"Just a little more and I could've won back everything I lost earlier!"
Grumbling, Tsunade stomped on a rock and shattered it. "So damn infuriating!"
Shizune, trailing behind her, pursed her lips.
"A little more"? More like a billion more!
In all the years she had followed Tsunade, she had never once seen her win.
Sadly, Tsunade was both bad at gambling and hopelessly addicted, leaving Shizune exasperated.
"Tsunade-sama," Shizune cut off her tirade and asked, "are we going back to our place, or to see Kitazawa and Kurenai?"
"Make money first," Tsunade replied darkly.
Shizune wasn't surprised.
Right now their biggest income stream was the task force for setting up the Psychological Medical Ninja System.
Beyond that, everything else was just IOUs.
"Didn't we lock the door today?" Shizune asked, surprised to see it standing open.
Tsunade didn't care. She stepped inside, bent down to take off her shoes, and padded barefoot toward the living room.
"Tsunade-sama."
Kitazawa looked up at her.
Tsunade came toward the sofa; with every step he could see her clothes straining under pressure, and he almost wanted to go over and help.
"Yakumo had a live‑combat exercise today, so I gave her the day off," Kitazawa offered. "If you need anything, Tsunade-sama, we can discuss the new jutsu tomorrow."
"Live combat? You mean that friendly match you mentioned?" Tsunade flopped onto the couch and asked off‑handedly, "How did it go?"
"Our class took the overall victory," Kitazawa said, pausing before he smiled. "Hokage-sama even rewarded me with an A‑rank jutsu—the Rasengan."
"You actually chose the Rasengan?"
Tsunade shook her head. "It's not too late to switch to a different technique."
"Why?" Kitazawa asked, playing dumb.
"The Rasengan was created by Minato," Tsunade explained. "It's extremely hard—pretty much the pinnacle of chakra shape manipulation. Most people never master it."
"Then how about a wager?" Kitazawa smiled, seeing she had taken the bait.
"Oh?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What do you want to bet?"
The one word she could never resist in her life was "bet."
"If I can master the Rasengan within three days, you teach me medical ninjutsu. Deal?"
Kitazawa finally stated his true aim.
"Three days? Are you kidding?" Tsunade laughed. "The Rasengan is modeled after the Tailed Beast Bomb, you know."
"So, Tsunade-sama, are you willing to bet?" Kitazawa asked calmly.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she sized him up.
This confident?
After a moment's thought, she agreed—she simply couldn't believe an ordinary special‑jōnin could learn the Rasengan in three days.
"I'll say this up front: I can teach you medical ninjutsu, but that doesn't make me your teacher," Tsunade stressed. Her standards for students were extremely high, and Kitazawa was far from meeting them.
"Fair enough," Kitazawa accepted.
He had considered gambling to become her student outright, but clearly Tsunade—gambler though she was—still had some principles. His real objective was achieved anyway; next he just had to "accidentally" show talent while learning medical ninjutsu.
Shizune glanced left and right. Both seemed confident, and the Rasengan was notoriously hard, yet for some reason she felt Tsunade would lose. Call it karma.
"Where's Kurenai?" Tsunade leaned back, sinking into the couch. As gravity shifted, her ample burden took shape.
"She's outside practicing," Kitazawa answered.
"Then let's not disturb her," Tsunade waved. "We'll discuss the new jutsu tomorrow."
She stood, and she and Shizune headed for the next apartment. At the doorway she suddenly stopped.
"Almost forgot: if you don't learn the Rasengan in three days, what then?" Tsunade asked, turning around.
"I'll pay you one million ryō," Kitazawa said after thinking.
"Excellent!" Tsunade's eyes lit up. "Since you're so generous, I'll graciously accept that million!"
"Tsunade-sama, the outcome isn't settled yet," Kitazawa smiled.
"Being pretty doesn't mean you can think pretty," Tsunade snorted. "Have that million ready."
"What kind of weird appraisal is that?" Kitazawa laughed helplessly.
…
Konoha Village, Flower Street
"Shikamaru, Chōji—see you next week!"
Ino Yamanaka waved to Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chōji, then went into the Yamanaka flower shop.
"Back so early today?" her father Inoichi asked from behind the counter.
"Our class's friendly match with Second‑Year Class A ended pretty quickly," Ino said brightly. "Dad, guess which class won?"
"Do I need to guess when you're smiling like that?" Inoichi chuckled.
"Exactly—our class won! And a landslide at that—not a single loss!"
"Doesn't Second‑Year A have Hyūga Neji?" Inoichi asked, puzzled. "He lost to your class's Uchiha Sasuke? Incredible."
"Nope." Ino's smile widened. "Guess again—you'll never get it."
"I really can't," Inoichi admitted after thinking. In his mind, only Sasuke could threaten Neji.
"It was Kurama Yakumo."
"Didn't expect the declining Kurama clan to produce another bloodline‑limit genius," Inoichi mused. "Only a bloodline limit beats a bloodline limit."
"Mhm." Ino nodded, eyes sparkling playfully. "I have a surprise for you."
"What is it?" Inoichi perked up.
"I want you to teach me the Mind Body Switch Technique," Ino said, grinning.
"How is that a surprise?" Inoichi blinked, confused.
"Teach me now!" Ino called, dashing outside.
"What's she up to, being so secretive?" Inoichi shook his head but obliged.
