That day, Karin pleaded with Kurenai and I to get her caught up with the rest of the class at the Academy, wanting to be able to fit right in with her new disguise as she was able to fulfill her dream.
Even with Kurenai and I telling her that she was already 'caught up' to the Academy class in most things, the now blacked haired girl begged us to at least review everything with her so that she could further her understanding on where her peers would be.
It seemed that every single argument we could make to the girl already had a counterpoint prepared for us, so we just sighed and nodded, acquiescing to her desires as we took her outside to train.
Anko and Cameia handleed the children, though Tsunade asked if she could hold Tomoe for a bit, making an excuse that it'd be easier to manage if it was one baby per person.
I nodded, and we settled into the yard to begin reviewing Karin's skills, with Naruto training alongside her to help her along and be a sparring partner.
If there was something that she needed to catch up on it was sparring experience against another person on her level, to let her figure out her groove and where she needed to improve.
So, we kept that in mind as we set her off firstly on some warm ups, giving her some weights to strap onto her limbs and begin doing some sprints and other exercises, Naruto right beside her with his own weights.
Then we had her sit down and go through some basic Genjutsu training, having her break free and recognize just what was the trigger and what helped her get out.
Next was some Chakra control and other Chakra tests, getting a feel for utilizing it to empower herself as well as utilize any Ninjutsu of her own, be it basic Ninjutsu or something more specialized for her.
From the Chakra test we gave her, we knew that the girl had Earth and Water Release, making her an excellent supporter as well as having quite a versatile repertoire available for defense or offense, depending on what she wanted.
Moving onto the weapons, the girl showed some skill with Taijutsu and skill in Kenjutsu, though she was certainly an excellent marksman with kunai and shuriken.
Alternatively, Naruto was incredible with his Taijutsu bur really clumsy with weapons, and he only did well with any thrown weapons with some weight to them...
The longer we remained outside though, the more apparent it became that the real thing Karin needed to work on wasn't her skills, but her stamina.
She was sweating hard by the second hour, before being drenched and slowing down by the third; Naruto, on the other hand, was just starting to sweat, and even if we were to take the difference between the boy and the girl, all of my other aspiring Kunoichi's had excellent stamina by now, not beginning to tire out till the third hour.
With that tidbit, we ended early and let the two young Uzumaki's enjoy their time together, Karin still donning her disguise as she moved around the yard.
Sitting down, I glanced at Tsunade as she played with Tomoe, her brown eyes warm as she bounced the young baby around, making her smile and giggle.
Observing the Senju Princess for a while longer, I decided that now would be as good a time as any, so I moved closer to her and asked "You want a child, don't you?", deciding to be blunt with her.
She froze, before glancing at me as I looked out towards Karin and Naruto, who were running around grinning at one another.
"What?"
"You heard me... I can see it in your eyes. The same desire that I had years ago. You want to become a mother, but..?"
"You don't think you're overstepping your bounds?"
Her flat tone made me sigh, and I looked back towards her as I replied "Yes, I am, but you aren't hiding it at all. It's been obvious, Lady Tsunade. The looks you give Makoto and I, how you look at Karin, Akari, Riku and Tomoe. The mixed feelings you have about Naruto... There's a part of you that hates not just... being his 'mother' for the last few years. Another part that still wants to just take that role."
She narrowed her brown eyes at me, before sighing as she muttered "No damn respect with you youngsters..."
"Fine... You've already seen one ugly flaw, why not see the other? Yes, you're right. I want to be a mother. Something that was robbed of me just because I was... 'too compassionate' for those that were already alive. My healing jutsu? It's drained my lifespan away, Kokoro. A woman who should have lived for centuries is already on her last legs. I use Henge to maintain my appearance, to fool myself that I still have time, but..."
Waving her hand, she smiled forlornly at me as she said "Unlike my Grandfather, I don't have access to Senjutsu, giving me that boost that he had. For all intents and purposes, I have an above average Chakra and that's it. Nothing insane from my bloodlines like people think; just a much larger pool of Chakra to draw from... Everything else was my doing; my smarts, my genius, my experience. And now? All of that doesn't matter, since I can't do the one thing that I want to. I'm... too old to bear a child. Even if I could 'rejuvenate' myself with Senjutsu, I have no guarantee that my body would be capable of nurturing a child."
I frowned, before furrowing my brow as I hesitantly asked "You can't bear one, but..."
Tapping my fingers on my knee, I stared at her for a moment before saying "You can't bear one, but could you perhaps 'switch' from being the Mother to the Mom? Is there no way to take your cells and create an artificial batch of what would be needed to impregnate someone else?"
She opened her mouth to refute me before silently looking away, her brown eyes conflicted as she pondered my question.
"It's been something I was thinking of anyways... No offense, but I had a feeling that this was apart of your 'problem'; your age. So I just thought that this might be a solution?"
Tsunade remained quiet, before looking down towards Tomoe in her arms.
"I... never thought of that, honestly. Creating a way to switch from being a woman to a futanari. Even temporarily. Or perhaps just using my cells to create what I need? Replicate and infuse... Or maybe I could..?"
She lifted Tomoe up and handed her to me, giving me a grin as she said "I'll look down this path that I somehow missed... I don't know how well it'll go, but at least I can say I looked for every possible method!"