Red Riot - Chapter 48 - Red Trauma (Patreon)

Matsu Uzumaki:- person of high interest to other Shinobi Villages. Jonin. Medical/Taijutsu/Ninjutsu/Sensory speciality. Chief Medical Officer of the Kiri Medical Program. He is now fifteen years old.

Shoto:- ANBU operative, which effectively takes him out of the standard ranking system. Has been absent for several months. A highly skilled Stealth specialist. Friends with Matsu and Rei.

Rei:- former classmate with Matsu, Shoto, and Sayuki. Only the first two know she’s alive. During a brawl at the brothel she was hiding in, she was injured, with her eyes being damaged. Something of a prodigy at Fuinjutsu, she now lives in the Land of Vegetables, assisting Matsu from afar.

Kuroiwa Karatachi - student of Matsu. Karatachi clanswoman. Tk Jonin. Medic. Capitalist! Primed to being Matsu’s second in command of Kirigakure’s Medic Corps.

Kushimaru Kuriarare:- One of the Seven Swordsmen. Wielder of Nuibari.

Koremei Tendo - The current wielder of Shibuki. Weapons mistress with a grounding in many styles. Preferred fighting style: Kenjutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and Taijutsu. She's a unit! Big girl!

_____________________________

The sound of clicks had me opening my eyes to find myself staring up at my office roof.

“Awwww, he woke up brother!” whined a shrill voice from beneath me. “I was gonna take a bite!”

“You… you shouldn’t do that to our summoner! He’s part of the pod Nami!” cried another, in a boyish tone.

I rotated on the spot and glared down at the two orca.

Minoru, the boy orca, curled in on himself. “S-sorry Matsu! I know you like to train with your chakra in the water, but Nami said she was going to eat you!”

“I was joking!” claimed Nami, only to glance to the side. “Mostly,” she muttered.

“Hmmm, considering that your mouth is big enough to bite off my hand, I’d prefer that you don’t,” I offered blandly. “How else would I summon you into the oceans otherwise?” I pointed out.

Nami blew out some bubbles causing the water to froth up.

“You only did that once today! I want more trips to the ocean! The fish there are tasty and slow!” 

I gave Minoru a look as he remained silent. “You want that too buddy?” I asked.

When he nodded, I hummed before sitting up. “Well, you’re both just going to wait. I have things I need to do and I can’t just leave you to decimate the local fish population. Now do you want to return to your Clan’s realm?” I suggested.

“Nooooooo,” the pair chorused. “We’ll be good.”

I snorted, knowing that Nami would only be so for perhaps another twenty minutes.

Rising up off the water, I walked on it before skipping over a glass wall and down to where my office sat. 

The aquarium was a new addition and one that I was rather pleased with. It might have taken up an entire room in the hospital but having the orcas swimming about in the water was rather relaxing.

They also acted as a useful new security feature while giving me a personalised training area to perform my chakra meditations. While the benefits in terms of chakra capacity had stopped, I still found it relaxing and beneficial to my mindset to perform ten minutes of chakra cycling a day at least.

If I had a busy day, sometimes I’d do it for longer.

Minoru and Nami were the youngest of the Orca clan that had accepted me, but not the only ones. 

They were also, by no means the most temperamental of summons within my roster. Still, even the most cantankerous Orca offered benefits with jutsu, insight into water manipulation, or just offering a summon who could become clutch in a lot of situations.

A knock at the door made me pout a little. While Minoru had warned me about his sister’s antics, I’d actually been fully aware of what was going on outside.

Shoto wasn’t trying to sneak in. 

Lame.

I half considered climbing back into the water and pretending to be asleep just to add another point to Shoto and my game.

Hmmm, then again, if I kept playing dead, Nami might charge at me. 

As a joke, of course.

The only issue was that when an Orca joked around, you usually got bodied in some manner.

My defensive Iron Body Jutsu had been getting a serious workout over the last month and a half since I’d acquired the Orca summons. Playing around had seen me getting smashed, thrown, skipped across the water, and on one particular occasion, crushed between two of them during their games.

Another knock made me sigh and flick my hands to unlock the door. “You can enter Shoto,” I announced.

Nami and Minoru began to swim around the front of the tank, eyeing Shoto, who in turn watched them. On his shoulder, a small chameleon sat, watching me, and the orcas at the same time. My eyes twitched downwards. Huh, he was walking without making any noise, and was he gliding slightly?

“What’s up bud?” I asked, eying his exasperated expression.

“I got some more—” Nami chose that moment to attempt to splash Shoto. Her tail swept over the top of the tank and water soared towards us.

I raised my hand and flexed my chakra. The water froze in the air. 

“Not today Nami. Remember, it’s rude to do it while you’re being observed. You need to be sneaky about it,” I lectured.

Shoto shook his head as Nami blew some bubbles and swam to the other side of the tank.

“You really shouldn’t be teaching her that. What if Gengetsu or someone from the council were to come in here?”

“First of all, none of the council members, Gengetsu especially, would come to my office. They prefer to try to summon me or meet on neutral ground. If they have to meet me they make a point of always waiting in the foyer for me to come to them and the talk ends up being a walk around the hospital.”

“Urgh, really? You can’t just sit down with each other?”

“It causes tensions to rise,” I replied. “Things are already annoying enough to deal with people knowing Gengetsu favors me. If I were to suddenly have something like an alliance or deal with Nezda, or the others… well, some of my missions might face more issues.”

Such as ANBU hit teams or Hunter nin intercepting me, but that was beside the point.

“Tch! That makes all too much sense!” Shoto collapsed in the chair across from me and stared at the ceiling for a moment. Minoru crept to the edge of the pool, tail twitching. 

Shoto sighed. “That system is messed up. When can you change it up?” he asked, looking me dead in the eyes.

I looked Shoto dead in the eye. “When are you going to be ready to take over as ANBU commander and for there to be no other possible candidates?”

That caused him to grimace and nod. “I’m not at that level yet,” he muttered.

“Hmm, well you’re one of the people I’m waiting on,” I pointed out before taking the scroll he offered me and breaking the seal on it.

Shoto nodded slowly. “You’ve got people set up in the Swordsmen roles…”

“Junta and Sanae are just trainees, and they’re currently apprentices for Koremei, who I’d prefer to keep alive.”

Shoto nodded slowly. “What about Ringo? She owes you one right?”

“Owing me one, as you put it, is not the same as following my lead,” I pointed out.

