“Whose adorable kid is this?” Tsunade asked with a faint smile, looking at the boy.
“Don’t tell me he’s yours, Nonō?” As for Hanekawa’s brief glance, she didn’t pay it any mind.
He was just a child, after all.
There was no reason for her to get worked up over it.
If it had been Jiraiya, she would have thrown a punch already.
“His name is Hanekawa, a child from the orphanage,” Nonō Yakushi explained softly.
“Hanekawa?” Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
“The same Hanekawa who thoroughly dismantled Asuma?” Nonō instinctively glanced down at Hanekawa.
Although Asuma Sarutobi was the son of the Hokage, a schoolyard duel between young kids wasn’t the kind of intelligence that would spread wildly through official channels, so she hadn’t heard about it yet.
“I just got lucky,” Hanekawa offered a humble smile.
(Asuma somewhere in the village: Aminoos!) Hearing this, a look of profound surprise flashed across Nonō’s features.
She finally understood exactly why Hiruzen Sarutobi had gone out of his way to snatch Hanekawa from Danzo Shimura’s grasp.
The boy was undeniably worth it.
But at the same time, a trace of lingering worry settled in her heart.
The more brilliant Hanekawa proved to be, the less likely it was that Danzo would ever truly give up on him.
“Did you bring this little guy to see me for a specific reason?” Tsunade asked with a light chuckle.
“Hanekawa is a massive fan of yours, so he really wanted to introduce himself,” Nonō said, gently patting Hanekawa’s head.
“You’re a Genjutsu specialist, so how did you end up as a fan of mine?” Tsunade asked, slightly amused.
Because I’m a supporter of your massive assets.
But obviously, that wasn’t something he could say out loud.
Hanekawa cleared his throat and spoke politely, “Because I think medical ninja are incredibly formidable.
You can heal injuries and save lives on the battlefield.” “Is that so?” Tsunade blinked, slightly stunned.
A sudden memory seemed to flash through her mind, and she let out a soft sigh.
“Studying medicine can’t save the shinobi world.” Whoa, are you the Lu Xun of the Leaf?
Hanekawa internally screamed, completely unsure how to process the sudden philosophical turn.
“Little guy, is there anything else you wanted to ask?” Tsunade stood up and executed a lazy stretch, her immense curves shifting elegantly.
“Time’s up.
I have to go check on a prominent patient.” Hanekawa hesitated for a fraction of a second, then shook his head.
What could he possibly say?
Fall to his knees like Lu Bu and beg her to accept him as her adopted son?
He was only standing in this office having a casual conversation with Tsunade because of Nonō’s structural connections.
While he desperately wanted to acquire medical ninjutsu, bluntly demanding an apprenticeship right now would just look incredibly presumptuous and smooth-brained.
To survive out in the field, a man needed absolute backing and leverage.
Right now, he only had two viable strategic vectors to catch her attention: either display an unprecedented, monstrous talent for Yang Release, or accumulate enough wealth to act as her primary credit line and gambling benefactor.
But at his current stage, he couldn’t pull off either.
“Then I’ll see you around, kid,” Tsunade waved a casual hand, turning on her heel to leave the office.
“Director,” Hanekawa asked, putting on a look of innocent curiosity the moment the door clicked shut.
“Does Lady Tsunade perform surgeries frequently?” “Yes,” Nonō nodded subtly.
“But she rarely steps in for minor, ordinary injuries.” Hanekawa’s heart stirred.
So she definitely doesn’t suffer from hemophobia right now.
In the original timeline, Tsunade only developed her debilitating fear of blood after helplessly watching Dan Kato bleed to death.
In this current reality, that entire tragic sequence had been completely bypassed.
The flow of destiny had shifted dramatically.
While he didn’t know the exact underlying cause yet, he was certain that as his system traits scaled higher, he would inevitably uncover the hidden mechanics behind the Sage of Six Paths’ altered history.
For Hanekawa, this structural anomaly was a massive blessing.
With Tsunade remaining active in Konoha, all he needed to do was manifest a high-tier Yang Release trait, and her attention would naturally gravitate toward him.
If she had been wandering the world as a nomadic gambler like the original story, he wouldn’t have a ghost of a chance.
His fixation on apprenticing under Tsunade wasn’t merely due to her aesthetic value; it was a matter of absolute survival.
He needed an ironclad layer of political protection within the Leaf.
While Hiruzen Sarutobi kept a passive eye on him, that baseline level of observation wasn’t enough.
If Danzo decided to throw tactical ethics out the window and launch a sudden, underhanded abduction attempt, an ordinary Academy student wouldn’t stand a chance.
He needed a secondary insurance policy.
Aside from the Hokage, only the legendary Sannin possessed the political weight to completely ignore Danzo’s intimidation.
