"NO."
Tsunade mercilessly denied the request as soon as Sukuna made it. The boy couldn't help but sigh at the heartless woman's reaction.
Sukuna had not even spoken yet. Well, at least not what she wished to hear. After all, in this world or any world for that matter, people only listened to what they wished to hear.
"I haven't even said anything," Sukuna replied flatly.
"You don't need to," Tsunade shot back, leaning back in her chair. "Whatever it is, the answer is no."
Sukuna exhaled slowly, clearly already annoyed. "You're going to listen."
"No, I'm not."
"You're hiding booze in the third drawer of your office table and have two more bottles tucked away in the wardrobe…" Sukuna mentioned, and that indeed perked up her interest.
"How did you…"
"I have my ways, but you shouldn't worry about whether I know it or not, worry about what will happen if Shizune knows it." He replied with a satisfied smile on his face.
She narrowed her eyes, almost threateningly. That was the last of her alcohol, she was completely broke to buy anymore until the next month's salary.
And her record in the village was so bad that most taverns would rather close their shops upon her arrival instead of directly saying no to her face.
Turns out saying no to a Sannin, especially the Slug Princess, was hard.
Needless to say, if Shizune found out that she had spent the last of their salary on booze, she might as well throw it all out before Tsunade could even have a taste.
"You won't say anything." She growled.
"Try me." Sukuna shot back with an equal amount of fire in his eyes.
Both stared at each other for a long moment, neither willing to give an inch.
Sakura shifted awkwardly. "Um… maybe we should—"
"Stay quiet," both Tsunade and Sukuna said at the same time.
Silence followed.
Both Sakura and Karin, who were brought in by Sukuna, just nervously looked between the two stubborn people and sighed. If they had known that this was what he meant by…"I know how to train you."
They might have never agreed to come along in the first place.
Not to say that they weren't excited to train under Tsunade Senju, because which kunoichi wouldn't be?
But threatening the Slug Princess with her hidden alcohol stash was the last thing they expected when coming here.
And just as Sakura mentioned, the two stubborn people outright ignored both girls. The silence stretched on for long enough until finally Tsunade had enough of it.
"Wah… you annoying brat, speak what you want. Be quick about it." She grumbled and relented.
Sukuna immediately had a victorious smile plastered onto his face before continuing, as if nothing had happened. "You're going to train them." He pointed at the two girls.
Tsunade blinked, as if she didn't quite get what he had just said.
"What?"
"Train them until the Chunin Exam finals." He repeated again.
Tsunade laughed once as if she found it amusing and then, with a short and sharp tone, uttered out.
"Absolutely not. I am not taking on more students, especially not because you decided it."
"They need proper training," Sukuna said, his tone calm but firm. "I'm not suitable to teach them."
Karin frowned slightly at that, but did not interrupt. No doubt she wished to get stronger, especially after losing to Haku, but it was also true that she wished to spend more time with Sukuna, that was why she had pestered him yesterday.
This wasn't quite what she had planned.
"And you think I am?" Tsunade raised a brow.
"You're what, 50? Even at this age you're still fishing for compliments, do you have no shame?" Sukuna rebutted.
A vein popped up on her forehead. "Request denied. First learn how to ask nicely."
"Would that change your mind?" Sukuna asked with a raised brow.
"Hmm…" Tsunade pretended to think and, "Maybe."
"So not only are you an old woman trying to fish for compliments, but you're also a liar as well.
How sad."
Sakura and Karin could feel murderous intent starting to leak from the older woman.
'Why are we also thinking of her as old?' They both simultaneously thought and then shook their heads.
"Get out…" She shouted.
"Not happening, they need training and you're the only one capable of providing it. I'm not going until you accept to teach them." Sukuna declared, he even had the audacity to roll up a chair and sit down like he owned the place.
"Brat, do you really think I won't punch you just because you're a little strong?" Tsunade asked threateningly.