“Okay, but what about Kamoji, or Hidenari? Didn’t you heal them up after Fuguki gave them a beating that one—”

Minoru chose that moment to take his shot, launching a blast of fire from his lips at the paperwork. I started to raise my hand to condense a water wall, only for the Chameloen on Shoto’s shoulder to surprise me by twitching and glaring at the tiny fireball.

The ball of flame vanished in midair as a wind jutsu snuffed it out. I blinked in surprise. Usually, wind jutsu would empower a fire jutsu… for it to do the opposite. 

“Neat trick,” I offered with a polite nod, mostly ignoring the byplay occurring in front of me as I read the scroll from Gengetsu. Hmmmm… this… shit.

Shoto smirked. “Kappa here is a deft hand at wind ninjutsu. He’s taken me under his wing so to speak.” 

Kappa twitched again. One of his eyes remained on me with the other on the aquarium. 

“Is he the reason you’re hovering slightly above the ground?” I asked.

Shoto smirked. “Heh, should have known you’d catch that. It’s a trick to widen your point of pressure. Helps avoid pressure traps as in some points you’re putting down less weight than a mouse.”

“Neat, can that be shared?” I asked, curious to add it to my arsenal, only for Kappa to twitch again in agitation. 

Shoto shook his head. “Chameleon clan summoners only,” he said, bowing his head in apology.

I reached the end of the scroll and rolled it up before tapping it twice in thought, as I did I ignored Nami and Minoru trying to splash Kappa only for him to deflect or evaporate their attempts.

His casual disregard for them only made them try harder. I clicked once in the back of my throat to stop them.

Shoto’s gaze zeroed in on the scroll. “What’s the problem?”

I waved off his apology. If I wanted, I could do the same with water, or I could just recreate the jutsu myself from the feel of it.

I did, however, raise an eyebrow at him asking about the scroll. He gestured to my hands. “You tap sometimes when something worrying is given to you.”

“Hmmm, I’m quite sure I don’t have such a pattern, but in this instance you’re not wrong,” I said calmly. I tossed the scroll back to Shoto and he opened it to read through it.

He whistled. “Oh… he wants to—”

“Yup,” I replied, nodding and staring towards my aquarium.

“Can you… do that?” he asked.

I worked my lip and considered the question. This was most likely a way for Gengetsu to either humble me or keep me busy. There was no way he hadn’t noticed that I’d pawned most of, if not all of my work, onto my underlings for the past month and a half.

Now he was lighting a fire under me.

I could possibly say no, citing some reason, but he’d use that, or go ahead with it.

“Guess I’m going to have to switch priorities,” I muttered. 

“Hmmm, no shit, is this even possible?” Shoto asked, rubbing at his neck and swallowing.

“Theoretically?” I replied.

Shoto nodded.

I sat and stared at the roof for a while, considering all the different factors I’d need to account for. There was the blood, the nervous system, the muscles, the oesophagus and also the bones… Oh! Lym—

“Matsu… you’re kind of freaking me out here with how quiet you just got!” Shoto cut in, causing me to blink.

“Oh? Hmmm well, it's doable!” I replied as I began running through how I was going to train up for this. Chickens or fish perhaps? Then move up to cows?

Hmmm, there was going to be a lot of blood with this…We’re going to need some blood-resistant clothing in the hospital. Scrubs, we needed scrubs, and maybe something like a haori for senior staff?

Ah, the Orcas might be rubbing off on me with their fashion sense.

“Yeah, theoretically it’s possible!” I chirped.

Shoto stared at me before raising his hands and shaking his head. “I… I’m not sure I want to even watch the chunin exams, knowing this is going to happen.”

I offered a shrug. “It’s always possible. If anything, this is going to be a big display of skill for us.”

“What about the second part of the scroll? With him wanting you to proctor a method of whittling people down that is going to be ‘suitably impressive’?”

“He means traumatising,” I replied.

“I know what he meant by that!” Shoto chopped a hand in my direction.

 I hummed before smiling. “Oh, I have an idea for that, it’s something of a classic even,” I declared.

“You’re flipping the script?” Shoto replied, eying me.

“Ah, you know me so well,” I replied with a chuckle before flexing my chakra and sealing the room. Minoru, Kappa, and Nami all stopped what they were doing and focused on us.

“Shoto, has Rei been able to make any progress on the task I assigned her?”

Shoto shook his head. “No, but you’re asking a bit much, don’t you think? No one has access to those seals, or even has a first or second-hand recounting of the Second Hokage’s Flying Thunder God jutsu! Asking for a method of countering or neutralising it, even with your theories on how it works, is impossible!”

“Hmmm, no, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that there is nothing impossible in this world, not if we strive for it.”

“Hmph, tell that to the kids who are dead! You going to resurrect them?” he demanded, leaning forward and looming from his chair.

Instead of staying silent on that and giving the game away that there already was such a jutsu, I merely nodded, conceding the point. “Regardless, we need a counter for it with a third shinobi war looming.”

“No one in Konoha has demonstrated such a skill!” Shoto argued. “You’re being paranoid and wasting Rei’s time when she could be achieving other things for us.”

“First of all, you’re underestimating the threat of that jutsu on a utility scale if not a straight combat application. Secondly, Konoha has the most Seal Masters alive currently. I don’t want to leave things to chance,” I stated. “And finally? Rei knows not to burn herself out on this. I merely made her aware of it as a priority for her to consider; any progress she can make will mean a world of difference for us, potentially in the future.”

“Hmph, alright, but don’t get too focused on just that jutsu, man. Konoha has other threats within its roster, like the White Fang and Orochimaru.”

“Counters for them are being created, I assure you,” I replied easily. “Are you nervous that you’ll have to monitor such individuals?”

“I’d be an idiot not to,” he scoffed.

“Hmmm, don’t forget that there are other sleeping dragons within Konoha’s ranks. Jiraiya for instance, Tsunade Senju, as well as their Clan shinobi.”

Shoto bowed his head. “I’ll be as careful as I can be. It’s why I’m spending so much time training with the chameleons. I’ve almost got their version of the transformation jutsu worked out,” he informed me.

I raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry. If that was anything like what Lord Shiromari did to create a castle then— Shoto shook his head, and I accepted it with a nod, knowing I couldn’t push.

I sat back then. “Well, looks like we both have a lot of work ahead of us, want my help improving your endurance and stealth abilities?” I asked, offering my hand to Shoto.

He grabbed it in a firm clasp. “Heh, you’re always my first choice training buddy. I’m going to sneak up on you good!”

“Hmm, I think I might introduce a twist to our stealth sessions,” I stated, my teeth starting to show as I grinned evilly at him.

