Naruto: Starting as Tsunade's Desk Mate

Page 22

"Hiruko, what about you? Have you made any progress lately?"

Seeing that Hiruko looked relieved, An Yan couldn't help but chuckle. He deliberately brought up the very thing that was most sensitive to, choosing to put more pressure on Hiruko.

Hiruko knew An Yan's personality very well, and when he heard his question, he subconsciously pursed his lips.

"I haven't had any significant achievements lately, but I have some ideas that you can give me your feedback on."

An Yan became interested: "How so?"

"During my research on bloodline limits, I discovered that these bloodlines can be transplanted. So, is it possible that an ordinary ninja, if he were to transplant the fastest Swift Release, the strongest Steel Release, the most resilient Uzumaki clan member, and the most powerful eye technique of the Uchiha clan member, could he become the strongest ninja in the world?"

Orochimaru fell into thought, while An Yan countered:

"Hiruko, I think you may not have studied bloodline limits thoroughly enough. Although Swift Release is very fast, the fastest in the ninja world is Tobirama-sama's Flying Thunder God. Moreover, if you want to transplant multiple bloodlines, shouldn't you choose close relatives with the same bloodline? That would make it easier to fuse and revert to your ancestral form, right? Besides, fusing bloodlines is very risky. After all, you are taking something from someone else, and it will change your own physiological structure. If you don't do it right, you will die."

Hiruko had his own considerations regarding An Yan's concerns. As an ordinary ninja himself, he did not have An Yan's easygoing attitude. He needed to find a way to improve himself as soon as possible in order to prepare for the Second Shinobi World War that might come more than ten years later.

In the ninja world, bloodline almost determines the upper limit of a ninja's strength. Even if an ordinary ninja like him trained hard for 20 years and reached his limit, he would only be at the level of an ordinary Jonin. Hiruko wanted to change this fate that he could see the end of.

"Hiruko's idea is feasible to some extent, but it requires a lot of biomedical knowledge as a foundation, and also a lot of human experiments."

Orochimaru pondered for a moment and then gave his answer.

"Human experimentation is fine with me, but I hope that when you two research forbidden techniques in the future, you will try to use people from other villages for experiments, and not put your hands into the villages, otherwise, I will not be polite."

An Yan issued a warning in advance; don't say you weren't warned.

Orochimaru and Hiruko exchanged glances and suddenly burst out laughing. "An Yan, don't you ever do human experiments? How can you talk like that? Of course we wouldn't experiment on the villagers."

An Yan put his hands on his hips and said, "I am the inheritor of the Will of Fire. If there are any unpleasant things to say, I will say them upfront."

Chapter 42 Kakashi's Mother

The three chatted and laughed all the way to the Hatake residence.

Before he even entered the door, Tsunade stopped him.

Tsunade looked the three of them up and down, even circling around them, leaving them feeling completely bewildered.

An Yan grabbed Tsunade, looking puzzled, and asked:

"What are you looking at? We're dressed properly, nothing's inappropriate, is there?"

Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest, looking speechless.

"Sakumo Hatake has been promoted to Chunin, and the three of you came empty-handed?"

An Yan, Orochimaru, and the other two looked at each other in bewilderment.

An Yan coughed lightly, forcing himself to save face, and said:

"Are we the kind of people who are rude? Look at this!"

An Yan pulled out his prized possession—the Thousand Chance Umbrella—from his inventory.

This is a matching umbrella that An Yan specially made to match the ninjutsu "Thousand Needles of Rain" after he killed a Rain Ninja in a previous mission. Not only does it have a thousand-needle mechanism hidden in the frame, but it also has a short sword hidden inside. The umbrella surface is decorated with red maple leaf patterns, making it very beautiful.

"This is the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella that the three of us made ourselves. It's a gift specially made for Brother Hatake when he was promoted to Chunin."

Tsunade couldn't take her eyes off the antique-style Thousand Manifestations Umbrella in An Yan's hand. She was quite worldly, but the style of the Thousand Manifestations Umbrella was very different from that of the ninja world, which made her feel very novel.

An Yan noticed Tsunade's gaze and smiled, "Does Tsunade like it? If you do, I'll make one for you next time."

Tsunade didn't refuse and nodded in agreement.

"You said it yourself, An Yan, so I'm looking forward to your gift."

The four of them entered the Hatake residence, and Jiraiya was unsurprisingly present as well.

It's been a while since we last met. Jiraiya seems to have improved quite a bit in this time. He even seems eager to spar with An Yan.

An Yan ignored Jiraiya's seemingly provocative glances. His main task now was to celebrate Hatake's promotion to Chunin, so any thoughts of fighting would have to wait.

Hatake Sakumo was delighted to see everyone arrive and offered to cook for them himself. An Yan, however, doubted Hatake Sakumo's cooking skills and immediately went to help. He and Hatake had been in the same team, so he knew Hatake's cooking level well enough to say that it was barely edible.

Just then, a girl walked in.

Tsunade and the others asked in confusion, "Who are you? Why are you here all of a sudden?"

The girl politely bowed to everyone: "Hello everyone, I am Kasuga Yako, and I am Sakumo's childhood friend."

Jiraiya and Hiruko exchanged a glance, both revealing lewd smiles.

The two men went straight over and helped Kasuga Yako to a seat at the second seat of the table, and then everyone started chatting lively.

