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A few minutes ago. - Tsunade's Apartment.
The last Senju watched the child seal the money and books back into the scroll.
"I'll be back in a week. Make sure not to skip town… Now, Lady Tsunade, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of reading to do… Miss Shizune, Lord Jiraiya…"
With those words Tsunade watched Daichi and Kensei leave the room. As she quietly stood there Jiraiya spoke up.
"He's really talented, you know. And he's right. He could learn a lot from you. You said it yourself, his chakra control is excellent."
At those words Tsunade turned to Jiraiya. Jiraiya noted that she had an unusually serious expression which was unlike her these days.
"What's wrong?" Seeing her master's face, Shizune couldn't help but ask.
Tsunade didn't utter any words for several seconds. She was still trying to digest the information she learned after examining the boy's chakra network. After a while she answered.
"His chakra network and his control… It's…. It's perfect." Tsunade said in a low voice.
While Jiraiya only looked on in confusion to that statement, Shizune's eyes widened because she knew what her master was talking about.
"What?! Lady Tsunade, that's… That can't be!" The young apprentice almost shouted.
"Are you saying I made a mistake?" Tsunade slightly narrowed her eyes.
"Of course not! But… Something like that. It should be impossible… right?"
Tsunade sighed and answered her apprentice. "Yes. It should be impossible… But I've checked. Thoroughly. His chakra control is precise. Absolutely perfect."
At this point Jiraiya interrupted them. "Umm… Yeah! For those of us not well versed in medical ninjutsu… Do you mind explaining? What exactly are you guys talking about?"
Tsunade looked at her former teammate and began to explain the situation.
"When someone uses chakra for anything, they unknowingly waste a lot of it. So to reduce this wastage and to use chakra more efficiently we came up with chakra control exercises. These exercises help one improve their control over the chakra their body expends."
Jiraiya agreed with that. "Right! Techniques like tree walking and water walking and such."
"Yes. The tree walking and water walking are just those for the standard ninjas. For medics there are even more difficult control refining techniques that they need to master." Shizune spoke.
Tsunade nodded and continued. "Now these techniques help increase a shinobi's chakra control and bring it to their absolute highest level as possible. But there will still be some small amount of chakra wastage. It's not something that we can overcome."
Jiraiya frowned at that. "Isn't your chakra control perfect? You're the best medic in the world. Some of the techniques you use can't be accomplished if you don't have perfect control… Right?"
Tsunade shook her head in disagreement. "My chakra control is only near perfect."
Seeing Jiraiya tilt his head in confusion, Tsunade elaborated. "How do I put this…? Over the course of the last decade, Shizune has mastered all the control techniques she could and brought her chakra control to the highest level she could achieve. If I had to put it in mathematical terms I'd say that her control over her chakra is over 90%. For reference, an ordinary ninja who learned tree walking and water walking would only have about 75 to 85 percent control."
"Wait! I thought by learning those techniques we would reduce wasting chakra completely."
Tsunade replied. "No! We only limit the wastage and only learn to use it more efficiently. There is a great difference in the amount of chakra wastage between someone who hasn't learned the techniques and someone who has. But even after we learn those techniques there is still a small bit of chakra leakage. With more control training this problem can only be reduced. And those being born in certain clans also have an advantage and their bloodline can help with minimizing the chakra loss. You can say that while Shizune's control is over 90%, mine is about 95%. An advantage of being born in the Senju clan. But still… it's impossible to completely control our chakra without wasting even the tiniest bit… At least that's what I thought till now…"
Jiraiya crossed his arms and kept quiet. Unlike what he liked to portray he wasn't an idiot. He was starting to see where Tsunade was going with this. "So you're saying that child…"
"Yes. He has 100% control over his chakra. I couldn't detect a single speck of his chakra leaking. He had absolute control over his energy the whole time…" The astonishment in Tsunade's voice couldn't be hidden.
"Still… It's only just a small difference. Is it that hard to increase your control to… 100%?" The toad sage asked his friend.
The female sannin sighed and answered. "The difference between each of those last 5%, is like heaven and earth. It's not something that can be done with training."
