Chapter 285: Meeting Tsunade

After dinner, Obito and the other disciples went home, but Jiraiya, who hadn’t had enough fun, bought sake, and the three of them ate, drank, and chatted.

Mainly Jiraiya was talking, while Muzuki and Minato mostly listened, occasionally bringing up small topics.

“Mimicking the Tailed Beast Ball is even harder than I imagined,” Minato said, discussing his Ninjutsu development, hoping to get inspiration from Muzuki and Jiraiya.

“Wanting to develop a Ninjutsu similar to the Tailed Beast Ball, huh? That’s not an easy task,” Jiraiya said, downing his sake and stroking his chin.

A large part of a Jinchuriki’s deterrence comes from the Tailed Beast Ball; its destructive power is immense. Even Jiraiya couldn’t directly withstand a Tailed Beast Ball and could only try to dodge it.

“I’m trying to develop it by mimicking the Tailed Beast Ball’s shape as a Chakra Ball, but right now the Chakra Ball is very unstable, and its power can’t even penetrate a large tree,” Minato continued, explaining the difficulties he encountered during development.

“If it’s unstable, I think Minato, you could try using a solid spherical object to help you practice, like a rubber ball or something,” Muzuki suggested after some thought.

Minato’s eyes lit up, feeling that Muzuki’s suggestion was excellent. He smiled and thanked Muzuki: “Using a solid object to assist practice is indeed a good idea.”

After discussing the Rasengan, Muzuki also took the opportunity to bring up his previous idea.

“Setting a Sealing Technique to store Chakra in a single Chakra point is indeed a bit inappropriate. I’ve thought it over carefully, and if the range could be expanded to include more Chakra pathways and points, it might work.”

“You still haven’t given up on that bold idea, huh? Theoretically, it might work, but it requires extremely precise Chakra control and a strong foundation in Medical Ninjutsu,” Jiraiya sighed.

He still wasn’t very optimistic about this direction. Developing on Chakra pathways and points was too risky and could easily cripple oneself.

Of course, while the risk was great, the improvement was also significant. If it could truly be achieved, the boost to strength would be very direct, equivalent to having a lot more Chakra out of nowhere.

“Hmm, I’m quite confident in my Chakra control precision, but I don’t really understand Medical Ninjutsu. I haven’t studied it much, and currently, I’ve only initially mastered the Mystical Palm Technique, so it’s still in the theoretical stage,” Muzuki continued, following Jiraiya’s words.

Hearing that Muzuki had even started learning Medical Ninjutsu, Jiraiya swallowed back his words of caution.

Fortunately, Muzuki was someone who knew what was important and wouldn’t mess around without a clear grasp of the situation.

Hearing Muzuki’s words, Minato was filled with respect. Muzuki had truly gone to great lengths to develop a Ninjutsu that could store Chakra, not only diligently researching Sealing Technique but now also learning Medical Ninjutsu. This made Minato feel that he had been a bit lax recently and hadn’t spent enough time developing Ninjutsu.

“Jiraiya-sama, you and Lady Tsunade are both Sannin. Could you help me get an introduction? I’d like to ask Lady Tsunade some questions about Medical Ninjutsu,” After laying the groundwork, Muzuki stated his ultimate goal.

He had thought about finding Tsunade before, but his preparations weren’t sufficient then. Now, he had a certain reputation among Konoha Ninja, and his Medical Ninjutsu also came from the Ninjutsu Library, so there were no major issues in any aspect.

“Tsunade, huh? Her Medical Ninjutsu is indeed very powerful and should be of great help to your studies, but she’s not an easy person to talk to,” Jiraiya fell into thought.

He and Tsunade were more than familiar with each other; they were teammates and good friends, having faced life and death together countless times.

Frankly, Jiraiya believed Tsunade was a kind-hearted person. To reduce Ninja casualties, Tsunade proposed that every squad should have a Medical Ninja, and although it wasn’t adopted, she had at least tried.

But to say Tsunade had a good temper would be an exaggerated compliment. Having been teammates for so many years, how could Jiraiya not know Tsunade’s temper?

“Taking you to see her isn’t a problem, but I can’t guarantee she’ll help you solve your problems,” Jiraiya poured himself a drink and then replied.

If Muzuki was seriously injured or suffering from some illness, Jiraiya was confident he could get Tsunade to treat him. Tsunade, as a Medical Ninja, had her medical ethics. But if it was about teaching, Jiraiya couldn’t really guarantee it would work. This was a very private matter, and Tsunade had the right to teach or not teach.

“Hmm, Jiraiya-sama, just being able to introduce me is enough. I’ll communicate with Lady Tsunade about other matters myself,” Muzuki smiled and toasted in thanks. Having Jiraiya facilitate the introduction would certainly be much better than suddenly approaching her himself.

Jiraiya laughed and patted Muzuki’s shoulder, saying:

“You should be fine. Your handsomeness is only slightly less than mine, and you have incredibly skillful Cuisine. If you offer to cook for her, she might agree.”

“I remember she really likes to drink sake and eat tender chicken.”

