Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san

As expected….

Tōshirō muttered to himself, realizing what was coming.

Seeing his reluctance, Elder Itachi continued nonchalantly, "Recently, we've received some interesting intel. It seems there's a place where people are engaging in some kind of personal worship of Uchiha Madara. I want you to investigate."

"Surely you could ask another clan member to handle this?"

Elder Itachi responded bluntly, "The others are all busy every day. You, on the other hand, seem to have plenty of free time."

Why is he so brutally honest? Tōshirō defended himself, "I'm very busy, alright? Every day, I'm occupied rescuing lost pets. Without me, their owners would be heartbroken!"

"That's usually called being idle."

"…"

Realizing Tōshirō wasn't easily swayed, Elder Itachi played his trump card. "That sword you mentioned last time—I remembered there might actually be one."

"Sword? What sword?" Tōshirō froze, then realized. "The Kusanagi Sword?!"

Elder Itachi stroked his greying beard, his response ambiguous. "I've been considering awarding it to an outstanding member of the clan. If you're willing to help me with this mission…"

"Say no more!"

Tōshirō stood tall, eyes blazing with resolve. His figure gleamed under the sunlight, exuding righteousness. "Leave it to me, Elder Itachi! For the future of the Uchiha Clan, I will take on this task without hesitation. Whether it's finding a corpse or even a living person, I'll get it done!"

Elder Itachi sighed, exasperated by Tōshirō's ability to flip his attitude like a switch. "A living person won't be necessary—just find the corpse."

"Understood."

Tōshirō responded cheerfully.

But wait, what exactly is this mission?

Elder Itachi explained briefly: the task involved investigating the rumored worship of Uchiha Madara and recovering any Sharingan lost during the war.

Being a ninja was a high-risk profession, and it wasn't uncommon for clan members to die during missions. If there were no teammates to retrieve the bodies, these corpses—and their Sharingan—could end up in the hands of outsiders.

The Uchiha Clan always tried to recover such remains, but over the years, some Sharingan had inevitably fallen into the wrong hands.

Given this cult-like worship of Madara, it was logical to suspect they might be targeting Sharingan to emulate their idol. Fan devotion might escalate to attempting to replicate his power.

Elder Itachi tasked Tōshirō with investigating Madara's traces while also recovering any lost Sharingan. Of course, Itachi had his own undisclosed motives.

Tōshirō, upon receiving the mission, tried to negotiate for more benefits, claiming it would improve his success rate.

Itachi wasn't fooled by this little trick and refused outright.

Tōshirōground his teeth in frustration. This old man is too clever!

Itachi pulled out a scroll and handed it to Tōshirō.

"What's this? A new jutsu?" Aokiji asked excitedly.

"This is a summoning beast contract scroll," Itachi replied, his tone calm and measured, as usual.

"A summoning beast contract?" Tōshirō was puzzled.

Noticing his confusion, Itachi explained, "You often travel alone, and there's no one to supervise you. To prevent you from slacking off, I'm assigning a summoning beast to keep an eye on you."

"Come on, that's too much! Am I that kind of person?" Tōshirō protested, though his face betrayed nothing.

"Enough. Just sign the contract," Itachi commanded firmly. "You don't need to summon it unless I assign you to a specific mission location. Then, summon it as a witness."

Tōshirō: …

Reluctantly, Tōshirō opened the scroll and pressed his handprint on it, officially forming the contract with the summoning beast.

After the contract was signed, Tōshirō decided to try summoning the beast. With a poof and a cloud of white smoke, a small, jet-black cat appeared. The cat scratched its nose with its paw, exuding a smug attitude.

It introduced itself as "Coola."

"Coola?" Tōshirō asked, the name sounding oddly familiar. Then, he followed up with an important question, "Do you have the Kusanagi Sword?"

Chapter 99: A Mission with Tsunade

As expected…

Tōshirō muttered to himself, realizing what was coming.

Seeing his reluctance, Elder Itachi continued nonchalantly, "Recently, we've received some interesting intel. It seems there's a place where people are engaging in some kind of personal worship of Uchiha Madara. I want you to investigate."

"Surely you could ask another clan member to handle this?"

Elder Itachi responded bluntly, "The others are all busy every day. You, on the other hand, seem to have plenty of free time."

Why is he so brutally honest? Tōshirō defended himself, "I'm very busy, alright? Every day, I'm occupied rescuing lost pets. Without me, their owners would be heartbroken!"

"That's usually called being idle."

"…"

Realizing Tōshirō wasn't easily swayed, Elder Itachi played his trump card. "That sword you mentioned last time—I remembered there might actually be one."

"Sword? What sword?" Tōshirō froze, then realized. "The Kusanagi Sword?!"

Elder Itachi stroked his greying beard, his response ambiguous. "I've been considering awarding it to an outstanding member of the clan. If you're willing to help me with this mission…"

"Say no more!"

Tōshirō stood tall, eyes blazing with resolve. His figure gleamed under the sunlight, exuding righteousness. "Leave it to me, Elder Itachi! For the future of the Uchiha Clan, I will take on this task without hesitation. Whether it's finding a corpse or even a living person, I'll get it done!"

Elder Itachi sighed, exasperated by Tōshirō's ability to flip his attitude like a switch. "A living person won't be necessary—just find the corpse."

"Understood."

Tōshirō responded cheerfully.

But wait, what exactly is this mission?

Elder Itachi explained briefly: the task involved investigating the rumored worship of Uchiha Madara and recovering any Sharingan lost during the war.

