Chapter 11: Vigor (2)
Chapter 11: Vigor (2)
"Drop dead!" The same familiar grumble, the same familiar voice. For all its problems, at least the devil in her was honest. Not many are around her aside from naive children. She silently sat in the guest room again, waiting for the familiar figure to drop in and she did. Not the one for formalities, the brat loved to drop in and then announce herself.
Easily surpassing the civilian servants for Mito never needed protection, Tsunade was surprised when she appeared in the guest room to find Mito sitting and smiling at Tsunade a little smugly.
"Heh~ Grandma, you actually pushed yourself to sense me?" Tsunade teased with a shit-eating smirk while Mito replied with a chuckle, "And here I thought you wouldn't talk with me for months just because it was so easy to find that you got honey-trapped by one of the hidden boy-toy members of the village."
Tsunade rolled her eyes. Every village had THAT group of Shinobi and Kunoichi that succeed in the seduction of high-profile targets for the Village's benefit.
"Tch, I'll let Sensei have a piece of my mind but that's for later. I'm not even really angry about it and should have expected something like that from him. But... today's another council gathering..." Tsunade's tone grew softer as she looked at her grandmother in a silent plea. It's already the eleventh time that Tsunade had tried to get Mito on her wagon since it would make things so much simpler.
"Fine, let's hear it," Mito rolled her eyes and lied back as Tsunade grew a bit stunned.
"Really?"
"Do you want to or not?" Mito frowned with clear annoyance. Others may think of Mito as a 'kind' woman but Tsunade's buttocks still stung from all that beating and she hurriedly unsealed a scroll with a poof of smoke and placed it in front of Mito. In front of others, Tsunade would have kept a calm facade but in front of Mito, she could only have a worried expression.
Mito would usually reject her directly but...
'Why the hell am I trying to get back in there?' Mito wondered. She felt she'd had enough of the deceit. She knew she had long lost her vigor to push for beneficial reforms. She just wanted to stay and rest. Until her body gave out. To be at peace.
"It's good," Mito muttered despite what she felt as Tsunade blinked like a growing cow she was turning out to be and Mito stood up, "Tell you Sensei that I'll participate in this meeting. If you want your motion approved, it's best that all clan leaders are present so imply to Hiruzen that I will have nothing short of perfect attendance."
"Yes!" Tsunade smiled gleefully before following Mito.
---
'Why?' Mito pondered still. In the back of her head, she only felt how inevitable the agenda Danzo pushed was. If not now then surely when the war eventually comes knocking, Hiruzen would have to initiate a few war protocols. What Danzo categorized in polite words just happened to be a case study for victims, not only of shinobis but civilians so that the academy students realize the weight of their actions. Gender Awareness was nothing more than sexually-oriented knowledge, especially for kunoichi. Some like to play a damsel in distress, have some fun, and then take out the target and some like to keep intimate moments away from ninja business so they had to appropriately 'arm' themselves to come out 'unscathed.' Prisoner Execution Program isn't for everyone.
In fact, every academy student will have a chance to refuse but this was to weed out the 'courageous' from the weak. What a bunch of poppycock! Mito knew well it was to weed out who is obedient to the higher authority and who isn't. All these are needed to keep order and have motivated shinobis and kunoichis. So, Danzo's proposition wasn't a matter of why but when.
Tsunade's work... is what Mito would call revolutionary instead. And if Mito knew anything about revolution, it's that the mediocre fear it.
"Right," Tsunade smiled when Mito easily let known the fact that she was in support of whatever Tsunade was going to say.
The blonde Senju Interim Matriarch looked around and performed a seal that took out multiple scrolls.
"In these scrolls are detailed plans from the start to finish that consider every aspect of our lifestyle. Took me 2 years to form all this," Tsunade smiled and others knew. She had tried pushing for this reform through the Hokage but has been rejected for many reasons. But every council member had at least heard some of it.
Dissatisfaction flickered in the eyes of the three remaining elders as the guarding masked shinobi distributed the scrolls.
"Everyone is well aware that war is coming but even without it, as Mistress Uzumaki declared, we are quite backward in the preservation of our forces. The Iryo Ninjutsu I've developed can be implemented into the village from the very foundation and not just the hospitals."
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Tsunade exhaled a little and continued from the practiced speech she had one of her more sensible team members write up.
"It is indeed true that Iryo Ninjutsu requires a level of chakra control not found in most students, but those who are talented can learn it and apply it to the three-men cell of the village system. The Hospitals all have trained professionals waiting to teach these techniques to students."
They remained silent because this wasn't the main issue. Everyone can understand that even if slightly more troublesome, if the ninja medics are equipped in teams then the team's durability and success rate in completing the missions would increase greatly!
But... the issue was
"If you can select the appropriate individuals and send them to the Konoha hospital for training"
"We have had this conversation time and again, Tsunade. I won't just appoint talented individuals to Konoha hospital against their or their clan's will. The fact that Iryo Ninjutsu requires fine chakra control means that these individuals can also be greater assets using genjutsu or ninjutsu." Hiruzen interjected and Tsunade, for the first time, didn't slouch but nodded forcefully instead and glanced at her grandmother.
