Chapter 54: A Request

Tsunade cast a disdainful glance at Katō Mikaze, then continued brushing her teeth and washing up at her leisure. She began combing her hair before finally calling out loudly, “I was drunk last night, and you know it.”

Following this statement, Tsunade muttered in a voice so faint only she could hear, “Unlike someone who brags in front of me all the time, a certain coward last night wasn’t as tough as he usually claims.”

As she spoke, Tsunade kept an eye on Katō Mikaze’s reaction in the dining room outside the door.

“What’s with that look? We were supposed to go to the movies last night, but you insisted on going to the casino. Then you wanted to drink, ended up totally wasted, and made a complete scene,” Katō Mikaze remarked as he turned away from the bathroom after hearing her first words. He went to the dining table, summoned his custom sealing scroll, and laid out the breakfast he’d just bought.

“Hurry up, or we’ll be late for the hospital again. What did you just say? Speak up!” Katō Mikaze called toward the bathroom.

“If I didn’t get drunk, you wouldn’t have had the chance to… In the end, you were worse than a beast… Idiot…” Tsunade cast another disdainful glance toward the door, muttering under her breath.

“What was that? Come on, if you don’t hurry, I’ll have to leave without you after breakfast—I told you last night, I have something important to handle today, remember? I’ll come find you at the usual time tonight,” Katō Mikaze urged loudly.

“Nothing, I said I’m coming, I’ll be ready soon…”

…

While Katō Mikaze’s soul clone accompanied Tsunade for breakfast, his true self arrived at the Hokage’s Residence.

He made his way first to the Hokage’s office, intending to strengthen his rapport with the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi—or rather, to submit his report on his first visit to the underground base.

Unfortunately, Hiruzen was not there. Upon asking the secretary on duty, Katō Mikaze learned that the Third Hokage had gone to the ninja academy and would spend the entire morning there.

Checking the date, Katō Mikaze realized today was the usual start of the school year at the ninja academy—the Third Hokage must have gone to attend the entrance ceremony for the new students.

Speaking of which, the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, now a little over eight years old, was still attending classes at the academy. Katō Mikaze had caught a glimpse of him from afar the last time he’d gone to his brother-in-law Nawaki’s graduation ceremony.

He’d also seen Naruto’s mother, Kushina Uzumaki, who, it was said, had been chosen two years prior from the Land of Whirlpools to come to Konoha as the new Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.

Katō Mikaze hadn’t approached her directly; after all, Kushina was the new host for the Nine-Tails. He’d merely used his sensory abilities from a distance to feel the chakra of the beast within her.

Since he hadn’t found Hiruzen, Katō Mikaze decided he’d come back in the afternoon or the next day, and made his way to the mission administration office on the lower floor of the Hokage’s Residence.

Building rapport with the Third Hokage—or, rather, reporting his work—was only a secondary purpose.

The main reason Katō Mikaze had come today was to seek out his acquaintance in the mission administration office, Jin Kubiotani, for a favor.

He wanted Jin to keep an eye out for missions suitable for him—short-term, within the Land of Fire, preferably involving intelligence gathering or assassination, but not requiring long absences. He asked Jin to help collect and organize such missions.

Every day, Katō Mikaze planned to stop by to pick a suitable mission so that, after finishing his duties at the base, he could swiftly complete another task and accumulate ninja system attribute points as quickly as possible.

For now, he could only pick these quick, short-term assignments.

Either his true self or his clone would need to remain at the underground base for the long-term SS-rank New Year mission.

As for other types of missions, Katō Mikaze planned to wait until he learned the Shadow Clone Technique, to see whether the ninja system or his Soul Nurturing Technique could create a true clone in every sense.

If that worked, the conflict between base duties and other missions would be resolved. If not, he’d have to look for other solutions—or simply continue grinding these quick missions for the foreseeable future.

His skill at cultivating relationships hadn’t diminished since becoming a Konoha jōnin. Upon meeting Jin Kubiotani at the mission office, they chatted only briefly before Jin agreed to Katō’s request.

“It’s nothing, Katō. Leave it to me, it doesn’t violate mission protocols,” Jin assured him, pounding his chest. “Besides, we go way back. I handled the settlement for your very first mission after you graduated. I remember you were so stunned during your first official mission payout.”

In truth, Katō Mikaze had been dumbstruck back then because the ninja system had finally activated at his first mission payout—after over a decade of waiting, his cheat had arrived.

Katō Mikaze replied, “Deal. When I’m less busy, let’s go for drinks and a hot spring—at that high-end place owned by that wealthy merchant from the Land of Hot Water. Now that I’m a jōnin, I get paid well, so don’t hold back.”

Jin laughed. “You’re too generous, Katō, but I won’t say no! It’s settled!”

The two quickly ironed out the details of when Katō would stop by every day, and other minor matters. Then Katō bid Jin farewell and left the Hokage’s Residence.

Glancing at the position of the sun, Katō Mikaze gathered his chakra and used Wind Style: Light Step to hurry toward the underground base.

…

Meanwhile, Katō Mikaze’s soul clone had finished breakfast with Tsunade, packed up the kitchen waste for her to throw out on her way to the hospital, and was preparing to leave.

“Tsunade, I’m heading out. I’ll be at the base I mentioned yesterday for the whole day, barring any surprises…”

“I’m ready! How do I look? I’ll be out in a moment, won’t be late,” Tsunade replied, finishing her makeup.

Katō Mikaze looked at her and said, “You look great even without makeup. But with it, you’re even more beautiful. Honestly, you’re a natural beauty—you don’t need makeup at all… By the way, I almost forgot—do you know the Shadow Clone Technique? I’ve never seen you use it.”

Tsunade, making final adjustments in front of the mirror, replied, “You don’t get it. Makeup is for women—you wouldn’t understand. It’s just about looking good!”

“As for the Shadow Clone Technique, why do you suddenly care? Want to learn it? I did learn it from the old man Hiruzen, so I can use it, but I’m not very good at it.”

Katō Mikaze glanced at her lips, now tinted a soft pink, and said, “Of course you look good. I want to learn the Shadow Clone Technique for something I want to test—I’ll tell you in detail later. I have to go now…”

Tsunade responded, “If you want to learn, I’ll ask the old man for a copy of the jutsu scroll and some notes. He’s more skilled at it anyway.”

“I’m supposed to see him this morning, actually. He asked me to attend the ninja academy’s entrance ceremony with him—just a routine thing.”

Katō Mikaze replied, “He invited you? Oh, right—you’re the granddaughter of the First and Second Hokage, already a Konoha jōnin, and the Third Hokage’s apprentice—the Will of Fire’s legacy, I get it.”

“I’ll head out first. If the Shadow Clone jutsu is too much trouble, don’t worry, I’ll figure something else out.”

With that, he un-summoned his custom scroll, and without waiting for Tsunade’s response, faded his soul clone from view, passing through the wall and speeding off toward his true self.

“Doors exist for a reason… Such a grown man, but can’t use a door, always so reckless. So what if you’re a soul body? Still a coward…” Tsunade muttered, grabbing the trash bag and leaving for Konoha Hospital.

…

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