The next afternoon, dressed in a black-and-red robe, Kageyama Kokugetsu strolled to Tsunade's home.
Her house sat in central Konoha, a residence once used by Senju Hashirama.
He knocked. The gate opened to Shizune in a conservative black dress.
"Shizune-san," Kageyama Kokugetsu said with a smile.
"Kokugetsu-kun, please come in.
"Lady Tsunade just woke up. She'll see you shortly," Shizune said, smiling.
No need to ask. After leaving Kushina's, Tsunade had surely been drinking.
"No rush. Even after lunch is fine."
He stepped in, took a seat in the front parlor, and Shizune served fragrant tea.
Before long, Tsunade ambled in wearing a loose blue robe, nibbling on a few seaweed rice rolls.
"Shizune, bring the teaching tools I told you to prepare."
"Right away."
After Kageyama Kokugetsu greeted her and sat, Tsunade nodded and, once she'd finished eating, spoke.
"What do you want to learn first?"
"Monstrous Strength."
"Alright. I'll explain the principle. Open your Byakugan and watch my arm closely."
She suddenly remembered something and added, "And keep your eyes where they should be. If you don't, I'll teach you a hard lesson."
Kageyama Kokugetsu blinked. "Where they shouldn't be?"
"Don't play dumb," Tsunade snapped. "You're fourteen. You know perfectly well.
"Kids grow up fast. Even Academy students know all about romance."
He coughed lightly. "Understood."
"Monstrous Strength means refining and gathering a great deal of chakra into one point and releasing it in an instant. It demands extremely fine control."
She lifted her right arm as she spoke, demonstrating.
Chakra refinement is a shinobi's foundation. With practice, there's no need for hand signs. At the level of habit, you can refine at will.
Kageyama Kokugetsu opened his Byakugan and fixed on her arm. His gaze passed through cloth, skin, muscle, and into the meridians, clearly seeing the flow of blue chakra and every detail.
"Be honest. Do you get it?" Tsunade lowered her arm.
"I do," he said, nodding.
"Then practice. It isn't easy. The control it needs is higher than advanced medical ninjutsu. Failure is normal.
"Even if you keep at it, you may never learn it. Be ready for that."
"It doesn't feel that hard," Kageyama Kokugetsu said, a bit hesitant.
"What did you just say?" Tsunade blinked, then laughed at him. "Big talk for a kid."
"It really feels manageable. If you don't believe me, watch."
He walked into the open courtyard, crouched, drew chakra into his right fist, and drove it down. The gathered chakra burst at once, an unseen shock plunging into the earth.
A dull boom.
The ground shivered. Cracks raced outward from his knuckles, widening until a span of earth several meters ahead crumbled to rubble.
Tsunade and Shizune, arriving with the teaching kit, gaped. Their mouths could have swallowed an egg.
Tsunade rubbed her eyes, pinched herself, and finally accepted she wasn't dreaming or trapped in genjutsu.
"Impossible. How did you learn that fast?
"Even geniuses aren't this absurd."
Doubting reality, she hopped over and circled him, inspecting him head to toe.
Kageyama Kokugetsu smiled, formed Earth Release signs, and the trembling ground knit its cracks closed.
"Maybe I'm naturally good at control, plus years of relentless training.
"My own stealth-assassination style needs even finer control. Before I strike, no matter how hard or fast I move, I can't let a hint of chakra leak."
Monstrous Strength isn't raw muscle. It's power derived from chakra.
Tsunade's face cleared. "So that's it."
"Regretting it, Lady Tsunade?" Kageyama Kokugetsu asked with a grin.
"Regretting what?"
"Not taking me as your student."
Truth be told, she did feel a twinge. A student like this was a teacher's dream.
"As if.
"Teaching a student like you gives me no sense of achievement," she said, hands on hips, chin up, refusing to admit it.
He only chuckled. "Alright. Let's move on to medical ninjutsu."
"Fine. Come with me, you boring kid to teach."
He curled his lip. A mouth that said one thing and meant another. What teacher doesn't like an easy pupil?
The medical training went smoothly. In a single afternoon, Kageyama Kokugetsu learned the medical techniques Tsunade had mastered. His hands-on experience was thin and his usage not yet fluid, but he had learned them all.
Tsunade and Shizune were shocked to numbness. Both took a hit to their confidence, especially Shizune, who felt like a fool. With Tsunade's and Kageyama Kokugetsu's reassurance, she bounced back and saw it clearly. Why compare yourself to a monster?
To show his thanks, Kageyama Kokugetsu took Tsunade and Shizune to BBQ Q for a feast. It soothed their bruised hearts and stoked their appetites. They meant to make his wallet bleed. He paid with such offhand ease that it felt to them like punching cotton.
Master and student went home together, each with complicated feelings, leaning on each other a little.
Passing the Hokage Building on his way back, Kageyama Kokugetsu noticed the office lights still on and went to see Sarutobi Hiruzen.
He explained his recent contacts with the Uchiha and said he wanted to probe quietly and investigate.
Hiruzen didn't mind—he approved. The masked man from the Nine Tails' night was a thorn in his heart, a large one. Until it was pulled, he would know no peace. Whether the masked man hid among the Uchiha, whether they knew of him, whether they colluded—these were vital questions. The forthright approach raised Hiruzen's trust in Kageyama Kokugetsu another step.
He left the Hokage, in high spirits, strolled the streets a while, and went home feeling better for the pretty sights.
The next day at six thirty in the evening, Kageyama Kokugetsu set out unhurriedly for his dinner engagement.
At the Uchiha compound he found Uchiha Fugaku at the gate with his elder son, Uchiha Itachi, there to receive him.
Seeing it, Kageyama Kokugetsu smiled to himself. They were truly anxious.
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