Tsunade scrutinized Kyuushin from head to toe, her gaze shifting as if she were looking at a monster. She stared at him until he began to feel a little unnerved, yet she didn't utter a single word.
"Lady Tsunade, am I practicing it incorrectly?" he asked curiously. He hadn't yet exited his awakened state, so if he was practicing it wrong, he could still adjust in time.
"No... no, you're practicing it perfectly," Tsunade stammered, her expression a chaotic mix of gloom and disbelief. "I... I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now. You continue your practice." After leaving that one sentence, she turned and fled, her retreating figure looking somewhat disheveled.
"Uh..." Kyuushin didn't quite understand what that was about. But with little time left in his awakened state, he didn't have the luxury to think about it and prepared to continue familiarizing himself with the newly learned technique.
Meanwhile, Tsunade, who hadn't walked far, heard the booming sounds start up again behind her. Her head was spinning. Without thinking, she walked right through the confinement barrier that Mito had set up for her, then sped through the village like a hurricane, arriving directly at Jiraiya's residence.
Jiraiya saw Tsunade storming into his house and stealthily slipped a certain magazine he was reading under his bed.
"What's wrong, Tsunade?" he asked.
She grabbed Jiraiya by his lapel, hauled him to his feet, and dragged him towards the door. "Come on, drink with me."
Sensing Tsunade's unusually dark mood, Jiraiya didn't ask any questions. He just quietly formed a hand seal and created a shadow clone. The two quickly arrived at a small tavern. After the drinks were served, Tsunade didn't even bother with a toast and just started drinking on her own.
By the time Jiraiya's shadow clone found Orochimaru and brought him over, Tsunade was already mostly drunk. Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya with an inquiring gaze. Jiraiya simply shook his head, pointed to his mouth, and then waved his hand, silently communicating that he had no idea what was wrong and hadn't said a word yet.
Orochimaru was a little speechless. When Jiraiya's clone came looking for him, he thought something major had happened. Now it seemed it was just another one of Tsunade's moods. However, they both knew her well and understood that she couldn't keep things to herself. She would naturally speak up once she had drunk enough, so they weren't in a hurry and slowly started drinking along with her.
After another pot of sake was finished, Tsunade's eyes became even hazier. She looked at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, you're the most talented among the three of us. Do you think I'm untalented?"
Seeing that she had finally spoken, Orochimaru put down his cup. He shook his head. "Although your talent isn't the best, it's definitely not bad." That was the truth. While Tsunade's talent couldn't compare to her legendary grandfather's or granduncle's, she was still considered among the top tier of all Konoha ninja.
But upon hearing this answer, Tsunade let out a sarcastic laugh. "If my talent is considered good, then what is that little brat? The reincarnation of the God of Shinobi?"
Orochimaru and Jiraiya exchanged glances, beginning to understand what was going on. Jiraiya asked, "The red-haired kid? What happened?"
Tsunade didn't answer the question directly. Instead, she asked, "Do you know how long it took me to learn my Monstrous Strength technique?" Without waiting for an answer, she continued, "Two years? Or three years? I can't quite remember. But that little brat, he learned it in the time it took me to take a nap. You say my talent isn't bad... then what is he? What is he?"
Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth, and Jiraiya was visibly shocked. "Tsunade, are you serious? Your Monstrous Strength Fist? Didn't you say it was incredibly difficult to learn?" Jiraiya stammered.
Orochimaru, however, just laughed. His psychological resilience was much better than theirs. "That's nothing. Back then, it took Jiraiya ages to learn a ninjutsu that I mastered in one go. And now, you've just encountered someone even more talented than me."
"Heh heh, thanks. I feel so comforted," Tsunade said sarcastically.
Jiraiya clicked his tongue, recalling what he had witnessed. "If it's that kid, he's indeed even more of a monster than Orochimaru. I saw him practicing ninjutsu without hand seals the other day."
"Oh?" Orochimaru's curiosity grew even stronger.
"When did you have contact with him?" Tsunade asked.
"It was a while back. The Hokage asked me to take on a disciple, remember? I went to see my future student, and he happened to be there. He even taught Nawaki and the others how to tree-climb and water-walk."
"I envy you so much, getting such a talented disciple," Orochimaru said, intending to comfort Tsunade from another angle. "Why don't you let me have him? Since he's so talented, he probably won't hinder my missions. And isn't it true that geniuses have a lot in common? Thinking about it, we'd be a good fit." The more Orochimaru spoke, the more reasonable it sounded, and by the end, his gaze was burning as he looked at Tsunade.
Tsunade choked on her drink, but then she thought about the first part of his sentence. It was indeed reasonable. A talented disciple was always better than a mediocre one. She recalled how Jiraiya, due to his clumsiness, had nearly driven their sensei to an early grave. Most importantly, a talented student wouldn't require much of her attention. But the key was... it was just too disheartening. She thought about the hardship and time she had endured learning her signature technique, only for someone else to master it in a single afternoon.
As for the second half of Orochimaru's sentence, she simply ignored it.
"Why are you teaching him ninjutsu at this time? He hasn't even graduated yet," Jiraiya asked.
"Something happened to the Uzumaki clan a while ago. I was afraid he'd get depressed, so I thought I'd find something to occupy his mind," Tsunade said irritably.
"Right," Jiraiya nodded. "By the way, weren't you confined by Lady Mito? Is it okay that you ran out today?"
"Oh no!" It was only when Jiraiya mentioned it that Tsunade realized she had been too hasty and had forgotten all about it when she left the house. Thinking of Mito's strict discipline, Tsunade instantly broke out in a cold sweat, and most of her drunkenness wore off. She stood up abruptly, then slumped back down dejectedly. "Forget it. Since I'm already out, I might as well drink my fill." With that, she picked up her cup and started drinking again.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya looked at each other, both a little speechless.
"Well, I have a mission outside th
e village for the next few days, so this drink will serve as a farewell," Orochimaru said.
"What a coincidence, me too," Jiraiya said as he and Orochimaru clinked their cups.
"So annoying! Just drink!" Tsunade cursed.