Tsunade, who suffered from hemophobia, trembled after seeing the drop of blood. She didn't recover until evening, just in time for dinner. Since Tsunade was in a bad mood, she took Shizune and Li Xing to an izakaya for drinks.
"Lady Tsunade, please don't drink too much," Shizune constantly advised Tsunade to drink less for her health. Li Xing, on the other hand, was still eating mindlessly. No matter what, Tsunade would be fine, so it was better to fill his stomach first.
Jiraiya and Naruto, who had been searching for Tsunade for a long time outside, also happened to arrive at the izakaya that day. As soon as they entered, they saw Tsunade with a flushed face from drinking, accompanied by a girl, a boy, and a pig.
"Ah! Tsunade! Found you in this kind of place again!" Jiraiya sighed at how small the world was. He couldn't find her after searching for so long, but as soon as he wanted a drink, he found Tsunade. It seemed like the same thing happened last time, just in reverse.
"Jiraiya? Why are you looking for me again? Are you planning to send another brat my way?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes and immediately spotted a little boy with yellow hair wearing a yellow jacket beside Jiraiya.
Li Xing looked up. He had only seen Naruto in anime and manga before. The real-life little Naruto wasn't as cute as in the anime, but his pair of clear azure eyes made it obvious that he was the sunny protagonist from a hot-blooded manga.
After the greetings, Jiraiya didn't stand on ceremony and joined Tsunade at her table. Little Naruto sat down with Li Xing and Tonton.
Li Xing had also eaten most of his food by then. He poured a cup of tea and handed it to Naruto, "Brat, what's your name? Are you Jiraiya-sensei's disciple?"
Seeing Li Xing's nonchalant demeanor, Naruto didn't think much of it. "First, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, not brat. And I'm not the Toad Sage's disciple, he's just teaching me to train right now."
Li Xing laughed heartily and patted Shizune's shoulder. "Shizune-nee, listen to this, 'Toad Sage,' what a great nickname."
"Li Xing-kun, stop messing around. Lady Tsunade is talking with Lord Jiraiya." Shizune was helpless with Li Xing's boisterous personality. She had to watch out for Lady Tsunade not to gamble randomly, take care of Tonton, and stop Li Xing from being naughty.
Naruto also took the initiative to strike up a conversation. "You haven't told me your name yet? And why did you call him Toad Sage just now? Are you his disciple?"
"Didn't Shizune-nee already say it? My name is Li Xing. Calling Jiraiya 'sensei' is out of respect when I'm in a good mood. I am Tsunade's disciple."
After hearing this, Naruto understood who Li Xing was. This person, who looked about the same age as him, was Tsunade's disciple, whom the Toad Sage had always boasted about.
"Then are you also very skilled in medical ninjutsu?" Naruto thought of Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei, who were still lying in the hospital. An inexplicable feeling arose in his heart, wanting Li Xing to return to Konoha with him to treat Sasuke and Kakashi.
Li Xing also sensed this. It seemed he had integrated into this world. The protagonist inexplicably trusted him? Didn't the Nine-Tails' ability sense malice?
"Sorry, my medical ninjutsu isn't proficient yet. I can't save your companions. You should ask Master Tsunade!"
Just then, Tsunade suddenly spoke, "I will not go back to become Hokage. Hokage is trash. Only idiots become Hokage. The Third was, the Fourth was, that's why they died."
Naruto, who was chatting with Li Xing, happened to hear this. The previous Naruto hadn't noticed, but Tsunade's words denied his dream and mocked the Hokage Grandpa he respected.
"Damn it! How dare you mock Grandpa the Third and the Fourth Hokage in front of me? Even if you're a woman, I'll beat you up hard!"
Naruto's head went hot upon hearing Tsunade's words. He rushed forward impulsively, intending to punch Tsunade, but Jiraiya firmly grabbed him with one hand.
Tsunade looked at the arrogant brat before her. Feeling playful, she was about to suggest a fight with Naruto, but Li Xing was right there. Having learned many ninjutsu, Li Xing was like a child with a new toy, eager to use them everywhere. How could he miss this opportunity?
"Okay, okay! Naruto, Shishō is too embarrassed to bully a child, so let me, her disciple, fight on her behalf. You represent Jiraiya-sensei's disciple, and we'll have a duel."
Before Tsunade could reply, Li Xing eagerly agreed. Seeing that her disciple had said so, Tsunade found it awkward to bully a child, so she let Li Xing have his way.
Jiraiya looked at the two troublesome brats before him and could only sigh helplessly. Fortunately, he had handed one of them over to Tsunade before.
...
