Chapter 73: Tsunade Pays a Visit

"What are you thinking about?" Tsunade crossed her arms, glaring at him with a mixture of annoyance and hurt. "You agreed to become my student. You even asked me to teach you my medical ninjutsu. But months have passed and you barely show up! You even sent a Shadow Clone to learn fuinjutsu from Grandma Mito… and completely ignore me! Do you think my medical ninjutsu is worthless?"

Gin flinched under her stern tone.

He hadn't paid much attention to it at first—Tsunade didn't seem to care either—but earlier that evening at a party with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, the topic of students came up. After a few drinks, Jiraiya smirked and said, "I've never even seen Tsunade's student. Maybe he's so bad, she's too embarrassed to show him?"

Tsunade had knocked him out cold with a single punch and stormed off in a fury. But it had also reminded her—she had a student. A brilliant one, in fact. And it was time to make sure everyone knew that.

"Ahaha… sorry!" Gin laughed awkwardly, completely unaware of the earlier incident. "I've just been really busy lately and forgot…"

She didn't look amused.

"I'll send a Shadow Clone to you every day from now on," he added quickly. "We can go over medical ninjutsu, share techniques, discuss healing approaches—how does that sound?"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed.

"A Shadow Clone? Why not come yourself?"

"I really don't have the time," Gin replied honestly. "Ask my mom or Kushina—my schedule is packed with training."

Tsunade looked him up and down and huffed. "Is that so? I did hear Kushina's busy too... But you've changed a lot. You've grown at least ten centimeters in a few months. You're six and a half years old and already nearly 1.4 meters tall. What the hell are you eating—fertilizer?"

Gin chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Proper nutrition, I guess! And hard training."

He was, of course, secretly eating meat from the Sea Kings. Their flesh, combined with intense physical training, had supercharged his growth. He had even started holding himself back—otherwise, he might've looked fifteen by now. In the Pirate World, giants roamed freely. He had no interest in being mistaken for a child forever.

"You don't want to tell me? Fine," Tsunade rolled her eyes. "But I'm not blind. Kushina's grown taller too, and your physical and chakra vitality are off the charts. I don't know what you're hiding, but it's clearly not normal."

Gin blinked. "Wait, you noticed? I thought I was doing a good job keeping it subtle!"

"For who do you take me?" Tsunade shot back, smirking confidently. "I'm the best medical-nin in Konoha. You can suppress it perfectly, but after training, your life force still leaks a little. Your breathing patterns change. I picked it up."

Gin gave a sheepish grin. "You really are amazing, Sensei. No one else has ever caught that!"

In truth, his life force concealment was a passive ability now. What Tsunade had detected was almost unnoticeable. Her ability to sense even that faint shift was nothing short of miraculous—she wasn't a Sannin for nothing.

Tsunade sighed. "Anyway, if you're too busy, I'll take the Shadow Clone. But send it to Konoha Hospital tomorrow morning. I'm off mission rotation for now."

She turned to leave, but glanced at his mother on her way out.

Later that night, Gin asked, "Mom, did you use normal ingredients for the pills?"

Hikari smirked. "Of course. With Tsunade's level of insight, she'd instantly recognize Sea King meat and pinpoint it as the key component of the nutritional blend."

Gin nodded thoughtfully.

"She's not someone you can fool for long," Hikari continued. "You should start spending more time with her. Build up your relationship—earn her favor. If we want to form a long-term contract with her, now's the time."

"Her abilities will be crucial in future research," she added. "Both in combat and in medicine. She'll be a perfect partner for developing more advanced healing techniques and support pills."

Mito's affection had already crossed 80%. Tsunade was not far behind. And contracts with both would be critical in furthering the grand plan involving the Senju and Uchiha.

Gin grinned. "Another step toward the future…"