Two hours of teaching quickly passed, and when Tsunade finished, she found that the weather had just cleared up.
Mutsuki took it upon himself to buy groceries and cook, while Tsunade sat in the living room, pondering life.
"How can I help Mutsuki make money?" Tsunade thought about this question very seriously. If Mutsuki had money, he could come to her for lessons every day.
Tsunade thought that if Mutsuki opened a restaurant and sold high-priced dishes, he would make money quickly, but this idea was immediately rejected by Mutsuki himself, clearly not an option.
Tsunade came up with several ideas, only to dismiss them right away, either because they required Mutsuki to change professions or because she felt they were unreliable.
"Shizune, what do you think we can do to help Mutsuki make money? You don't want him to only come by once a month, do you?" Tsunade, unable to think of a good solution, turned to Shizune beside her.
Although Shizune is still young, she is generally reliable in various aspects.
"Why does Yumi-sensei need to have money?" Shizune looked at Tsunade with a puzzled expression.
"Think about it. If Mutsuki doesn't have money, he can't come to me for lessons. Although I think it's nice if he just comes to cook, he definitely wouldn't be willing. If it's not for learning, he certainly wouldn't come over," Tsunade said, leaning back in her chair.
"Since Yumi-sensei doesn't have money, why don't you just stop charging him? Yumi-sensei cooks for us without charging, right?" Shizune suggested after thinking for a moment.
Tsunade scratched her head. She had considered this idea before, but if she didn't charge him, she felt like she would be losing out.
She was Tsunade of the Sannin, after all, the widely recognized medical master of the ninja world. People wanting her medical treatment could line up from Konoha Hospital all the way to the outskirts of the main city. If she taught someone just for food, wouldn't that make her seem like a glutton?
"Tsunade-sama, you don't charge me for teaching, and you can always ask for other forms of compensation," Shizune continued.
Tsunade gave Shizune a thumbs-up and then playfully rubbed Shizune's cheeks. If Mutsuki were her disciple, money wouldn't be necessary, and exchanging services was indeed a good method, effectively solving the money issue.
Tsunade decided to go with the idea of exchanging services, as she still didn't know Mutsuki well enough and didn't want to hastily accept him as a disciple.
During the meal, as she looked at yet another unfamiliar chicken dish, Tsunade was curious about how many chicken recipes Mutsuki had mastered.
"What is this dish called?" Tsunade asked curiously.
"Saliva Chicken," Mutsuki replied with a smile.
"What a strange name," Tsunade remarked, then decisively picked up a piece of the chicken, glistening with red oil, and put it in her mouth.
Tsunade's eyes lit up. She hadn't eaten Mutsuki's cooking for five meals, and as soon as the chicken touched her taste buds, she knew that feeling was back.
At that moment, Tsunade deeply admired Mutsuki. It was just a chicken, yet he could prepare it in three such distinct ways, and they were all delicious.
If she had reached the pinnacle of Medical Ninjutsu, then Mutsuki had undoubtedly reached an unsurpassable pinnacle in cooking.
Tsunade couldn't control herself and kept eating piece after piece of chicken. It was only when dinner was almost over that Tsunade remembered she had forgotten to talk to Mutsuki about the teaching arrangements.
"Ahem, Mutsuki, don't rush off tonight," Tsunade quickly said to prevent Mutsuki from leaving right away.
"Tsunade-sama, is there something you need?" Mutsuki put down his chopsticks and asked, somewhat puzzled.
"The originally agreed-upon teaching fee isn't something that can be easily changed, but I see that you're very enthusiastic about learning, and Shizune seems to like you quite a bit. I'm allowing you to exchange the original fee of 100,000 ryō per hour for another form of compensation," Tsunade said, looking at Mutsuki with an appreciative gaze, as if moved by his dedication.
"Tsunade-sama, is that really okay?" Mutsuki's face lit up with a look of surprise and gratitude.
Mutsuki knew the real reason Tsunade was willing to change the compensation, but he couldn't point that out. He had to go along with Tsunade's act.
Tsunade nodded in agreement.
"In that case, can the compensation be changed to tutoring Shizune?" Mutsuki appeared to be deep in thought for several minutes before finally answering.
In fact, this was the compensation he had considered from the start, but he pretended to struggle with the decision because answers that come too easily might be undervalued.
Using cooking as a form of payment was not an option, even though he knew Tsunade was really just after the food. It couldn't be made too obvious, as that would turn it into a simple transaction.
