Time flies like a shuttle, passing in the blink of an eye.
Moon: "..."
When someone is focused on something, time always seems to fly.
It's now been 28 days since the Turtle Shell Binding Memorial Day, with only two days left until the deadline for I Want to Be a Top Student - III. As for the Summoning Jutsu practice, only yesterday did the first phase finally wrap up, with the system handing over the second phase's training materials. The task's completion still seemed a long way off.
No—ready or not, it's ending in two days.
That day, Tsunade got up early as usual. She quickly wrapped her chest binding cloth, put on her Shinigami robes, and let her golden hair fall freely over her shoulders instead of tying it into her usual ponytail.
Truth be told, Tsunade wasn't a fan of this "crappy yellow" hair color. Her thoughts on Senju Nawaki made that pretty obvious. And yet, somehow, while her grandfather, father, and mother all had sleek black hair, she and her younger brother were the only ones born with this golden mop.
Tsunade was sure she didn't have any neighbors surnamed "Wang." In fact, she'd never even heard of anyone with that name in this world. And her father was perfectly healthy—no fertility issues that might've required outside help.
Anyway, after freshening up, Tsunade said goodbye to her parents and stepped out the door.
"GOOD MORNING, BIG BRO!!!"
A deafening yell erupted, jolting the still-sleeping Senju Nawaki awake. He shot up, wailing in panic.
Before Tsunade stood a group of brats of all ages—every one of them born and raised in Konoha, the new generation, the bright future of the village. Right now, they were staring at her with sparkling eyes full of admiration. Tsunade kept her stern expression, giving a subtle nod in return—her usual show of silent authority.
This was the result of her hard work.
[Mission: The Many Faces of Leadership]
Mission Summary: Your image as Konoha's "Big Sis" has left a strong impression. It's time to change that.
Mission Goal: Change how others perceive you.
Reward: 1 gold coin
Failure Penalty: Loss of Lightning Affinity
Completion Status: 81% | Days Remaining: 52
After nearly a month of effort, Tsunade had successfully transitioned from being known as the "Big Sis" of Konoha to the fearsome and revered "Big Bro of Konoha." All her little underlings would now proudly boast, "My Big Bro's chest scar is as wide as a bowl," giving Tsunade a delicious sense of authority and power.
That said, with 81% progress, she was almost guaranteed to finish the Many Faces of Leadership mission before the deadline. But the looming failure of I Want to Be a Top Student - III still left her feeling sour.
There are twelve months in a year, and each month brings five new missions. Out of those five, only two offer more than three gold coins as a reward—and they're always the hardest. (This month's were The Fall of a Demigod and Tsunade's Bride Quest.)
To keep up her record of earning over twenty gold coins a year, she needed to complete at least one and a half missions a month. Last month she barely scraped by with one, and this month she was on track to complete none. It was frustrating beyond words.
Was this just a cursed year?
Tsunade was straight-up depressed by fate—but in front of her little followers, she still maintained her Big Bro dignity.
At that moment, a fur-lined coat with an open front gently draped over her shoulders.
Tsunade turned to look—it was a delicate-faced young boy, the oldest of the little crew. His name was Kato Dan, only a few months younger than Tsunade, and one of her most loyal fanboys. But Tsunade had a particular sensitivity toward the surname "Kato." Even after confirming multiple times that no one in his family was named Kato Eiko, she still couldn't quite shake her unease.
Anyway, he was one of those kids always dreaming out loud—"I want to be Hokage!" and all that jazz.
Tsunade honestly believed this was some kind of illness. A contagious mental disorder plaguing the entire village of Konoha.
"Big Bro, who are we off to fight today?"
Unlike Jiraiya, Kato Dan's voice carried a soft, gentle tone. Hearing those words in that voice created a strong sense of dissonance for Tsunade. She had no doubt this kid wasn't ordinary. One day, he'd grow up to be a real lady-killer. Who knew how many smitten girls he'd ruin in the future? And if he ever mastered the Kato Clan's special techniques...
Just thinking about it gave her goosebumps. Tsunade figured she'd better keep this lukewarm attitude toward him—for his own good. Some girls, after all, couldn't be won over with gentle words and finger tricks alone.
"Whoever Big Bro says we're fighting, that's who we fight!"
This time, it was the youngest and most hot-blooded of the group—four-year-old Uchiha Fugaku.
Yep, Uchiha. The future clan head of the Senju Clan's old rivals had somehow ended up under the command of the Senju princess, even spouting nonsense like "I'll offer my heart to Big Bro!" As a result, Fugaku's poor behind had taken quite a beating lately. Every time he went home, it was total chaos.
Still—faith doesn't bruise.
He truly was a member of the battle-crazed Uchiha Clan.
Tsunade felt a little awkward seeing the burning worship in Fugaku's eyes.
But she wasn't in the mood to advance the Many Faces mission today. She waved her hand and announced, "The Super Peace Busters' operations are on hold. Everyone, go home and find your moms. We regroup in two days. Dismissed!"
With that, she left the confused bunch behind and walked off on her own.
Watching Tsunade vanish in the distance, Fugaku turned to Kato Dan, who'd unofficially become the group's "second-in-command."
"What's 'Super Peace Busters'? Isn't our group called Seireitei? Are we changing the name?"
Fugaku was still riding high after being promoted to Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads by Tsunade a few days ago. The excitement hadn't faded, and now, faced with a possible rebranding, he looked like a kid lost in a flood.
"Uh... probably."
Dan's gaze lingered where Tsunade had disappeared, clearly distracted. He remembered that the group's original name was "The Mischief Makers." Back then, Tsunade had covered her right eye with a black eyepatch, called herself "One-Eyed Princess," and wielded the "God's Spear" (actually a wooden stick). She'd gathered the group's founding members from her old minions—and Dan was one of them.
...
Elsewhere, after ditching the brats, Tsunade hurried to her usual training spot.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Jiraiya's loud shout rang across the empty training ground. A puff of smoke exploded beside him, and a misshapen clone flopped onto the ground, letting out a pitiful scream before vanishing in another puff of white mist.
At least something showed up—that was progress.
Unlike the Summoning Jutsu, Shadow Clone Jutsu might also be ranked B-class in difficulty, but it created full physical copies of the user. The user's chakra would be divided equally among the clones, so while it didn't require a huge chakra reserve, it still wasn't exactly beginner-friendly.
And for someone like Tsunade, who considered herself a "learning-challenged" student—it was hell.
"Give it up, Jiraiya."
(End of Chapter)
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