Being a ninja was a high-risk profession, and it wasn't uncommon for clan members to die during missions. If there were no teammates to retrieve the bodies, these corpses—and their Sharingan—could end up in the hands of outsiders.

The Uchiha Clan always tried to recover such remains, but over the years, some Sharingan had inevitably fallen into the wrong hands.

Given this cult-like worship of Madara, it was logical to suspect they might be targeting Sharingan to emulate their idol. Fan devotion might escalate to attempting to replicate his power.

Elder Itachi tasked Tōshirō with investigating Madara's traces while also recovering any lost Sharingan. Of course, Itachi had his own undisclosed motives.

Tōshirō, upon receiving the mission, tried to negotiate for more benefits, claiming it would improve his success rate.

Itachi wasn't fooled by this little trick and refused outright.

Tōshirō ground his teeth in frustration. This old man is too clever!

Itachi pulled out a scroll and handed it to Tōshirō.

"What's this? A new jutsu?" Tōshirō asked excitedly.

"This is a summoning beast contract scroll," Itachi replied, his tone calm and measured, as usual.

"A summoning beast contract?" Tōshirō was puzzled.

Noticing his confusion, Itachi explained, "You often travel alone, and there's no one to supervise you. To prevent you from slacking off, I'm assigning a summoning beast to keep an eye on you."

"Come on, that's too much! Am I that kind of person?" Tōshirō protested, though his face betrayed nothing.

"Enough. Just sign the contract," Itachi commanded firmly. "You don't need to summon it unless I assign you to a specific mission location. Then, summon it as a witness."

Tōshirō: …

Reluctantly, Tōshirō opened the scroll and pressed his handprint on it, officially forming the contract with the summoning beast.

After the contract was signed, Tōshirō decided to try summoning the beast. With a poof and a cloud of white smoke, a small, jet-black cat appeared. The cat scratched its nose with its paw, exuding a smug attitude.

It introduced itself as "Coola."

"Coola?" Tōshirō asked, the name sounding oddly familiar. Then, he followed up with an important question, "Do you have the Kusanagi Sword?"

"The Kusanagi Sword? What's that?"

"Nothing important."

Tōshirō shook his head, brushing off the question as a playful joke.

This was a minor interlude. Afterward, Elder Itachi dragged Tōshirō into a sparring session to test his abilities, ensuring he wasn't getting complacent.

By the end of the training, Tōshirō was drenched in sweat and gasping for air. He couldn't help but think: I've officially reached jonin level, but Elder Itachi still toys with me like it's nothing.

Still, he remained confident. With his body rapidly developing, he believed he was on the verge of a significant growth spurt in strength, soon advancing to elite jonin level and perhaps even Kage-tier.

Elder Itachi, slightly satisfied, gave a brief nod of approval, signaling the end of the day's test.

After bidding farewell to Elder Itachi, Tōshirō wandered over to the mission assignment area, hoping to find a pet-retrieval mission to occupy his time while completing his other tasks.

"Tōshirō, just the person I was looking for."

A familiar voice called out from behind him. Turning, Tōshirō saw a blonde girl with striking beauty—Tsunade.

"What is it now, Tsunade?"

Tōshirō's tone was indifferent. He was mentally preparing to head out and complete the task assigned by Elder Itachi to claim the Kusanagi Sword and enhance his strength. He had no time for any romantic drama or confessions.

"Come with me."

Tsunade wasn't interested in arguing with him in public.

Tōshirō sighed and followed her. As they walked, he asked, "What's this about?"

Tsunade got straight to the point. "I've got a mission, and I want you to help me with it."

"This is rare. You're specifically requesting me?"

Tōshirō stopped and looked at her. "You should know by now—I don't like working in teams."

"I don't have much choice. This mission is unique, and your abilities are a perfect fit."

Tōshirō lowered his head, thinking it over. He guessed she was referring to his Ice Release techniques.

"What's the mission?"

Out of courtesy, he decided to hear her out. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have bothered.

Tsunade explained briefly: a monster had been sighted near the coastal regions of the Land of Fire, disrupting maritime trade and the fishing industry. People who came into contact with the creature also contracted a strange disease, severely affecting the local population.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had personally issued an order to eliminate the monster. Since treating the disease was also part of the mission, the Hokage assigned it to Tsunade, who had just completed her training, allowing her to select her team members.

Given that the mission involved combat at sea, Tsunade chose Tōshirō for his skills and abilities, which were ideal for the task.

Of course, there was another reason—one she wasn't entirely open about.

After hearing the details, Tōshirō's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you dreaming? This sounds way too dangerous. I'm not interested."

Tsunade wasn't surprised by his reaction. With a sigh, she said, "Alright, fine. Go back to catching pets, then. By the way, do you know how much the reward for this mission is? Let me think…"

She casually mentioned an astronomical figure.

Tōshirō swallowed hard.

Tsunade continued nonchalantly, "Never mind. If you're not interested, I'll find someone else. Once I complete the mission, you can watch me count the money later."

"Wait…"

"What is it?"

"I think you need a reliable partner for this mission."

"A reliable partner, huh?"

Tsunade's eyes sparkled with curiosity, as if to say, Are you that person?

Tōshirō presented his case. "While I've never teamed up with you before, you should know better than anyone how capable I am."

Tsunade smiled slyly. "Well, if you're so insistent, I suppose I can consider it."

Tōshirō declared solemnly, "Please, let us complete this mission together and claim the reward!"

"Since you're so eager, I have no choice. You better assist me properly!"

"Understood."

Tōshirō had intended to decline, but the reward was simply too enticing to pass up.

(End of Chapter)

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