To be precise, it was the crowd questioning Kasuga Yako.

When did Sister Yako and Brother Hatake meet?

Tsunade was the first to ask a question.

Kasuga Asako responded gently, "We've known each other since we were three years old, and we've always been neighbors."

Jiraiya exclaimed in surprise, "Knowing each other at three years old is way too early! This is a true childhood sweetheart relationship. I'm so envious!"

Tsunade looked at the ordinary-looking Kasuga Asako and asked with some curiosity:

"Is Yako-neechan a ninja? She doesn't seem like one."

Kasuga Yako was silent for a moment, as if she remembered something, but she still maintained a gentle and soft demeanor.

"I'm not a ninja, I don't have the qualifications to be one."

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the others were all surprised by this answer.

When Hiruko heard Yako's words, he looked even more dazed. Who doesn't have a childhood sweetheart?

Hiruko once had a childhood sweetheart, but unfortunately, after Konoha discovered that she did not have the aptitude to be a ninja, the two gradually lost contact.

Ninjas and ordinary people are ultimately not on the same level. Not to mention that ninjas generally have short lifespans, even the strongest ninjas try not to choose ordinary people as partners. After all, they are sleeping in the same bed, and ordinary people can easily be controlled by the genjutsu of a genin, thus taking the opportunity to attack the ninja. And who can guard against their lover at all times? Ordinary people are ultimately a weakness, so it's better to avoid contact altogether.

However, it seems that Sakumo Hatake does not think that way; he still maintains contact with his childhood friend.

Although Tsunade and the others didn't understand, they could only offer their silent blessings.

When An Yan and Hatake Sakumo came out of the kitchen carrying dishes, they saw a group of people asking a pretty young lady questions.

Sakumo Hatake strode forward, placed the dishes he was carrying on the table, and went directly to Yako, awkwardly saying:

"Yazi, what brings you here?"

Kasuga no Yako had spoken yet.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Hiruko said in unison, "Yako, that sounds so affectionate."

The three of them had just agreed to embarrass Sakumo Hatake.

However, Sakumo Hatake was five or six years older than the others, and he had long since developed a thick skin. He took a deep breath, quickly adjusted his emotions, and sat down next to Kasuga Asako as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Now that we've all met, let me introduce you. This is Kasuga Asako, my childhood friend, and the person I want to protect for the rest of my life."

Sakumo Hatake's open and frank introduction was like a public confession, which made Kasuga Yako blush. She covered her face and punched Sakumo Hatake.

The punch was neither painful nor itchy, but Sakumo Hatake seemed to have received a reward.

Seeing this, Tsunade and the others thought to themselves: "Brother Hatake, I never expected you to be such a person."

An Yan glanced at Kasuga Yako in surprise. This pretty young lady must be Kakashi's mother.

This person doesn't appear at all in Kakashi's memories, and may have died before Kakashi could remember anything. No one knows how he died—World War II, World War III, difficult childbirth, sudden illness, there are too many possibilities.

The food was served, and everyone sat down together to eat and drink.

An Yan and the others first congratulated Hatake Sakumo on his promotion, and then presented him with gifts.

Hatake Sakumo was grinning from ear to ear.

The group started chatting about some lighthearted topics.

What future, what ideals?

Jiraiya expressed his dream: that one day he could win the hearts of all the beautiful girls.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. This was one of the reasons she disliked Jiraiya; nobody likes a womanizer.

An Yan smiled.

Children always want everything, which adults know is unbearable.

However, a large part of Jiraiya's lecherousness is probably because his physical abilities are much stronger than the average person, so his testosterone affects his brain. Tsk, a human being controlled by hormones his whole life.

In the setting, Jiraiya is a level 10 elite, meaning his physical attributes are maxed out.

Chapter 43 Jiraiya's Challenge

However, there are differences between Elite 10 characters, such as Jiraiya and Hashirama Senju.

Some people can only reach the level of "Refinement 10", while others have a limit of 10.

Just like the genjutsu skills of Itachi Uchiha and Orochimaru.

After a relaxed and enjoyable home-cooked meal, An Yan and the others prepared to leave, giving the childhood sweethearts a private space.

The group exchanged a few more pleasantries with Hatake Sakumo, who came out to see them off, at the Hatake family's gate before leaving.

However, after taking only a few steps, Jiraiya could no longer hold back. He blocked An Yan's path, baring his teeth and brandishing his claws, he said:

"An Yan, I've gotten stronger lately. How about we have a match?"

Tsunade shielded An Yan and grabbed Jiraiya by the collar.

"Jiraiya, are you asking for a beating again?"

Jiraiya stared directly at Tsunade, refusing to back down, and said, "This is a matter between men, you should leave."

Tsunade raised her fist, about to punch Jiraiya, when An Yan patted her on the shoulder from behind. Tsunade turned around in confusion.

An Yan smiled and said to her, "It's okay, Tsunade, I'll handle it. You don't think I can't beat him, do you?"

Tsunade thought for a moment and then lowered her fist.

Orochimaru and Hiruko exchanged a glance and then tried to dissuade them, saying, "Do we really have to fight? Weren't we fine just now while we were eating?"

Orochimaru knew perfectly well how powerful the techniques An'yan had learned from Tobirama Senju were, and he did not want An'yan to harm Jiraiya.