"Alright. Since Lady Tsunade agreed so readily, there's no time to lose. Let's begin now."
Hawking nodded, then sat cross-legged directly on the office floor.
"Please stand guard for me, Lady Tsunade!"
"You're getting right to it?"
Seeing Hawking begin just like that, Tsunade froze for a moment. Still, she quickly rose from her seat and hurried to his side.
"So it really does damage the soul!"
Before long, she saw Hawking's head droop. His whole body looked as though its soul had been hollowed out, instantly losing all signs of life.
"Looks like I was overthinking it."
When Hawking had said it would damage his soul, she had not entirely believed him. But now, seeing for herself that the aura of his soul truly vanished after he used his ability, she knew he had not been lying.
She could not help feeling somewhat guilty.
So she secretly decided that if the future Hawking had foreseen really came to pass, she would find the Hidden Leaf Ninjas most skilled in Sealing Technique and have them teach Hawking Sealing Technique.
While Tsunade stood guard over Hawking, Hawking's own soul was standing right across from her.
After sitting down cross-legged, he had entered Shinigami Mode, his Shinigami Garb separating from his physical body.
In normal Shinigami Mode, once his soul left his body, ordinary people could not see it. The effect was even better than invisibility.
Of course, if he launched an attack, people with particularly sharp senses would still be able to notice him.
Right now, he was merely watching quietly. He neither attacked nor used spiritual power, and conveyed no hostility, so Tsunade likewise could not detect the existence of his soul.
He planned to wait a few minutes like this before returning to his body and continuing to play