***
On the way back, a thought suddenly struck Touye. Didn't Tsunade have hemophobia? Then just now...?
"What is it?" Tsunade, walking ahead, noticed the girl had stopped and looked back curiously.
"Uh... n-nothing..." Touye shook her head and hurried to catch up.
This time, Touye observed her closely and realized that the earlier incident had indeed affected Tsunade. She hadn't noticed before, but now she could see that something was wrong. A sheen of cold sweat covered Tsunade's forehead, her hands and legs were trembling slightly, and her face was pale and drawn. Touye looked down at the bloodstains on her own hands—the red was paler than a normal person's, a sign that her Ice Release had reached a certain level.
Looking at Tsunade, who was forcing herself to remain composed, a warmth spread through Touye's heart. She wiped the last traces of blood from her hands, ran a few steps forward, and took Tsunade's arm...
*Such kindness... how can I ever repay it...*
***
"No slacking! Hands higher!"
The strict but melodious voice rang out, and the exhausted Touye jolted, correcting her posture.
Sweat poured from her like a stream, but she didn't dare wipe it away. She was currently holding a stance under Tsunade's supervision... a horse stance?
But this was no ordinary horse stance. Not only was her body covered in weights, but her outstretched hands each held lead blocks inscribed with seals. To make matters worse, Tsunade had applied some concoction to several of her pressure points, which seemed to slow her blood flow. Under the intense training, her blood wasn't supplying enough oxygen. The hypoxia made her dizzy and faint, but just as she was about to pass out, a cool sensation would emanate from the doctored pressure points, allowing her a moment of recovery.
She had held this position for two hours and felt on the verge of collapse, but she gritted her teeth and held on.
And this was just one small part of her training.
"I don't know any flashy ninjutsu, nor do I have some wondrous Kekkai Genkai. All I have is medical ninjutsu and taijutsu. But with just these two, no one in the ninja world can look down on me. I can't teach you Ice Release. So all I can do for you is train your taijutsu and medical ninjutsu! And taijutsu is built upon physical conditioning!"
That was what Tsunade had said.
And so, Touye began a special training regimen. At five in the morning, before breakfast, she would run a cross-country course with heavy weights on her back. After finishing the prescribed distance, she would start making breakfast at eight, followed by an hour to eat and rest.
At nine, it was horse stance. The weights from her legs were moved to her hands. This would last for two hours. After a half-hour break, it was time for combat training. Since Tsunade wasn't good at explaining things, she usually opted for direct sparring, letting Touye learn through experience.
The combat training was short, only an hour, which might seem easier than the previous exercises. But it wasn't. That one hour was the most exhausting part of the day. Sparring was nothing like the simple exertion of running or holding a stance...
At twelve-thirty, the morning training session ended. Touye then had to drag her bruised and swollen body to make lunch. This was originally Shizune's job, but after Touye showed off her cooking skills once, the duty fell entirely to her...
In Tsunade's words: "Ah, it's a good thing I insisted on saving you back then, otherwise I wouldn't be living such a comfortable life now..."
Touye really wanted to remind her: *You only reluctantly saved me because of that five hundred thousand ryo, remember?* But one look at her own injuries, and she chose to remain silent, shamefully submitting to Tsunade's iron fist.
The afternoon session was medical ninjutsu with Shizune, from two to five. The theoretical part was relatively easy; she just had to memorize vast amounts of information on medical techniques, hand seals, skills, and case studies of various injuries and illnesses.
However, when it came to practical application...
Tsunade had one requirement: Touye had to use the medical ninjutsu she learned to treat all the overt and hidden injuries she sustained during her morning training and sparring. This was absolute torture for her. In the beginning, with no foundation in medical ninjutsu, how could she possibly heal herself? And under Tsunade's orders, Shizune was forbidden from helping. The first few days were pure hell...
Having learned her lesson the hard way, Touye threw herself into studying medical ninjutsu. As a result, it became the area where she made the most progress. Of course, Tsunade had also mentioned that Touye had a surprising talent for it; otherwise, she wouldn't have improved so quickly.
From five to six, she had an hour of chakra control training in preparation for learning Superhuman Strength. But Tsunade warned her to be mentally prepared.
The truth was, Touye's body wasn't well-suited for being a ninja. Her physical constitution was too poor.
She knew this, of course. After so long in this world, she understood her own body well. Her aptitude for ninjutsu was high, but her physical abilities were severely lacking. She often had to put in twice the effort of others during training just to achieve the same, or even worse, results.
When she heard this, Touye fell silent for a long time—so long that Shizune almost thought she would give up on being a ninja. But in the end, she only trained even harder.
Tsunade wasn't surprised. She had long since figured out what kind of person Touye was.
From then on, not only did Touye complete every task Tsunade gave her at the very limit of her endurance, but she even added her own burdens, making the training even more severe.
After watching one of Touye's sessions, Shizune's verdict was: "This isn't training. It's self-mutilation."
Tsunade's Superhuman Strength required almost inhumanly precise chakra control and a resilient body. The first, while demanding, was not entirely out of reach for Touye. But the second was pure torment.
Touye had once tried to use Superhuman Strength. The result was both a success and a failure—the rock she used for practice was pulverized, but her own body was nearly shattered by the recoil. Barely a bone was left intact. It was only thanks to Tsunade's masterful medical ninjutsu that she was saved.
Touye said nothing about the incident, but her training intensity ramped up yet again. This time, even Tsunade felt a chill watching her—it was as if she didn't see her own body as flesh and blood at all.
After six o'clock was her free time. But after being drilled all day, with her mind and body battered, Touye had no interest in wandering around. Besides, she had to occasionally take on missions from the Underground Exchange to supplement their income. Before, Tsunade used to get money for gambling from loan sharks (and it seemed a certain sucker also sent her money). Since Touye's arrival, they no longer had to borrow, so all expenses fell on her shoulders...
And given the rate at which Tsunade lost (or rather, gave away) money, Touye had to take on missions frequently. Although her exhausted body often led to perilous situations, her endurance in battle had actually increased thanks to her medical ninjutsu, so she managed to avoid any major disasters.
Though she was often busy, she did have occasional downtime. These were her happiest moments, because she could take a bath, a bath, and another bath.
She would lie in the tub, soaking in a medicinal bath (courtesy of Tsunade) that was cooler than what most people preferred. She would feel the herbs slowly soothe her battered body, her mind drifting until the water turned completely cold. This was one of the few pleasures she had left...
***
"Huh?"
Touye couldn't believe her ears. What had Tsunade just said?
"I said, no training tomorrow. Take a day off with Shizune. Go shopping, buy things, or just sleep in the room. Whatever you like," Tsunade repeated.
"What? Why? Instead of doing pointless things like that, I'd rather train..." Touye was baffled.
The corner of Tsunade's mouth twitched. *Does this girl have masochistic tendencies? She's actually addicted to such strict training (self-mutilation)?*
Whatever she thought, Tsunade explained, "Training and rest must be balanced. Excessive training will only have the opposite effect. A proper amount of relaxation makes training more effective. A bowstring that is always taut will easily snap."
"Oh..." Touye nodded in disappointment, which made Tsunade's eye twitch again, further confirming her suspicion that the foolish girl had serious self-harm issues.
Shizune, holding Tonton, scoffed from the side. "Tch. She just has an itch to go gamble is all..."
Touye: "..."
Tsunade: "..."
*Damn it! My image of you as a wise master has completely crumbled!*
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