"Orochimaru?" Uzumaki Mito murmured.
"I actually think he's more like Uchiha Madara."
Hearing this, Tsunade's eyes widened as she looked at Uzumaki Mito.
In truth, Uzumaki Mito had never seen Uchiha Madara as a child; she had only heard Hashirama recount stories of his and Madara's childhood.
But looking at Uchiha Yakoto, Uzumaki Mito genuinely felt that Uchiha Madara must have been exactly like this when he was young.
"Little Tsunade, your mission is a heavy one."
Half a year passed in a flash.
Uchiha Yakoto easily completed the Ninja Academy's graduation exam; it was simply effortless.
And in Sealing Technique, Uchiha Yakoto's talent left even Uzumaki Mito astonished; he mastered basic Sealing Technique in just one month.
After receiving Uzumaki Mito's approval, he began to learn the secret Sealing Technique of the Uzumaki Clan.
During this half-year, a major incident did occur: Uzumaki Kushina was captured by Cloud Ninja.
It was Xiao Huangmao, Minato Namikaze, who discovered something was wrong and, pulling Uchiha Yakoto along, prepared to rescue Kushina.
Yakoto told Xiao Huangmao to go ahead and follow, then went to find the Uchiha Clan Chief to gather more people.
Upon hearing that a member of Uzumaki Mito's family was in trouble, the Clan Chief immediately declared, "With a gun in hand, follow me! Kill Cloud Ninja, exterminate the Thunder Dogs!"
He shouted in the Clan Land, "Brothers, follow me!"
In an instant, a group of red-eyed individuals surged out, caught up to the Cloud Ninja, seized them, and instantly refined them.
This incident even caused a misunderstanding; the Uchiha's full mobilization was reported to the Village, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was still asleep, thought the Uchiha Clan had rebelled.
He was startled awake and immediately led people to follow and investigate that very night.
By the time Uchiha Yakoto arrived, he just saw Xiao Huangmao, Minato Namikaze, flirting under the moonlight.
He immediately showed Anya's smile, making the previously very ambiguous atmosphere between the two extremely awkward.
After spending a long time with this little firecracker and little sun, Uchiha Yakoto's personality was no longer as silent and introverted as before.
After the Cloud Ninja incident, Uzumaki Kushina, after completing the Ninja Academy's graduation assessment,
was ready to wholeheartedly follow Uzumaki Mito to learn Sealing Technique, preparing to become the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki.
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Yakoto were successively taken as disciples by Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Although both were taken as disciples, there were still differences; Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze's relationship was a pure master-disciple one.
Uchiha Yakoto and Tsunade's discipleship, however, referred to the relationship between a Jonin instructor and a squad.
Inside the training ground.
Uchiha Yakoto arrived at the training ground early; there was hardly anyone there yet, so a bored Uchiha Yakoto began to practice his swordsmanship.
By the time Tsunade arrived at the training ground, the members of Tsunade's squad had already gathered: Shizune, Uchiha Yakoto, and a young girl from the Hyuga family.
Watching Uchiha Yakoto practice his sword by himself, Shizune sat by, observing like a small animal, while the Hyuga girl silently huddled in a corner.
Tsunade couldn't help but feel a headache; it seemed her squad was truly as scattered as could be.
Seeing Tsunade's arrival, the three also came before her.
Facing the gaze of three pairs of eyes, Tsunade scratched her head.
"Hiss—how did the Old Man do it again?"
"Never mind, I'll just wing it."
"Ahem, then let's start with self-introductions, beginning with me."
"I'm Tsunade, I like drinking and, uh, uh, I hate perverts." Tsunade, who almost blurted out 'gambling,' was a bit embarrassed.
After Tsunade's self-introduction, the three looked at each other, none speaking first.
Finally, Yakoto stepped forward.
"Uchiha Yakoto, nothing I particularly like, nothing I particularly dislike."
"I'm Shizune, I like cute small animals, and I also don't particularly dislike anything."
The Hyuga girl, who had been huddled in the corner, mustered her courage and whispered, "I'm Hyuga Kana, I like tasty food, and I hate bugs."
Tsunade looked at the three children before her, secretly sighed, and then said loudly, "Alright, now that you've all introduced yourselves, let's get down to business!"
Tsunade then pulled out two bells and said with a smile,
"The bell-grabbing game, have you heard of it?"
"I have two bells in my hand, and your task is to snatch the bells from me. Those without a bell will receive a punishment, you know."
"So, let the game begin!"
The moment Tsunade said "begin," Uchiha Yakoto instantly moved, his long sword, still in its sheath, swinging towards Tsunade.
Watching Yakoto's performance, Tsunade nodded in satisfaction; he didn't blindly use Sealing Technique but instead used his long sword for an initial probe.
His strategic awareness was at least passable, but he was still using the sheath. It seemed she was being underestimated.
"I forgot to warn you beforehand: you'd best approach this with the intention of killing me."
Facing Yakoto's fierce attack, Tsunade met him head-on.
Dodging isn't my style; offense is.
Tsunade firmly grabbed the sword sheath with one hand, while her other hand swung towards Uchiha Yakoto.
Seeing Tsunade's punch heading straight for his face, Uchiha Yakoto's mouth twitched slightly.
That punch was probably going to hurt quite a bit.
The instant Tsunade grabbed the sword sheath, Uchiha Yakoto, using the momentum, quickly drew his long sword and executed a standard Uchiha-style spinning slash towards Tsunade.
Well, now it wasn't just a sheath that couldn't be grabbed with bare hands.
With no other option, Tsunade had to release the sword sheath and retreat.
Uchiha Yakoto seized the opportunity, using the residual force of his spinning slash, to deliver a spinning kick that sent the sword hilt flying towards Tsunade.
He then quickly threw several shuriken, both aiming at Tsunade and blocking her escape routes.
A flicker of admiration crossed Tsunade's eyes; she had originally thought this boy only knew Sealing Technique, but she hadn't expected his practical combat skills to be quite good.
There was no other way. Tsunade clapped her hands on the ground.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
An earth wall instantly rose, blocking Yakoto's attack.
Shizune and Hyuga Kana were not idle either; seeing Tsunade release Ninjutsu, they both rushed forward to exploit the opening.
Originally, Tsunade could have knocked them all away with a single punch each.
But considering they were all girls, Tsunade decided against it and instead planned to engage in close combat, using a slightly gentler method to send them flying.
Just as Tsunade was about to make her move, she suddenly had an ominous premonition; alarm bells instantly rang, and she retreated.
With a whoosh, the Earth-Style Wall in front of Tsunade was directly pierced by a long sword; if Tsunade hadn't retreated just then, that long sword would have been a direct headshot.
"Damn, this kid isn't holding back at all; he's purely going for the kill." Now it was Tsunade's turn for her mouth to twitch.
Before she could think further, Hyuga Kana had already closed in, adopting the Gentle Fist stance, while on the other side, Shizune reached directly for the bells at Tsunade's waist.