Shoto leaned away from me, only to find my clasp of his hand too solid for him to escape. “W-what have you got in mind?” he asked, eyes darting to the side to spot my two orca summons both with matching grins.

“Oh… I call it ocean hide-and-seek. You hide… we hunt,” I replied. In the aquarium, both of the orca calf began to speed up, eying Shoto with glee.

“I don’t think I’m going to like this game,” Shoto muttered, watching the now churned-up waters.

“You’ll learn quickly, I assure you. And you’ll be fine. It’ll be just like at the academy when we went for a swim.”

“We swam in shark-infested water.”

Instead of replying, I just smiled at him.

Having an orca calf that weighed at least half a ton, swimming at you was wonderful motivation to improve. And that was before I started summoning in my bigger friends. 

I only had a month and change before the Chunin Exams started. There were going to be shinobi galore roaming Kirigakure and there was a lot that was going to have to be tested, like the security features as well as checking the readiness of my medic nin.

As well as upskilling as much as I could for a big showy display of gore.

______________________

Tsunade stared at the ocean.

It was vast, wet, and fucking annoying because she was on it, rather than sitting on a beach looking at it from a bar.

But, like a big damned idiot, she hadn’t been able to say no when the third Hokage himself approached her.

She just wished that her sensei had sent someone like Jiraiya, or some other idiot, or Grampa forbid! A team of ANBU. 

She’d have had fun kicking the crap out of them and reminding them they’re not all that hot shit.

The only people she had to fear in Konoha were Orochimaru, Sensei, and the White Fang.

She’d assumed those three wouldn’t have had the time in their busy lives to track her down to the dive bar she’d selected for the latest attempt to drown her sorrows, followed by robbing the idiots that tried to take advantage of her in her ‘inebriated’ state.

Idiots didn’t understand that she was the best damned medic in the world. Alcohol didn’t affect her unless she allowed it.

Then she’d had sensei drop into the seat next to her and order what she was having.

They sat in silence for five minutes. No subtle hand signs, or looks, just what should have been companionable silence.

Then she’d cracked, speaking up first like a child who knew she’d done wrong, which she hated. 

She didn’t owe Konoha anymore. 

It had already taken enough from her.

Too much.

Far too much.

Sensei had, of course, worked his special ‘disappointment in her’ look, referenced her grandfather and great uncle’s legacy in a way that she couldn’t smack him into a wall for, and then turned and begged her for help.

Kiri-fucking-gakure apparently had a medical system that was starting to rival Konoha, and the analysts were dumbfounded about how they’d managed it.

Simple mission. In and out. 

In her mind, it would take a few days at most.

Then she’d gotten to Konoha and been given the details of how she was getting in.

The freaking chunin Exams, which, to decrease the risk of her mission being compromised, required that she take on a team of brats.

Not actual brats. These were the little ones that Danzo had his fingerprints all over.

All yes Lady Tsunade this, no Lady Tsunade, we’ll slit our own throats after yours if you’re at risk of being captured Lady Tsunade. 

The creepy bastards.

They were, in short, the very last sort of students she’d ever take on.

Give her one singular apprentice, and she could make them a force to be reckoned with.

At least some good would come of this. Da… well his niece was in the academy at the moment. The second she graduated, she was coming under Tsunade’s tutelage. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Or else she’d punch the faces of her relatives off the Hokage monument.

“We’re approaching Kiri Lady Tsunade,” whispered the one of her fellow Jonin

Tsunade turned and gave the other woman a flat look. “I know,” she snarked. “It’s a bit fucking obvious with the mist that’s started rolling in, no?”

The other Jonin rolled their eyes, unimpressed with her attitude, but Tsunade didn’t care. 

The ships that Konoha had acquired for the Chunin exams glided into the mist, and Tsunade felt a cloying chakra trying to drip its way into her coils only for her to reject it.

It persisted however, like a suitor that she just couldn’t swat away.

Urgh, the day had barely started, and she already needed a drink. 

“Gather around team!” she bit out instead and an instant later, three dead-eyed little killers appeared before her. 

She gave the ‘Genin’ a look .”How far can you see within it?”

“Twenty metres, my chakra control is—”

“Bah! Not good enough!” spat Tsunade.

“We also have scent, and sound-amplifying jutsu,” offered her sole kunoichi in the team. ‘Mina’ stared too much and made Tsunade want to throttle her.

“Don’t get too reliant on other tricks like scent or sound, alright? Not with Gengetsu ruling Kiri. Got that?”  Tsunade barked.

“Yes, Lady Tsunade,” bowed the girl, her face still expressionless.

“Keep cycling your chakra as much as you can. This mist is mostly chakra construct but also has genjutsu woven into it. Your range of vision will keep reducing if you don’t block it.”

The trio blinked. “... I didn’t detect anything Lady Tsunade and I’m a—”

“I know my own coils brat!” snapped Tsunade as she glowered at the boy, Borosen for trying to ‘correct her’. 

“I know what a genjutsu feels like slipping into my coils.” She twirled a finger. “You’re in Kiri now, don’t expect them to play nice, or else you’re going to be dead. Stay…” she considered saying sharp, but these brats were basically ground down to be nothing but edges. “—adaptable,” she said.

They nodded as one, causing her to grimace.

“Fix your face as well!” barked Tsunade, causing the girl to adopt a bright and cheery expression that didn’t match the dead eyes she had.

Fucking Danzo. 

And fuck Sensei for attaching these kids to her. She’d probably be used as political capital by Danzo to demonstrate that his efforts were worth expanding on.

She felt sick just thinking about it. She’d sat in on enough meetings to know how the world moved without being in the room after all.

You didn’t grow up with Hashirama Senju as a Grandfather, or Tobirama as a Great Uncle, and then have Hiruzen as your sensei without knowing the undercurrents.

She could see the way things were heading. The strings that would be pulled.

It would all become a question of who would provide the first thrown kunai that would see the war kicking off.

It would never be traced back to Danzo of course, but Tsunade knew he’d poke and prod and set things just so if he had his way. Sensei was still pushing things back, hoping to delay.

To him, each day they weren’t at war was a victory.

It’s why she still respected him.

Even if he was an absolute bastard.

Tsunade ran her tongue over her teeth. The brats were a fig leaf excuse for her to be here, and everyone would know straight away that she was here for the medical system.

Which they’d be right about. Her entire mission was to evaluate the effectiveness of Kiri’s medical system and the people who make it up.

When they made it to the docks they were greeted by several Chunin who looked bored, while others had sharp-eyed looks that flitted over the group at large. Then there were the actual threats.

