Naruto: I have an attribute panel

Chapter 25 Shifting the Blame, Jiraiya's Teachings

Konoha, an izakaya (Japanese pub).

The three ninjas, who rarely get together, are drinking and chatting in an izakaya.

The dim light of the izakaya shimmered in the sake, and Tsunade's fingers, gripping the ceramic cup, turned slightly white. Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils flickered in the shadows, like a venomous snake lurking in the dark.

"I saw it with my own eyes." Jiraiya shook the sake bottle, the ice clinking against the sides. "Last Wednesday at training grounds, the way you taught that black-haired brat about chakra scalpels—"

"That's medical guidance!" Tsunade suddenly raised her voice, making the bartender behind the counter tremble. The ice clattered in the cocktail shaker as she stared at the plum pit settled at the bottom of her glass. "That child now..." A familiar metallic taste suddenly rose in her throat, and the image of Nawaki covered in blood from a few years ago flashed before her eyes.

Orochimaru's cold laugh brushed past my ear like a snake's tongue: "To make someone with hemophobia a teacher, you certainly have courage." The kunai between his fingers spun, leaving a deep mark on the wooden table. "Why not give it to me..."

"Don't even think about it!" Two voices rang out simultaneously. Jiraiya's hand slammed on the table, knocking over the sake bottle, and amber liquid dripped down the table seams. Tsunade grabbed a towel to wipe the sake stains that had splashed onto her sleeve, and suddenly realized that her hands were trembling.

The shouts of a drunkard echoed from the back alley of the izakaya, moonlight filtering through the cracks in the sliding door. Jiraiya scratched his messy white hair: "I say, the fact that that kid could learn chakra scalpel surgery shows he has talent..."

"He needs more than just medical ninjutsu now." Tsunade suddenly interrupted him, poking at the grilled saury on her plate with her chopsticks. "Yesterday, when he asked me if I had any lethal taijutsu, I realized..." The fish bones scraped harshly against the porcelain plate. "I can't teach him anything more."

Orochimaru's pupils suddenly contracted. He recalled seeing a black-haired boy practicing swordsmanship on the rooftop of Konoha Hospital three days ago. The path the blade traced through the morning mist resembled that of a certain silver-haired man.

The night wind rustled the curtains, and the izakaya's lanterns suddenly went out. From the darkness came Tsunade's muffled voice: "Hey, Jiraiya, why don't you teach him for a while? You don't have anything else to do right now, do you?"

Jiraiya's sake cup stopped in mid-air, and he was stunned. He never expected that coming to have a drink would cause so much trouble.

Before Jiraiya could agree, Tsunade stood up, tossed some coins aside, and said, "It's settled then. Come on, let's go see him."

Jiraiya was completely bewildered...

The river in the training ground shimmered with the afterglow of the setting sun, and Taiichi was practicing chakra control on the water's surface. A sudden whooshing sound behind him made him instinctively flip and leap up, three shuriken grazing his hair and embedding themselves into a tree trunk.

"Reaction satisfactory." Orochimaru's hoarse voice came from the treetop. When Tai looked up, he saw Tsunade squatting on a rock by the river, the chakra blade gathering at her fingertips slicing through the rushing waves.

Jiraiya's Great Fireball suddenly attacked from the left, and Taichi retreated hastily across the water. Where the flames swept past, the river water steamed up in a white mist. The power was immense. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" The boy's clear shout pierced through the mist, and a whirlwind carrying a fire dragon soared into the sky.

"A beautiful combination of dual attributes!" Jiraiya laughed as he emerged from behind the tree, his headband gleaming in the setting sun. He noticed Taiichi's wrist flicking motion, which was exactly the same as the sword technique he had seen through the binoculars three days ago.

Tsunade suddenly grabbed Taichi by the back of his collar, pressing her chakra blade against his throat: "Where should a medical ninja protect the most?" Her voice was tinged with alcohol, but her fingers were as steady as surgical forceps.

"Chakra pathways." Taiichi answered without hesitation, and the green light shining from his fingertip suddenly touched Tsunade's elbow. The moment their chakra collided, a three-meter-high splash erupted from the river surface.

Orochimaru's clapping startled the birds in the forest: "A perfect counterattack, but unfortunately..." His long tongue brushed his lips, "His chakra level is reduced by thirty percent."

When Tsunade let go, Taichi stumbled and fell onto the shallow beach. The pebbles hurt his palms, and he saw Tsunade's back trembling slightly in the twilight—the trembling of hemophobia.

