I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 208. People who become more stubborn with age are trying to prove they are still useful.

"Thank you, thank you. Please come again next time. Don't bring anything with you; the village has given us enough."

At the edge of the Death Forest, in front of a house, an old man wiped away tears as he spoke to Tsunade and Tatsuma. Tsunade, who had been impatient and annoyed before setting off, now wore a rare gentle smile and said:

"Grandpa Namima, you must come to Konoha Hospital to see me when you have time. I'll come for a follow-up examination."

"Okay, I'll come over after I finish fixing the fence here."

The old man nodded and looked at the fence with a large hole not far from the house. He had been repairing the fence because he was worried that wild animals would escape and run into the village.

But his old and ailing body couldn't afford much repair work in a day. Before, he had his son and grandson to rely on, but now...

But when he looked over, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief, afraid that tears were blurring his vision. But after wiping away the tears, he saw that the fence that should have had a large hole had been repaired.

He turned and looked at the toolbox in the corner. He used it every day, so his memory of it was still very clear, and he could tell instantly that the tools had been tampered with.

Suddenly remembering that the child had said he needed to use the restroom, she glanced at Tatsuma and asked, "Did you fix it?"

Chenma waved his hand and said, "I just fixed it casually, please don't blame me for my poor skills."

He pursed his incredibly relaxed lips. That huge hole couldn't be repaired in a short time; it must have required ninjutsu. But he didn't say it aloud; he simply nodded and said:

"That's good. The sooner it's finished, the less we have to worry about wild animals coming in."

"Grandpa Namima, you can report these to the village. If you find them again, you can have other ninjas come and fix them."

The Forest of Death is home to many wild beasts, some of which can even use chakra unconsciously. Suppressing the rampaging beasts and ensuring they don't escape is the village's job, not something an old man who can no longer fight should be tasked with.

But upon hearing Tatsuma's words, she said with a hint of resentment, "I'm no longer able to go to the battlefield, can't I even fix things and help the village now?"

Hearing this, Chenma felt somewhat helpless. The Senju clan members had very distinctive personalities, and he had seen several of them like that today.

The elders of the Senju clan, in particular, are even more stubborn and strong-willed. In just one day, Tatsuma witnessed, among others, those in their seventies or eighties who were still sharpening their swords at home in preparation for being drafted, those lying in hospital beds who said they could still go to the battlefield if helped up, and those who had to use canes to walk but insisted on demonstrating their martial arts to Tatsuma and saying they would teach him.

In short, if they are not allowed to serve the village, their kind and gentle nature will completely disappear, and they will become extremely resentful.

I used to think that Tsunade's irritable and short-tempered personality was an isolated case, but now it seems that Tsunade is actually quite calm.

On any other day, Tsunade might have stood her ground, arguing or even physically defending her disciple, but today she was unusually calm, simply standing in front of Tatsuma and saying:

"Grandpa Namima, the child is just being silly, please don't take it to heart. Whatever you want to do for the village, so does Tatsuma. Whether you're fixing things for him or other ninjas, isn't it all helping the village?"

Bingjian nodded, his tense facial muscles slowly relaxing, and said, "That child is quite good. Don't blame the child when you go back; it was my own fault for being anxious."

Seeing that Namima had turned around and spoken well of Tatsuma, Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, then Grandpa Namima, you should go back and rest. Remember to come to Konoha Hospital to see me as soon as possible."

"Well, you guys should head back early too. Come over again when you have time. Oh, by the way, I have a ninjutsu technique. I killed several Uchiha with that taijutsu. Kid, you can learn it sometime!"

"Okay, Grandpa Namikawa, I'll definitely come over when I have time."

Seeing that another old man from the Senju clan wanted to teach him the ninjutsu that had killed the Uchiha clan, Tatsuma reluctantly agreed. He dared not refuse, after all, there had been a similar old man that morning, whom he had politely declined.

The old man, despite his frail and ailing body, insisted on refining chakra to show Tatsuma what it was all about. If it weren't for Tsunade, the medical genius, and Tatsuma, a disciple who was also quite skilled, something terrible might have happened.

Seeing that Namima had no intention of demonstrating on the spot, Tsunade immediately said, "Then goodbye, Grandpa Namima."

"Goodbye, Grandpa Namima."

Tatsuma quickly replied, and Namima, who had been wondering if his current body could still refine chakra, gave up on the idea upon hearing this and nodded, saying, "Okay, take care."

Tsunade immediately took Tatsuma away, her pace quickening until Tatsuma almost had to use his Body Flicker Technique to keep up. After running a considerable distance, Tsunade finally stopped.

"Phew, it's finally over. But these old folks are really something. Despite having such severe aftereffects from their injuries, not one of them went to the hospital."

Relieved, Tsunade remarked, "They only want to help the village, but they don't want to cause it any trouble." Tatsuma replied, "They only want to help the village, but they don't want to cause it any trouble."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade nodded and said, "I also heard my grandmother say that when the village was built, there were many clansmen who could no longer be ninjas and refused to move into the houses that the village arranged for them."