Koremei Tendo, wielder of Shibuki, sat at the back with her blade resting over her shoulder.

Most thought that thing was a joke, but Tsunade had seen the aftermath of it during a fight in the ocean. That blade was deadly in the wrong hands.

A flicker of movement had her and the other Jonin spotting Kushimaru appear, observe their group and then fade away with a click of his tongue that echoed and caused some of the Genin to flinch and glance around.

And that, right there, was why people like Jiraiya, Orochimaru, or Sakumo couldn’t be the ones to take the lead on this. 

Because they’d made enemies, and as the medic in the team, a lot of people, while respecting her, didn’t see her as a threat, nor did they begrudge her stepping onto the battlefield.

That or it was that she’d only left smears of her opponents; they’d never limped away, injured and vowing revenge.

That warmed the dark embers in her heart that she usually tried to drown out with alcohol. They were led to their quarters, which was in truth a hotel assigned entirely to Konoha for the duration of the event.

Their merchant contacts had been able to supply them a good idea of Kirigakure’s infrastructure, so they had a basic map of the new developments.

The hospital had pride of place near the Academy, which was just off from the centre of the Village by two blocks. While in Konoha, the Academy formed the heart of the Village, in Kiri, the Mizukage’s square held dominance.

The merchants obviously didn’t know much of any secret passageways or hidden nooks that would allow observation.

To deal with that, Konoha nin weren’t to discuss anything truly sensitive while in Kiri first and foremost. 

To try and limit other methods, the Konoha team began inspecting everything in the rooms. If they could have, they might have torn the very rooms apart, but instead they settled for stabbing senbons into furniture, suspicious floorboards, or even roof crawl spaces.

When that was done, Tsunade subtly summoned Katsuya.

“My Lady?” questioned a tiny variant of the normally giant slug. 

“I need you to inspect the area for any observers or hidden passages that might have gone unnoticed.”

The small slug’s eyes lowered. “I will endeavour to support you, my Lady!”

Tsunade shook her head and sat down upon a cushion, rather bemused at how a powerful summon could act so subservient. It was the complete opposite of the Toads and the Snakes of her teammates who could often be quite belligerent if summoned at the wrong time.

Katsuyu was never like that.

Another Jonin, a Yamanaka by the look of him, decided that sitting with her was a good idea, causing her eyebrow to twitch. If he tried hitting on her…

“Urgh, the nobles have all set up in the castle, fecking peacocks,” muttered the man, causing Tsunade’s ire to stall out.

“Castle? Kiri doesn’t have a castle,” she replied. The intel was very firm on that. The latest construction had all been towards Kiri’s hospital, and that thing they called an arena.

“Yeah, the intel is off. I wandered over there before coming here,” the man offered up. “I know one of the court members who has come as part of the Daimyo’s entourage.”

“Ah, so not only is Kiri flexing on us with their new medical system, but they’re also demonstrating some unknown ability,” Tsunade mused aloud.

“Hmmm, that seems to be their intention. It isn’t wood-based at least. Too mixed in the construction.”

“Could they have just rushed the work?” Tsunade asked, ignoring the suggestion that they might have a rogue mokuton user. That would be ridiculous. None had emerged since her grandfather and it was looking like none ever would again.

“No, I asked around, and various merchants swear that the land was previously just a training area. Then, overnight, it suddenly appeared.”

“Which means less than nothing considering their merchants,” Tsunade grunted. 

In truth, some of those merchants might have had a tiny inkling of shinobi jutsu. But when people like Gengetsu were involved, there was every odd that he’d been laying a long-term illusion over the field and having people build it up for a sudden reveal. Did that mean there were other sites just like this spread across the elemental nations?

Key positions would need to be inspected by tracking and investigation teams.

“Any other issues?” she probed, earning a sigh from the other Jonin.

“Just the fact that Kiri is playing up the exams for the nobles. If it were anyone else, a lesser village, perhaps I could see it being a desperate grab to make the most of people being here. Kiri though…”

Rather than verbalise her response, Tsunade just nodded.

At that moment, a small slug returned to her. “Lady Tsunade, I have found nothing out of the ordinary!” she proclaimed.

“Excellent work, you may return if you wish,” Tsunade offered to the tiny Katsuyu fragment. It bowed politely before dismissing itself with a puff of chakra smoke.

“That’ll have everyone resting easy, knowing that Lady Kat—”

“Don’t get sloppy,” Tsunade barked, cutting the man off. “See to your teams and remind them to keep cycling their chakra in this mist.”

The man stiffened. “Right, of course Lady Tsunade,” the man grit out as he bowed his head and left her alone.

Tsunade sighed, annoyed at herself, the man, everyone in general, Kiri in particular, and Sensei for dragging her back to this shitshow.

Rather than stalking towards the closest bar and getting black out drunk, Tsunade slipped towards her room where she lay down.

There was nothing else to do, so she shut her eyes and tried to sleep, only for her dreams to twist themselves into nightmares like always.

______________________

Being lauded as the best medic in the world had many benefits and detractions. 

One of said detractions was that the Daimyo knew you, due to always needing help with small, embarrassing issues that didn’t bear mentioning in polite conversation, but that were great for using as leverage when you wanted your way.

This sadly meant that when the ‘Genin team’ that she’d taught stepped into the first exam, she was invited to socialise with the Daimyo and his much smaller court.

The Guardian Twelve were of course in attendance, with the various shinobi greeting her with polite bows while the monks and samurai that had earned the position stoically watched her.

“Ah! Lady Tsunade! It is good to see you grace us with your presence!” welcomed the Daimyo.

“Hmmm, Lord Hito, thank you for the invitation,” Tsunade bowed in response, knowing that while she had dirt on the man, it was still wise to show respect for a man who allowed her more freedom with her Village than most.

In truth, Tsunade suspected that it was because it made it all so much easier to limit how many people knew of embarrassing incidents. No need to lodge a mission with the Village after all if a messenger could approach her directly.

Tsunade took a seat that was close to the Daimyo’s right, indicating that she was in favour.

The Daimyo, having greeted her, turned and gave another Lord a sly look. “Hmmm what’s this Lord Fundoshi? You’re not usually one to stay so quiet?”

Lord Fundoshi twitched and Tsunade ran her gaze over the man. The calluses on his hands, the balance he displayed even while lounging, the way his eyes tracked certain movements, along with the musculature… hmmm a shinobi plant? Was he one of Danzo’s?

