At night, vigorous 'Hmph! Ha!' sounds came from the quiet forest, along with a faint, almost imperceptible sound of panting.
"Shizune, you should go back and rest first." Looking at Shizune's weak punches, Setsuna shook his head and said.
Shizune glanced at Guy, whose training volume was ten times hers and who was still full of energy, gritted her teeth, and strengthened her resolve: "It's fine, I can still keep going."
"The two of us are already used to this kind of training. Won't your family worry?" Setsuna asked.
Shizune's small body suddenly stiffened, her face panicked: "Oh no, I forgot to make dinner for Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama won't starve to death, will she?"
Setsuna was stunned, 'Tsunade doesn't cook for herself and lets a nine-year-old girl cook? Is that reasonable?'
Guy voiced the doubt in Setsuna's heart: "Can't Tsunade-sama cook herself?"
Shizune said worriedly: "Tsunade-sama gets drunk every day. I'm worried she might starve to death in her drunken stupor."
"Shizune-chan, I'm glad you still remember me!" A voice that sounded like it came from a female ghost in the netherworld reached them, listless and full of resentment.
Setsuna looked up and saw a female Ninja with an 'impressive bust' walking over, emanating a unpleasant smell of alcohol.
Shizune laughed awkwardly twice: "I did remember originally."
Tsunade approached, sniffed the air: "You've already eaten?"
Guy gave a thumbs up: "We had barbecue."
Tsunade ground her teeth, staring at Shizune, word by word: "Shi...zune...chan…"
Setsuna was rather speechless, 'Why does this feel like a scene between Mori Kogoro and Mori Ran? After Kato Dan's death, has Tsunade degenerated into that kind of washed-up uncle?'
Shizune laughed it off: "How about we go get a midnight snack now?"
Tsunade said irritably: "Do you really think I came looking for you because I was about to starve to death? I was worried and searched the village all night, thinking you had been kidnapped by some strange boy!"
As she spoke, Tsunade's gaze fell on Guy, who was about the same age as Shizune. Looking at Guy's 'dazzling' bowl-cut, thick eyebrows, and tight jumpsuit, the corner of Tsunade's mouth twitched slightly, 'Surely Shizune's taste isn't that bad, right?'
"What do you mean kidnapped? I'm training with my teammates." Shizune was first exasperated, then said seriously, "Tsunade-sama, please teach me your Monstrous Strength! If I want to inherit your legacy, I absolutely cannot hold the team back or bring shame to you, Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade's eyes softened, and she ruffled Shizune's hair: "It's good that you think that way. Medical-Nins do need the ability to protect themselves."
Guy moved closer to Setsuna and whispered: "Setsuna-san, why are both Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama so weird? They don't have the aura of powerful figures at all. Could it be that Orochimaru-sama, the last of the Sannin, is also like this?"
Setsuna didn't answer, just gave him a look. Only then did Guy realize that Tsunade's gaze had unknowingly turned towards them.
Tsunade didn't pay attention to Guy, who was scratching his head frantically in embarrassment, and just asked curiously: "That guy Jiraiya is back? And he didn't come to harass me?"
"We saw Jiraiya-sama outside the bathhouse yesterday." Guy quickly answered, trying to shift away from the awkwardness.
"Outside the bathhouse..." The corner of Tsunade's eye twitched slightly. She had already guessed what Jiraiya was doing, but still asked, "And then?"
Guy replied: "We thought he was peeping at the women's bathhouse, so we fought him. But we were no match for him. Only Setsuna-san managed to chase after him. We were worried he might be a spy, so we hurried to find the Hokage-sama for help. When the Hokage-sama arrived with us, Jiraiya-sama had already been beaten by Setsuna-san until his face was swollen..."
Tsunade couldn't help but interrupt: "Wait, are you sure you didn't get it backwards? Jiraiya lost?"
Guy said hesitantly: "Hokage-sama probably wouldn't mistake someone's identity, right?"
Tsunade was inwardly shocked, 'Jiraiya actually lost to a kid who's only thirteen or fourteen?'
Seeing Tsunade fall silent, Guy continued: "Later, Hokage-sama said Jiraiya-sama was actually on a surveillance mission and it was all a misunderstanding. So Setsuna-san let Jiraiya-sama go."
"Surveillance mission? That old man really dares to say that." Tsunade shook her head helplessly but didn't expose the lie. She also understood why Jiraiya hadn't come to find her.
Tsunade once again turned her gaze to Setsuna, who was noticeably older than Shizune and Guy: "Are you Shizune's team leader? I haven't paid attention to village affairs for too long. I didn't expect the village to have such a young Jonin."
Shizune tugged at Tsunade's sleeve: "Setsuna-senpai is a fresh graduate from the same year as me. Our sensei is Hyuga Hizashi, a Jonin from the Hyuga Clan."
"A genius who can defeat Jiraiya, only graduating now?" Tsunade was somewhat dumbfounded.
Shizune explained: "Because Setsuna-senpai has no talent for Ninjutsu and only knows Taijutsu, he could never pass the Three Basic Techniques exam. It was only through Hokage-sama's discovery that Senpai was able to graduate smoothly."
"He can defeat Jiraiya just with Taijutsu?" Tsunade grew even more curious about Setsuna, but soon shook her head.
In the past, she might have been curious about Setsuna's Taijutsu and even proposed a spar with him. But now, she had lost interest in most things. She just requested: "Please take good care of Shizune in the future."
The deaths of Nawaki and Kato Dan had made her fear the battlefield, but Shizune was unwilling to give up her dream of becoming a Ninja. Now that Shizune fortunately had such strong teammates, of course she had to earnestly entrust her.
Setsuna agreed: "Teammates should, of course, help each other."
Tsunade thought for a moment: "I don't have much to offer as thanks. How about I teach you my Taijutsu?"
Setsuna quickly seized the opportunity: "Tsunade-sama, I heard you developed a powerful Sealing Technique called [Yin Seal]. Could you give me some guidance?"
Tsunade was puzzled: "I can, but why do you want to learn the Yin Seal?"
She was famous in the Ninja World for her Medical Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. She truly didn't expect Setsuna to be interested in her Sealing Technique.
Setsuna said: "Although I have no talent for Ninjutsu, Sealing Technique and Ninjutsu are still somewhat different. I'd like to give it another try."
If it really didn't work, he also wanted to try modifying the Yin Seal into a technique for storing Ki.
His current Ki was only enough to blast away a small hill. If he could store up to the level of Master Roshi, he could blast even a fully restored Uchiha Madara to pieces.
Naturally, Tsunade also hoped Shizune's teammates would be stronger, so she nodded: "I'll have Shizune bring you the scroll for practicing the Yin Seal tomorrow. But be mentally prepared, the difficulty of learning Sealing Technique has always been very high."
Even though it wasn't Tsunade personally teaching him, Setsuna was already quite satisfied. Connections are indeed a form of cultivation resource. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama. I just want to give it a try. Whether I succeed or not doesn't matter."