knew—calling a beautiful woman "obasan" was a death wish. While she wasn't going all-out, she fully intended to give the kid a lesson.
Yusuke calmly raised his own fist, coated in a soft white glow, to intercept.
As their fists collided, Tsunade's eyes briefly widened. She could feel the raw shockwave rippling through his punch. Not bad, she thought—and added a little force to test him.
Sensing her shift, Yusuke used the momentum to redirect her energy with Armament Haki, twisted his body away, and vanished with a blur.
Shave.
"GET BACK HERE, BRAT!"
Tsunade yelled in frustration.
"I'm not gonna hit you again! I just want to talk seriously!" she called out, clearly annoyed.
"…Alright."
Yusuke stopped. He figured it must be something important if she was chasing him like that.
"Thanks for earlier. Let me treat you to a drink as thanks," Tsunade said, flashing a grin.
"No problem. But as for the medical corps project—better discuss that with my father tomorrow. And my proposal will go into effect after the Chūnin Exams," Yusuke replied flatly.
The two headed to an izakaya, ordered a few bottles of sake (for her), and some snacks. Yusuke, of course, only drank non-alcoholic drinks—he was still underage, after all.
"You know... for someone so young, you really make big decisions like it's nothing."
Tsunade gave him a curious look.
"As long as it makes sense, my father will support it," Yusuke answered calmly.
"Hey, kid. You should become my disciple. Your fighting style is pretty similar to mine."
Tsunade recalled his use of Armament Haki—solid, heavy strikes.
"Not interested."
"What?! Are you looking down on me?! I can fight with just one hand, you know?!"
"If that's the case, why don't you become my student? I'll teach you the Six Styles in return."
"Stop spouting nonsense! …Though honestly, Six Styles does sound perfect for me… How about a trade? I'll give you Chakra Enhanced Strength."
"Deal." Yusuke grinned. If he combined Gura Gura no Mi with Tsunade's Superhuman Strength, the results would be absurd.
"Then it's settled—let's drink!" Tsunade laughed, throwing back her sake.
By the end of the night, Yusuke was carrying her back home on his back—after struggling to even find out where she lived.
— — —
The next few days, Yusuke focused entirely on training. He sharpened his Gura Gura no Mi control and honed his taijutsu.
He left several Shadow Clones to work on ninjutsu and chakra control. Chakra Enhanced Strength, after all, demanded extreme chakra precision.
He also began teaching Tsunade the Six Styles—which significantly boosted her close-combat abilities.
Occasionally, he'd also accompany Kurenai on walks... mostly because he couldn't bring himself to say no when she asked.
"Hey, brat! Let's go grab a drink!"
Tsunade appeared again, uninvited.
"Nope." Yusuke was in the middle of sword practice with Enma. After his last mission, he realized many of his kenjutsu techniques weren't sharp enough.
For the upcoming Chūnin Exams, he planned to refrain from using the Gura Gura no Mi. Instead, he would rely entirely on swordsmanship.
He could still use ninjutsu if needed, but since he didn't have many powerful ones, he'd only use them for distraction.
His sword, however, gave him full control over close-range combat—no hand seals, no delay.
"Come on! The Chūnin Exams are tomorrow. Don't you want to relax? And don't forget, the Land of Wind doesn't exactly have the best food!"
Tsunade tried to tempt him.
The Land of Wind's desert landscape paled in comparison to the richness of the Land of Fire. No wonder they kept starting wars with Konoha.
"…Alright, I'm coming." Yusuke sealed his sword into a scroll.
With the body of a five-year-old, carrying such a massive blade around wasn't exactly practical.
"That's more like it!" Tsunade laughed as she grabbed him by the shoulder and led him to a yakiniku restaurant—one of Konoha's specialties.
"Good evening, Tsunade-sama."
A kind-looking man greeted them as they entered.
"Kato Dan. Didn't expect to see you here."
After the recent council meeting, Tsunade had come to view Dan as one of her few genuine supporters.
"Yeah, just finished dinner with my team."
Dan smiled warmly, his gaze kind and admiring.
"Hurry it up, Tsunade," Yusuke muttered, clearly uninterested in small talk.
"Oh, so this is the Hatake prodigy, huh?" Dan finally noticed Yusuke's presence.
"Prodigy is a bit much. I just work harder than most people," Yusuke said flatly.
"Incredible… such maturity in someone so young."
"Age has never been a reliable measure," Yusuke replied as he gave Dan a fleeting glance and gently pulled Tsunade along.
He could see it clearly—Dan didn't like him. But he didn't care. To Yusuke, Kato Dan was just another elite Jōnin.
Even his Spirit Transformation Technique wouldn't work on someone like Yusuke. Besides, in the original story, he once had a relationship with Tsunade.
But now that Yusuke existed, that path would never develop. Maybe Dan was just trying his luck, but in the end... the outcome had already been decided.
Many men admired Tsunade for her beauty. But her power and status intimidated most of them.
Only a few had the confidence to approach her—and Kato Dan was one of them. Mostly because his strength was just shy of Kage-level.
"Wait up, brat!" Tsunade ran to catch up with Yusuke.
"See you around, Dan-san," Yusuke said over his shoulder out of courtesy.
"…Haah." Dan let out a quiet sigh, disappointed that he hadn't had a chance to speak more.
"Yo, you guys showed up too, huh?" Jiraiya greeted them with a carefree wave.
"Good to see you again, Yusuke-kun," Orochimaru said politely.
Yusuke nodded back.
"Let's drink! Consider this an apology for the other day!" Jiraiya laughed heartily, raising his sake cup.
"No hard feelings. I didn't take it personally," Yusuke replied, sipping his drink—a non-alcoholic one, of course.
[Ding!]
[Hidden Mission Completed: Drink sake as a symbol of seafaring power.
Reward: One "Dove Blood" Tattoo Sticker (custom design available)]
'Seriously? That's it?' Yusuke sighed internally. Of course he wasn't going to get a Devil Fruit from something like that.
Fine... choose the Qiong Qi design, he thought.
(Qiong Qi — A mythological beast from ancient tales. The size of a tiger, with pitch-black wings like a raptor's, glowing crimson eyes like burning coals, razor fangs, and claws that could tear through steel. Every step it took radiated a murderous aura so thick it suffocated the air)
A searing heat spread through his body as the tattoo embedded itself in his skin. It wasn't painful—but it was definitely intense.
"Yusuke-kun?" Orochimaru called.
"Ah, sorry. What is it?"
"Would you be willing to study ninjutsu together sometime?"
"Sure, Snake-Ojisan!"
That response instantly made Jiraiya burst into laughter, falling out of his seat.
Even Tsunade was howling with laughter.
Orochimaru, however, just gave a long, cold stare—but didn't seem particularly angry.
Still... a hint of melancholy flickered in his eyes.
Am I… really growing old? Is life truly no match for the passage of time?
Then, he asked quietly, "Yusuke-kun... what do you think life is?"
"…Life, huh?" Yusuke paused for a moment.
"Life is fragile. Especially in the shinobi world. In the face of time... it often feels like it's worth nothing at all."
He exhaled deeply.
"Then… are you interested in immortality?" Orochimaru asked, voice full of suppressed excitement.
Tsunade and Jiraiya leaned in slightly, curious. After everything Yusuke had said today, they knew—every word this boy spoke had weight.
"Immortality, huh... It's tempting. But I don't think I'm that interested."
"Oh? Then what do you truly think about it?" Orochimaru pressed further.
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