Chapter 73: Request To Join the Battlefield

"Where did you learn Sakumo-senpai's swordsmanship?" Within the Senju clan's territory, Tsunade watched as Tatsuma skillfully wielded a short knife, feeling puzzled. Although she didn't understand swordsmanship, she could recognize the similarities between Tatsuma's movements and those of Sakumo Hatake.

Tatsuma paused at the question and replied, "I met Sakumo-sama yesterday, had a chat, and he generously shared the essentials of swordsmanship with me."

"Oh." Tsunade nodded without delving deeper. In fact, Tatsuma's approach of seeking to learn from others after already having a master was somewhat impolite, whether it was towards Tsunade as his sensei or towards Sakumo Hatake.

However, their master-disciple relationship was unique. Tsunade had little to teach Tatsuma; super strength required a high physical condition, and regardless of Tatsuma's peculiar physical talents, his current level didn't meet the learning requirements, at least for now.

Tsunade excels in only two areas: one is Taijutsu, with her powerful punches that complement her super strength, and the other is Medical Ninjutsu. Tsunade can sense that Tatsuma is not particularly interested in medical Jutsu.

Even though, in the past six months, Tatsuma has demonstrated remarkable Chakra Control abilities, surpassing his peers, and has learned some Medical Ninjutsu, including challenging techniques like the Mystical Palm Jutsu and chakra scalpel, due to his aptitude for Ninjutsu learning.

However, these are just superficial aspects of Medical Ninjutsu. To delve deeper, one must study various medical disciplines such as human anatomy, surgery, genetic diseases, medical imaging, and more. It's a lifelong learning process. Tatsuma, however, does not seem to have the will to inherit these skills, so Tsunade hasn't delved into teaching him extensively. She has only taught him some clinical Medical Ninjutsu and shared numerous medical cases.

As a result, the interaction between master and disciple has dwindled, with daily card games being their main form of communication. After all, Tatsuma has surpassed Tsunade, his sensei, even in Sealing Jutsu.

Therefore, Tsunade doesn't object to Tatsuma learning from Jiraiya or studying under Sakumo Hatake now. After all, if she were to oppose it, she would have to face opposition from her own grandmother.

Seeing Tsunade remaining silent, Tatsuma continued with his training. The Academy had reopened, and Nawaki and Kushina had returned to school. Minato, who seemed to be on a mission, hadn't come back yet, leaving Tatsuma alone in his training.

However, in the past half year, Tatsuma's upper limits had significantly increased. Now, he required a substantial amount of time to manifest his talents, so he didn't find it boring at all.

Many people tend to give up on learning or persevering in something, and a significant portion of the reason is the inability to see their own progress or the progress of the situation.

But Tatsuma was different. With his systematic approach, he could see his progress every day, giving him extra motivation in his training. Compared to before, even the system panel had undergone significant changes since his time in the Senju Clan.

"Host: Sakamoto Tatsuma

Talents:

Strength: 2416/6426

Speed: 2911/7781

Stamina: 2689/6153

Wisdom: 2013/3120"

"Ninjutsu: 2174/4512

Illusions: 1501/3633

Spirit: 2263/6571

Seals: 2315/4237

Special Talents:

Space-Time: 100%

Ninjutsu Development: 95%

Ninja Tool Throwing (Minato Namikaze Limited Edition): 100%

Sensory: 90%

Sealing (Kushina Uzumaki Limited Edition): 75%"

As the saying goes, there are only wrongly given names, but not wrongly given nicknames. Tsunade being called "Big Fat Sheep" is not without reason, and she is even fatter than Minato.

When plucking Minato's wool, Tatsuma has to prepare various excuses and engage in various games with Minato to extract the wool. However, it's not as complicated with Tsunade. With just a deck of cards, Tsunade willingly enters the "Shaving Wool Machine," and Tatsuma exercises considerable restraint, controlling his winning streaks every day.

After all, compared to the good-tempered Minato, Tsunade can truly get violent when she loses her temper. Tatsuma has unfortunately experienced it twice and, after being beaten by Tsunade, had nowhere to complain.

Because Tsunade would immediately heal him after beating him, with Tsunade's medical skills, there would be no lingering effects or traces left. If Tatsuma were to report it to someone, it might end up being a false accusation.

Therefore, Tatsuma controled himself every day, winning a few dozen rounds against Tsunade, wisely stopping after plucking around 200 points of talent limits. Additionally, he managed to gain some points by subtly extracting from Nawaki and Kushina every day.

Tatsuma is well aware that sustainable development is much better than depleting resources recklessly. However, recently, after going on some missions and earning money, he has another idea for gathering wool.

But he can't reveal it yet, especially since the situation in the ninja world has become tense. Tsunade has mentioned to Tatsuma that she might have to undertake advanced missions at any time.

Thinking about this, Tatsuma paused in his actions, realizing he had no inclination to train. He sheathed his knife and looked at his Tsunade, asking, "Sensei, regarding the meeting yesterday, there should be some arrangements for you, right?"

Upon hearing Tatsuma's words, Tsunade nodded, not hiding anything. She directly responded, "Yes, I'm heading to the border of the Land of Wind. Why?"

"If possible, I would like to accompany you," Tatsuma said earnestly.

In response, Tsunade burst into laughter, saying, "Hahaha~ You? Want to go to the battlefield? Hahaha~ You, the coward who can't even bring himself to kill. In these recent missions, there were people you could have easily killed, yet you waited for me to handle it. With your hesitation even at the last moment, you still want to go to the battlefield?"

This is one of the few areas where Tsunade is dissatisfied with Tatsuma. He is capable of capturing enemies in various ways but consistently hesitates when it comes to delivering the final blow.

If this were happening among recently graduated Genin, Tsunade could understand. However, Tatsuma has been graduated for almost a year, completed five or six C-rank missions, and has yet to take a life.

If Tatsuma didn't excel in other qualities that a ninja should possess, Tsunade would consider advising him against being a ninja and encourage him to leave.

However, Tsunade doesn't think that Tatsuma, in his current state, is suitable for the battlefield. After all, once a war erupts on the battlefield, death is constant, and hesitation can lead to one's demise.

After the laughter, Tsunade's expression turned extremely serious as she said, "I disagree with this."

"Sensei, I understand your concerns, but I still want to go with you. If you think I'm not ready, I can stay in logistics or serve as a medical ninja," Tatsuma said, taking a deep breath and speaking sincerely. Tsunade frowned and said, "Why? Konoha isn't weak enough now to need a kid like you on the battlefield."

"But sooner or later, I have to go, don't I? The tasks I can take now create too little mental pressure for me. I can't force myself to become a true ninja. Maybe I'm the kind of natural hero who thrives in big situations? Who knows, maybe once I'm on the battlefield, I'll excel and make a difference?"

"Haha~ That joke you just told is not bad," Tsunade said with a laugh, but her expression was very serious. She continued, "On the battlefield, I might not even be able to take care of you. Are you truly prepared?"

Tatsuma nodded and said, "I am ready, and as your outstanding disciple, I should strive to prove that your judgment is correct. How about we make a bet? I bet I can perform well. Given our win-loss record, I think I have a chance of not losing."

Upon hearing Tatsuma's words, Tsunade nodded and said, "I agree to going to the battlefield, but..."

Her gaze became dangerously intense as she added, "As for you arranging a bet based on my gambling luck... Don't you run!"

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