"Nara, I warned you!" Tsunade said, once again caught in the "Shadow Binding Technique," but she wasn't panicking at all.
"The Shadow Secret Technique doesn't work on every ninja! For example—um..." She braced herself to break free with the same burst of strange power as before.
But this time, the effect of the "Shadow Binding Technique" was abnormally strong.
Even with her power unleashed, she couldn't break free instantly.
A moment ago, she was still confidently throwing harsh words.
The next, she found herself wanting to lower her head and bury her blushing face in her chest.
"If low-level shadow techniques don't work, then it's time to switch to a higher level."
Nara Shikadan's calm voice echoed in her ears.
"Sister Tsunade, I think this competition should be over now, right?"
For clans with Yin Dun secret techniques like the Nara and Yamanaka families, their techniques carried a certain "absoluteness."
Once hit by these secrets, resistance was basically impossible.
This was the biggest advantage of control-type ninjutsu.
"It's over now."
Tsunade tried to stay composed, but anyone paying attention could notice her crystal-clear earlobes flushing red.
"Let me go, Nara."
The heroic, bold, and generous slug princess had never looked so shy and delicate.
Shikadan steadied his mind and ended the performance of [Shadow Slap Technique].
The surging shadows withdrew back beneath him like a receding tide.
"Your strength is even greater than I imagined, Nara."
Tsunade took several deep breaths, trying to calm the restless and embarrassed flutter inside.
"When I first got Orochimaru's message scroll, I thought he was joking with me..."
In that scroll, Orochimaru had listed everything he knew about Shikadan's battle record.
While "Nara Shikadan defeated Uchiha Shisui" was believable enough,
The rest — "killing one and injuring another Root jonin," "forcing Namikaze Minato to summon Gamabunta for defense," and "almost killing Orochimaru himself" — these were beyond Tsunade's comprehension.
She knew Shikadan was talented, but firsthand experience was always more convincing than hearsay.
"If I'm to judge your strength, your mastery of the shadow secret techniques rivals that of the Nara clan's elite jonin!"
The bright red on her earlobes faded as she returned to her usual calm self.
"The Shadow Slap Technique just now — was that what you used to defeat Orochimaru and the others?"
Shikadan gritted his teeth.
"I didn't defeat Lord Orochimaru... Besides, Sister Tsunade, my clan's fighting style is somewhat restrained against you."
The Nara clan's shadow secret techniques were more powerful at close range.
Tsunade, a formidable melee ninja, naturally countered them in direct combat.
But from a different angle...
A fierce nurse who can fight, resist, and heal — like Tsunade — would be an excellent Nara clan teammate.
Unfortunately, that wasn't possible.
"I meant to teach you a lesson so you wouldn't rely so heavily on the family secret techniques... but I didn't expect you to teach me one instead."
Tsunade rubbed her dazzling golden hair and signaled they keep their distance.
"Let's do it again.
This time, no hurting yourself, no bleeding, and no shadow techniques allowed. Use only physical skills."
"Sister Tsunade, are you sure you don't want to just beat me up?"
Shikadan smiled awkwardly but politely.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Tsunade suddenly stepped closer.
Her clear brown eyes reflected Shikadan's image as she whispered,
"I won't take a mere Genin seriously."
Shikadan tilted his head back slightly, avoiding the scent of her orchid-like breath, and reluctantly believed her.
Then...
As Shikadan charged at her with a kunai in hand, Tsunade's lips curled into a sly smile.
She quietly extended her right index finger and shifted her upper body slightly left and down.
Instead of advancing, she moved into Shikadan's arms in the opposite direction.
At that moment, her index finger stabbed directly upward.
As if practiced a thousand times, Tsunade's finger pierced the ring of the kunai held by Shikadan without missing.
Her fingertips accurately pressed the acupuncture points on his wrist through the ring.
"Hiss—"
Shikadan paused, taking a breath.
Though it was only a [Shadow Clone] fighting Tsunade, the clone could still sense pain.
Under her finger, Shikadan felt a sudden tingling like needles on his right wrist and was forced to drop the weapon.
Using the kunai ring hooked on her finger, Tsunade easily seized the weapon.
The black kunai spun between her fingers, sharp tip pointing downward.
She didn't stop but moved her hand upward until her index and middle finger lightly tapped Shikadan's forehead.
Da!
"I win this round, Nara."
Shikadan shook his right hand and took a few steps back.
"Isn't it natural to lose to you?"
Tsunade raised her eyebrows, her Sannin pride quietly showing.
Perhaps, winning a Genin in physical skill wasn't exactly worth celebrating.
"Ahem. If your ninjutsu level is comparable to a jonin's," she coughed twice, "then your physical skill is at best chunin, maybe genin."
Hearing this, Shikadan silently nodded.
He knew where his weaknesses lay — physical fitness and raw skills.
His combat system almost perfectly masked these flaws, so it didn't trouble him much.
But Tsunade cared deeply.
"Nara, a ninja's chakra is limited. Even a Hokage can't waste it recklessly."
She shared her combat wisdom carefully.
"Your mastery of the family secrets far exceeds my expectations — that's excellent.
But in real battles, who will give you enough time to control and maintain chakra?
Often, ninjutsu isn't the endgame; physical skills decide the fight.
Because physical skills consume less chakra, launch faster, and more likely cause immediate effects."
Listening to her, Shikadan nodded in agreement.
He never believed in relying on "ninjutsu seals."
Besides being cumbersome, the biggest problem was the "pre-casting disadvantage" of hand seals.
For example, the B-rank water-style ninjutsu [Water Dragon Bullet Technique] requires forty-four seals.
Even at seven seals per second, that's over six and a half seconds.
In that time, an opponent could rush forward with a knife.
Ninja mobility was no joke.
This was why Shikadan pursued "no-seal ninjutsu."
But physical skills...
That was enough for now.
Tsunade paused, considering her next words.
Shikadan's secret techniques were strong, but his physical skills were lacking.
How could he survive on the battlefield like this?
She'd seen many lose family and friends young.
Now, with a promising junior and valuable ally, she didn't want him going unprepared.
A secret-skill jonin who was too weak to protect himself wasn't acceptable.
"Tsunade asked, "Nara, you don't have any other tasks recently?"
"Tasks?"
Shikadan blinked.
"No... Sister Tsunade—no, are you assigning me one?"
"Assigning a task?"
Tsunade frowned.
"If you put it that way, it's not impossible.
Compared to your family secret skills, your physical skills are too low.
For now, you'll stay by my side and learn physical combat!"
The panel remained silent.
Shikadan hesitated, then slowly asked,
"Minister Tsunade — Sister Tsunade, you know I'm very organized in my daily plans. If 'learning physical skills' is a task, I want to know the specific details. And learning physical skills from you — that should be at least an A-level task, right?"
"An A-level task? You dare to think so.
This is just a small task I assigned personally.
But if you insist on calling it A-level, then so be it."
Tsunade shook her head and laughed.
"As for the specifics... I'll try to arrange other ninjas at fixed times, or use my own shadow clone to spar with you.
Limited to physical skills only.
But I make it clear — I won't pay for this so-called 'A-level task.'"
Finally, a new task message popped on the panel:
[Detected A-level ninja commission task triggered!]
[A-level task: Learning]
[Task content: Follow Tsunade for a set period, learn physical skills, and earn her recognition]
[Task reward: A-level ninja secret scroll]
-End Chapter-
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