Wok Shadow Ninja

Chapter 115: Becoming Tsunade's Apprentice

At this moment, Tsunade finally noticed Ino and immediately pulled her into a hug. The intimate posture made Ino feel a bit flustered.

Tsunade asked, "Oh, little Ino is back! Looks like you didn't get hurt? That's great! Did you bring that idiot Shibuki back to the Hidden Leaf Village?"

Since this matter involved Tsunade's test mission, Ino had to explain it clearly. She recounted how she escorted Shibuki back to the Hidden Leaf and then followed him to the Hidden Waterfall Village.

Tsunade didn't care at all about the rebellion or its suppression. She was only interested in the final part. Her eyes sparkled with excitement: "Was it an A-rank mission? Just you and Kurenai? If you split the reward, how much did you get? Was it at least 500,000 ryo?"

Shizune, standing nearby, covered her face in embarrassment, feeling ashamed to be associated with her boss.

Ino had come prepared to meet Tsunade. After all, her money was hard-earned, and she wasn't about to throw it away.

She complained with a pitiful expression, "The Hidden Waterfall Village did pay the reward, but... my money... my money was all borrowed by Asuma-sensei!"

"What?! He dares?!" Tsunade was furious.

How dare that little Asuma "steal" money from her? Did he have a death wish?

Ino explained with a troubled look, "Asuma-sensei is about to marry Kurenai-sensei, so he's been tight on funds lately. On top of that, the Third Hokage made him learn the Mutual Multiplicity Exploding Tags technique, and as a result... sigh, all the money I worked so hard to earn is gone..."

Tsunade, of course, knew about the Mutual Multiplicity Exploding Tags. She shuddered at the thought of this S-rank ninjutsu developed by her grandfather. That technique was terrifying and way too expensive!

She was also full of resentment toward the Sarutobi family. You have so much money, why not spend it on gambling? Why practice something as wasteful as Mutual Multiplicity Exploding Tags? What a waste!

Although Tsunade grumbled, she didn't take it to heart. Ino's excuse only added a fraction to her frustration, and the matter was brushed aside.

The Fourth Raikage, never known for his patience, wasn't stupid. He knew Tsunade was using this conversation to stall him as payback for his earlier trick during the arm-wrestling match.

He stood there like a wall, waiting silently.

Tsunade spent five minutes complaining to Ino, mostly about the Sarutobi family.

The old man was cowardly, Asuma was naive, and even eight-year-old Konohamaru wasn't spared. "Hmph, I heard many villagers and ninja are calling him 'Lord Konohamaru' now? Just because his grandfather is the Hokage? My grandfather was also the Hokage, but do you see me bragging about it?"

Ino and Shizune forced smiles, and even Tonton the pig nodded along. You're the best, Tsunade. The entire Sarutobi family combined can't hold a candle to you.

Just as the Fourth Raikage was about to lose his temper, Tsunade patted Ino on the shoulder. "Well, choosing me as your teacher shows you have good taste. You're much smarter than those Sarutobi fools. From now on, you'll study under me."

Ino immediately responded, "Thank you, sensei. I'll work hard."

She knew full well that this apprenticeship wasn't as simple as it seemed. The Yamanaka clan, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and even the Sarutobi family had all played a part in making this happen. They had spent considerable effort and favors to arrange this.

The reason they were willing to help was that Ino had proven her worth. She had the talent and potential to deserve such an opportunity.

Otherwise, if just anyone could become Tsunade's apprentice, she'd be swamped with students.

With the formal teacher-student relationship established, the Fourth Raikage dryly offered a few words of congratulations, serving as a witness to the occasion. Afterward, they followed the Kagegakure group to a small cabin outside the town to treat a patient.

The patient, named Kayui, had a spider-shaped protrusion on his chest that pulsed rapidly with his heartbeat. From the outside, it appeared that Kayui's blood was being drawn toward the protrusion. Once the energy accumulated to its peak, there was a risk of a significant explosion.

Tsunade's hands glowed with a fine layer of chakra as she meticulously examined the spider-shaped protrusion beneath Kayui's skin.

After studying it for a while, Tsunade asked, "I heard you stole a secret technique from the Village of Shadows? Did they do this?"

The Fourth Raikage hesitated for a moment before replying, "It wasn't the Village of Shadows. We ran into the Hunter-nin. Those guys make a living hunting ninja. They were probably hired by the Village of Shadows."

Tsunade didn't care about ninja hunters or the Xuanyuan Clan, and neither did Ino. If they've provoked the Fourth Raikage, they're done for. This guy is a warmonger through and through. If the Hidden Leaf's combat desire is a 1, the Kagegakure's is at least a 10.

Next, they needed to remove the tumor from Kayui. Tsunade still couldn't handle blood, so she provided the surgical plan, while Shizune performed the actual operation.

Ino's rudimentary medical skills weren't even close to being ready for this. If she tried to help, she'd probably kill the patient. However, having worked at the Hidden Leaf Hospital for two months, she could at least assist.

Shizune asked her, "Do you know any medical ninjutsu?"

Ino felt extremely awkward. Despite her early preparations, she still hadn't mastered a single medical technique.

She shook her head sheepishly.

Shizune, however, was very patient. "It's fine. Just hand me the tools, and I'll explain the key points of the procedure."

She lifted her right leg, pulled an anesthetic from a holster on her thigh, and swiftly injected it into Kayui's vein. The entire process was smooth and efficient. Within five seconds, Kayui was completely anesthetized.

Ino was secretly impressed. How many people has she anesthetized to be this skilled?

Shizune was one of the top medical ninja in the world, far surpassing even the likes of Hanzo from the Hidden Leaf Hospital. As she took over Tsunade's teaching role, she explained the procedure in detail, starting from the basics. Ino listened attentively.

Medical ninjutsu was still ninjutsu, but its primary focus was healing.

When Ino used the Steam Explosion Release, she didn't need to distinguish between the mucosal layer, submucosal layer, muscular layer, or serosal layer. She just had to blow things up! But as a medical ninja, she had to identify these layers carefully. There was no room for mistakes.

Her foundation was lacking, and her theoretical knowledge wasn't even half-baked. Jumping straight into the operating room was like Sasuke trying to learn the Chidori without mastering Lightning Release first it was overwhelming.

But Ino had her own method: Shadow Clone Technique, activate!

She created nine shadow clones to assist Shizune during the surgery.

The main body focused on listening to the explanations, while the clones took notes, took photos, drew diagrams, and handed over tools. They formed a human wall, blocking the surgical area completely.

The Fourth Raikage craned his neck for a while but couldn't see what was happening inside. Any blood that might have splattered toward Tsunade was blocked by Ino's clones, not a single drop escaping.

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