"Alright, from today on, you'll be my— Wait, what did you just say?"
Tsunade had been smiling, ready to accept her very first disciple, but froze mid-sentence. She thought she must have misheard.
"I refuse! I'm not willing!"
The smile on Hinata Haruki's face had long since vanished. He stared straight at Tsunade and spoke firmly, each word like a blade.
"Why?!"
Tsunade's eyes widened in disbelief, her heart full of confusion—and more than a little irritation.
"Because you're not qualified to be my teacher! You're unfit!"
Haruki's gaze sharpened like a drawn kunai. He met her eyes without flinching, his presence not losing out to hers in the slightest, and spoke with deliberate weight.
"I'm not qualified? Unfit?!"
Tsunade felt her temper flare. She was one of the Legendary Sannin, renowned throughout the entire shinobi world for her unparalleled medical ninjutsu. She had the power, the achievements, and the lineage—granddaughter of the First Hokage himself. If she wasn't qualified, then who was?
Clenching her fists, Tsunade forced herself to hold back her anger. "And why, exactly, am I unfit? Is my strength lacking? Or do you think my medical ninjutsu isn't good enough?"
Haruki shook his head. "Tsunade-sama, your strength is great, and your medical ninjutsu is the very best."
Tsunade's brows furrowed tighter, her tone dropping cold. "Then what—do you think your own medical skills are so advanced you don't need to learn from me?"
Haruki lifted his chin, utterly unafraid. "I know my own skills well. In the entire Land of Fire, there aren't many who can match me in the art of healing. But learning never ends. Your medical ninjutsu would greatly benefit me—it could fill in the gaps I still have. I do want to learn from you."
"Then why am I still unfit?!"
Tsunade planted her hands on her hips, glaring down at him, anger burning in her eyes.
"Tsunade-sama! Taking on a disciple isn't just about you choosing me—it's also about whether I choose you. I've been watching you as well, to see if you're worthy of being my teacher. Unfortunately… you're not."
He wagged a finger at her.
A thick vein popped on Tsunade's forehead, her anger practically boiling over. Even her hair seemed ready to smoke. Anyone who saw her like this would be terrified. Haruki knew well how frightening Tsunade's temper could be, but he still met her eyes, unyielding. His pride would not allow him to back down.
"Yes, I'm only six years old. But that doesn't mean I have no strength! My abilities are plain to see—I became a chūnin at five years old and have earned more than my share of merit. Isn't that enough to at least earn your respect?"
"Tsunade-sama! It's one thing if you look down on my combat ability—compared to a Sannin, a mere chūnin is indeed nothing special. But to insult my medical skills? That's unacceptable! I understand you've never seen my work, and it's fine if you sent me to the logistics unit. But my skill is right here for you to test. Would you lose anything by giving me a chance? Would you suffer anything if I failed? Yet you didn't even give me that single chance—so why should I give you one?"
"I—"
Tsunade found herself choked into silence. She truly had underestimated him—she had never imagined a six-year-old could possess such refined medical knowledge. He had asked her for one chance, and she had flatly refused. Back then, she had dismissed him as just a prideful brat…
"At the time, I didn't send you to the medical station because medical work is serious, and I thought you were just—"
"Just what? Just a six-year-old kid? Because I'm six, my chūnin rank doesn't count, so I'm sent to logistics. Because I'm six, when my team destroyed an enemy strike force, the credit had little to do with me. Because I'm six, my medical skills aren't acknowledged. Is that it?"
Haruki shook his head in bitter disappointment.
"This… But your medical skills have been recognized now. I didn't see it before, but I acknowledge them now," Tsunade said seriously. She knew all too well what it felt like to be denied. She was at fault here.
"But Tsunade-sama—you haven't earned my recognition! A person has dignity!"
Haruki shrugged carelessly, offering her no face, and turned to leave the hospital room. For once, his pride was intact.
"What an arrogant brat! Do you have any idea how many people beg me to take them as a student? Let me tell you—someone even pulled strings through the Third Hokage to make me accept them, and I flat-out refused! And now here I am asking you, and you refuse me?! Fine! I'll find someone else to teach! You unbelievably irritating little brat!!"
Tsunade's fists clenched so tightly her knuckles cracked.
Her words made Haruki think back to that recommendation letter from the Third Hokage—the one Tsunade had rejected without hesitation. She had looked down on him, ignored him, and dismissed him entirely. The memory made his irritation spike.
He stopped mid-step, then turned back. Tsunade blinked in surprise. "Has he changed his mind?"