Orochimaru was a dangerous, unhinged mad scientist—apprenticing under him was a surefire way to end up as a dissected corpse on a lab table.
Jiraiya only collected children of prophecy, and his roster was already occupied by the likes of Minato Namikaze.
By contrast, Tsunade was the gold standard: prestigious bloodline, unparalleled authority, and currently unattached to a disciple.
“Director, can you teach me basic medical ninjutsu?” Hanekawa asked, looking up at Nonō.
“Medical ninjutsu?” Nonō looked thoroughly surprised.
Is it purely out of admiration for Tsunade?
“You’re still very young, Hanekawa.
You ought to focus your absolute energy on mastering your Genjutsu foundation first,” she counseled gently.
“Genjutsu doesn’t really drain my mental focus,” Hanekawa shook his head with a straight face.
“I can comfortably master three distinct illusions in a single day.” “…?” Nonō froze completely.
Is this kid even human?
She knew his Yin Release affinity was exceptional, but this level of cognitive mastery was entirely absurd.
It certainly put his victory over Asuma into perspective.
“Medical ninja development isn’t as straightforward as Genjutsu.
Before you can even attempt to channel healing chakra, you must absorb an immense foundation of theoretical knowledge,” Nonō said, pulling a long scroll from a cabinet.
“But since you’re eager to learn, you can give it a shot.” Prodigies always received preferential treatment.
If he could actually process the data, it would be a massive asset.
If he failed, he could simply fall back on his monstrous Genjutsu trajectory.
“Thank you, Director!” Hanekawa let out a silent sigh of relief.
The world truly was full of wonderful people.
Hanekawa unrolled the parchment, and the table of contents immediately entered his view.
He flipped through several pages only to find more lists.
He looked up, utterly bewildered.
“Where is the actual text?” “This isn’t a single textbook, Hanekawa.
This is the official index of medical literature you need to master,” Nonō explained with a warm smile.
“Huh?” Hanekawa’s jaw practically dropped.
This isn’t a book?
It’s an index for a literal library of books?!
You call this basic entry-level curriculum?
He finally understood the absolute gravity of the old medical student adage: Advise someone to study medicine, and you’re essentially calling down a lightning strike on their soul.
“Whenever you have free time, you can come down to the hospital library to study, or check out a few volumes to read at home,” Nonō said, giving his head an affectionate pat.
“…” Tsunade’s clinical assessment instantly echoed in Hanekawa’s mind.
Studying medicine really can’t save the shinobi world.
Oh well, he’d just treat it as grinding for the ultimate character build.
Saying his goodbyes to Nonō, Hanekawa checked out two massive volumes of foundational medical theory and exited the hospital gates.
Given the sheer mountain of data, there was no point in rushing.
He needed to systematically tackle the milestones one by one.
First, he needed to lock down the simplest physical baseline.
[E-Rank Talent Trait: Fleet-Footed (Not Yet Acquired).] [Trigger Condition: Bring raw movement velocity up to the highest baseline of an ordinary Genin.] [Current Progress: 30%.] The E-Rank Fleet-Footed trait was a mandatory prerequisite required to synthesize the highly lucrative C-Rank trait Innate Monstrous Strength.
Furthermore, its trigger mechanics were blissfully simple: he just needed to run.
Because he had maintained a strict morning running circuit for two full weeks, the progress bar had already filled to 30%.
Combined with the passive stamina recovery modifier from Robust Physique, he calculated he could aggressively accelerate his grinding schedule.
Hanekawa rolled his shoulders and prepped his posture to launch into a sprint.
However, the commercial streets were currently crowded with civilian foot traffic, making them entirely unviable for high-velocity conditioning.
Mulling over his options, he drifted toward the northern quadrant of the village until he pulled up before the perimeter of the Leaf’s Fourth Training Ground.
The public training fields were universally accessible.
Hanekawa scanned the clearing, and his eyes instantly locked onto a highly prominent figure—Kakashi Hatake.
But the white-haired prodigy wasn’t performing elemental ninjutsu or running standard physical drills.
Instead, his training sword was locked in a fierce, sparking clash of steel against a young man with a cascading mane of white hair.
Sakumo Hatake?
Hanekawa’s mind jolted.
In the current era of Konoha, there was indeed another powerhouse who held absolute zero fear toward the machinations of Danzo Shimura—the White Fang of the Leaf.
Currently, Sakumo’s legendary military prestige outshone even the Sannin, standing second only to the Hokage himself, a name that struck terror across rival nations.
But according to the timeline, within a mere two to three years, he would take his own life in the wake of a failed mission and a village-wide smear campaign.
Refusing to disrupt their private training session, Hanekawa carefully circumvented the active zone, pulling onto the outer track to launch into his high-velocity running circuit.