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"I'll take big!"
Tsunade's shout rang out beside Akio's ear, prompting him to rub it helplessly.
"Keep it down, Tsunade… What about you two?"
Jiraiya and Orochimaru exchanged a knowing glance and said in unison, "We'll take small!"
Akio sighed and lifted the dice cup. "One, two, three, six—small."
Tsunade clenched her fists. "You two…"
Jiraiya instinctively shrank back. "I don't want the money anymore."
"Me neither…" Orochimaru quickly followed.
Tsunade finally nodded, a satisfied smile on her face.
Akio chuckled and shook his head. "Little Tsunade, do you really find this fun?"
"It's because you won't teach me! If I keep losing, all my pocket money will end up with those two!"
This little scene had already played out countless times before Akio. Before noon even hit, Tsunade would bring her two teammates to blockade his door. Calling him "Great-Grandpa" so sweetly, it gave him goosebumps.
Left with no choice, he had become their de facto dealer, shaking the dice for these three kids. Tsunade was clearly trying to get some guidance out of him, but after observing for a while, he realized that Tsunade had an uncanny knack for always picking the wrong side. This sort of talent might rival his own level-10 gambling skills—but in reverse. She was probably level negative-10, completely beyond saving.
"Great-Grandpa, one more round!"
Tsunade's voice rang out again. Akio sighed and picked up the dice once more.
The cup hit the table. Just as Tsunade was about to speak, she stopped herself.
"You two go first!"
Jiraiya and Orochimaru exchanged glances again and, just as helplessly, said together, "We'll still take small."
Akio smiled. "You two really are in sync. What about you, little Tsunade?"
Tsunade's eyes sparkled. "I'll take small too!"
"Then we'll go with big!" the boys chorused once again.
Boom! The table suddenly exploded, leaving Akio dumbfounded. He stared at the wreckage, feeling a pang of regret—only realizing after a beat that it was a Senju family table.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya had already assumed combat-ready stances. Tsunade took a deep breath—and punched Jiraiya square in the face.
Akio laughed as he watched Jiraiya crash through the house. "Little Tsunade, you really do have a soft spot for Jiraiya, huh?"
Like clockwork, Jiraiya limped back into view. "Tsunade, why is it always me…"
Tsunade didn't answer. Instead, she picked up the fallen dice cup, opened it, and saw that the result was small.
"I won!" she shouted excitedly.
Akio twitched at the corners of his mouth. After a brief hesitation, he chose not to tell her that the dice roll had actually changed when the cup hit the ground—it had originally been big.
Thinking she had finally won, Tsunade stopped pestering Akio and turned her attention to the two other people in the room.
"Great-Grandpa, who are these two Hyuga kids?"
Akio smiled. "New disciples of mine."
"You took Hyuga kids as disciples? Just teaching them chakra control?"
"Nope. I'm helping them train their focus. Look at them—despite all the noise we're making, they can still sit there refining chakra. They'll be impressive in the future," Akio replied.
"Is that so…" Tsunade nodded, seemingly convinced. Orochimaru, off to the side, wore a weird expression.
"Tsunade, why is it always me!" Jiraiya finally caught back up and asked again. This time, Tsunade actually spared him a glance.
Then she turned to Akio. "Great-Grandpa, we won't disturb your disciple training anymore."
As the three walked off into the distance, Akio could still hear Jiraiya's grumbling and snickered inwardly.
He turned to look back—and shook his head.
A human-shaped hole now adorned the wall of the Senju guest house. Despite the ruckus, no other Senju clansmen had come to investigate. Clearly, everyone was used to the young princess's temperament.
Akio then glanced at the two children sitting cross-legged, refining chakra, and sighed inwardly.
"Hizashi and Hiashi were so focused on training even as kids… It's just a shame they had such an unreliable grandfather."
Earlier that morning, the Hyuga clan leader had shown up with the two boys in tow.
After witnessing Akio's levitation trick the day before, he had essentially dumped the children on Akio, tossing him a book before turning around and walking off.
Akio had thought the book would contain some advanced Gentle Fist techniques, and he had even been preparing to teach the boys. But upon opening it—"Gentle Fist: An Introduction"—he was left speechless.
Without even bothering to read it, Akio tossed the book aside and had the kids sit down to refine chakra.
Still, seeing that they could endure and stay focused for half a day earned some approval from Akio.
"Alright, too much chakra refining can damage the body. Time to get up and move around, you two. I'll teach you some basics from this Gentle Fist primer."
The kids opened their eyes and looked at each other. "Thank you, Sensei!"
"Don't call me Sensei. Makes me feel like a schoolteacher… 'Introduction' my foot, this feels like preschool material."
Akio opened the book and skimmed a few pages. "Let's start with the basic stance. First move: Beginning Form!"
He spread his feet slightly and slowly raised both arms. The two children mimicked him closely. Satisfied, Akio nodded and continued reading.
"Second move: Parting the Wild Horse's Mane!"
"Third move: White Crane Spreads Its Wings!"
By this point, something started to feel off to Akio.
"Why does this feel so familiar…"
"You two, keep practicing the first three moves!" he instructed before flipping further into the book.
Brush Knee and Twist Step… Playing the Lute… Closing Form.
By the time he reached the end, Akio's expression twitched. The sense of familiarity grew stronger.
"Isn't this the 24-form Yang-style Tai Chi? I took this in college P.E. back in my previous life…"
He had long forgotten how to perform the whole routine, but the familiar names and almost identical movements were enough to jog his memory.
"Come to think of it… Could Kishimoto have based the Gentle Fist on Tai Chi? Like those absurd Gold and Silver Brothers…"
Akio pondered for a moment but didn't dwell on it.
After running through the moves twice, using his previous-life experience as a reference, Akio quickly became proficient.
Noticing the admiration in the two boys' eyes, he gave a helpless smile. Somehow, he had accidentally become a Gentle Fist prodigy—and the pressure was real.
"You two head home for now. It's getting late. I'll practice a bit more and teach you tomorrow."
"Yes, Sensei!"
Watching them walk off, Akio couldn't help but laugh inwardly, curious how they'd report this back to the Hyuga clan head. That accidental performance earlier…
"Huh?" His eyes unintentionally flicked over to his status panel—and he froze.
Gentle Fist LV1 (100/10000)
"It actually appeared on my status panel!"
Akio felt speechless.
"I always dreamed of having those high-speed taijutsu skills—you know, appearing with a whoosh and disappearing with a whoosh…"
"In the end, maybe an old guy like me really is better suited to something more… gentle?"
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