She took a deep breath and let it out. "That child… His chakra control… It's even superior to mine. In fact I don't think there is or has been anyone alive who has such absolute mastery over their energy."
Jiraiya and Shizune's eyes widened at that statement…
"Lord Jiraiya, Is he part of some clan?" Shizune turned to the toad sage and enquired.
"Not that we know of. He was an orphan. They found him buried underneath some rubble during the rescue operations after the nine tails attack." Jiraiya replied after recalling the details he read in Daichi's file.
"The answer is in his genetics. Something like this can't be achieved with training. He must have some kind of a special mutation or gene that helps with his chakra control. I'm also sure this is also the cause for his abnormally large chakra reserves… Although this is just a theory, I believe this is the most likely answer." Tsunade spoke up after a few seconds.
Hearing that Jiraiya thought about the things the boy was capable of. 'So that's how he learned the Rasengan and other nature transformation techniques so quickly… Still… Just because he has a natural advantage doesn't make his achievements any less impressive. Even with his advantage, I'm sure that without a great amount of hard work he couldn't have learned those things so quickly.'
"If he's so impressive then why did you initially reject him? Why give him that insanely short time in the first place?" The toad sage asked Tsunade.
The slug Sannin sighed and replied. "I just wanted to see how he'd react. I wanted to see if he would give up or take up the challenge and at least try and learn as much as possible before the deadline… Truth is, I'd be impressed if he was able to learn 4 or 5 books at most within that time."
Jiraiya smirked at that. "Well that didn't work out the way you wanted, did it?"
Tsunade replied with confidence. "He's an arrogant brat if he thinks he can learn all of that information in one week. I'm not gonna teach a brat with a big head and overconfidence just because of a lucky break he was born with. He might have been able to master chakra control techniques easily but that was due to his inborn special ability. Learning the mountain of information on those books on the other hand… That's an entirely different thing."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Do you really believe he wouldn't be able to do it?"
"Yes. Since he arrogantly made the bet to memorize all 24 books, I won't be satisfied even if he learns 23 books by the end of the week. And he won't even be able to do that. It's an impossible task."
At that moment Jiraiya thought about the conversation he had with his sensei almost a year ago.
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"But that can't be! Did he really master the Rasengan to that degree?"
Hiruzen nodded. "I saw it myself. And he claimed he did it in one week. I have no reason to doubt him."
Jiraiya was speechless when he heard that. "But… But… T-that's impossible."
"Well, he did it. That boy did the impossible."
Looking at his sensei's serious face Jiraiya knew the leaf village now had another immeasurable talent growing inside its walls.
"A week from now I'll be 500,000 Ryo richer. Hey Shizune! Should we go to the upper floors of that fancy restaurant? Hmm… Or maybe… I wonder if I can find a good gambling den here?"
Tsunade's voice brought Jiraiya out of his thoughts. He looked at his former teammate already making plans as if she won.
"Tsunade! A fair warning. I wouldn't count on your victory just yet!" Jiraiya had a smile on his face as he said those words.
Tsunade was surprised. "Oh really?! You really think he can do it?"
The toad Sannin shrugged. "Anything is possible. You should wait and see the results for yourself." With those words he turned around and headed outside. "Now if you ladies will excuse me, I'm off to find some inspiration for my new book." Having said those words he jumped off the balcony and disappeared.
"Lord Jiraiya seems to believe in that boy. Do you really think he is capable of such a task?" Shizune asked her master.
The slug Sannin waved her hand as if it wasn't any big deal. "Bha! That idiot is wrong. There's nothing for me to worry about."
With those words Tsunade left the place and Shizune followed. She entered a local watering hole and drank to her heart's content.
—-
A couple days slowly passed. It was very early in the morning and Tsunade was walking around the quiet streets. As she turned a corner she saw Daichi jogging. He was coming towards her from the opposite direction.
"Morning lady Tsunade… It's a great time for a walk isn't it…?" Daichi had a polite smile as he conversed with her.
The female sannin looked at the kid in surprise. She expected him to be stressed out and buried in his books trying to learn as much as possible. Not running around looking like he had no cares in the world.
"Shouldn't you be studying?" Tsunade asked the kid.