Soon enough he really was surprised—Ino learned far faster than he expected. Simply put, her fundamentals were rock‑solid.
"It's thanks to Kitazawa‑sensei's special training," Ino said worshipfully. "He's amazing!"
What the—?
His daughter admired some outsider more than her own dad. Inoichi felt a sudden pang of jealousy.
…
A new day—Saturday
After washing up, Kitazawa arrived at Kurenai Yūhi's home. Tsunade, Shizune and Yakumo were already there.
"Kitazawa, help me cook," Kurenai called, heading to the kitchen.
"What's for breakfast?" he asked, following.
"Rice, grilled fish, miso soup, salad, and natto," Kurenai said, picking up a white apron.
"I'll tie it for you," Kitazawa stepped behind her, looping the strings around her slim waist.
"Thanks," Kurenai said casually.
"Even an apron looks great on you," his gaze swept over her smooth back and shapely curves.
"All right, quit the flattery—Tsunade-sama's waiting," Kurenai said, lips curving ever so slightly. His words had clearly pleased her.
The two spent quite a while cooking a breakfast that barely counted as "lavish." Just as they finished eating and were about to discuss a new jutsu, there was a knock.
"I'll get it," Kitazawa rose and opened the door—only to be surprised. The visitor was Nara Shikaku, Shikamaru's father.
"Shikaku-sams," Kitazawa greeted after a brief daze.
"No need to be so formal—I'm only a few years older. Just call me senpai," Shikaku said genially.
"All right," Kitazawa agreed, though puzzled. Shikaku was clan head, jōnin commander, and occasional Hokage adviser—far above him in power and status. Why show up suddenly to get friendly? Was it about Shikamaru?
"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Shikaku chuckled.
"Senpai, just don't be shocked," Kitazawa said, gesturing. "Please."
"What's there to be sho—Tsunade-sama?!" Shikaku froze.
"It's Shikaku," Tsunade glanced over. "Long time no see."
Shikaku instinctively looked back at Kitazawa. What is this? You hiding Tsunade in here?
Because the medical‑ninja project wasn't public yet, Sarutobi hadn't announced anything. Thus Shikaku was stunned; he'd thought Kitazawa just a plain academy teacher, yet here he was trusted by the Hokage and somehow tied to Tsunade. Even Konoha's sharpest mind drew a blank.
"It's a long story," Kitazawa said after a moment. "It's the Hokage's arrangement—I can't elaborate. Ask him."
"Then I'll drop it," Shikaku skipped ahead smoothly. "I came to ask if you'd tutor Shikamaru."
A home tutor? Kitazawa blinked. Right then, four lines of text flashed before his eyes:
[A classmate's parent seeks help; as class rep, you should lend a hand.]
[Current Mission: Help Nara Shikamaru build a foundation for clan techniques.]
[Reward: Shadow Imitation Technique.]
[Accept?]
An unexpected bonus? Kitazawa hadn't thought he'd actually be rewarded with Nara techniques. Shadow Imitation was a Yin‑Release jutsu; maybe that meant he could also snag Multi‑Size Technique one day?
The task was both easy and hard: "foundation" basically meant chakra control, but Shikamaru's laziness could make it drag on.
"Even Hokage-sama praises your teaching," Shikaku said. "That's why I want you to cure Shikamaru's laziness."
"I can give it a try," Kitazawa accepted—the training plan was the same as Ino's, not troublesome for him.
"Thank you." Shikaku immediately produced a bankbook. "Your monthly fee."
Inside were 500,000 ryō. No wonder the Nara clan sells medicine—they're loaded. An A‑rank mission paid about the same, sometimes less; above that were near‑death S‑rank jobs.
"Tsunade-sama, I'll leave you to it," Shikaku said, goal achieved, and departed. He knew better than to probe further, especially when a Sannin was involved.
"Feels like you're becoming Konoha's most famous teacher," Kurenai laughed.
"All empty praise," Kitazawa smiled. "Let's study the new jutsu."
"You still have the mood for that?" Tsunade arched a brow. "Don't forget—you only have three days."
"Three days?" Kurenai blinked. "What three days?"
"It's like this—" Kitazawa explained the bet.
"You…" Kurenai trailed off. She thought he was reckless. Even if he learned fast, three days was awfully short—like gifting Tsunade a million.
"It's fine," Kitazawa waved. If he was going to play the genius role, he'd go all in. With system‑given mastery of chakra control and shape manipulation, it wasn't even acting.
"You're certainly confident," Tsunade said, pleasantly surprised—her chances looked even better.
Shizune stared, baffled. That's the Rasengan; is it really that easy? Could Tsunade actually win a bet for once? The idea was almost too pretty to believe.
…
Two days flew by; a new week began.
"Darn—still one step short," Kurenai said, gripping a rubber ball. She had finished phase one of Rasengan training and entered phase two; with the jump in difficulty, she hadn't managed to pop the ball after two full days.
"You'll get it—just a matter of time," Kitazawa reassured her.
"What about you?" Kurenai asked. "There's only one day left in your bet. Have you learned the Rasengan?"
Kitazawa thought for a moment, then held out his hand.
Before Kurenai's astonished eyes, a spinning sphere of chakra formed instantly.
He learned the Rasengan in just two days?
Kurenai felt almost light‑headed with disbelief.
~~~
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