"From today onwards, this trouble is yours." Tsunade suddenly pushed Taichi towards Jiraiya. The boy bumped into the white-haired man's muscular chest and smelled a strong odor of alcohol mixed with the scent of ink.

Jiraiya placed his hand on Taichi's shoulder, the heat seeping through his soaked ninja uniform: "Kid, do you know what real ninjutsu is?" He suddenly formed a hand seal with his other hand, and a huge whirlwind of fire scorched the entire riverbed black.

Flames flickered in Taiichi's pupils. Compared to his own fire release techniques, Jiraiya's fire release techniques were several orders of magnitude more powerful.

"I..." The boy began, but was interrupted by Orochimaru's chilling voice: "What stage of your Chakra Scalpel technique have you reached?"

The air by the river suddenly froze. Jiraiya felt his shoulder beneath his palm tense instantly, a primal reaction of an animal encountering a predator. He was about to speak when he saw Taiichi's fingertip flash with a solid and dazzling blade of light.

"The third technique, I just learned how to cut chakra threads." Taiichi's voice was panting. The continuously condensing high-density chakra caused beads of sweat to appear on his forehead, but his hand holding the sword was as steady as a rock.

Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils narrowed to slits in the twilight. He recalled a rainy night when Danzo displayed a Root report that stated, "Suspected mastery of Yang Release chakra form transformation." The light blade before him now was even more powerful than described in the report.

Jiraiya suddenly burst into laughter, breaking the silence. He magically pulled a frog wallet from his pocket: "As a gift, I'll treat you to ramen tonight!" The wallet opened its mouth and spat out three coupons, which perfectly covered Orochimaru's chakra that was secretly reaching for Taichi.

Tsunade's figure had already disappeared into the depths of the forest. Taiichi watched the direction she had left and noticed deep finger marks, about an inch deep, on the rocks by the shore—marks Tsunade had made with her bare hands while trying to control her hemophobia. Perhaps she left early to avoid appearing flustered.

"Let's first check your chakra control level." Jiraiya's voice suddenly turned serious. He lightly stomped his foot, and chakra rippled perfectly in circles on the water's surface: "Stand on the river like this until the moon rises..."

Before he could finish speaking, Taiichi was already standing firmly on the crest of the wave. Moonlight shone on his soaked trousers, and the glow of his chakra, though fainter than before, seemed to linger longer and more persistent. Jiraiya's pupils dilated slightly; he saw the swirling ripples beneath the boy's feet, the same effect as when he himself treaded water.

Orochimaru's cold laugh drifted across the river: "Interesting little fellow." His figure vanished into a wisp of smoke with a silencing spell, the last thing to disappear being his icy gaze fixed on Taiichi's back.

……

After a series of tests, Jiraiya understood Taiichi's level. Overall, it was equivalent to that of a newly promoted Chunin, but considering his age and medical ninjutsu, that level was quite extraordinary. Teaching such a genius boy for a period of time wouldn't be difficult.

Next, Jiraiya took Taichi to Ichiraku Ramen. This was Taichi's first time here. He used to be poor, and later, even though he had money, he didn't have time to come. Today, he had finally arrived at this famous "tourist attraction" in Konoha.

"Boss, a large tonkotsu ramen, please." He added to Taiichi, "Go ahead and order, it's on me today."

"Boss, give me the same one."

"Alright, please wait a moment!"

While waiting, Jiraiya asked Tsunade to teach Taichi about the situation and explain it to him for the next period of time.

Taiichi was speechless after hearing this. Compared to Jiraiya, an outsider, Taiichi understood Tsunade's mental journey during this period better.

From her initial enthusiastic guidance and constant attention, Tsunade gradually grew impatient, sometimes even smelling alcohol on Taiichi when she approached him. While Tsunade was dedicated to teaching Taiichi, her attitude towards other matters was questionable. She might have genuinely grown impatient and wanted to quit, and then someone else appeared who could take over—Jiraiya.

Of course, this is just Taiichi's own guess, and he certainly can't explain it to Jiraiya. In any case, Tsunade has been extremely kind and righteous to him.

……

At the same time, at the Konoha Casino.

At this moment, Tsunade was confidently betting, surrounded by a crowd at her gambling table. "I refuse to believe it, this round can't be small." As soon as she placed her chip on small, all the other gamblers simultaneously placed their chips on big. Tsunade's forehead veins throbbed with rage.

Suddenly Tsunade sneezed loudly. "What's going on? Could it be that brat Taiichi is talking about me...?" Tsunade thought to herself.

"Never mind, dealer, open!" Tsunade then plunged back into the raging "money-losing business."