Daichi's smile grew at that question. "Oh I am. You don't need to worry about me. I'll be ready when the time comes… Good day lady Tsunade." With those words Daichi took off again.
'Has he already given up and this is just a bravado?... Eh, whatever! If he wants to lose on purpose that's not my problem.' Tsunade didn't think much of it and resumed her morning walk.
The next few days during her morning walks Tsunade saw him jogging and then exercising near an abandoned field.
She was surprised as to what trick he had up his sleeve that made him so confident in his victory.
Days passed and it was the sixth night. Tsunade was in a small bar quietly drinking her sake. 'Tomorrow is the day. Would he really be able to do it?' Doubt was slowly forming in her mind. She quickly finished her drink and headed home. She had to prepare for tomorrow.
Tsunade quickly reached her home and took a pen and several sheets of paper. At that moment her apprentice walked in.
"Lady Tsunade!? You're early… What are you doing?" The young apprentice asked.
"Preparing a questionnaire for the brat. I'm going to put the most difficult and complicated questions in those books." She smirked and started her task.
Shizune winced at that. "Don't you think maybe you're going a bit too far my lady?"
Tsunade stopped and looked at her student for a second before replying. "Nope!" And she went right back to her work.
"Oink. Oink!" The pet pig Tonton in Shizune's hands said.
Shizune turned around and replied in a low voice to her pet. "Yes. I also think she's only doing this for the money."
"You say something Shizune?" Tsunade had a small tick mark on her forehead as she looked at her student from the corner of her eyes.
'Ehh!' "Of course not my lady." "Oink oink!" With that the poor student of the slug Sannin got out of the house with her cute pig as quickly as she could.
—-
The day of judgment was here. All the parties had gathered in Tsunade's apartment.
To the adults, Daichi looked nervous and looked as if he was trying to hide that fact. Tsunade's confidence grew as she saw that.
"So you've memorized everything in all those books?" The slug Sannin asked.
"Y-yup! All that. Y-yes. I learned it." Daichi answered. His answer created frowns on Shizune, Kensei and Jiraiya's faces but made Tsunade a lot happier. More confident in her victory, she proceeded with her plan.
"I'll be the judge of that." Tsunade took out several pages of paper and handed it to Daichi.
"There are 300 questions on those pages that cover the contents of the 24 books I gave you."
"That's a lot of questions…" Daichi mumbled as he bewilderingly looked at the pages in front of him.
"Yes. You have exactly 5 hours to complete the test… Starting now!"
"Wait what?" Daichi looked shocked but then scrambled to the nearby table and chair and started writing the answers to the questions in front of him.
"Oh and one more thing. If you get even a single question wrong or if you fail to answer any one, you fail the test and I win!" The smug tone in Tsunade's voice couldn't be masked.
Daichi looked like he was in panic and was quickly writing down the answers.
Jiraiya winched at the conditions of the test. "Yeesh! That's some harsh conditions, Tsuna… Maybe we should give the kid some space so he can write those answers in peace."
"Not a chance. I'm staying right here." Tsunade sat down on a nearby chair and focused on Daichi.
Shizune sighed as she looked at the kid and then at her master who was watching said kid like a hawk.
'A test with difficult questions and a very limited time to answer the questions. He only has one minute to answer each question. If he misses one or gets one question wrong he loses, and more than that… He is no doubt feeling the pressure of being watched by so many eyes. Lady Tsunade placed the chair in the middle of the room so Daichi would feel the pressure from those present. He has to recall the information and write it in such harsh conditions… I would never be able to do it if I was in his place... If he had something like the Sharingan then it wouldn't have been a problem for him but… The outcome is already decided. He'll fail.'
Jiraiya was curious as to the outcome so he decided to stay put. He and Kensei were quiet and sat down. Shizune also took a seat near her master.
Time quickly flew by and everyone had their eyes on Daichi. He was writing non stop at an excellent pace. 4 hours and over 40 minutes had gone by. Suddenly Daichi put his pencil down and stood up with the pile of sheets in his hands.
"I'm done!"
Everyone was surprised at that exclamation. "Already? Daichi, do you need to look over your answers? You still have some time left." Kensei asked his grandson in concern.
