[Mission Complete: Monstrous Strength. Reward has been issued. Please claim it promptly.]
Only then did Heavenly Dao realize that the System had actually issued a mission during his duel with Tsunade.
To be precise, the mission must have been triggered midway through the fight. At the time, Heavenly Dao had been too focused on staying alive to notice any notifications. Now, as the System's cold mechanical voice echoed in his mind, everything became clear.
Apparently, sparring head-on with one of the Legendary Sannin placed a tremendous amount of pressure on him—enough to satisfy the System's hidden conditions.
The mission's evaluation was based entirely on his performance during the duel. The better he performed under pressure, the higher the reward tier would be.
While Monstrous Strength wasn't considered the most advanced ability available, it was still a very solid reward.
Heavenly Dao clenched his fist lightly and felt a subtle yet undeniable change ripple through his muscles. Strength surged beneath his skin, restrained but explosive, like a coiled beast waiting to be unleashed.
With Monstrous Strength, if he fought Tsunade again, he definitely wouldn't look as helpless as he had earlier.
At the very least, he wouldn't be sent flying like a sack of rice with a single punch.
More importantly, this meant that against most Taijutsu-specialist ninjas, he could now return the favor—bullying them the same way Tsunade had bullied him.
Of course, that group did not include a certain green-clad monster.
Might Guy was an entirely different species.
A technique like the Eight Gates was clearly meant for his eternal rival, Kakashi Hatake—not for innocent bystanders.
Please, Mr. Guy, Heavenly Dao thought wryly. Save your life-threatening passion for your destined opponent.
"Lady Tsunade!"
A hurried voice rang out as Shizune came rushing down the ruined street. Her breathing was uneven, her expression anxious. The moment she arrived, her eyes locked onto Tsunade kneeling on the ground, her face pale as paper, cold sweat soaking her forehead.
Shizune's heart skipped a beat.
She rushed forward without hesitation, supporting Tsunade's unsteady body. Then, as if remembering something, she suddenly raised her head and shot a sharp, accusing glare at Heavenly Dao, who stood not far away.
"You… what did you do to Lady Tsunade?!" Shizune demanded, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and worry.
Heavenly Dao raised both hands in surrender, wearing an innocent expression. "Hey, I'm the victim here, okay? Just now, Lady Tsunade almost punched me into a meat paste."
He pulled open the front of his clothes, revealing the dark bruise spreading across his chest.
To be honest, he had underestimated Tsunade's raw power. Even after redirecting most of the force, the residual impact of that punch had knocked the air from his lungs. His ribs still throbbed faintly, teetering on the edge of fracturing.
Judging by ninja standards, it was a minor injury.
By civilian standards, it was enough to keep someone bedridden for days.
Tsunade gritted her teeth and steadied her breathing with visible effort. Slowly, she lifted her head. Her eyes still carried a trace of lingering fear—one she tried desperately to suppress.
Yet her body betrayed her.
At the mere sight of blood at the corner of Heavenly Dao's mouth, her fingers twitched uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Heavenly Dao curled his lips into a faintly mocking smile. "Who would've thought," he said lightly, "that one of the Legendary Sannin—the peerless master of Medical Ninjutsu, Lady Tsunade herself—actually suffers from hemophobia?"
He paused deliberately.
"If this got out, the residents of Konoha might not sleep for days."
"Shut up!" Tsunade snapped, clenching her fists. Her knuckles cracked loudly.
Part of the reason Tsunade had left the village and wandered the world wasn't just disappointment with Konoha's current state.
It was also because she had developed hemophobia.
As the Princess of Konoha and a representative of the Senju Clan, her pride would never allow such a weakness to be exposed. She couldn't endure pity—let alone sympathy.
As one of the foremost medical ninjas in the entire Ninja World, encountering blood was unavoidable if she remained in the village. In the end, leaving was the easiest choice.
What she especially couldn't tolerate was the smug expression on Heavenly Dao's face.
If her body had fully recovered, she would have already charged forward and sent him flying with another punch infused with monstrous strength.
Unfortunately, reality was cruel.