Sukuna shrugged. "I never doubted your capability of letting your anger loose, what I'm betting on is your empty pockets. Remember, if anything breaks here, you're paying for it, which you absolutely have no money for, which means another excuse for our dear Hokage-sama to keep you locked in the hospital until you're done paying for the repairs."
Another tick mark seemed to form on her head, however this time it was not directly at him but rather at the condition which he had anticipated exactly correctly. She was beyond broke at this point.
Damn poverty.
"I'm still not teaching them. It's not my problem." She huffed.
"It becomes your problem when they fall behind," Sukuna said without hesitation.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed again. "You've got some nerve."
Sukuna did not deny it. "They already know medical ninjutsu."
That made her pause.
"…What?"
"Don't you remember Aizawa-sensei mentioning that both of them have worked in the hospital since academy days alongside me? Or was my performance too dazzling for you to recall anything besides me?" Sukuna asked with an almost amused tone.
The table seemed to crack under Tsunade's pressure. The worst part was that she couldn't really refuse, she had indeed forgotten and all because of this bastard here.
Just as he said, his record was so great that remembering anyone beside him at that point became worthless.
The brat was capable of regenerating lost body parts for others, even she was baffled at that feat.
Upon learning he could do that, she had used what little free time she had to research how he did it, but to her dismay she still hadn't figured it out yet, and of course she was just too stubborn to ask him directly.
"They're trained," he continued. "Not experts, but they understand the basics. Chakra control, healing, diagnosis. You wouldn't be starting from zero."
Sakura straightened slightly, nodding. "We can handle basic treatments already."
Karin crossed her arms. "We just need proper guidance to improve."
Tsunade studied them for a moment, her expression shifting slightly as she considered it.
Sukuna pressed the advantage. "You don't have to babysit them. Just supervise. Let them handle your hospital workload."
That got her attention while both Karin and Sakura looked at him like they were wondering, 'He never mentioned that before coming here.'
Unpaid internship?
Hell, if anything they saw right now was anything to go by, instead of getting money, they had to be careful with their own allowances when they learned under Tsunade, or they might find their savings turning into booze real quick.
"My workload?" she repeated.
"You have a lot of it," Sukuna said bluntly. "They take care of the smaller cases, you focus on the important ones."
"And if they mess up?" Tsunade asked.
"I'll handle it," Sukuna replied immediately. "Whatever they can't do, I will."
Sakura blinked. "Wait—"
Karin looked at him. "You won't have to go that far for us..."
"Shush… adults are talking." Sukuna waved his hand dismissively, shushing them.
Tsunade leaned forward slightly, interest finally showing. "So you're offering free labor."
"It's not free, you have to teach them. I hear you bunking on them and I'll make sure those bottles you hid end up in front of Shizune's doorstep." He reminded her.
Tsunade just rolled her eyes with a grumble but agreed.
"And responsibility?" She asked.
"I'll take it."
She smirked slightly. "That's still not enough."
Sukuna paused. He couldn't help but wonder how greedy this old woman was.
Then he sighed.
"I'll cover your drinks for a month."
That did it.
Tsunade's expression changed instantly.
"…You're serious?"
"Unfortunately."
She leaned back again, clearly pleased now. "Fine. I'll train them until the Chunin Exam finals are over."
Sakura lit up. "Really!?"
Karin smirked slightly and whispered next to his ear. "Maybe just free drinks would've done the trick, you know."
Sukuna seemed to grumble at that, for a second he really thought he had started the deal on the wrong note.
Tsunade pointed a finger at Sukuna. "But if they slack off, I dump everything on you."
Sukuna shrugged. "As long as they improve, it won't matter."
Tsunade grinned. "We'll see about that."
"Deal then. I'm leaving my cute little sister and girlfriend in your care. Make sure they're still straight by the time I get them back." He remarked before vanishing with Flying Thunder God.
Even the last comment made her more irritated.
xXx
A/N : I know most of you're thinking what happened with Bee, that would be explain in next chapter, don't worry.
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