Chapter 831 : The 3 Qualities of the Sannin!

Tsunade's eyes twitched as she thought, ‘Is he turning this on me? Sigh, Sensei's shamelessness has rubbed on him too…’

Even though Fujin's actions were impolite, Tsunade wasn't offended. She was just teasing him but didn't expect Fujin to respond without a shred of shame or embarrassment. She sighed and asked, “Did you learn anything from observing me?”

A helpless smile appeared on Fujin's face as he answered, “Yes. Healing souls is extremely difficult and complicated. To think I wouldn't have a clue after observing you so carefully for nearly three hours.”

Even though Fujin looked at her technique for so long, he still had no idea how to manipulate his chakra as she did to heal souls. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. Even though Fujin was good at healing, Yin Release and Yang Release, Tsunade was at a whole different level.

Fujin sighed internally, ‘I should have expected this. Had it been easy, Orochimaru would have known it too. After all, he had been her teammate for decades and his mastery of Yin and Yang Release is greater than mine. Though I don't recall him healing others, he has a jutsu that eliminates all his physical injuries. So, even in healing, he might be better than me. Yet, he couldn't do anything about losing just his arms.’

Fujin's gaze fell on the unconscious prisoner, and he recalled, ‘Unlike healing the physical body, healing the Soul needs a lot of Yin chakra while the Yang chakra is negligible. However, the way she manipulated Yin chakra… It's almost like the difference between a normal Jounin using Wind Release and me using it…’

Tsunade chuckled at Fujin's expression. She said, “Learn to walk before you run. Healing flesh is merely a small part of Medical Ninjutsu. Even though you're good at it, you've barely scratched the surface yet.”

To Tsunade's surprise, Fujin nodded and accepted, “I'm aware. Apart from poisons and healing physical injuries, I'm no different from an ordinary Medical Ninja. Actually, I might be even worse off than them due to lack of practice.”

Tsunade thought, ‘Not bad. He hasn't let his success get to his head. At the very least, he's aware of his strengths and shortcomings and isn't afraid to accept them.’

Fujin added, “That said, this has intrigued me quite a bit. You haven't completely healed his soul, have you? Though it feels slightly more stable, it is still very weak. In fact, it hasn't even reached the previous step when we were slicing his soul.”

Tsunade nodded, “Yes. Healing this soul entirely is impossible, even for me. I'm trying to retrace our steps and rebuild the soul step-by-step. According to my calculations, I can heal the soul by retracing a couple of steps, bringing it to around two-fifths of the entire soul. Any more, and the soul will feel strain and could collapse just like the previous one did.

The body and the soul will have to realign with each other once again. Once they're in sync, I could try to heal Sensei again. Unfortunately, that'll take around a couple of years to happen. Any subsequent healing will take an even longer time.”

Tsunade sighed and continued, “That's a worry for later. Right now, simply retracing a couple of steps is very difficult too. I'll need three sessions for every step.”

Tsunade stretched and muttered, “It's getting quite late, and we have been working the entire day. I'll continue tomorrow…”

Fujin raised an eyebrow and asked, “Would it be fine to leave his soul like this?”

Tsunade nodded, “Yes. The only problem is the amount of pain he'll experience. However, that isn't an issue since he's unconscious. While healing Sensei, I'll monitor him myself. As for him, I'll have other medical ninjas keep an eye throughout the night.”

She looked into Fujin's eyes and said, “Since I'll only be healing him tomorrow, I won't need your help. Do you still want to come?”

Without any hesitation, Fujin nodded and answered, “Yes. Though it won't be used commonly, this seems quite a useful technique, especially if I mess up while using the Spirit Transformation jutsu. I'd like to learn it. That said…”

Fujin paused for a moment before continuing, “I'm not sure if I can learn it just by observing you. So, I was hoping you could guide me.”

Tsunade chuckled, “Of course, you won't. Alright, I'll give you some tips between the sessions. However, don't get your hopes too high. Even Sensei had failed to grasp it while Orochimaru barely managed to grab some rudimentary healing technique. That is why he couldn't do anything about his soul. Even though your control over Yin Release is impressive for your age, you still have a long way to go.”

Fujin smiled and said, “Thank you.”

The two finally split up. Tsunade arranged for a couple of medical ninjas to keep an eye on the unconscious prisoner while thinking, ‘I can see now why Sensei took such a keen interest in him. He is talented like Orochimaru, diligent like me and shameless like Jiraiya. Those are three of our best qualities. Though, knowing Sensei, I'm sure it's his shamelessness that intrigued him.”