“Ah! My glorious Lord of Flame! I was simply struck mute by the beauty of this woman before me! Tell me you marvelous woman, tell me I can at least take you out on a walk of the gar—”

“Get lost!” Tsunade snapped, not about to let some simpering… no, he wasn’t a noble was he. Tsunade glared. Something was off. Danzo usually had people that remained in the background. Her eyes flickered to two such candidates. Servants that were perfect for remaining unseen and therefore perfect for gathering intel.

This Lord Fundoshi however… he was something else.

“Who the fuck even are you?” she growled.

Rather than being offended the man laughed as others giggled. Even the Daimyo, Lord Hito giggled into his fan.

“Oh, this rogue is Lord Fundoshi, a minor noble that I must admit has a way with words. I’m thinking of making him my professional comedian, he’s certainly entertaining enough.” He continued to wave his fan while giving the man a smile.

Lord Fundoshi rubbed the back of his head in a manner that was all too practised for Tsunade’s sensibilities. She’d seen Jiraiya do that more than a few times in the past when talking with noble clients. In fact much of the man’s mannerisms matched with her teammate.

“Ah! Lord Hito, you complement me too much! But seriously! If Lady Tsunade won’t entertain me I’ll have to try my luck with some of the Kunoichi! I swear I haven’t seen a bad-looking woman since I got here!”

Tsunade rolled her eyes. That was probably by design, she thought to herself. The ones with all the scars and deformities from shinobi battles were likely tucked away out of sight and mind.

She continued to observe Lord Fundoshi, all while making it look like she wasn’t. 

He was shinobi, of that there could be no doubt. Perhaps an old, seemingly retired nin, if such a thing truly existed. 

What was odd was his placement within the court and how he acted. That made him something new. His mannerisms and closeness with the Daimyo allowed him a degree of influence.

The question, therefore, became, whose was he?

Again, her eyes flickered to the servants she’d tagged mentally earlier. They had to have reported this to Sensei… There was no way they’d missed the signs.

So that meant it was someone else’s problem!

With that sorted Tsunade turned her attention to the discussion occurring around her.

“—standard test supposedly, but they’re making the second stage much shorter, a simple raid of an island supposedly,” read aloud one attendant. 

“Wait, they’ve given you a scroll of what they intend?” Tsunade asked.

Lord Hito blinked. “Hmmm, yes, they did. I must admit it steals some of the suspense of not knowing what will happen.”

“Perhaps that’s the point, you know what is coming for them,” offered Fundoshi.

“Hmmm, how so?” questioned the Daimyo.

“Well, think about it. Most times you only get to learn about the genin at the end. You know a little of them, but you haven’t seen them put under pressure. Here though, you see the first exam, and then the second, toss in a qualifying round like always and then you have the beat down at the end.” Fundoshi spread his hands. “By that point, you know how they react with stress, you know if the match should be a walk over or if an upset truly is that.”

Fundoshi tapped his chin. “You learn about the person, not just the name.”

A shiver ran down Tsunade’s spine as she watched the Daimyo’s eyes dilate. Oh, damn, this Lord Fundoshi was different. He had Hito’s attention and interest.

Suddenly it became a lot more important for Tsunade to make sure sensei knew about this bastard. After that she’d wipe her hands clean of the situation.

Sadly, the conversation soon worked its way around to her. “What of your genin team Lady Tsunade? Do you have any true hopes for them?”

“Not a one. They’re a bunch of dull eyed lackwits that know how to hold kunai and follow orders. I can’t imagine what Sensei was thinking when he assigned them to me,” she replied honestly.

Instead of getting the blank stares she’d been expecting she instead got giggles and titters. 

“You are a demanding task mistress, it would seem!” laughed the Daimyo.

Tsunade smiled flatly and grabbed some nuts to munch on.

The Daimyo, sensing that his fun was done, turned his attention elsewhere, and the conversation moved on with Tsunade keeping half an ear to it for anything relevant or important.

She was just getting comfortable in her seat when a servant all in blue was presented. 

The man made a show of presenting a scroll from atop a deep royal blue cushion, only to unravel it and read aloud from it.

“My esteemed Lord of the Land of Fire! I, the Daimyo of Water, invite you to tour the new facilities within the Village of Mist!” proclaimed the servant. “Cordially yours! The Daimyo of the Land of Water!” 

Tsunade kept her expression perfectly controlled. That invitation was precisely what she needed to complete her mission. Maybe she could even quit early, ditch this team she’d been saddled with and skip out on the hooks Danzo and Sensei were trying to sink into her.

“Oh? Oh! Oh!” crowed the Daimyo. “Now that is a most wonderful offer! I would be interested in the new facilities!” he proclaimed only to cast his gaze around “Ah, I thought I was already within one such structure? Am I not?”

The servant bowed. “This is merely a small castle my Lord, the facilities that my Daimyo is referring to is the hospital, and the colosseum of bone.” 

“Colosseum? What an interesting word…” mused the Daimyo. Tsunade found the word somehow to be all too fitting for what she’d been read-in about. The Daimyo wiggled like a child. “Oh! Which to tour first! Hmmm the hospital is a staple of any good Village, but this Colosseum… It intrigues me!”

“Perhaps flip a coin my lord?” suggested Fundoshi. “Make a game of it but keep to yourself which side represents which neh?”

The Daimyo’s fan snapped shut and stabbed itself towards Fundoshi “A wonderful idea! I approve!” gushed the Daimyo. “Who has a coin on them?” he asked, looking around with glee.

None of the nobles did however and so they turned to their servants who bowed. “One will be fetched for me lor—”

Tsunade reached into her coin purse and drew out a hundred-ryo coin. “Here,” she called, flicking the coin end over end towards the Daimyo only for it to be caught by one of the Guardian Twelve.

The coin was then presented towards the Daimyo and he nodded, pleased. “If you would Monk Tabata?” he asked, flicking his fingers all at once, causing Tsunade to have to hold in a scoff. Of course, the man had never flipped a coin before.

The coin spun through the air, and before it had even reached its zenith, Tsunade already knew what it was going to— There was a slight shift in the air, so subtle she almost didn’t catch it.

Someone used a slight wind jutsu to nudge the coin along.

The coin landed on heads.

It should have landed on tails…

“Hmmm hmmm! It appears we’re going to the hospital today!” cheered the Daimyo.

Tsunade, on the other hand, looked to Lord Fundoshi, who had a pleasant smile on his face while his eyes glinted with satisfaction. Rather than avert his gaze, he looked right back at Tsunade.