'Damn... she's still that willy old fox after all. Orochimaru's speech is compelling but... her methods strive to deliver game-changing shots.'
"I understand that. Most of the children who actually enter the criteria belong to clan children and have their duties so the clans won't allow it easily but please take a look at this."
Tsunade took a deep breath. She had been a little blinded by her ego, admittedly and that restricted the growth of her jutsu but when Mito so easily pointed out why she developed Iryo Ninjutsu while on their way to the meeting made Tsunade grumble at herself inwardly.
She took out yet another scroll while recalling her chat just a few minutes ago.
---
Strolling through the streets, Mito and Tsunade advanced toward the Hokage Office as the grandma spoke while Tsunade still mulled over her previous foolishness, "Now that some things are clear, dear, let me say another thing. Interim or not, you're the current matriarch of the Senju Clan with the highest strength. Your uncles and distant cousins accept that readily. So act like one to your favor."
"I just hate that responsibility." Tsunade mumbled, "So many merchants, so many clan members, and even other clans constantly bugging me for some form of benefit to solidify a good relationship."
Mito looked at her granddaughter as if she was watching a fool, "And won't you require these connections now?"
Tsunade blinked and groaned again while Mito smiled. Truly, the simplest options sometimes are hard to see.
---
"I created Iryo Ninjutsu because I admired my grandfather," Tsunade stated sincerely as she placed this new scroll on the table, "I was inspired by his ability to heal himself and others. He went on and created this village and was considered the God of Shinobis. And for that very reason... I was attached to Iryo Ninjutsu. I... possessed it. Obsessed over it. But this technique only in my hand and a few professionals won't do any good."
As she spoke, the implications made all the clan leaders interested including the usually lethargic Nara.
But before throwing the carrot, Tsunade gave an exasperated sigh and stirred the crowd, "Besides, a few basic techniques are already leaked by someone from the village. I just killed a team from Kirigakure who had a medic-nin. He was basic, of course." She lied with such confidence it felt like truth.
And they stirred.
"Tsunade, why wasn't this in your mission report." Hiruzen frowned.
"It was," Tsunade messed around, clearly showing that she at least planned for this lie somewhat, "The report stated that the team was durable and in my eyes, only a team with medic-nin is the new standard of durability but, I am sure everyone in this room will like what I have to offer."
Not letting anyone speak up, Tsunade pointed at the scroll, "That is a watered-down version of my Mystic Palm Technique taught in the hospital. This will be granted to all the clan heads allowed in THIS room. Other clans who do not meet the requirements of the council seats will have to send their members to the hospital."
All elders except Mito frowned since this offer disregarded them completely while Hokage watched things play out silently.
"The scroll I have distributed to everyone doesn't only have the reforms I have in mind that must be passed as the condition for this deal but it also holds the deal itself that MUST be reviewed and concluded in this sitting."
And with that, things changed.
As Tsunade stated, this was two years of her hard work and it was quite considerable even with the hurried deal Tsunade added. She had the base and knowledge for it, after all.
The deal was quite binding, to be honest. But it gave the clan heads in front of her some level of control.
Her iryo ninjutsu is based on a study of the human body and chakra before developing a jutsu of this category called Mystic Palm Technique which allows the user to utilize their chakra and ignite a level of cellular activity over the person operated to 'heal' them. In essence, this healing jutsu was the body's own enhanced reaction in the affected area. The difference between her mystic palm technique and the watered-down version she just offered was the level of activity both can induce. While her full technique can go as far as healing deep gashes, the watered-down version would only heal slightly deeper scratches at best.
Others realized that this was a way to divide the talented with the mediocre. And the best part was, that both the version of jutsu required the same amount of abhorrent practice and study and the chakra efficiency of the watered-down version would be quite low. In this manner, the clans will have to invest their own resources and time to teach these geniuses a broken version of a technique she had and more... and that's where their control ended. They cannot share this with anyone else and if found, they will have to answer to Senju's demand and compensate. The operative word 'if found'. And that is why Tsunade didn't release the full version.
Now came in her control and influence. These geniuses that the clan wants to nurture can employ one of the professional doctors to be a sit-in teacher as opposed to others who have to go to the hospital to learn these techniques. But even then, these higher-level techniques are only provided once these geniuses swear to the seal of secrecy provided by their maternal clan The Uzumaki.
Again, Tsunade knew that eventually, whether she wants or not, these techniques WILL leak. That is why innovation is so desired by shinobi villages to have more trump cards. But Mito helped her understand that if she just played on this twist of leakage, instead of trying to resist it but use it, she can introduce what she wants.
But of course, clan leaders won't just like the bare minimum. They understood at a glance that they were putting in much more and then delivering the results to Tsunade... well, most did while the Akimichi and Inuzuka leaders were explained of the situation verbally once they admitted they didn't understand most of it. Yet... Tsunade wasn't only offering a trade. She was offering a reform. A reform the clans could make the best use of just using this spare technique and finding out early who has a talent for iryo ninjutsu and cultivate them as such.
