The mission hall of the Hokage Building was bustling with activity when Hanekawa approached the bulletin board, scanning the posted tasks. He turned to Tsunade with a raised eyebrow. "Teacher, what rank of missions should we be taking?"

  Tsunade gestured casually at the board. "D-rank. Newly formed teams start with the basics."

  Hanekawa blinked. Right. The whole 'follow the rules' thing. He'd half expected her to ignore that particular regulation.

  "These foundational missions exist for a reason," Tsunade continued, as if reading his thoughts. "They let you adjust to being a ninja. And they give me time to actually teach you properly."

  "Makes sense," Hanekawa admitted. "Though I'm still confused why all my previous missions were B-rank and above."

  "Because you weren't a ninja then." Tsunade paused, a slight smile crossing her face. "Now you are."

  Before Hanekawa could respond, she reached out and tapped him on the head. He didn't bother dodging this time.

  "Stop wasting time and pick a mission," she said.

  Hanekawa scanned the board until something caught his eye. "Help Granny Cat complete the 'Complete Meatball Book.' Basically, catch ninja cats and get them to leave paw prints in the book."

  It sounded simple enough, but ninja cats were fast and clever. It would take genuine effort.

  "Fine," Tsunade said after a moment's consideration.

  After registering the mission with the staff, Hanekawa returned with the task scroll. Tsunade was watching him with an odd expression.

  "I haven't congratulated you on graduating yet," she said suddenly.

  "Oh? What's the reward?" Hanekawa asked, already suspicious.

  "I get to pat your head."

  Here we go. Hanekawa tilted his head just as her hand came up, and she missed.

  "Why are you so tall, you little brat?" Tsunade's expression turned stern. "That's annoying."

  Hanekawa grinned. "It just means the teacher is well-fed."

  Tsunade stared at him for a moment, and something flickered across her face. When did he get so... Never mind.

  "Teacher?" Hanekawa waved a hand in front of her eyes. "You okay?"

  "Let's go see the old man," she said, shaking it off.

  "The Hokage? Why?" Hanekawa followed her up the stairs.

  "You'll see."

  Tsunade kicked the Hokage's office door open without warning. Hiruzen Sarutobi jumped, quickly hiding a comic book titled "The Healer's Restarted Life" behind his desk.

  "Did you change the door again?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "My kicks felt different today," Hiruzen said weakly.

  "Can you focus on something else?" Hiruzen couldn't help but complain.

  "Of course." Tsunade extended her hand. "I need the Second Hokage's Water Style scrolls."

  "For Kurenai Yuhi?" Hiruzen glanced at Hanekawa.

  "Her talent with water jutsu won't embarrass the Second Hokage's legacy," Tsunade confirmed.

  "Do what you think is best," Hiruzen said, waving his hand. "Though I should probably be informed when you're taking that many scrolls from the archives."

  "You're the Hokage. I'm just being courteous." Tsunade laughed and pulled Hanekawa toward the door.

  As they headed to the ninjutsu storage room, Hanekawa asked, "Don't you have a backup set at home?"

  "No. Since no one's been learning water jutsu, there's been no need." Tsunade began selecting scrolls with practiced efficiency. "But you'll be learning it eventually anyway."

  "I will?" Hanekawa raised an eyebrow.

  "Don't get greedy," Tsunade warned, her tone becoming serious. "Master one thing before chasing three others."

  "I feel pretty relaxed about it, actually," Hanekawa said, picking up the scroll she'd selected. "Besides, if the Hokage can master all five elemental style, I can too."

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Did you really just say that?"

  "I mean—" Hanekawa started.

  "Do you think the old man has poor talent?" She glared at him. "That's not what you're implying at all, right?"

  "Absolutely not," Hanekawa said quickly.

  "Good." Tsunade secured the scroll. "Once you master the basics, I'll teach you the Yin Seal."

  Hanekawa's eyes widened. "You're finally going to teach me?"

  "Your body wasn't fully developed before," Tsunade said, looking him over and stroking her chin. "But you're almost there now."

  Please don't do anything weird, Hanekawa thought, but he kept his expression neutral.

  ---

  Meanwhile, across the village, Uchiha Shisui arrived at the Uchiha compound, still replaying his sparring match with Hatake Sakumo in his mind. The legendary White Fang had made his swordsmanship look amateurish. Even with Asuma and Shizune's help, they'd barely managed to land a hit.

  "Shisui."

  He looked up to find Uchiha Fugaku waiting for him.

  "Clan Leader," Shisui greeted respectfully.

  "Who is your team leader?" Fugaku asked without preamble.

  "Hatake Sakumo."

  Fugaku's expression shifted to surprise. "Him? Not an Uchiha?"

  "No, sir."