“That sounds marvelous your highness! And we’ll have the world’s best medic nin to pass judgment on the facilities!” gushed Fundoshi.

So, the man knew how the Daimyo thought on such decisions? She glanced towards the Guardian Twelve. None of whom had moved. Hmph, amateurs.

Tsunade could only smile and nod, feeling more and more like she was now well past the jaws and was instead deep within the beast.

If they thought that intimidated her, they were dead wrong. 

From within was the best place to kill something.

______________________

On the first day of the exams that were set to cover the written portion of the exam along with the start of the second round, Tsunade joined with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire’s entourage to inspect the new hospital.

And straight away she could say that Kirigkaure’s hospital was a beast of a building.

It was built upon a hill such that it loomed over the surrounding landscape and was one of the only buildings that wasn’t covered in mist illusion. It looked almost like a bastion repelling the illusion from creeping in and instead looking… welcoming.

Tsunade didn’t trust it on sight. 

Rather than a single set of doors for the main entrance that worked Konoha, there were five on one side of the building that she could see, which indicated the concept that there were far, far more.

Worse, she could see the reason for such a development clearly laid out with the signs.

“What is… obstetrics?” queried the Daimyo of the Land of Water.

The guide that was with them was a young woman in plain light blue clothing with a simple white haori coat. Laid upon her shoulders were small pips that Tsunade didn’t understand the meaning of, but knew they meant something. Just like the word ‘Deputy Chief’ on the back of the haori proclaimed her rank to all who were interested.

Tsunade felt like scoffing. 

The girl was barely a teenager, and she was supposed to believe she was second in command?

The girl, one Kuroiwa Karatachi, bowed politely to the Daimyo before answering. “Ah, that is the field of medicine that relates to childbirth and the stages both before and after a woman has given birth.” 

Tsunade eyed the coat. It did a good job of hiding the Tokubetsu Jonin vest that the girl wore underneath her 

“Ah!” Both of the Daimyo nodded at this. “That is a good idea!”

Kuroiwa bowed again. “Thank you, Sensei Matsu was quite adamant about creating the hospital so that it had multiple wings while also accommodating the needs of the village!”

“Multiple wings? Whatever for?” asked the Fire Daimyo.

“Well, we need obstetrics, operating rooms, emergency treatment rooms, childcare, intensive care, the wards, the rehabilitation rooms, the—”

The Fire Daimyo held up a hand, shaking his head. “That’s… I’m not even sure where to begin with that…” the man turned to Tsunade. “Do we have that many wards?”

“No,” she replied tersely, and because she could see the water Daimyo perking up like a rooster about to crow she added. “We don’t feel we need them.” 

Which was an ugly truth she wouldn’t mind changing. She could see in her minds eye how the various rooms helped. If you created specialised services, you could have people handling set treatments and not getting bogged down with varied case loads. 

The efficiency of the overall hospital would therefore be much greater.

It was almost like applying sweatshop logic to a healthcare setting and Tsunade couldn’t tell if she hated it or liked it. They walked into the Hospital through Entrance One, which opened to a sitting area with a receptionist and a few loitering shinobi.

Kuroiwa gestured. “This is the general admissions where if you’re feeling sick and need to see one of our General Medics you come.”

“General Medics?” asked the Water Daimyo. “Why the distinction?” 

“Sometimes you need a specialist for a certain illness, while other times you need someone to start the treatment or know enough to point you in the right direction. Technically, even a General Medic is a specialist, much like a combat medic is another specialisation, albeit one that all trainees of the medic program are expected to have!”

Tsunade sucked on her teeth at that blatant knowledge drop. Every medic in the hospital could be a combat medic? That could be an issue.

The Fire Daimyo glanced around. “I can’t help but notice there are far more kunoichi here waiting for treatment than shinobi?” he stated.

Kuroiwa giggled. “Ah, you’ve observed an interesting statistic there actually, Lord Hito!” she chirped. “Did you know that men are typically worse about having their health seen to than women are? That sometimes presents itself in situations like this!”

Fundoshi puffed his chest out proudly. “Men work through the pain!”

Every woman within earshot of that statement gave him a flat, unimpressed look.

The Daimyo both giggled at Fundoshi’s antics. A door to the side opened and a short man trotted out with a blissful look on his face as a beautiful woman walked along next to him.

The woman looked a little unsure of herself and kept touching her face while staring at a mirror.

“Another success for the amazing medic Toshiro! You may now applaud!” he proclaimed as he waved his hands towards the stunningly beautiful woman next to him.

For a moment, nothing happened, then everyone in the room glanced towards the Daimyos’ groups causing Toshiro to blanch.

The two Daimyo tilted their heads and inspected the young beauty. Then, they applauded slowly.

This led to a small smattering of applause, joining in while some kunoichi giggled at the suddenly embarrassed Toshiro.

Tsunade’s mind, however, began to connect the dots. This wasn’t a random chance but a setup that Kiri had planned. The kunoichi in the room were all rather plain or injured with small scars that marred their beauty. 

And here was a medic proclaiming his work to be amazing.

Add in the factor that each of the two Daimyo’s parties included powerful or influential noblewomen, and you had a captive market that would be highly interested in improving their beauty.

All they needed was someone to ask the question.

“You say you performed work on this fine lady? What is it you did precisely?” asked Fundoshi with a quizzical tilt of his head.

Tsunade watched the rest play out precisely as she expected. There was no stopping it and within five minutes, she knew it wouldn’t matter if the rest of the hospital was a sham. This one procedure had just locked them in as serious competition for Konoha.

It wouldn’t do after all for Fire nobles to be going to the land of Water for treatments.

Konoha would have to adapt.

Tsunade caught Kuroiwa’s eye and gave the girl a small, respectful nod. That had been well done.

Kuroiwa nodded back, and once the Daimyos, or rather their lady entourage, had asked as many questions as they could, the tour continued.

Tsunade took it all in.

The hallways, the orderlies, the beds with wheels and locked in support frames, along with the way saline bags were used to supply medicine.

She gave no outward reaction beyond a grunt or two, but inwardly she couldn’t help but gape.

How?

How had Kirigakure of all Shinobi Villages developed this?! This wasn’t a simple building with a few medics but an entire health support system for more than what a single village typically required. It wasn’t bloated either as there were numerous points where it, if anything, had room to grow into itself.

It made Konoha’s hospital feel downright miserly in comparison.

She knew that while she wasn’t showing any response, her silence was telling, as was the gleeful face of the Daimyo of Water compared to the Fire Daimyo’s flat expressionless face.