---
"Oh, a council meeting?" Mikoto sighed in pity and cursed the boy's luck who looked around curiously.
Uchiha Compound was a portion of the village provided to the clan to form their own market and residential area and visitors aren't usually allowed.
But Mikoto was a well-known individual of the clan and while pouting, attracting the attention of many clansmen who wore similar clothes with their clan insignia, she made good on her promise and showed her guests around.
"And here is where we have our new year's festival usually," Mikoto pointed out towards the small shrine at the end of the market before taking the duo by hand to one of the nearest stores that sold dango. Kushina loved her ramen and Mikoto loved her dango.
As they sat on one of the wooden benches and Mikoto ordered three servings of the 'usual' in her words, Kushina inquired with a curious expression, "So? Mikoto, does everyone here have their kekkei genkai unlocked?"
Kai's expression sored slightly when he heard the word. Ah, Kekkei Genkai, the mortal enemy to his grind!
Why does Kushina have such absurd chakra and control while drawing seals on a similar level as him while being half the brain? Kekkei Genkai!
Why can Senju rule like a boss? Kekkei Genkai!
Why are Uchiha's fearsome? Kekkei Genkai!
What separates civilians from a profound clan? Kekkei Genkai!
"Of course, not," Mikoto smirked before groaning, "But father clearly said that the requirements are never shared and the clansmen must face it by themselves to understand the power of our Kekkei Genkai..."
"So... is that it? You don't know?" Kai inquired and Mikoto scoffed at the boy, "Yes, that's it! Hmph!"
Kushina and Kai looked at each other.
"Did... we do something?" the redhead scratched her cheek and looked a little nervous. Kushina did look up to Mikoto a lot, after all.
"No... it's just frustrating that nobody would tell me! Nobody!"
"Here you are, Mikoto," a stern but young voice spoke up as Mikoto rolled her eyes, "Ah, speaking of nobody... what is it, Fugaku-san?"
The trio looked to the newcomer who, like many other Uchihas, had dark brown hair and black eyes. The front locks of his hair were divided in the middle and over his forehead was a navy blue forehead protector with a metal slab in the middle marked with Konoha's swirling leaf pattern. The slightly tanned youth had a somewhat protruding jaw and he wore the standard flak jacket over his nin attire.
As if not even hearing her snarky comment, Fugaku replied in a calm tone, "I heard that you were made fun of in the class once again. Is that the boy named Kai?"
Kai blinked and then smiled sweetly and innocently. Kushina smiled, too, and nodded. While Mikoto had the urge to slap the duo for their antics! Truly, she felt at her wit's end around them...
"Yes, these are my friends. Kushina and Kai-chan," she emphasized the last bit before introducing the youth, "Guys, this is Fugaku. One of the rising geniuses of the clan and even if seventeen, he is already a jonin."
'Well, that explains the large chakra... but damn, can't be stupid enough to spread my chakra and sense others in a clan full of natural talents.'
"Oh, wow!" Kushina's eyes widened as Fugaku looked at Kai before frowning slightly, "Kai... was it? Did someone ask you to make fun of Mikoto-san? If yes, do tell me now."
Kai blinked, "Uh... Sensei Icha asked me to transform. So the man you're looking for is our teacher, Sir."
Kai was sincere, but the fact that it was humor was clear to everyone and if Fugaku thought the boy was persuaded to do these things given his tender age, he quickly reevaluated the boy and had his frown tightened.
"Kai, do you understand what it means to publicly humiliate the daughter of"
"Fugaku," Mikoto frowned, "It was clearly a joke. If I was THAT pissed, I would have used actual kunais and shurikens than blunt ones. And I don't like you interfering at all!"
Fugaku frowned, a hint of irritation flashing past his eyes but he nodded calmly, "I see... I overstepped my bounds. Forget it, I acted rashly. Enjoy your visit to the compound."
With that, the boy left as Mikoto huffed again.
"Tch, I wanted my father to scare you not some guy..." she muttered and Kushina tilted her head, "Anyway, who was he?"
"As I said, the top guy of the clan and father is thinking of engaging him to me..." Mikito muttered and Kushina squeaked, "That's amazing! When are you getting married, Dattebane!"
Mikoto and Kai stared at the excitable redhead... not knowing if she purposely ignore the social cues or not.
"I don't like him, dattebane!" Mikoto growled and snorted, "Honestly, he is grumpy, acts high and mighty, and is low-key condescending to everyone."
"But geniuses are like that..." Kai smiled and refrained from adding that Kushina and Mikoto acted the same way against Tsume until she cracked passed their resistance still.
"Whatever... let's just eat..." Mikoto muttered, "And if he wants to act this way, shouldn't he be scared of you, Kai-chan. After all... you may graduate as the first genin at the age of 5."
Kushina's head dipped at that slightly while Kai shrugged, "If possible, I would like to play in the academy more"
"Nope!" Kushina snapped and growled, "I'll make sure you graduate next year, Dattebane!"
***
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