Immediately, the few people who had agreed to fight went to an open area. Naruto and Jiraiya were unaware of Li Xing's strength, but Shizune and Tsunade knew it well. So, Tsunade loudly instructed Li Xing not to be too heavy-handed, just to beat him up a bit.
"No problem, I won't be too heavy-handed. Come on, Naruto!"
Li Xing casually agreed, then rolled up his sleeves and bounced in place, looking exactly like a boxer warming up before a match.
Naruto felt underestimated and could only shout, "Bastard! Don't look down on me!"
Then, Naruto threw two shurikens with one hand and pulled out a kunai with the other, charging forward.
Li Xing, with his speed, caught the two shurikens. He threw one on the ground and used the remaining shuriken in his hand to block Naruto's attack, using the hole in the middle of the shuriken to block the kunai.
Seeing this, Naruto quickly formed hand seals, and several Narutos appeared around Li Xing.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Several Narutos lunged at Li Xing together. Seeing that Li Xing was about to be entangled, Naruto was overjoyed. "Got it! It seems the old woman's disciple isn't much either!"
Seeing the smile on Naruto's face, Li Xing knew this kid must think he had won. He still lacked experience, little Naruto.
"Naruto, do you think you've won? Let me teach you a lesson: never let your guard down until the enemy is completely defeated!"
Li Xing crossed his arms, grabbed a shadow clone with each hand, and then threw them directly at Naruto's main body. Naruto was sent flying over ten meters away, smashed by the clones. The other clones weren't so lucky. Li Xing's fists gathered a large amount of energy (chakra), and with a punch, a sonic boom erupted, and all the surrounding clones vanished in an instant.
"Since they're shadow clones, I used a bit of force. Feels great!"
As he spoke, Li Xing struck a very chuunibyou pose, showing a bit of Tengen Uzui and Jiraiya's flair.
Jiraiya noticed the power of Li Xing's punch was extraordinary and turned to Tsunade. "It seems you've taught this child very well. He's even learned your monstrous strength."
Naruto, unwilling to give up, summoned more shadow clones. The two of them rubbed the air on the palm of the main body. Soon, a not-so-perfect Rasengan appeared in Naruto's hand. He then charged forward with the Rasengan.
Tsunade also looked at Jiraiya. "You're not bad either, teaching this kid this technique."
Li Xing shook his head at Naruto's brute-force charge. "Naruto, your enemy in front of you hasn't lost his ability to act. Do you think you can touch me charging like this?"
Then, Li Xing suddenly flashed behind Naruto and struck his shoulder with a chop. Caught off guard, Naruto was knocked to the ground.
Although he didn't use too much force, Li Xing thought Naruto should be unable to fight anymore.
"I win this fight!"
As soon as Li Xing finished speaking, he stepped forward to help Naruto up. However, Naruto slowly stood up and threw a punch back at Li Xing. But Li Xing quickly caught the fist with one hand.
"The fight isn't over yet? Li Xing!"
Looking at the stubborn Naruto before him, Li Xing didn't understand how Naruto could stand up. Was it the protagonist's halo?
"How can you still stand up? That blow should have temporarily severed your nervous system."
"An attack like that won't make me fall! I'm going to be Hokage one day!"
This time, Li Xing finally understood why the protagonists of these hot-blooded manga were always unkillable. It was definitely the protagonist's unique "locked health" cheat.
"Why are you so set on becoming Hokage? It's not necessarily a good thing to be Hokage." Li Xing thought of the scenes he had seen before, where Naruto, after becoming Hokage, was constantly working, not even able to use a few shadow clones. What was so good about being Hokage like that?
"Because becoming Hokage is my dream!" Naruto gave Li Xing his answer, which also struck Tsunade, reminding her of the two people who had said the same thing to her before.
"Hey, brat, let's make a bet! For a week. If you can learn the Rasengan within a week, I'll give you this necklace. If you lose, all your money belongs to me!"
Tsunade took out a toad wallet and started a bet with Naruto. It seemed Tsunade wanted to gamble again. Li Xing then let go of Naruto's hand.
"Let's call this fight a draw. Master's necklace is worth enough to buy three mountains. I've begged for it for a long time and never got it, so please agree."
As soon as Naruto heard it could buy three mountains, his expression immediately changed. "Alright, since you want to bet, I'll bet with you once. I will definitely learn the Rasengan!"
"Perverted old man, do you regret not taking me as a disciple back then? Well, it's true, a disciple as outstanding as me can't be found in ten lifetimes!"
After the fight, Li Xing immediately returned to his usual self, running to Jiraiya to brag about his talent. Jiraiya's mouth twitched. He had just been thinking if Li Xing was the child of prophecy he was looking for, but seeing his personality, he decided against it. He was even worse than Naruto.