If there was one good thing about finding yourself thoroughly eclipsed by another shinobi village, it was sure to result in purse strings being wrenched open, council complaints about budget and costs be damned.

This was going to set a new standard, and if Konoha didn’t catch up, they were going to be left in the dirt.

It rather warmed her heart knowing she was going to be able to hold this over Sensei and his advisors’ heads when she gave her report.

They’d choke on it, but be forced to act rather than telling her they would take her suggestions under advisement.

There was however one niggling thought that continued to build the longer the tour went on.

“Excuse me for my impertinence, but where is the Chief Medical Officer?” asked the Water Daimyo.

Kuroiwa once again bowed her head. “Ah, Chief Matsu is currently seeing to multiple surgeries that require emergency treatments. As our best medic, he was required specifically for this. Apologies that he could not be here, but he will be presenting himself in the coming hours if not days, depending on his patients’ needs.”

“Hmmm a dutiful man then, good to know,” replied the Daimyo of Water, his head raised like a proud peacock.

Tsunade noted down the timing of said emergency treatments, wondering if there had been a clash between rival shinobi villages. If so, who, and what over? She’d include that in her report as well but otherwise relaxed.

It would seem that she would not be meeting Matsu Uzumaki today.

Weird how she was disappointed by that.

[hr][/hr] 

It turned out that Matsu’s lack of appearance before the nobility of the various nations was yet another carefully calculated ploy.

Tsunade had to give it to them, this one she hadn’t seen coming until it smacked her in the face.

They deliberately kept Matsu away from the nobility, building up his mythos to them.

It wasn’t until the end of the second round that they unveiled him.

By that time Tsunade and the others had spent a week within Kiri, constantly on edge and waiting for someone to try something only for nothing to eventuate.

Then the boats came back carrying the people who had survived the second exam.

There had been quite a lot of them, which caused Tsunade to raise an eyebrow. That was until she saw the condition they were in. The vast majority of the genin she saw looked shaken and twitchy, reminding her of shinobi that had endured warfronts against Iwa and their blasted explosive corps.

Which, turned out to not be far from the truth of the situation.

Her team approached her once the ships docked and she raised a singular unimpressed eyebrow at their dirty but otherwise unharmed forms.

“Well?” she asked, annoyed that she had to do that.

“The second exam saw Kiri using explosive seals and traps… extensively,” reported… urgh what was the kunoichi’s name again?

“At one point, a quarter of the island collapsed in on itself causing a lot of genin to have to dig themselves or their teammates out…” supplied one of the boys.

“Hmmm, did you pass?” Tsunade asked, wondering if she could bug out finally.

“We did, as did a sizable number of other Genin,” stated the kuniochi. She faltered then, opening and closing her mouth. 

“Spit it out,” Tsunade demanded, rather impressed at the show of emotion from the girl.

“It’s just… there are too many. Kiri had to know that a simple collection mission followed by evasion for five days would be passable for the majority of the teams that attended Lady Tsunade.”

Before she could question further a voice carried over the docks.

“Genin! If you would please direct your attention to me?” called a polite voice.

Everyone turned to find themselves peering up at a young red-haired looking teen. Tsunade wanted to call him a boy, but there was something about the way he held himself. 

An inner confidence that wasn’t overdone, as it often was in young shinobi.

He was also one of the most well-dressed individuals that she’s seen with a hakama pants, his Jonin vest, and an ocean blue haori coat that hung over the top of it all. Darker blue offset the sleeves and trim with small wave motifs.

This could only be Matsu Uzumaki.

He smiled. “Thank you! Now first I wish to congratulate the victorious teams that passed the second exam as well as those that survived. Well done!” 

People shifted, slightly weirded out by these congratulations.

Matsu chuckled. “Well! It seems the calibre of Genin this year was much higher than anticipated which is good, but also bad so we’re going to have to perform a preliminary exam before continuing on to the third exam in two weeks’ time!”

This caused muttering in most of the true genin teams. Tsunade’s team were briefed to expect this; however, instead of complaining like others, they merely continued to observe Matsu closely.

“Please meet me at the Colosseum of Bones for the next stage! Oh! And if you’re not there in ten minutes! You fail!” he called before vanishing without so much as a hint of chakra smoke.

Tsunade grunted as the mist rolled in heavier, adding a slight obstruction. “Follow me,” she ordered to her team, leaping into the mist in the direction of the colosseum. 

When they arrived, the large gates were thrown open, and the mist was rolling around the outer structure while nobles mingled in the stands.

Hmm, they’d known to come here before the shinobi, showing that this was another pre-planned idea.

Once ten minutes had passed, the gates boomed closed, and Matsu appeared like a ghost with what had to be a very well-controlled shunshin. Once again, Tsunade didn’t detect a drop of uncontrolled chakra. 

What she did notice from this close to the teen was that she was taller than him, which rather pleased her.

He looked them all over and nodded once. “Excellent! Those who are supposed to be here are here so we may continue!” he declared.

He formed a set of seals and slammed his hands into the ground, causinga pair of huge walls to rise out of the sand. Upon them, a complex chart was plotted out, displaying names and numbers.

Instead of a standard event tournament bracket listing like Tsunade had been expecting, it was stacked with a few names who had to face at most two or three people to advance, while others had as many as eight to get through.

She turned a glare upon Matsu but was beaten to the punch by a Kumo Jonin.

“Oi! What’s this shit? This isn’t a fair fucking bracket? Kiri that desperate to stack the odds in their favour?”

“This is not a tournament; this is a preliminary portion of the finals of a Chunin exam,” Matsu coldly replied, the air around them seeming to drop in temperature.

Tsunade cycled her chakra first, and when that did nothing, she looked around for some Yuki shinobi, only to not find them.

There was only Matsu smiling at them blandly. Suddenly he didn’t seem so small.

He pointed to one of the walls. “Now, this portion of the exams will be a series of one on one duels! However!” he raised his hands to forestall any more complaints. “Unlike the next portion of the exams we are not testing your fighting ability but rather your spirit.”

This caused several confused looks to be sent his way.

He gestured again. “Now! The trick is that one victory will see you passing this exam and moving on to the final round!” he announced. “Those who fail will remain and continue to fight, or, display their spirit as it were.”

“In other words, in this tournament, if you win, you’re out and you no longer have to fight! The principle of the pyramid is to designate the path of the loser, not the winner!”

He looked over everyone with his smile firmly in place. “Any questions so far?”

“So only the winner gets eliminated?”

“Correct!” Matsu called, pointing towards the person who had asked the question. “As you might have noticed, you all have at least two opportunities to win and move on!”

