In the Senju clan compound, Tsunade looked at her disciple, who was hesitant to sit down, feeling somewhat puzzled. After all, Tatsuma had never been a reserved person. Why did he seem so awkward about taking a seat today?
Meanwhile, Minato and Kushina, who knew the truth, were trying hard to suppress their laughter. Tsunade frowned disapprovingly and asked, "Are you sure you want to stand and listen?"
Tatsuma nodded and said, "Um, standing is fine. You're all my seniors and senseis. It wouldn't be polite for me to sit with you."
"Pfft~ Ahahaha~"
Finally unable to contain her laughter, Kushina burst into loud laughter. Even Minato buried his head deep, his shoulders shaking. Tsunade and the others became even more puzzled and increasingly displeased.
After all, being late was bad enough, but now he was playing these childish tricks. Didn't he realize that the mission departure was imminent and every second counted?
"Exactly what's going on?!"
Tsunade's voice carried a hint of anger. Tatsuma, feeling embarrassed, glanced at Orochimaru and Jiraiya, who also looked puzzled. With a sigh and a stomp of his foot, Tatsuma swallowed his shame and truthfully confessed:
"Recently... I've been a bit constipated... and uncomfortable in certain areas. I don't feel like sitting."
Tsunade and Orochimaru, upon hearing this, were dumbfounded, their faces covered in black lines. Jiraiya, after a brief moment of confusion, burst into hearty laughter, even more unrestrained than Kushina. This left Tatsuma with a face full of embarrassment.
"Did you take any medicine?"
"I did, but it didn't help much."
Of course, Tatsuma couldn't just let his constipation persist. However, the internal medication seemed to have been drained of all its nutrients and turned into charcoal. External application might have some effect, but if Minato didn't bring it, he'd have less psychological resistance to buy it himself.
Tsunade furrowed her brows, shook her head, and decided not to pursue it further. Just as she was about to discuss the main matter at hand, Orochimaru, with a furrowed brow, unexpectedly interjected:
"Is it because of recent changes in your body?"
Although Tsunade was the one who conducted Tatsuma's physical examination, the person most interested in Tatsuma's changes was actually Orochimaru. However, due to his identity, he couldn't actively participate in it.
He had asked Tsunade about it before, but she had assured him that Tatsuma's body was perfectly fine, so he temporarily suppressed his doubts.
But now, it seemed that Tatsuma's body was experiencing some issues. Although it was just constipation, such anomalies often hinted at underlying problems. Several months ago, Tatsuma didn't even have this issue while consuming Military Rations Pills. Upon returning to Konoha and resuming normal diet, he developed constipation. This was clearly abnormal. Orochimaru's golden eyes kept scanning Tatsuma's body, and he couldn't help licking his lips.
He had previously conducted analyses on Tatsuma and Minato. At that time, there were no issues found in their blood samples, nor were there any traces of Kekkei Genkai. Tatsuma and Minato had also never exhibited any traits of the ninja clans. Therefore, he believed that the two were simply talented civilians. However, after observing them for a year and occasionally interacting with them, he was amazed by their talents.
However, all of this has changed recently. Tatsuma's Chakra suddenly increased, which is almost impossible to happen. Moreover, Tatsuma's rate of progress is faster than Minato, who is also a genius of the same generation, and in some aspects, it's not just a little faster.
This strange and astonishing change made Orochimaru wish he could conduct another study on Tatsuma's body samples.
But some ninja clans don't have distinctive features, or their features aren't dominant. For example, their teammate as a Senju didn't have dominant features, it's just... Orochimaru couldn't bring himself to say it.
At this moment, Tsunade also reacted to Orochimaru's hint. She looked at Tatsuma with a scrutinizing gaze once again, murmuring to herself.
"Could it be that it's really the mistakes made by the Second Hokage in his youth? After all, if we calculate the age, the Second Hokage wouldn't have had time to directly produce this kid"
Tsunade suddenly shook her head and said, "When we return from this mission, I'll give you another physical examination, Orochimaru. Maybe I'll need your help by then."
"My pleasure" Orochimaru replied eagerly, without waiting for Tatsuma, the person in question, to speak. Tatsuma looked at Orochimaru, whose eyes seemed to be glowing, and suddenly felt a bit chilly.
Jiraiya and Kushina both restrained their smiles at this moment, just like Minato, they both looked at Tatsuma with concern. Despite teasing Tatsuma, if there was really something wrong with his health, they would worry too.
Tatsuma quickly waved his hand and said, "It might just be a case of not adjusting to the environment, or maybe I've been eating too much ice cream lately. We'll see what the examination reveals."
"It's still better to check thoroughly. After all, the body is the most important treasure for a person, Tatsuma," Orochimaru interrupted Tatsuma's words, smiling at him. Tatsuma's lips twitched, thinking about Orochimaru's later practice of treating the body as a disposable item in the original story.
I wonder if Orochimaru will go and pay respect to his previous body?
Suddenly, an absurd thought popped into Tatsuma's mind, but he quickly suppressed these irrelevant distractions and stopped expressing any opposition.