Tsunade chuckled as she wondered what the initial interactions between Hiruzen and Fujin were like. Meanwhile, Fujin returned to his house and thought, ‘Not bad, her nature is consistent with what I remember. Getting her help shouldn't be difficult, assuming I don't bother her when she's pissed. As long as Naruto and Jiraiya aren't around her and she isn't buried under paperwork, that shouldn't be an issue.

The only techniques I'd struggle to get from her are the forbidden techniques and that seal on her forehead. Luckily, with my Tetragram Seal, I don't need her Byakugou Seal. In terms of storing chakra, my seal is better. Though I lose out in terms of healing, that isn't an issue either. As for the forbidden techniques…’

A sly smile appeared on Fujin's face. While Tsunade would become the next Hokage, Hiruzen was still alive. There was no doubt which one had a greater knowledge of forbidden techniques. Fujin had no reason to bother Tsunade with this matter, especially when Hiruzen would no longer have the duties of the Hokage and the two had such ‘good’ relations.

Luckily, Hiruzen couldn't hear Fujin's thoughts, or he may not want to wake up any time soon.

——

The next day, Fujin and Tsunade began working again. Tsunade healed the soul for another three hours before taking a break and guiding Fujin.

At the same time, Naruto and Sasuke finally clashed on the rooftop of the hospital, until Kakashi stepped in and put an end to it. Jiraiya observed the clash as well and thought, ‘He used a Shadow Clone to complete the Rasengan? Hmm, not bad. Though it's rather inefficient, he isn't lacking in chakra. That said, I didn't expect him to throw it at a friend… Is something up between these two?’

Kakashi lectured Sasuke, who ignored it, instead paying attention to the small hole Naruto made in the water tank and smirked. He jumped off the building and was shocked to see the other side of the water tank, which further fueled his insecurities.

Kakashi muttered, “Was it you who taught him that technique? Naruto is too young to handle it. He could have killed Sasuke. Even against Akatsuki…”

Jiraiya immediately called out Kakashi's hypocrisy, “Look who's talking…”

While Kakashi explained the dynamics between his two students to Jiraiya, Sasuke left towards the new clan compounds of the Uchiha clan, still distraught about how much stronger Naruto's jutsu was. Unlike the original story, the Sound Four were already dead and Orochimaru didn't dare to send his remaining subordinates to fetch Sasuke. So, after Kakashi had a talk with his student and tried to help Sasuke see what was more important, no one attacked him and manipulated him further. As a result, Kakashi's little lecture was slightly more effective.

Sasuke gathered his thoughts before returning to his compounds. As soon as he did, several curious eyes landed on him. Moments later, several small figures rushed towards Sasuke.

“Sasuke! Are you alright?”
“We were worried for you!”
“What happened? Why were you admitted for so long?”
“Was it that snake again?”

The small figures were the orphan Uchiha kids, who were spared during the massacre. Though none of them were a ninja yet, nearly everyone had joined the academy. Since he wanted to rebuild the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen had paid special attention to them, ensuring that they received the best possible guidance. Of course, even more attention was paid to engraining the Will of Fire into them, to ensure that the new Uchiha clan never followed in the footsteps of the old one.

Since Sasuke was the oldest and also the top student of his batch, he was the role model for all of them. Everyone wanted to follow his example. That is why the young kids were distraught when Sasuke was admitted for so long.

Sasuke smiled and reassured them, “Don't worry. I'm fine. Are you training properly?”

The young kids enthusiastically updated Sasuke on their progress. Their words distracted his mind from the turmoil he had been experiencing. Of course, that wouldn't be for long as all their parents and older siblings had been killed by his brother, something he could never forget.

However, before those thoughts could appear in his mind, an 8-year-old boy mischievously giggled and said, “Sasuke, you don't need to worry about the snake. I doubt he'd ever bother you again.”

Sasuke was puzzled. He asked, “What do you mean?”
The boy continued giggling as he explained, “You didn't hear because it happened while you were asleep. Fujin wiped out Otogakure and Orochimaru scurried away like a rat without daring to face him. Everyone in the village was talking about it for weeks.”

Sasuke's pupils dilated and his eyes widened. He was caught so off guard by the news that he couldn't hide the shock on his face.