“Why aren't the brackets balanced?” demanded the Kumo nin from earlier.

Matsu nodded. “A logical question and the answer is that we’ve adjusted the ‘weightings’ as it were, so that you face people we consider similar to you. We looked at your previous test scores in the first round, then at your merits and methods of passing the second to land yourself here!”

Matsu continued to smile. “Rather neat no? To know that your previous efforts might have rewarded or punished you?”

That got a round of nods and a chorus of agreements from half the genin while others grumbled, likely those that hadn’t done so well.

“How did you score the Genin?” demanded an Iwa nin.

Matsu crossed his arms and tilted his head back and forth only to chuckle. “Hmm, that’s a secret!” 

That caused a round of blinks and Matsu chuckled. “This is the first time this type of exam has ever been conducted. Kirigakure therefore has decided to not reveal how we scored it, so that if you attempt to copy us you will not be able to.”

Tsunade felt like that was a load of shit but wasn’t going to call him on it. Let them keep their supposed secrets.

Matsu clapped his hands. “Now the rules for the fights are simple! There is no outside interference! This is a straight fight with the only allowance being ninken, summons, or swarms of bugs for those of you who happen to use such! Weapons are of course permitted!”

He raised two fingers. “The two most important rules however!”

He lowered one finger. “You must not kill your opponent or else you immediately are disqualified and lose that round!”

“Ah?” someone asked. “But not kicked out of the tournament?” asked one of the Genin at the front.

“Hmmm, no, remember you all get at least two chances!” replied Matsu with a smile plastered over his face. Matsu then raised the second finger once more and waved his hand back and forth. “Secondly, the fights continue until you are able to make your opponent quit. Knock outs do not automatically earn you victory!”

That caused a round of confusion and Matsu let them go for a while. “This means that if you seriously maim your opponent and they bleed out and die, you lose and they win! So don’t try just killing them slowly!” Then he tilted his head. “Or do, it might work if you can make them quit, it all depends on their fighting spirit after all.”

He opened his arms wide. “This is the ultimate demonstration of your commitment Genin! Do you have what it takes? Can you impress your sensei and your respective Villages despite failing? Or will you find a way, no matter the odds stacked against you?”

Everyone stared at him.

Tsunade rubbed her chin. Whoever thought of this, was a twisted bastard.

Fucking Gengetsu.

Matsu clapped his hands. “Candidates! Please move to the edges of the arena! Anyone willingly leaving the field will be failed!” he swept his arms wide at the arena, and Tsunade saw how the nobles were lapping this up, interested in the twist to the normal fights that Kiri had introduced. 

“If you are thrown out and can make your way back in you can keep going! If you can’t return under your own power, someone will fetch you back so the battle of wills can continue!”

Tsunade moved back with everyone, her eye judging the distance involved and deciding that she didn’t like how far it was between the fights and her position. 

She should be able to make it if she reacted quickly, but she was going to have to be at her best. She could see a lot of Jonin coming to the same conclusion while the Kiri contingent seemed oddly relaxed.

Matsu punched a fist forward enthusiastically. “The first match will be Kisame Hoshigaki of Kirigakure against Sanbesen of Iwa!”

A tall blue genin emerged from the Kiri contingent, and Tsunade instantly pegged him as one of the swordsmen of the mist trainees.

The giant blade on his back was a dead giveaway.

Such a blade meant he was either vying for Kubikiribocho, or Samehada.

Across from him, an older Genin from Iwa marched forward and tilted his head. “Heh, can’t go killing people in this tournament fish! You’re out of luck cause I have the best restraint techniques in Iwa!” bragged Sanbesen.

Matsu raised his hand high. “Ready!”

Both opponents tensed with Kisame unsheathing his blade from his back in a practised motion. The rasp of the blade acted as a signal of readiness more than any words could.

“Begi—” Matsu called, chopping his hand down only for Kisame to blur across the space dividing him from his foe.

His blade cut through the air, and a moment later, Tsunade found herself locking up as blood geysered into the air.

Sanbesen’s head twirled through the air only for Matsu to catch it.

Locked within her body like a prisoner, Tsunade couldn’t look away as the body began to topple, blood spraying upwards only for Matsu to appear next to it, propping the torso upwards with one of his legs.

Then, like a man putting a puzzle piece together, he slotted the head onto the body, unmindful of the blood leaking over his hands and arms.

Some even covered his face.

It matched his hair…

Then his hands glowed green.

Everyone stared, too stunned to react.

Then Sanbesen gasped and twitched before flopping to the ground, his pupils blown out huge as his lungs worked furiously. 

“Shhhh, shhh, it’s alright, I’m here, you’re fine, just a minor corrective surgery,” Matsu whispered. “You lost your head, is all, okay?”

Tsunade couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her.

Lost his head. Heh, that… that was funny. 

Matsu then pat Sanbesen on the shoulder. “Good news? You died for like six seconds there! Meaning you’re automatically through! Congratulations!” he shot the terrified genin a thumbs up before lifting him up and pushing him off to the stunned Iwa crowd.

The Iwa Sensei was only halfway across the field, able to see the threat but unable to close the distance before Kisame had struck.

Matsu turned to Kisame who looked just as stunned as everyone else. “Tsk, Kisame! You killed your opponent! You heard the rules! You lose this round! Better luck next time!”

“Tch! Next time my opponent will know to quit before the match starts!” he growled. But as he moved back, he now kept Matsu within his field of view. 

Matsu nodded. “That might work, we will have to see!” he turned only to spot the blood on his hands. “Hmm, one moment.”

He drew out a water bottle and washed himself clean before nodding. “Right! Next fight!” he called to the stunned crowd.

Tsunade could only stare.

What. The. Fuck. 

_______________________

A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support!

For those who recognise it, this is the final exam of the Hunter License that Gon took in Hunter x Hunter, with a slight twist! I always loved how that moment demonstrated the sheer determination that Gon had to pass, no matter what.

Now, obviously, it has been adopted for Kirigakure.

I might demonstrate some other ‘fights’ for this, or I might not. Honestly, I want to do another Tsunade PoV for the next chapter with her finally getting to chat with Matsu.

What did you think? Will Gengetsu get what he wants with traumatised Genin?

I also wanted to demonstrate that Tsunade, as someone raised at the feet of those in power while she was young, would have a consummate knowledge of politics. She doesn’t need to be in the room to know what’s going o,n compared to Matsu who’s been desperately trying to get in with the policy makers of Kiri.

Thanks go to Twmmy for proofreading!