Because everyone knew that the village had just been established and that money was needed everywhere, they preferred to hunt and farm outside the village rather than let the village spend a single penny on them.

Many clansmen who couldn't stand the Uchiha clan handed over all their possessions and secretly left, and Grandpa didn't try to stop them.

On the contrary, those Uchiha, shamelessly, all moved over, acting all united, but in the end, they all betrayed us anyway.

Upon hearing Tsunade refer to those people as "clan members," Tatsuma finally understood why Mito Uzumaki had sent Tsunade, who was originally just a figurehead, to visit and comfort these "clan members."

As for the final comparison to the Uchiha, isn't that a Senju tradition? Tatsuma finally understood why Tobirama Senju, who was clearly very rational, would often refer to the Uchiha as "evil."

The two slowed their pace and strolled towards the Senju clan's territory. Along the way, Tsunade asked, "By the way, you said yesterday that you were going to leave the village tomorrow with the Uchiha and Hyuga clans?"

"Yes, two classmates."

"You're not the kind of person who would go out of the village to play."

Tsunade spoke meaningfully, and Tatsuma glanced at his teacher in surprise. His teacher was actually thinking today?!

"What's with that look?! All you guys want is a fight, why do you have to come out of the village for something so trivial?"

Tsunade raised her fist, and Tatsuma quickly withdrew his astonished gaze, then said, "After all, they are the Uchiha and Hyuga. If they fight, it won't be good for the village, so we arranged to meet outside the village."

Tatsuma didn't reveal the truth, but Tsunade, upon hearing this, showed no doubt. Instead, she nodded in understanding and said, "So, you and Minato intervened in time. That Uchiha was alright, but I heard that Hyuga is from the main branch of the family?"

"Yeah, we'll go together, just in case one of us can't hold them back and ends up taking sides."

Seeing Tsunade's slightly smug expression, as if she thought she had figured everything out, Tatsuma simply went with the flow and confirmed this reason.

"You and Minato both know medical ninjutsu. Treat them before you come back, at least so the villagers won't notice."

Tsunade's tone suddenly became earnest and didactic, and Tatsuma felt that Tsunade had gotten carried away today.

Tatsuma was somewhat unfamiliar with how to interact with the Senju clan, but Tsunade, who shared his personality, was the one who knew how to handle people very well today. Perhaps it was for this reason that Tsunade felt she had the ability to teach Tatsuma how to conduct himself in society.

Seeing her disciple deep in thought, Tsunade was in a particularly good mood. She continued, behaving like a proper teacher, and asked, "By the way, how's the progress on your Flying Thunder God Technique and the medical ninjutsu you're trying to develop?"

"I've only just started studying the Flying Thunder God Technique, and I'm still far from mastering it. As for medical ninjutsu, I'm almost there. I can now temporarily store chakra in my cells, rather than just chakra."

The only thing missing now is the instantaneous release of chakra. Currently, the release of chakra is too slow, not enough to achieve immediate repair after injury. Without meridians as channels, the speed at which chakra spreads between cells is severely limited.

Upon hearing Tatsuma recount his progress, Tsunade began to ponder. She was unfamiliar with the Flying Thunder God Technique, so Tatsuma glossed over it. However, she was proficient in medical ninjutsu, so when Tatsuma mentioned the problems he was facing, he was probably looking for a solution.

After thinking for a moment, Tsunade said, "There are many ways to release chakra instantly, such as the Senju's monstrous strength and the Hyuga's empty palm, but these are all from the inside out, which is different from the technique you want to develop."

When you get back, you can ask your grandmother for advice. There should be similar theories and applications for sealing techniques. If that doesn't work, you can refer to the Yin Sealing Technique. Your grandmother won't hide anything from you.

Alternatively, you could change your approach and not necessarily release medical ninjutsu chakra into a specific part of the body, but instead let it reside in the meridians first.

Then, by unleashing chakra with superhuman strength, the chakra is directed towards the injured area; however, this method cannot provide sustained healing for ongoing damage.

Knowing that Tatsuma developed this medical ninjutsu to complement the technique that would continuously harm himself, Tsunade didn't have any good solutions and could only let Tatsuma decide for himself or find another way.

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma pondered the feasibility of the several solutions Tsunade had proposed and said, "Let me think about it some more, or maybe I'll ask Hyuga Sento tomorrow if we can temporarily store chakra through acupoints."

After all, it has more acupoints and a wider coverage area, allowing for timely delivery of chakra to various parts of the body.

"Well, you can handle it yourself. Oh, by the way, when you go back to the Hokage Building in a few days, help me investigate something."

"What is it?"

"Investigate Kato Dan for me. I feel like he's been turned. He's been subtly trying to find out about me lately, and I suspect he's planning to ambush me."

Hearing Tsunade's words, Tatsuma's lips twitched, and he asked in return:

"Did he inquire about your favorite foods and drinks, your interests, hobbies, social relationships, and your daily routine and activity patterns?"

"Yes! You've noticed something's not right either, haven't you? Do you think I should strike first?"

(End of this chapter)