Chapter 166: When Shamelessness Knows No Bounds

If anyone else had been treated like this, they would have been furious. But Takuya...

With what Tsunade knew about him, she was sure that Takuya would probably laugh even in his sleep.

Not having to go to the battlefield and just lazing around in the village? That sounded like a dream to him.

The funniest part was that they were claiming to protect a genius. Yet, why had they sent others to the battlefield in the Land of Rain before?

Truly, when people are shameless, they can reach new extremes.

Tsunade's words made Koharu and Homura's faces darken as if they had been slapped. They felt like Tsunade was directly insulting them.

After all, when someone drags in your ancestors, it's never a compliment.

Meanwhile, the Third Hokage remained calm and unaffected.

Under normal circumstances, Koharu and Homura would have immediately jumped up and bombarded the Third Hokage with complaints.

But this time, they didn't. Because they knew they were in the wrong.

That's why the Third Hokage also stayed silent, not stepping in to defend them.

"Lady Tsunade, hello, I am..."

As soon as Tsunade stepped out of the Hokage's office, someone approached her. Tsunade instinctively moved aside, not realizing the person was heading directly towards her.

Already frustrated and full of anger, Tsunade irritably stepped aside.

"Sorry, I have something to take care of. Please don't bother me."

"..."

The smile on Dan Kato's face slowly froze as he watched Tsunade walk away. He had finally gathered the courage to come up and talk to her, but his first attempt ended in a complete failure.

Meanwhile, back at home, Takuya sat groggily on the sofa, still half-asleep and ready to doze off again at any moment.

Kushina, seeing how tired Takuya was, felt bad for him and quickly brought him a glass of ice water.

"Takuya, can't you train during the day? This flipped schedule is bad for your health."

"I know."

After taking a big gulp of water, Takuya felt more awake. He rubbed his eyes and said:

"I just need to keep it up for a little while longer. Once the new recruits graduate, I should be done."

Thanks to Snowy's help, Takuya was progressing quickly in his Sage Mode training.

In another half month or so, he figured he'd pass the hardest part—the first stage.

Once he mastered absorbing natural energy and refining Sage chakra, the rest of the training would become much easier.

"By the way, could you order some food from the hotpot restaurant? I don't feel like cooking for Tsunade."

"I already did. The side dishes and soup will be here soon."

Kushina was reliable like that—she didn't need Takuya to remind her. She had already arranged everything.

"You're actually making time for romance?"

Tsunade remarked as she walked into Takuya's home, seeing him and Kushina laughing together. Whatever Takuya had said, it had Kushina giggling non-stop.

Tsunade couldn't help but feel frustrated.

Here she was, angry and stressed out over his situation, while he was happily flirting with a girl.

"Tsunade, stop teasing me like that."

Kushina's face turned bright red.

Takuya just shrugged.

"What did you expect? Should I spend every day looking miserable to make you happy?"

Tsunade's teasing was definitely because of the decision to keep him in the village as a Jonin instructor.

As for Takuya's thoughts on the arrangement, he raised a thumbs-up and said:

"Well done! I love the idea of staying in the village as a lazy slacker."

Training on schedule, sleeping in, wandering around the village, relaxing in the hot springs—what could be better?

His attitude toward life was clear from the way his squad handled missions.

Other squads were eager to take on more missions, while Takuya wished he could get away with just one mission a month.

"..."

Fine, as long as you're happy, I have nothing to say, Tsunade thought to herself.

If she wanted someone to show real ambition, it would have to be Minato or her brother, Nawaki.

Both of them dreamed of becoming Hokage, after all.

But that brought up another problem: What would she do when Minato and Nawaki both grew up and wanted to become Hokage? Who would she support?

Supporting Minato over her own brother seemed wrong.

But supporting Nawaki... well, he wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

It wasn't an easy choice to make.

Whatever, I'll deal with that when the time comes, she thought.

Let them fight for it with their own efforts. As for Takuya...

Not that he had any interest in becoming Hokage, but even if he did, the higher-ups would never accept someone with Uchiha blood.

Curse those prejudices, Tsunade thought bitterly.

Soon, the food from the hotpot restaurant arrived.

The three of them sat together, enjoying the air conditioning and hotpot. It was a great feeling. And after they finished, they had some cold watermelon to top it off. It was perfect.

"When are you heading to the front lines?" Takuya asked.

"Not anytime soon. I'm planning to rest for a while. I've been exhausted lately. If anyone tries to make me go to the front lines, I'll punch them."

Tsunade had made up her mind. No matter who asked, she wasn't going anywhere. She needed a break.

"Let's hope you stick to that," Takuya laughed.

He didn't believe her. When the village needed her, there was no way Tsunade could sit idly by.

Even if she didn't go willingly, the Third Hokage would probably have a heartfelt talk with her and convince her to go.

"..."

That brat! I really want to punch him, Tsunade thought, clenching her fist as she looked at Takuya's smirking face.

Kushina, watching them, couldn't help but giggle.

Takuya always managed to get on Tsunade's nerves, yet she never dared lay a hand on him. It was pretty funny.

"Kushina, come with me to the training ground. I need to check how your strength training is going."

Takuya was already irritating, but now Kushina was laughing too.

Enjoying my frustration, huh?

Alright, you're in for it now.

"Uh..." Kushina clasped her hands together nervously and pleaded:

"Tsunade, can we skip that? I've been training regularly, I promise."

It had been Takuya's idea to have Kushina train in strength techniques. With her natural potential, it would've been a waste not to.

If Kushina became strong enough, the incident in the original storyline—where Cloud ninjas tried to kidnap her—would never happen.

Just imagine if Kushina's strength techniques were at the same level as Tsunade's. What would happen if those ninja from the Hidden Cloud tried to capture her then?

"Less talking, more training! Let's go!"

Tsunade had originally planned to take a nap, but now she figured it was better to supervise Kushina's training first. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to rest easy.

Tsunade grabbed Kushina and threw her over her shoulder.

Kushina struggled, throwing a pleading look at Takuya, but all he could do was give her a helpless smile in return.

You traitor! Kushina thought as Tsunade carried her off, leaving the living room quiet.

Should I continue training or take a nap?

Wait a second...

Wasn't Tsunade supposed to wash the dishes?

That trickster!

Looking at the messy table, Takuya felt like cursing.

I just hope this training doesn't turn me into something weird, he thought.

Even though Snowy had reassured him many times, Takuya still worried about the changes that might come with entering Sage Mode.

In the game, the changes didn't seem too drastic, but what if something went wrong in real life?

Takuya definitely didn't want to end up with fox-like features after entering Sage Mode.

"Master, don't worry. When you train in the tailed-beast-specific Sage Mode, your body won't change," Snowy assured him, sitting on his shoulder.

"I hope not."

The thought of Jiraiya and Kabuto's Sage Modes made Takuya shudder.

Jiraiya wasn't so bad—he just looked ugly, with that toad-like face and enlarged features.

But Kabuto... Takuya didn't even know how to describe it.