He didn't resist the physical examination too much because he knew that the changes in his body didn't stem from changes in blood or lineage, but rather from activating some hidden talents through additional amplification.
Even if others possessed similar hidden talents, the process of discovery should be gradual, unlike his sudden leap. This made it seem like there was a vast difference in abilities.
Moreover, Tsunade said they would conduct the examination after the mission, by which time his constipation might have been resolved, or maybe not.
After all, Tatsuma could guess that his current physical condition was temporary. To put it abstractly, it was like the container originally used by cells to store chemical energy was medium-sized, but now it had become extra-large, leaving a portion needing to be filled.
However, once filled, and with no significant change in expenditure, Tatsuma's energy intake would return to its previous level, and he wouldn't experience situations where everything he ate was drained of energy and turned into carbon rods.
The only trouble is that they are about to leave the village, and once outside, there won't be a toilet for him to sit on for so long.
Tsunade, seeing Tatsuma no longer stubbornly opposing, returned to the main topic and said, "For this mission to the Land of Iron, we..."
Tsunade began to explain the details of the mission and discuss diplomatic strategies. Tatsuma couldn't participate in these discussions because he was truly at a basic level when it came to diplomacy.
If he were asked to contribute, he could only rely on some diplomatic-related videos he had seen in his past life to say some "forewarned is forearmed" words, but obviously, these words wouldn't be suitable for the Land of Iron.
Tatsuma truly had no clue about persuading the Land of Iron to send troops.
However, when Orochimaru discussed economic assistance and benefits, and Tsunade and Jiraiya couldn't come up with anything, Tatsuma managed to exchange a few words with Orochimaru in a somewhat organized manner.
But since they didn't have decision-making power in this regard, they could only discuss a general direction and leave the specific planning to the higher-ups.
The discussion continued until dinnertime, and the group didn't wrap up until then. Kushina, who had been joining in for the fun, had already run off to find Mito, and Minato had started daydreaming midway through the meeting.
After dinner, Tatsuma was planning to leave with Minato, but Jiraiya patted Minato on the shoulder and said, "Minato, tonight you're coming with me. There are some things I need to teach you."
Tsunade also looked at Tatsuma and said, "You stay back tonight too."
Tatsuma and Minato exchanged a glance, then nodded to their respective sensei. In fact, they both had a rough idea of what was going on—it was probably just some things they might need for the upcoming mission.
Before, they had been learning together, but recently, their paths had diverged, and they had each delved deeper into their respective Chakra attributes and Nature Transformations. They were also learning different things, which was why they were now receiving separate instruction.
However, Tatsuma was still a bit curious. He wondered what Tsunade could teach him—perhaps some techniques for using Enhanced Strength? After all, Tatsuma couldn't imagine what else Tsunade could teach him.
After Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Minato left, Tsunade and *Mito brought Tatsuma to a study—not the one Mito usually used, but another one. It seemed to be a study that had been sealed for many years.
"Squeak..."
As they pushed open the door, a sharp sound and a faint musty smell entered Tatsuma's senses. His curiosity grew even more. After all, the place looked... well, he couldn't see anything—it was pitch black. But there was an air of significance about it.
Tsunade turned on the lights in the room. The lighting was very dim, occasionally flickering. Clearly, it had been neglected for years. Tsunade grumbled, "You'll renovate this place later. I don't trust anyone else to do it."
Realizing she was talking to him, Tatsuma nodded. He might not know much about other things, being from outside the ninja world, but he was good with electrical work! That was part of his upbringing from his past life—he'd often handed his old man screwdrivers and electric pens.
Mito also stepped into the center of the study, reminiscing as she looked around. She said, "This is Tobirama's study. Apart from some forbidden techniques and taboos, all his ninjutsu, insights, and notes are here."
"On that side are Water Release, and here are Earth Release. These two are the most abundant. Back then, he spent a lot of effort researching Hashirama's Wood Release. You'll have to search for other nature transformations; he didn't organize them. These riches will be yours in the future."
Tatsuma was deeply moved. Mito's description of these as riches was just too fitting. There were a large number of ninjutsu scrolls, not to mention the insights and notes of the forbidden jutsu master, Senju Tobirama. It left Tatsuma momentarily speechless to think he was being entrusted with this.
His brain was still reeling, but his hand moved unconsciously to pick up a scroll beside him, gently unfurling it, eager to open it.
"Bang!"
Tatsuma was suddenly thrown backward, tumbling out of the study. He was now adorned with some fluorescent dye, shimmering in the darkness.
At that moment, Mito's voice came from inside, "Ahem... I forgot to mention, I personally sealed these scrolls. You'll need to learn the unsealing techniques first."
Outside the door, Tatsuma, who transformed into a luminous man and held a scroll full of seals, was twitching at the corners of his mouth and eyes. For some reason, he always felt that Mito was suppressing a smile.
Hahaha! I told you this kid couldn't resist. He's willing to befriend Uchiha just to learn Fire Release, let alone these insights from Grandpa Tobirama."
Tsunade was more uninhibited.
----
Check out my Patreon for more advanced chapters up to 50 at patreon.com/HellGolt