Muzuki secretly noted down that Tsunade liked tender chicken.

After eating and drinking their fill, Minato helped the already tipsy Jiraiya out. Muzuki studied Sealing Technique until 11:30 PM, then washed up and went to bed. The next morning, Muzuki sent a Shadow Clone to handle school affairs. The Ninja Academy was about to start, and there were some things he needed to deal with there, then he prepared to go to the South Border Forest to teach his disciples.

But as Muzuki finished eating and was about to leave, a Ninja knocked on his door.

“Please proceed to the Hokage Building, the Sandaime has something for you,” the Ninja said concisely.

Muzuki nodded, leaving a Shadow Clone. After his main body departed for the Hokage Building, the Shadow Clone headed to the South Border Forest, where Shisui was still waiting.

Thump!

Muzuki knocked on the door of the Hokage Office.

“Come in,” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s voice came from inside the office.

Muzuki pushed the door open and found that besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, there was also a Ninja he didn’t recognize.

“Sandaime-sama,” Muzuki greeted Hiruzen Sarutobi with a respectful expression, while also giving the unfamiliar Ninja a smile as he walked to the desk.

“Is there a mission?” Muzuki asked Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, then chuckled and said, “No, you’ve been promoted.”

“Due to your outstanding performance at the Ninja Academy, combined with your contributions on the battlefield, you are now qualified to be promoted to Jonin.”

Saying this, Hiruzen Sarutobi handed Muzuki a brand new Ninja certificate, which no longer said Special Jonin, but simply Jonin.

“Thank you, Sandaime-sama,” Muzuki’s face showed excitement and gratitude, as if he had accomplished something extremely important, and Hiruzen Sarutobi was his benefactor who had helped him in the process.

Of course, this was an act; Muzuki felt no fluctuation internally.

His promotion from Special Jonin to Jonin was within his expectations. He had displayed such strong power, made significant contributions on the battlefield, and performed well at the Ninja Academy. In wartime, when promotion conditions were more lenient, becoming a Jonin was perfectly normal.

In fact, it was even a bit slower than Muzuki expected, as it had been some time since he returned from the battlefield. Muzuki guessed that Hiruzen Sarutobi was preparing a mass promotion for deserving Ninja, so it was slightly delayed.

Muzuki glanced at the unfamiliar Ninja’s profile out of the corner of his eye; he was also promoted to Jonin.

“You don’t need to thank me. This is what you earned with your own merits and strength, a deserved reward for protecting Konoha,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a satisfied smile.

Muzuki didn’t continue with pleasantries, but his expression remained excited and grateful. He knew that while Hiruzen Sarutobi denied it verbally, he was quite pleased internally.

This promotion was only a rank promotion; his other positions did not change as a result.

The reason was simple: his position at the Ninja Academy could not be further elevated in the short term. He had two people above him: Shimono Hisanobu, the head of the teacher’s class, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the principal.

The head of the teacher’s class was only an ordinary Jonin in strength, but he had worked at the Ninja Academy for a long time and was a veteran Jonin; it was impossible to remove him without good reason. Hiruzen Sarutobi’s position as principal was even more impossible to change; it was a very special position at the moment.

Of course, since it was a promotion to Jonin, considered part of Konoha’s upper echelon, there wouldn’t be no tangible rewards. Muzuki also received two more opportunities to select Ninjutsu from the Ninjutsu Library.

Before Muzuki left, two more Ninja entered the Hokage Office, which further confirmed Muzuki’s thoughts. Normally, not so many people would come to the Hokage Building at once.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Muzuki went directly to the South Border Forest to train.

By noon, Muzuki returned to his home in the Main urban area, because Jiraiya had said yesterday that he would take him to see Tsunade today at noon, and such a matter certainly couldn’t be handled by a Shadow Clone.

“No matter how many times I eat it, I never get tired of it,” Jiraiya, who had also enjoyed lunch, exclaimed with a look of satisfaction.

“Try not to mention topics like her brother or lover in front of her,” Jiraiya reminded, thinking of something.

“I will,” Muzuki nodded, indicating that he had noted all these taboos.

Then, Jiraiya directly took Muzuki to Tsunade’s house.

“At this time, I feel like she should have just woken up. If she’s not home, then we’ll just have to look for her at the nearby casinos,” Jiraiya couldn’t say with 100% certainty that he would find Tsunade at her house.

Although Tsunade didn’t have to search for the child of prophecy like he did, due to the deaths of her brother and lover, she had lost interest in all Ninja matters. If it weren’t for the war, she probably wouldn’t even be in Konoha right now.

Muzuki and Jiraiya were quite lucky. As soon as they entered Tsunade’s courtyard, they saw Tsunade and Shizune sitting on the porch under the eaves.

“Jiraiya, why are you here? If you’re trying to peep, I’ll kill you, you know,” Tsunade asked Jiraiya, crossing her arms.

“Haha, is that the impression I have on you? But now is not the time for research,” Jiraiya laughed loudly, not showing any shyness, and replied.

One more chapter to follow