  Fugaku fell silent, clearly thinking. Shisui understood—this was unusual. The Uchiha clan typically insisted on their own leading their graduates. But Fugaku had allowed the normal process to proceed, which meant the Hokage had made a deliberate choice.

  "Who are your teammates?" Fugaku asked.

  "Asuma Sarutobi and Shizune."

  Fugaku's eyes widened slightly. "Asuma? The Hokage's son?"

  Shisui nodded.

  "And Obito?"

  "He's with Minato Namikaze."

  Fugaku was quiet for a long moment, then a small smile appeared. "Very good. The Hokage is showing us respect." He paused, then added softly, "It would have been perfect if you two had switched teachers, but this is... acceptable."

  ---

  The next morning, Yuhi Shinku stood in the doorway of his home, beaming with pride. "You must listen carefully to Lady Tsunade. Do you understand?"

  "You said that yesterday," Kurenai complained, rolling her eyes. "And the day before."

  Hanekawa understood. For a clan like the Yuhi, having their daughter trained by one of the Legendary Sannin was a massive honor. Shinku was practically vibrating with excitement.

  "Let's go," Kurenai said, grabbing Hanekawa's hand.

  Shinku's smile froze slightly as he watched them leave together.

  On the way to Tsunade's house, Kurenai asked eagerly, "What do you think she'll teach me?"

  "The Second Hokage's Water Style," Hanekawa said. "You'll be learning from one of his direct students. That's pretty incredible."

  "Really?" Kurenai's eyes lit up. "So I'm like... the same generation as the Hokage?"

  "Technically, yes."

  Kurenai stopped walking and turned to face him with a mischievous smile. "Then what should you call me?"

  Hanekawa reached out, gently cupped her face in his hands, and gave her cheeks a light squeeze. "This. To keep you grounded in reality."

  Kurenai's face flushed crimson. Her heart did something complicated in her chest. She quickly turned away, stammering, "Teacher Tsunade is probably waiting. We should... we should go!"

  Cute, Hanekawa thought, catching up with her.

  When they arrived at Tsunade's house, Rin was already there, greeting them with a warm smile. "Good morning!"

  "Morning, Rin," Kurenai replied, though her face was still slightly pink.

  "You seem happy today," Rin observed.

  "I'm excited to learn from Teacher Tsunade," Kurenai said quickly. "Are you nervous?"

  "Not nervous. I've dreamed of becoming a medical ninja since I was little. Now I finally can." Rin smiled gently. "I don't want to see my teammates get hurt."

  "That's so kind, Rin," Kurenai said warmly.

  "Should we go inside?" Kurenai gestured to the door.

  "Teacher Tsunade isn't awake yet," Rin explained. "We shouldn't disturb her."

  "Don't enable her bad habits," Hanekawa said, pulling out a key. "She's someone who needs to be—"

  The door swung open. Tsunade stood in the doorway, expression flat. "Needs to be what?"

  "—taken seriously," Hanekawa finished smoothly. "Which is why we're here early. Respect."

  Tsunade snorted. "I don't want you as my student anymore. You talk badly about me behind my back."

  "Then who'll cook for you?" Hanekawa asked, fighting a smile. "What do you want for breakfast?"

  "Tonkotsu ramen."

  Kurenai and Rin exchanged glances. They don't act like teacher and student at all.

  "Have you two eaten?" Tsunade asked.

  "Yes," they answered.

  "Don't bother eating at home anymore. Come here. Hanekawa will cook." Tsunade handed them each a scroll. "We'll train while we eat."

  Rin received medical ninjutsu fundamentals. Kurenai received Water Style scrolls. Though Tsunade wasn't a water specialist, her knowledge and experience were more than sufficient to guide them.

  Thirty minutes later, Hanekawa called them in for food. Tsunade sat at the table and casually tossed a scroll to Hanekawa.

  The Yin Seal.

  Hanekawa unrolled it and began reading. The technique originated from the Uzumaki clan—a fusion of sealing and medical ninjutsu. First, you created a chakra reservoir on your forehead using sealing techniques. Once full, the seal was initialized. The final step involved medical ninjutsu application: learning to circulate chakra at a microscopic level to maintain peak physical condition.

  In the original timeline, Sakura had taken three years. With his C-Rank Genius entry boosting his chakra limit by fifty percent, Hanekawa estimated he could cut that in half.

  "Let's go catch cats," Tsunade announced, finishing her meal.

  At the ninja tool shop, they met Granny Cat and received the "Complete Meatball Book." The next step was heading to an empty training ground to catch the ninja cats and get their paw prints.

  "Rin and Kurenai, this mission is yours," Tsunade said, stopping Hanekawa. "No ninjutsu, but you can focus chakra through your feet."

  It was a chakra control exercise—similar to tree climbing or water walking, but harder.

  Hanekawa understood immediately.

  "Now," Tsunade said, turning to him, "I'll teach you the Yin Seal."