Chapter 116: Losing the Temper
Disclaimer:
Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 116: Losing the Temper
"Jiraiya, who the hell is this rude brat? You better tell him to shut up before I decide to punch him," Tsunade spat the words.
"Sorry about that," Jiraiya apologized before addressing Naruto.
"Please, be quiet. You're making things worse…"
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto."
"What did I just say?!" Jiraiya exclaimed.
"She wanted to know who I was," Naruto said, undeterred.
"Uzumaki…" Tsunade had heard that name before. It sounded familiar, not to mention his face. But now that she heard his last name, Tsunade finally realized who this was.
Her eyes landed on the other Sannin.
"Jiraiya, this is…" She wasn't sure how much the boy knew about himself, so she stopped there.
"Yes…" Jiraiya nodded. "He knows everything."
"I see…" That explained why her old teammate had shown interest in him.
"You might want to be more careful when you take him out of the village then."
"You're going to speak about me like I'm not even here? Talk about having no manners," Naruto commented.
She looked at him for a moment before going back to Jiraiya.
"Also, compared to your previous apprentice, this one seems like a downgrade," she said with a mocking smile.
Jiraiya glanced at Naruto.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that…"
"Are you serious?!" She couldn't believe he had said that. His previous student was the Fourth Hokage.
"This rude brat?"
"He's usually more polite…" Jiraiya felt the need to lie on that one. Naruto was always rude to him, too.
"I only pointed out the truth. And you don't want to be Hokage anyway, isn't that right?" Naruto asked.
"That's right! Only a fool would want to give up their life for that village… like the old man," Tsunade commented.
"You're right," Naruto told her. "Wasting your life gambling and drinking is a much better choice."
"Hey! Don't talk about Lady Tsunade like that," Shizune glared at Naruto with narrowed eyes.
"Hmph… What does a brat like you know about me? You have no idea!" Tsunade shouted, her temper rising.
"Let's calm down. Naruto, I think you've said enough," Jiraiya warned, growing worried. Tsunade was known for losing her temper in a very explosive manner, and he could tell she was already close. Just one more push and it might happen.
"I do know that you lost two important people." Naruto recalled hearing about it from Orochimaru. "A lover and a little brother, wasn't it?"
Tsunade's expression darkened.
Shizune gasped. No one dared to talk about them in her presence.
"Naruto, shut up!" Jiraiya exclaimed, but Naruto kept pushing.
"What would they think if they could see what you've become? A pathetic drunk old woman with no future."
Tsunade smashed her fist on the table with such force that it was almost reduced to sawdust. Then, before anyone could stop her, she punched Naruto in the face, sending him flying out of the restaurant.
"Oh…" Jiraiya muttered.
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune shouted.
"Oh no!" Only then did Tsunade return to her senses and realize that she had just punched a genin with over half her strength… and likely killed him. "What have I done…"
The restaurant patrons and staff began to panic and ran outside, yelling.
Tsunade hurried outside too.
'Maybe I can still save him!' she thought.
"Do I have to pay for all of this now?…" Jiraiya said.
"Lord Jiraiya!" Shizune called him out. She didn't understand how he could make such a comment while his student was either dying or already dead.
"He's fine…" Jiraiya said, watching as Tsunade had held back quite a bit on that punch. "It's going to take a lot more than that to kill that brat."
Tsunade went outside and found the boy embedded into a stone wall across from the restaurant. She was about to rush to his side to check on his condition when he opened his eyes.
"Okay… I take back the 'pathetic' part of my statement… that was a good punch," Naruto said as he struggled to remove himself from the rubble.
"How are you…" Tsunade couldn't believe he could still stand up. He didn't even look very hurt, other than a small red spot on his cheek.
"I have a hard face," Naruto stated.
Of course, that was a lie. His cultivation had finally reached the point where he could start using the most basic defensive technique in his arsenal.
The Blue Jade Turtle Shell was something taught to every apprentice of his old sect once they reached the Qi Refining stage. This technique was particularly useful for beginners because it taught them how to manipulate their internal energy to form a thin protective layer around themselves.
This protective barrier could stop most attacks from other Qi Refining cultivators, or those lower.
Tsunade's attack had gone a bit beyond that, so it managed to cause some damage to his face, but it still absorbed most of the impact.
'It's still impressive that, even after taking precautions, she almost broke my jaw,' Naruto thought, considering how strong this woman was. He had a feeling she could do much more damage than that.
"A hard face…" Tsunade repeated his words. She wasn't dumb...she knew Naruto had done something to reduce the impact of her punch, but she didn't know what it was.
'Maybe Jiraiya wasn't exaggerating too much after all,' she thought, considering the possibility that this boy had as much talent as his father.
"Say, Miss Sannin…" Naruto glanced at Tsunade while brushing the stone dust from his clothes.
"Why don't you make a bet with me?"
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