This was nothing more than impotent rage.
Heavenly Dao, however, knew when to stop pushing his luck.
He reined in his smile and straightened his posture, his expression turning serious. "That aside, Lady Tsunade, you didn't come all this way just to fight me, did you?"
He met her gaze calmly.
"This is about the summoning contract I signed—with the Slug."
Tsunade's expression darkened instantly. "So it really was you."
Her anger flared, but caution followed immediately after. "You knew I would come looking for you?"
"As expected of Lady Tsunade," Heavenly Dao replied with a shrug. "I had my suspicions."
"After all," he continued evenly, "the Slug is practically your exclusive summoned beast. If it suddenly formed a contract with someone else, no one in your position would be able to sit still."
He paused, then added honestly, "To be fair, I was surprised too."
"Surprised?" Tsunade sneered. "By what?"
"By finding the Shikkotsu Forest contract in my own home."
Tsunade looked at him as if he had just insulted her intelligence.
"Keep talking," her eyes said.
Heavenly Dao remained unfazed. "It's true. Before I saw it myself, I thought it was fake. I never expected my great-grandfather to have passed down a summoning contract from Shikkotsu Forest."
He sighed softly.
"It's a long story."
And so, Heavenly Dao began to speak.
He told them of his great-grandfather's legendary life—how the old man had wandered the Ninja World in his youth, drifting across nations and battlefields alike. He spoke of nameless good deeds, of conflicts resolved quietly, of strength hidden beneath humility.
Though his great-grandfather had possessed terrifying power, he had no interest in fame, authority, or fortune.
Only in middle age did he finally settle near what would later become Konoha Village.
Which meant that Heavenly Dao's family were, technically speaking, true old-timers of Konoha.
By the time he finished, even Heavenly Dao himself was almost convinced.
Looking at Tsunade—Konoha's proud princess—a familiar line nearly slipped out of his mouth:
How many years have you people even been in Konoha?
Fortunately, he swallowed the thought.
As a so-called senior of the village, humility was essential.
Let the achievements fade into obscurity. That was the mark of true greatness.
Tsunade fell silent.
Her expression grew complicated.
Logic screamed that this story was fabricated nonsense. And yet, seeing Heavenly Dao's calm, earnest demeanor, doubt crept in.
Perhaps… she had seen too much of the Ninja World's cruelty.
Perhaps she no longer believed that sincerity could exist.
"Do you have proof?" Tsunade asked at last.
"Of course."
Heavenly Dao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then formed hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Smoke burst forth, thick and heavy.
When it cleared, a massive summoning scroll lay in Heavenly Dao's hands. He unfurled it carefully, nudging Shizune aside as he moved closer to Tsunade.
"Look," he said. "This is the summoning contract passed down by my great-grandfather."
"See the craftsmanship? The materials? His name is written right here."
Tsunade examined the scroll closely.
The contract—produced flawlessly by the System—was impossible to find fault with. Every mark, every seal, unmistakably originated from Shikkotsu Forest.
And yet…
This was too absurd.
She gestured to Shizune. "Summon one."
Shizune nodded and formed hand seals.
"Poof!"
A human-sized slug appeared before them.
The relationship between Tsunade and the Slug had always been… unusual. When speaking to a clone, the Slug called her "Lady Tsunade." When speaking to the main body, Tsunade addressed it respectfully as "Slug Sage."
After hearing Heavenly Dao repeat his story once more, Tsunade turned to the Slug.
"Is this true?"
The Slug clone froze.
Cold sweat poured down its smooth body.
Tsunade was its master.
But so was Heavenly Dao.
Caught between two contract holders, it hesitated before answering, "Perhaps… it is true."
That hesitation alone made Tsunade's suspicion deepen.
Her belief dropped from three percent to one.
Heavenly Dao sighed inwardly.
A smart woman is charming, he thought. But sometimes, too smart is troublesome.
He glanced at Shizune.
She was already completely convinced, looking at him with a face full of guilt and apology.
This one, he mused, would be very easy to win over.
Still, Heavenly Dao remained calm.
After all—
He still had one trump card left.
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