Everyone falls hard when they start this phase of training—it's an inevitable part of the process. There's no skipping ahead.
"Yes, sir!" Aida Sui replied enthusiastically as he quickly got back up and resumed his training.
After an entire afternoon of practice, Aida Sui had made significant progress.
"Here's the reward from yesterday's mission. I'll give you yours now. Make sure to head to the hospital for treatment, or you'll have a hard time getting out of bed tomorrow. Don't be stingy—if you want to get stronger, you'll need to invest in yourself first. The stronger you become, the more money you'll be able to make."
Takuya handed him his payment and reminded Aida Sui to take care of himself before they parted ways.
As he watched Aida Sui hobble toward the hospital, Takuya couldn't help but wonder how long he'd be able to keep up this pace.
"Well, well, I thought you'd gone missing," Takuya said with a grin as he entered his home, only to find an all-too-familiar woman sprawled across his sofa in a rather undignified manner.
Her posture was sloppy whether she was sitting or sleeping.
"You vanished the day after we got back to the village," Takuya teased.
"Don't even start. I'm exhausted. Now hurry up and make me some food—I'm starving," Tsunade groaned, lying lazily on the couch, even with her feet propped up.
Good thing she wasn't one for wearing skirts, or Takuya would have had quite the view.
"I thought you'd be able to relax once you got back to the village. But I guess the village has plenty of problems too. And on top of that, the old man's constantly badgering me to go to the front lines. It's driving me crazy," she muttered, running her hand through her blonde hair in frustration.
"There's a saying—'With great power comes great responsibility,'" Takuya remarked as he walked toward the kitchen, slipping into his house slippers.
"…"
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Great responsibility, huh? If that's true, how come I don't see you, Takuya Yagami, acting all responsible?"
"Oh yeah, where's my Raijin Blade?" Takuya asked suddenly as he began slicing meat. He remembered Tsunade had promised to give him Tobirama Senju's Raijin Blade.
There was no way he'd let her forget that, especially since someone like Tsunade could be the type to dodge out of a deal if too much time passed. It was best to secure the sword as soon as possible. After all, a high-quality chakra weapon was exactly what he needed.
The Raijin Blade was one of the top-tier chakra weapons, no question. In the original series, it was destroyed too easily, but that was because of who wielded it.
With weapons like these, their true power could only be unleashed by a strong enough wielder.
Take Sakumo Hatake's White Fang blade, for example. In Sakumo's hands, the blade struck fear into even Kage-level opponents. But in Kakashi's hands, he struggled to take down mere Jonin, and the blade ended up broken.
The Raijin Blade didn't fare much better in the original storyline.
Compared to sturdier weapons, chakra blades were easier to break.
In the hands of a strong ninja, however, the Raijin Blade was no decorative piece—it became a terrifying weapon.
Once I get my hands on the Raijin Blade, Takuya thought, I'll grab the Kusanagi Sword from Orochimaru and swap between them as needed.
"Here, take it. You talk like I'm some sort of liar," Tsunade grumbled, rolling her eyes as she tossed a scroll to him. She added a warning: "Just remember, this Raijin Blade was Grandpa Tobirama's favorite. It's made mostly from chakra metal, so the blade's a bit brittle. Be careful not to treat it like an ordinary sword."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Takuya replied, already smiling to himself as he continued cooking.
With a new, badass weapon in hand, he couldn't help but feel great.
And he wasn't worried about Tsunade going back on her word. Since she sealed it in a scroll and handed it over, she wouldn't renege. If she did, he'd just hound her until she gave it up.
"So, what have you been up to lately? Don't tell me you've just been stuck working at the hospital," Takuya remarked, stirring the pot as he cooked.
Tsunade might be hardworking, but she had a habit of sneaking off to the gambling halls when she could. And if she tried to say she hadn't, well, that'd be about as likely as the sun rising in the west.
Tsunade paused mid-bite, her expression shifting ever so slightly. Takuya noticed immediately and smirked as she remained quiet and kept eating.
Yep, definitely lost a ton of money at the casino.
Seeing the guilty look on her face, Takuya couldn't help but shoot her a knowing grin.
"Stop staring at me like that! I'm eating here!" Tsunade snapped. "I was just stressed out, so I went to the casino to relax for a bit."
"Lost all your money, huh?" Takuya teased, shaking his head in disbelief.
"…"
Tsunade chose to ignore him, focusing on her food instead. No point in rubbing salt into an already sore wound.
Once dinner was over, Takuya was surprised when Tsunade volunteered to do the dishes.
After glancing toward the kitchen, Takuya pulled out the scroll containing the Raijin Blade and unsealed it.
To be honest, the Raijin Blade wasn't exactly the most attractive sword—definitely not as sleek as the Kusanagi Sword.
Zzzzt—
Lightning chakra flickered along the blade's surface, turning the dull, dark metal into a vibrant blue-purple as crackling currents danced across it like wriggling electric worms.
Takuya pulled out two kunai he had specially made, slicing through them with a single stroke.
The kunai snapped cleanly in half, the edges perfectly smooth as if they had been cut by a laser.
Who said the Raijin Blade was weak?
This thing was sharp beyond belief. If I cut someone with this, their body would probably fall apart before they even realized they were hit.
"Not bad," Takuya muttered, giving the blade a few more swings before carefully setting it aside.
"Tsunade, why doesn't the Raijin Blade have a sheath?"
"Grandpa Tobirama said that when they made it, there wasn't enough material left for a sheath, so it never got one. Want me to get one made for you?"
Tsunade's head poked out from the kitchen, her eyes gleaming. It was clear she was hinting at doing him a favor… for a price, of course.
Yep, you've fallen right into the money pit, Tsunade.
"How much would a decent sheath cost?"
Takuya knew she wasn't doing this for free, but he also wasn't interested in running all over town himself. Why not let Tsunade's connections do the work?
Five million!"
"Cough, cough—what!?" Takuya nearly choked on his own breath, glaring at her with disbelief.
Five million ryo? Was she out of her mind? That amount could buy him a brand-new chakra weapon!
"Ahem! I misspoke! I meant five hundred thousand!" Tsunade quickly corrected herself when she noticed Takuya's narrowed eyes and dangerous look. She raised her hand as if swearing it was a mistake.
"I've got seventy thousand in this scroll. Don't try to cheat me out of any of it," Takuya warned as he tossed her the scroll. "And if the sheath isn't top quality, you'll have to answer to me."
He didn't trust anyone in the village more than Tsunade to get the job done. Letting her handle this would save him a lot of time and effort.
Grabbing the scroll with glee, Tsunade dashed out the door in an instant.
"Give me three days! You'll have your sheath, guaranteed!" she shouted as she disappeared.
"…Great."
Takuya stared at the now open front door before glancing at the mess she left behind in the kitchen. He was starting to regret letting her do the dishes—Tsunade in the kitchen was a bigger disaster than even Kushina.
Sighing, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work cleaning up.
Tsunade, however, was already on her way to the Hokage's office, motivated by the cash in her pocket.
***************
Good job on reaching 3500 power stones! You will now get a new chapter every 1 hour so 5 chapters. Your next goal is 4000 power stones. And if you want more, join me on Patreon so you can read up to chapter 250+ at patron.com/ Emik01.