Rather than a straightforward deal, Mutsuki wanted this exchange to have an emotional connection.
His talent in Medical Ninjutsu was quite ordinary, nowhere near as good as in Sealing Jutsu, so if he wanted to quickly complete his power-up plan, he needed to increase Tsunade's affection for him and then directly involve her in the project.
"Tutoring Shizune?" Tsunade was a bit taken aback. The idea that Mutsuki's payment for her teaching would be tutoring Shizune seemed a bit roundabout.
While she thought Mutsuki could just propose any condition, thinking that his tutoring could be on par with the teaching of a Sannin felt a bit self-indulgent.
"Tsunade-sama, don't underestimate Yumi-sensei. He's an excellent teacher, the best at the Academy. He can teach over three hundred students at once and do it very well," Shizune said softly.
After hearing Shizune's words and recalling Mutsuki's earlier thoughtful expression, Tsunade realized that Mutsuki might not be self-absorbed but rather was offering what he was most proud of.
After all, during the days she had spent with Mutsuki, he had been humble in every aspect, so it was unlikely that he would suddenly become egotistical.
Of course, Tsunade still had her doubts about his teaching abilities, as teaching at the Academy and teaching post-graduation are two different things.
"Alright then, it's settled. You'll teach Shizune how to cook!" Tsunade confirmed the new arrangement.
While she might not be confident in other areas, Tsunade had no doubts about this. In her opinion, Mutsuki's cooking skills were undoubtedly the best in the ninja world.
Mutsuki gave a slight smile and nodded. What he taught Shizune wasn't the main point; learning from Tsunade was the priority.
Things had gone even more smoothly than Mutsuki had anticipated. He hadn't needed to use any of the backup plans he had prepared in case of unforeseen difficulties.
The Sealing Jutsu power-up plan was now on track, and from here on, Mutsuki only needed to maintain his usual routine.
With Tsunade's problem resolved, the Academy officially welcomed a new school year.
...
In the classroom of Year 2, Class 1, the students, after a two-week break, began discussing their experiences during the time off.
"Kotetsu, did you get a chance to deal with that cousin of yours during the break?" Kamizuki Izumo asked curiously.
During the holiday, Hagane Kotetsu had boasted that he would fight his older cousin, who was a year ahead of him, and put him in his place with his strength.
As a close friend, Kamizuki Izumo was extremely worried that Hagane Kotetsu might get the short end of the stick, especially since Kotetsu's cousin was indeed cunning and devious. Despite several clever plans, Kotetsu hadn't been able to best him.
"Don't even mention it. That despicable guy knew I was stronger, so he refused to fight me in a real battle and insisted on deciding the winner through games. I spend all my time either studying or training—where would I find time to play games? So in the end, I lost," Hagane Kotetsu sighed.
"He refused your real battle challenge, so you could have refused his game challenge too," Kamizuki Izumo said, looking puzzled.
"Because he said that if I won, he'd help me pursue Mei," Hagane Kotetsu said with a look of regret.
"Haha, that's so typical of you, Kotetsu," Kamizuki Izumo laughed, patting Kotetsu on the shoulder. It was indeed an offer that was hard to refuse.
"The real issue here is that this guy spent his entire break reading and training!" Anko couldn't help but chime in with a complaint.
She still remembered Kotetsu saying that breaks were meant to be enjoyed, only to find out that this was how he 'enjoyed' his time off.
"In the end, we're students, right? Isn't studying what we're supposed to be doing?" Hagane Kotetsu replied logically.
"True, but it feels like you want everyone else to stay where they are while you secretly work hard to surpass them. That's so sneaky! Treating school like a battlefield and your classmates as enemies," Kamizuki Izumo accused, feigning heartbreak.
"Exactly, exactly!" Anko quickly nodded, feeling that Izumo had voiced her own thoughts.
"But I noticed that you were training too, Izumo," Hagane Kotetsu said with a mischievous grin.
Anko wasn't surprised at all, as this situation had played out countless times before. So, she deliberately sat between the two, ready to deal with them both.
"It was only that one time, and you just happened to see it, Kotetsu," Kamizuki Izumo tried to defend himself, thinking he could still salvage the situation.
Anko ignored Izumo's weak excuse, rubbing her fists as she prepared to take action. Trusting these two was as unlikely as seeing a ghost.
But the next moment, Anko's thoughts of making a move faded away because their sensei had arrived.
Mutsuki pushed open the door, walked into the classroom, and looked at the students with a gentle smile.
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