Haruki reached into his vest and pulled out an envelope, tossing it onto her bed. "Almost forgot to give you this. Luckily, you already refused, so what's written in there can be treated as void. From now on, there's absolutely nothing between us. You didn't want it, I didn't want it—simple. I'll just have the old man recommend me another teacher."
He walked out again, muttering to himself: "Jiraiya's not bad… Orochimaru could work too… Or maybe the old man himself could teach me—he is the Professor, after all. Yakushi Nonō's also an option… Honestly, there's no shortage of people who'd take me on. As long as it's not Tsunade, I'm fine…"
Tsunade stood frozen, baffled and annoyed. "What's with this brat being so familiar with Lord Hiruzen? What does he mean 'nothing between us'? What's void? Jiraiya, Orochimaru, the old man recommending him another teacher? 'Plenty of people want me'? And what's even in this envelope? If he doesn't want me, fine! Hmph!!"
She broke the wax seal and unfolded the letter. It was unopened—Haruki hadn't read it. The salutation read Recommendation Letter, and the handwriting looked familiar. The sender was Sarutobi Hiruzen, addressed to her.
"Huh? It's from the old man?"
Tsunade began to read.
"Tsunade, how are things on the front lines? Take care of yourself—don't bury yourself in research all the time. During battle, be wary of enemy schemes. The village is peaceful as always; everyone is doing well…"
The handwriting was unmistakably Hiruzen's.
"By the way, I have something to tell you. Recently, I stumbled upon a very interesting boy—a child of the Hyūga clan, named Hinata Haruki. He entered the Academy at five, and on his second day, he requested to take the graduation exam. Ebisu-sensei tried to teach him a lesson… but ended up being the one taught."
The letter went on to recount how Hiruzen had met Haruki, and how Haruki had trained. The more Tsunade read, the more astonished she became. This boy… was a prodigy.
"His background is complicated, and to protect him, I decided to find him a teacher. I first thought of the three of you, and was going to recommend Orochimaru, but he insisted on becoming your student, saying he loved medicine and wanted to learn your medical ninjutsu. Seeing his determination, I agreed. Don't think of him as some 'favor'—he's worth teaching."
Tsunade's heart twisted. He'd wanted to be her student from the very start?
"He's about to graduate. To keep him from drawing too much attention too early, I told the village you'd accepted him at his late mother's request. Since he'll be your student anyway, what's the harm in making it official early? Haha…"
So this was the "pulled-strings" disciple.
"In just a month with Kato Dan, he's completed numerous missions, reaching chūnin-level strength. In the chūnin exams, he used a self-created Gentle Fist technique to completely paralyze an elite Hyūga sent by the clan head to interfere. I can still picture Danzō's twitching face. Haha… Everyone in the village says you have a good eye for taking such a fine student. And you didn't take him because of connections—you took him because he's worth your time."
Memories hit Tsunade like a punch—the report about the transport team ambush, how from spotting the enemy to laying the trap, surrounding them, and capturing or killing even the enemy jōnin, Haruki's name appeared again and again. She'd ignored all of it, thinking of him only as a cocky little genin…
"I sent him to the front lines to find you, to gain combat experience. As his teacher, guide him well."
"Though his mother was just a branch member of the Senju clan, like you, he still carries Senju blood. As an elder, care for him."
"His parents are gone, and the Hyūga main family has its eyes on him. As his superior, protect him well…"
By the end of the letter, Tsunade felt as if her heart had been stirred with a spoonful of bitter, sour, and sweet all at once.
She remembered the crisis at the medical station—when everyone had lost hope, Haruki had still stepped in to save them, saving her station from collapse. When Kato Dan's heart stopped, she had been on the brink of despair, and it was Haruki who brought him back and reignited her will to fight.
"He must be so disappointed in me… From the very beginning, he was determined to be my student, yet before we even met, I refused him outright, treating him as dead weight brought in through connections. If he had shown me this letter back then, I probably would have tossed it aside without even reading it and kicked him out immediately. If word got around the village… what would they think of him?"
"I ignored his strength, dismissed his achievements, denied all his efforts, and gave him no chance—just dumped him in logistics. I didn't even know my own disciple, and I trampled his pride without a second thought."
"I never even knew what kind of person this 'disciple' really was. Maybe it's better for him not to have a teacher like me…"
"And now, after wounding his pride, I turn around and ask to take him as my student? How could he possibly accept? He wants to learn medical ninjutsu, yes—but he still refused. Not for any reason other than his dignity… for the sake of pride alone."
Without realizing it, Tsunade had already started to think of Haruki as her disciple. And now she realized—she had lost a good one. A disciple she would never have again. Perhaps it was full of misunderstandings and bias, but she truly had underestimated him.
"…Maybe I really am unqualified," she murmured to herself.