'No way.'
'I have to go ask him for clarification!'
Tsunade immediately took action, rushing straight out. At that moment, Takumi happened to be reporting on his mission at the Hokage's Office.
Tsunade barged in directly with Shizune in tow.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Tsunade deliberately stomped heavily, charging aggressively up to Takumi.
"You big pervert... Cough! You big genius! With such advanced medical skills, why did you still bring me here? Speak! Are you..." Tsunade glanced around, bit her lip in slight shame, then leaned close to Takumi's ear and whispered through gritted teeth, "...did you just want to sleep with me, is that why you deliberately sought me out?!"
The people around looked blankly at the furious Tsunade, unsure why she was suddenly going crazy.
Hiruzen watched with a smile, but he was also puzzled. Takumi hadn't shown any medical talent before. Now, suddenly, rumors were flying about Takumi possessing extremely strong medical abilities.
Of course, he was confused too. Now, thanks to Tsunade, he could hear the explanation.
Faced with Tsunade's interrogation, Takumi naturally remained very calm.
"Actually, I didn't know Medical Ninjutsu before. It was only after seeing the intricacies of the Medical Ninjutsu you performed that I realized its importance."
"So I worked hard and spent several days mastering Medical Ninjutsu," Takumi said with a serious expression.
Clatter.
Hiruzen's pipe dropped onto the desk. He stared wide-eyed, shocked at Takumi.
'What's going on?'
'He just learned it?'
'And it only took a few days?'
'And you're saying it with an expression like it was such hard work?'
Hiruzen suddenly felt confused. He could overlook Takumi's other absurd Ninjutsu because there was no standard, and he learned them quickly anyway.
But now he was learning Medical Ninjutsu! Since when was Medical Ninjutsu so easy to learn? Human anatomy, pathology, surgical techniques... you couldn't even get started without three to five years!
It wasn't just Hiruzen. Everyone else in the office looked utterly shocked, especially Rin, who had witnessed Takumi's treatment firsthand.
As a Medical-nin, she understood better how difficult what Takumi had achieved was! That skill absolutely couldn't be performed without eight or ten years of practice! And now he's saying he learned it in just a few days?
After the initial shock, Hiruzen figured it out. Takumi was a one-in-a-million genius. Since he was that level of genius, perhaps Medical Ninjutsu was also easily within his grasp?
Hiruzen was numb. He had been shocked into numbness by Takumi's consecutive displays of genius.
"A few days? I don't believe it!" Tsunade had studied Medical Ninjutsu her whole life. Of course, she didn't believe someone could learn such exquisite Medical Ninjutsu in a few days, let alone revive the dying.
"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do..." Takumi spread his hands helplessly.
"Let's have a contest!" Tsunade immediately activated her gambling nature. "Let's see whose skills are stronger! I refuse to believe a rookie who only studied for a few days can be stronger than my decades of medical experience!"
Here it comes! Tsunade's old habit is acting up again!
A gambling addict doesn't just gamble at the table. Whenever she encounters anything in life that can be gambled on, she wants to resolve it through a bet! If it can be solved by gambling, never use money!
"A contest..." Upon hearing this, Takumi showed a strange smile. He then leaned close to Tsunade's ear and said, "Sure. I just bought a piece of clothing with very little fabric while I was out. If I win, you have to wear it for a month and cook for me."
Tsunade's face instantly flushed red, but the challenge was already issued. How could she back down because of the stakes? Especially in her most skilled area, Medical Ninjutsu?
Gritting her teeth, Tsunade whispered in Takumi's ear, "If I win, you'll be my servant for a month, available at my call anytime!"
"No problem," Takumi said with a smile.
"This is a good opportunity," Hiruzen also chimed in with a smile. "Let's make your contest public. I'm sure many people will be interested."
"No problem!" Tsunade agreed readily. She might lack confidence in other types of gambling, but in medical ninjutsu, she feared no challenge. What a joke, this is her field! She's the best Medical-nin in the entire Shinobi World! How could she possibly lose?
…
Soon, thanks to Hiruzen's promotion, the news of the Medical Ninjutsu duel between Takumi and Tsunade spread throughout the village.
A large crowd of onlookers gathered at the venue, Konoha Hospital. After all, the hospital had all the necessary tools and readily available patients. Not only could they hold the contest, but they might even cure a few patients in the process. It was a win-win.
In the main hall, Takumi and Tsunade stood opposite each other, an operating table in front of them. Surrounding them were the village's notable figures like Hiruzen, Koharu, Homura...
Danzo wasn't present, but he was certainly watching the situation closely. He had always been deeply concerned about Takumi's abilities.
Others included the current heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and heads of other Konoha's Shinobi Clans like Hiashi, Aburame Shibi, etc.
There were also many available Jonin, like Kakashi and Kurenai, who had just returned from their mission, along with Guy, Asuma, etc. Then came the Konoha rookies.
More onlookers were outside the room, watching through the windows, as the inside was already packed solid.
"Are you both ready?" The temporary judge, the director of Konoha Hospital, looked seriously at both sides. He had also heard the village rumors, but Tsunade's reputation built over so many years wasn't for nothing. He still thought the more experienced Tsunade would win this contest.
Both Takumi and Tsunade nodded. Takumi wore a faint, mysterious smile, while Tsunade looked solemn. She didn't want to lose to anyone in her specialized Medical Ninjutsu.
"Good. The contest consists of five rounds. The first round: treatment of emergency external injury patients," The director announced the first round's task.
Soon, two severely injured Shinobi, bleeding all over, were wheeled in. These two were unfortunately injured by explosion tags during practice outside this morning. To ensure freshness, they hadn't received any emergency treatment and had been forcibly enduring the pain.
The two contestants immediately began treatment. This level was nothing for either of them. In roughly the same amount of time, they both finished.
"Hmm, both treatments are perfect," The director said, looking surprised at Takumi. He hadn't expected Takumi to possess such exquisite Medical Ninjutsu, 'It seemed the village rumors weren't baseless.'
"The second round is detoxification," The director soon announced the second round's task.
Two poisoned Shinobi were also wheeled out. Treating poison was also easy for both of them. Having fought against Sunagakure, Tsunade had countered countless poisons. This minor poison meant nothing to her.
After finishing the detoxification, she confidently looked up, only to be surprised to find Takumi also looking up, giving her a calm smile.
This made her slightly uneasy, 'What's going on? How can this kid's Medical Ninjutsu keep up with mine? No! The tasks must be too simple. Once the difficulty increases, his true colors will show!'
Suppressing the unease in her heart, Tsunade waited solemnly for the next round.
"Next, eye transplant surgery," The director announced the third round after seeing their perfect detoxification process.
Hearing the task, Tsunade's expression immediately became grave. Transplant surgery was also a relatively troublesome operation for her, requiring consideration of factors like compatibility, rejection, and more. It wasn't easy to handle.
Wondering about Takumi's feelings, Tsunade looked up and found Takumi still wearing his confident smile.
This made Tsunade somewhat flustered, 'What's with that confident expression? Is he really that confident in his medical skills? No! I'm Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin! How can I show fear in a Medical Ninjutsu duel? I must demonstrate my ability!'