Hashirama.

"Good job. That was much better than before." Shizune complimented me as she extended her hand to pull me off the ground.

"Haha! Didn't I surprise you with that move!?"

"You did." Shizune nodded with a smile. "I didn't think you would use the simple healing jutsu like that."

Shizune performed the jutsu herself and healed my attempt at blocking her blood vessels.

"It's getting late already, let's end the training for today. I'm sure Tsunade-sama is already waiting for us for dinner too."

"Alright."

We walked back to our rooms where I took a short shower and then a bath to clean myself after which we gathered in the same room to have dinner like always.

As we ate food, Tsunade spoke casually, "Shizune we'll need to move tomorrow."

Shizune froze as she was picking up rice from her bowl, she turned sharply towards Tsunade and asked patiently, "Why?"

"Ah…I've just gotten a little bored in this place…Land of Hot Water would be a good place to go next wouldn't it?" Tsunade asked with shifty eyes.

"Argh!! Tsunade-sama! Did you cause trouble at the casino again!"

"I might have…" Tsunade said softly.

"Why!? Fine! I'll go and settle our bill at the inn!" Shizune said, finishing her food quickly as she left the table to go talk to the receptionist.

I watched the exchange with an amused expression on my face and asked Tsunade a question after Shizune left.

"Am I coming with you guys?"

"Sure. I don't mind."

"Thank you! I still have much to learn from Shizune."

"I heard what you did today in your spar with Shizune. It was good thinking but I want you to know something."

"Oh? Please do tell."

"Medical shinobi aren't supposed to be active combatants. I hope you understand that. It's not because they are weak or even have less skill, in fact, they're probably better than seventy per cent of the shinobi out there."

"Then…?"

"It's because healers are the most valuable resource in any fight. As long as one takes down the healer, the enemy effectively takes away the front line's chance to return back alive."

Looking at the seriousness with which Tsunade told me that, I felt a little pressured, but I immediately accepted with a nod of my head.

"Good. Get ready with all your things. We'll be leaving this place in the middle of the night. I hope you don't drag our speed."

"Worry not! If there's one thing I definitely know how to do it is how to run till I drop dead!"

Tsunade gave me a look of suspicion when I said those words but then glossed over it and went back to eating the tasty food Shizune had cooked.

During the night I heard a soft knock on my door that woke me up from my quick nap.

I opened the door to find Shizune holding Tonton and Tsunade standing outside.

"Time to leave?"

Shizune nodded, and so I walked with the two of them as we left the village.

It was my first time stepping into the world outside the inn as I had mostly stayed in the room the last time I was here, so I admired the moonlit scenery as we walked through the streets.

We eventually left the village by silently jumping over the wall surrounding it from all sides.

We escaped into the forest and ran throughout the night as Shizune guided me and Tsunade to a village where we would stock up on our resources before we set off towards the Land of Hot Waters.

Once we reached out next village, Tsunade and I stayed outside with Tonton while Shizune bought the necessary supplies.

"Tsunade-sama, what is the difference between a Jonin and a Kage?" I asked randomly to make conversation since it was awkwardly silent.

Tsunade thought for a few seconds before she explained patiently, "One becomes a special jonin by mastering one of the three, ninjutsu, genjutsu or taijutsu. An Elite Jonin on the other hand is one who was mastered all the three."

"What about a Kage?"

"A Kage is someone who has broken into a new realm and mastered it to a degree that there are no direct counters to it anymore. It has become a sharp blade that can only be fought with the help of another sharp blade."

"A new realm?"

"Yes. Most shinobi typically start to become enamoured by a new technique or ninjutsu but few manage to lay the foundations of a path that is truly their own."

"I see…?"

"If a single Elite Jonin could take on a few thousand genin. A Kage could take on a few thousand Elite Jonin without breaking a sweat."

"Seriously!? Do you mean specifically your grandfather or every Kage?"

"My grandfather!?" Tsunade laughed when I asked her that, she looked at me like I was stupid, "I doubt a few hundred Kage are enough to stop my grandfather. He was strong. Ridiculously so. Where ever he fought the terrain was altered. He could wipe a country from the map in a few seconds."

My mouth hung loose as I imagined a person with such power.

I couldn't imagine it.

Tsunade looked at my shock and laughed again as she spoke calmly, "There's a reason he was given the title of the 'God of Shinobi'."

"I've seen him fight once."

"And I still remember how an entire mountain range evaporated after the fight. A Kage could at most destroy a single mountain through the course of their fight. But my grandfather could disappear an entire mountain range with a single move."

Tsunade fell silent after that, allowing me to digest her words before I looked at her, "What about you Tsunade-sama? Can you also destroy a mountain?"

Tsunade looked at me with an ambiguous smile before telling me something else entirely, "I don't know what about you makes me feel excited, but something does. I hope you allow yourself to grow stronger. It'd be a nice experience to fight someone without holding back."

Shizune arrived at that point and we began travelling again.

During our travel, Shizune taught me the body flicker jutsu so that I could keep with her and Tsunade, but I only succeeded after a few days of smacking face-first into trees.

Apart from learning about Medical Ninjutsu I also got books on advanced math from Shizune, she didn't have many books on the topic but she still had enough to get me started on the subject so for about an hour each night after dinner, I spent time studying calculus.

I also did the training exercises Agnes wanted me to do to get comfortable controlling 'mana' outside my body.

Soon we were in the Land of Hot Water and we booked an inn for the three of us in Yugakure, the hidden village in the Land of Hot Waters. The best part about the inn was that it had a hot spring attached and for the first time in my life, I'd soaked myself in one.

It was extremely comfortable and felt more relaxing than taking a hot water shower on a cold day. With that soak in the hot spring, I finished my first week in the Naruto world for the second time. I was looking forward to the next week I'd spend here training under Shizune.