The two-hour lesson passed quickly, and when Tsunade finished teaching, she found the sky had just cleared up.
Mokgetsu automatically bought ingredients and cooked, while Tsunade sat in the living room pondering life.
"How can I make Mokgetsu wealthy?" Tsunade pondered this question very seriously. If Mokgetsu had money, he could come to learn from her every day.
Tsunade thought that if Mokgetsu opened a restaurant and sold high-priced dishes, he could make money quickly, but this had already been rejected by Mokgetsu himself. Clearly, it wasn't feasible.
Tsunade kept coming up with several ideas, only for them to be immediately dismissed, either because they required Mokgetsu to change professions or she thought they were a bit unreliable.
"Shizune, what do you think would make Mokgetsu wealthy? You wouldn't want him to only come once a month, right?" Out of ideas, Tsunade turned to Shizune beside her.
Although Shizune wasn't very old, she was quite reliable in all respects.
"Why does Teacher Mokgetsu need to be wealthy?" Shizune looked at Tsunade with a face full of confusion.
"You see, without money, Mokgetsu can't come to learn from me. While I think he cooking for me is also nice, he's definitely not willing to do it if not for learning, so he won't just come over." Tsunade reclined back on her chair and said.
"If Teacher Mokgetsu doesn't have money, then, Lady Tsunade, why don't you just not charge him? After all, he doesn't charge us for cooking," Shizune suggested after some thought.
Tsunade scratched her head. She had thought about it, but she always felt like she was losing out if she didn't charge.
After all, she is Sannin Tsunade, the Ninja World's acknowledged Medical Saint. Those seeking her medical expertise could queue from Konoha Hospital to the city center. Teaching someone just for food would make her look like a foodie.
"Lady Tsunade, you didn't charge me when you taught me, and you could ask for other forms of compensation," Shizune continued.
Tsunade gave Shizune a thumbs-up, then vigorously rubbed her cheeks. If Mokgetsu were her disciple, there would naturally be no need for money. Exchanging for other forms of compensation solved the money problem completely.
Tsunade decided to opt for different compensation methods, because she didn't fully understand Mokgetsu yet and didn't want to rashly accept him as a disciple.
During dinner, looking at yet another unfamiliar chicken dish, Tsunade was curious about just how many chicken-related dishes Mokgetsu had mastered.
"What's the name of this dish?" Tsunade asked curiously.
"Mouthwatering Chicken," Mokgetsu replied with a smile.
"What a strange name," Tsunade remarked, then decisively took a piece of chicken covered in a glossy chili oil and stuffed it into her mouth.
Tsunade's eyes lit up. She hadn't tasted Mokgetsu's cooking in five meals, but the moment the chicken entered her mouth, she knew she was back—that feeling came back.
At this moment, Tsunade greatly admired Mokgetsu. It was just a chicken, yet he managed to prepare it in three vastly different ways, all incredibly delicious.
If she had reached the pinnacle in Medical Ninjutsu, then Mokgetsu had undoubtedly achieved an unparalleled pinnacle in culinary arts.
Tsunade couldn't help eating one piece of chicken after another, and as dinner was almost over, she suddenly remembered she hadn't discussed teaching matters with Mokgetsu.
"Ahem, Mokgetsu, don't be in a rush to leave today," Tsunade hastily said to prevent Mokgetsu from leaving directly.
"Lady Tsunade, is there something you need?" Mokgetsu put down his chopsticks and asked, puzzled.
"The originally agreed teaching fee isn't something that should be changed lightly, but I see you have a high enthusiasm for learning. Shizune also quite likes you, so I'll allow you to change the original fee of 100,000 ryo per hour to some other form of compensation," Tsunade said, looking at Mokgetsu with appreciation, as if moved by his efforts.
"Lady Tsunade, can I really?" Mokgetsu's face lit up with surprise and gratitude.
Mokgetsu knew the real reason Tsunade was willing to change the compensation, but he couldn't point it out, needing to play along with Tsunade.
Tsunade firmly nodded.
"In that case, can I change the compensation to tutoring Shizune?" After pondering for a few minutes, Mokgetsu, seemingly lost in thought, finally answered.
Actually, this was a form of compensation he had considered from the beginning. The reason for appearing to think hard was that sometimes answers obtained too easily are undervalued.