"No need. I'm done." Daichi had a smug smile on his face. He handed the papers to Tsunade and sat back in his chair.
Everyone was curious as to the results. Tsunade started going through his answers one by one. She had a smug look on her face at the beginning but as she graded the answers the smile slowly vanished.
Around 40 minutes went by and Tsunade finished her evaluation. She looked at the papers with a stunned expression. She then looked at Daichi and asked.
"How? How did you do it?"
The question shocked the adults in the room as they could already guess the results of the test.
"How did I do what? You're gonna have to be more specific." Daichi said it in such a fake tone that small veins started popping up on Tsunade's forehead when she heard it.
"You little brat!... You got all the questions right! How did you do it?"
Daichi shrugged and answered. "Like I said. I memorized and understood everything in those books these last few days."
"I'm asking how?"
At that Daichi's smile widened. "I have the ability to recall all my memories with perfect clarity. And I mean all my memories. And I also abused the hell out of shadow clone jutsu."
The adults, Kensei included, were surprised that Daichi had such an ability.
Kensei looked at his grandson. 'This is the first time I'm hearing that… It feels like everyday he's displaying new abilities.'
"I made good on my end. I memorized the whole thing and I aced your test. Guess this means I'm your apprentice now huh!" Daichi spoke with a small laugh.
Tsunade's eyes widened in realization. "You tricked me." Those words came out before she could stop them.
"I didn't trick you. I just didn't mention that I had the capability to win the bet… Come on. Did you really think I would make a bet as important as that without having confidence that I could absolutely win… Did you really think I'm such an idiot?"
"Then why did you look so nervous at the beginning?" Jiraiya asked Daichi.
"If I didn't and I came here all confident looking then she might have pulled out another trick that would have made things even more difficult for me than it already was. I needed her to let her guard down." Daichi replied.
"And you didn't feel the need to share any of this with me because…" It was Kensei who asked that question.
"The best way to fool your enemies is to first fool your allies… You taught me that… Remember." Daichi was smiling as his plan worked. Kensei's genuine reaction to Daichi's nervous act at the beginning made Tsunade drop her guard.
[Reputation increased with Jiraiya, Shizune Kato, and Kensei Yasaji.]
[Reputation massively increased with Tsunade Senju.]
"You little brat…! I'm seriously pissed off right now." Tsunade said one thing but her face showed a different emotion.
Daichi looked her in the eyes. "If you're angry… then why are you smiling?"
Yes. Despite saying she was furious, Tsunade had a wide grin on her face as she looked at the child.
"So what do you say, Lady Tsunade. Do I have the honor of becoming your second student?" Daichi slightly bowed and was polite as he asked this question.
Tsunade reigned in her emotions and looked at the boy. She thought about his perfect chakra control, his absolute memory recall and his cunningness. She also remembered the things Jiraiya and Kensei said about the boy.
After several seconds of silence she spoke. "A deal is a deal. From now on, call me Tsunade sensei."
Daichi raised his head and gave a wide smile. "Yes, Tsunade sensei."
The slug sannin walked forward and placed her hand softly on Daichi's head. "But before we begin there's one thing I need to do."
"What's that?" Daichi asked with great curiosity.
Tsunade gave a sickly sweet smile that sent shivers up Daichi's spine.
[You have sensed killing intent.]
This warning notification did not help Daichi at all.
Jiraiya and Shizune instantly recognized that smile. Only one thought went through their minds. 'O oh!'
"Don't ever hustle me again." With that she flicked her finger on Daichi's forehead sending him flying out of the building.
"Oh my god! Daichi!" Kensei yelled and ran after his flying grandson.
"Shizune!" Tsunade shouted.
"Um, yes my lady."
"Go and heal that brat if he's injured." Tsunade said and went to her room and Shizune took off as well.
"Was that really necessary?" Jiraiya asked his friend.
"Yes." Tsunade gave a single word reply and started on her first drink of the day.
Jiraiya slightly grimaced and looked at the holes in the walls left by the flying Daichi. 'Yeesh! Tsunade, You haven't changed one bit… I hope you're prepared, kid.'
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Author's Note:
A Rare 3.4k words chapter. I just didn't want to drag this on for another chapter.