The aroma of grilled meat still lingered when the three of them moved to the training grounds.
Across a hastily set table, Tsunade and Uchiha Jin sat facing each other, elbows braced, fingers interlocked.
Tsunade's slender fingers tightened. A glint of assured victory flashed in her eyes.
"Brat, you can still concede now. Otherwise your arm might snap and Kushina will feel bad."
Jin's mouth curved. "I do not mind. But if Lady Tsunade loses to a kid, that will sound pretty bad, right?"
"Three, two, one, begin!"
Kushina's call had barely fallen when Tsunade exploded with force.
Muscles drew taut and power crashed down like a flood. She meant to end it in one go.
Jin's arm only trembled, then locked against hers.
The table groaned under the strain.
Tsunade's eyes flicked, surprised. The strength in Jin's grip matched her own.
She was Tsunade-hime, famed for monstrous strength. Few in the Leaf could contest her. Yet a six-year-old held even.
"So this is Lady Tsunade's full power? A bit ordinary."
Jin smiled, at ease.
"Your funeral. Do not blame me if you get hurt."
With a snort, Tsunade poured chakra into her arm. Blue lines rose under pale skin. A jagged crack split the tabletop.
The pressure from her palm began to force Jin's arm downward.
"I warned you. Be good and pay my debts, brat."
Her smile turned triumphant, and she pushed harder.
"Since Lady Tsunade is serious, I cannot keep playing."
BZZT!
Blue arcs snapped from Jin's forearm. The Lightning Release armor flared to life.
Fibers thrummed at high frequency under the current, and his arm surged back to center.
"Lightning activation?"
Tsunade's golden eyes tightened. His strength had spiked, rivaling her own.
Two monstrous forces clashed within an inch of space. The already damaged table gave with a crack and burst apart. Splinters flew while their arms stayed locked, neither yielding.
Wind pressure from their colliding chakra made Kushina squint. She could hardly see.
"Call that a draw?"
Jin released his grip. White vapor curled at his elbow from the torrent of chakra.
Tsunade shook her numb right arm and stared at him like a creature out of legend.
"Unbelievable. No one has ever matched my strength like that. But a draw is not happening. Again. I am making you admit defeat and pay up."
She raised her hand, unwilling to stop.
"But the table is gone. Another one will end the same."
Kushina quickly slid between them to cool things down.
"Then fight. Quick and simple."
Tsunade's first instinct was a straight brawl.
"Let us not. What teacher wins a student by getting beaten."
Jin smiled.
"As if you have it in the bag."
Tsunade clicked her tongue.
"Keep it simple. Rock-paper-scissors. One round."
Seeing them square up again, Kushina hurried to propose a tiebreaker.
"I am fine with it. What about Lady Tsunade."
"Of course I am."
"Settled."
Kushina lifted her hand to count.
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Their hands flashed out together. A red light flickered through Jin's eyes and vanished.
Tsunade looked down and froze. Jin's fist was a rock. Her fingers were a scissor.
"You did not cheat, did you."
She shot him a vicious look, unwilling to accept it.
"Lady Tsunade, no being a sore loser."
Kushina spoke before Jin could.
"I would not. A bet is a bet. I will tell the old man."
Resigned under Kushina's glare, Tsunade sighed, then flashed a sly smile at Jin.
"But since you want to be my student, you are coming to the hospital tomorrow."
"I still have class. And do not be in such a hurry. Becoming your student happens after I graduate."
"Please. What can those teachers teach you. Report to the hospital. I will teach you myself."
Before he could argue, she vanished in a blur, leaving Jin and Kushina staring at each other.