Using cooking as compensation wasn't ideal, even though he knew Tsunade was really just after the food, it couldn't be made into an overt transaction—it would become purely a transaction then.
Rather than just a transaction, Mokgetsu wanted to make this exchange into one with emotional value.
His potential in Medical Ninjutsu was quite ordinary compared to Fuinjutsu. To rapidly complete his power bank plan, he had to improve Tsunade's favorability and directly involve her.
"Tutoring Shizune?" Tsunade was a bit confused, thinking it quite convoluted for Mokgetsu's teaching reward to be him teaching Shizune.
Though she thought picking a random condition would suffice, considering her tutoring on par with Sannin's teaching was a bit self-indulgent.
"Lady Tsunade, don't underestimate Teacher Mokgetsu. He's really good at teaching; he's the best teacher in Ninja Academy, able to instruct over three hundred students effectively," Shizune quietly said from beside them.
After hearing Shizune's words and remembering Mokgetsu's earlier thoughtful expression, Tsunade thought Mokgetsu might be genuinely offering his proudest skill, not being self-centered.
After all, in these few days with Mokgetsu, he showed humility in all aspects, unlikely to suddenly become overconfident.
Of course, Tsunade only thought Mokgetsu was sincere, but as for teaching ability it still needed a question mark, as teaching in the Ninja Academy and post-graduate teaching were different matters.
"It's settled then, you will teach Shizune how to cook!" Tsunade decisively confirmed the new compensation.
Tsunade wasn't confident about other forms of teaching, but she felt Mokgetsu's culinary skills were unarguably top of the Ninja World.
Mokgetsu showed a calm smile and nodded, teaching Shizune what wasn't the point; what mattered was learning from Tsunade.
Things went even smoother than Mokgetsu had anticipated. He didn't even need to resort to any contingency plans he had prepared for unexpected situations.
The Fuinjutsu power bank project seemed to be on track, and Mokgetsu only needed to continue his normal actions.
With Tsunade's problem solved, the Ninja Academy officially welcomed a brand new school year.
...
In the classroom of Class 1 in Year 2, students reunited after two weeks began discussing their holiday experiences.
"Kotetsu, did you find a chance during this holiday to deal with that cousin of yours?" Kamizuki Izumo asked curiously.
During the break, Hagane Kotetsu boldly claimed he would battle his older cousin, a year older than him, and defeat him with pure strength.
As a good buddy, Kamizuki Izumo was extremely worried that Kotetsu might suffer, as his cousin was indeed crafty and couldn't be defeated despite several clever tactics.
"Don't bring it up; that cunning guy knew I was strong and didn't want a direct fight. He insisted on using games to decide a winner. I spent my days reading or training and didn't have time for games, so I lost in the end," Kotetsu sighed.
"He can refuse your battle, but you can't refuse his game challenge?" Kamizuki Izumo asked, puzzled.
"Because he said that if I won, he'd help me pursue Mie," Kotetsu said with a face full of regret.
"Haha, that's just like you, Kotetsu," Kamizuki Izumo teased, patting Kotetsu on the shoulder. It was indeed a hard-to-refuse condition.
"Shouldn't the focus be on the fact that this guy spent the whole holiday reading and training!" Anko couldn't help but chime in.
She still remembered Kotetsu saying a holiday shouldn't be wasted and should be enjoyed fully, yet it turned out he 'enjoyed' his time like this.
"After all, we're students, right? Isn't studying part and parcel of our life?" Kotetsu said reasonably.
"Though that's true, it feels like, Kotetsu, you want others to stay stagnant while you secretly work hard to surpass them, how devious; treating school like a battlefield and viewing classmates as adversaries," Kamizuki Izumo criticized with a pained gesture.
"Exactly, exactly!" Anko nodded quickly, feeling that Kamizuki Izumo had voiced her inner thoughts.
"But I saw you training too, Izumo," Kotetsu snickered.
Anko wasn't surprised since this drama had unfolded numerous times before, so she purposely sat between the two to conveniently sort them out.
"It was only that once, and you just happened to see," Kamizuki Izumo felt he could still make an excuse.
Anko ignored Kamizuki Izumo's defense and rubbed her fists, preparing to intervene—these guys couldn't be trusted one bit.
But the next moment, the thought of acting vanished because the teacher arrived.
Mokgetsu pushed open the door, walked into the classroom, and looked at the students with a gentle smile.