The relationship is quietly changing, the result of mutual influence, arriving at the Land of Hot Water,

Naruto and Tsunade exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

Fortunately, Shizune stopped crying after a while, but no matter how Tsunade questioned her, Shizune kept her head down and refused to tell the truth. She only said that she was in a bad mood and couldn't hold it in.

Tsunade ignored her and took the two of them to eat.

As night fell, Tsunade and Naruto got together again for a few more games. It was just casual play, not as intense as the all-nighters they had played a few days ago.

Having played enough, Tsunade was about to take a bath. Naruto, seeing this, also prepared to go back to his room to bathe and rest, but was unexpectedly Teuchi Tsunade, who was yawning.

"Wait, let me finish washing up before I play one last time," she said.

Upon hearing this, Naruto was amused and nodded in agreement.

Tsunade went to take a shower, leaving Shizune and Naruto sitting there. Shizune didn't want to see Naruto or talk to him, so she just snorted and turned away.

Naruto was speechless, but he didn't say anything, and idly fiddled with the dice on the table.

Until Tsunade emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel, her wet hair still tucked inside. Her snow-white shoulders were exposed, as smooth as cream.

The bulge in the bath towel was breathtaking, like snow-capped peaks. The large bath towel covered most of Tsunade's body, all the way down to her calves.

Shizune frowned; she had already realized that the relationship between Lord Tsunade and that person had subtly changed. She silently pondered what had happened between them outside, and soon blushed.

"Let's keep playing." Tsunade sat down casually, her bathrobe slit open, too lazy to care.

"Hmm." Naruto looked down and found that Tsunade's foot was already stretched out and placed casually next to him.

Neat, white toes lined up in a row, barefoot, her beautiful legs laid out like that. The posture wasn't exactly elegant, but it was so beautiful it could change his mind.

Having gotten the hang of it, she naturally couldn't just play one round. After several rounds, Tsunade ultimately set a limit. Seeing that it was almost time, she simply sent everyone away.

Naruto could tell that she wasn't in a very good mood today, so he didn't try to entice her any further and simply went back to his room to wash up and rest.

The next day.

Tsunade was in good spirits again, and in the middle of the day, she dragged Naruto out of bed and they started playing the game again, making a lot of noise. They played until evening before deciding to continue their journey the next day.

Naruto then realized that he had already wasted a lot of time on the road, so he put down the dice, thought for a while, and frowned as he spoke.

"We're almost at the Land of Hot Water, it's time for me to go."

Tsunade was focused on her cards when she heard this, and her little finger twitched slightly, but her expression remained unchanged. She simply hummed in response.

Seeing that Tsunade didn't react, he naturally didn't continue the topic. He fiddled with the dice with a clattering sound, while carefully examining the cards with his other hand.

In truth, Naruto felt he had teased Tsunade enough; once he left, no other gambling games could satisfy her anymore. Whether from the perspective of revenge or helping her quit gambling, it was about enough.

He couldn't keep wandering with Tsunade forever. They were just strangers who met by chance, so parting ways was a normal thing.

He hadn't expected Tsunade to have any other reaction, after all, Tsunade had traveled to too many places and met too many people. It was just a pre-emptive greeting; the time spent laughing and joking was almost over.

Naruto came here to retrieve information, and he'll need to change his identity before heading to Konohagakure. Tsunade has already seen what he looks like, so there's no need for him to hide it.

However, a journey to Konohagakure must be undertaken with caution, as Konohagakure remains incredibly powerful. The Third Hokage is still formidable, the Uchiha ambitious, and Danzo in the shadows.

Moreover, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, was in his prime, and Kakashi had already shown his genius. If Tsunade hadn't left, Konohagakure would now be a place where the four Kage ruled together.

The current situation in Konohagakure is not the leaky Konohagakure of twenty years later. Even Naruto needs to be cautious if he wants to obtain important top-secret information from Konohagakure.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and he looked up, laughing and joking as he invited Tsunade to Teuchi. Tsunade even tried to cheat, but Naruto stopped her immediately.

"Lord Tsunade, you've gone too far!"

"I don't understand what you're saying, let go! Hurry up!" Tsunade was shameless; even after being caught, she showed no remorse and still tried to cheat.

He was naturally at his wit's end and grabbed Tsunade's wrist, locked in a stalemate. After a while of commotion, Tsunade finally managed to cheat, albeit with a smile.

Naruto was somewhat helpless about this.

He slammed the playing cards onto the table and said irritably.

"There's something dirty in it, I'm not playing anymore, I'm not playing anymore."

After saying that, he got up and went back. Tsunade the playing cards, laughed behind him, looking like she had gotten a good deal, until the door slammed shut, at which point her laughter stopped.

Shizune had obediently finished washing up and was about to crawl into bed. Looking up, she saw Tsunade sitting blankly at the table and couldn't help but ask.

"Lord Tsunade, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about how to cheat." Tsunade turned around, her face beaming with smiles again.

Shizune: "... Sleep."

Nothing was said that night.

The next day.

The three left the inn and continued their journey. They were only two or three days away from the Land of Hot Water, and the countdown to their parting had begun.

On the way, everything seemed unchanged. Tsunade and Naruto were still chatting and laughing, and during their lunch break, the two of them got together to play cards again.

Shizune didn't bother to look at them, so she walked a little further away and leaned against a tree to rest.

The two of them were laughing and joking, and occasionally their shouting was quite noisy. As they played, they started fooling around again, and there was bound to be some physical contact, openly taking advantage of each other.

Tsunade didn't seem to care, and appeared to acquiesce. The countdown to separation was indeed a magical thing, accelerating the fermentation of feelings of dependence and other emotions.

Actually, Tsunade felt a little reluctant to part with Naruto. It wasn't romantic love, but rather a feeling of comfort; she felt comfortable being with him.

Both the way they interacted and the way they spoke allowed her to forget many unpleasant things. Even though there was a ten-year age gap between them, there was no generation gap at all.

To be honest, after that walk, she had thought about inviting him to travel with her. It was her dream to see the whole world, and now she wanted to add someone to that dream.

Naruto didn't think too much about it and continued on his way in the afternoon.

After nightfall, Naruto prepared a grilled fish meal using the same method. After dinner, Shizune was still poking at the fire, playing with her knees drawn up to her chest, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Seeing that it was still early, Naruto turned around and glanced around, deciding to ask Tsunade.

"Taking a walk?" Tsunade looked up.

"Just taking a walk," Naruto said, seemingly without any other intention.

"Alright." Tsunade stood up, turned to look at Shizune, and guessing that she had heard her, she simply asked, "Shizune, do you want to come along?"

"I'm not going." Shizune's voice was muffled as she continued to hug her knees and play with the fire.

She already knew what had happened between Tsunade and Naruto before; it was indeed just a simple walk or stroll, or they would get together to play cards or dice.

As a result, she immediately lost interest.

Upon hearing this, Tsunade didn't say anything and simply walked towards Naruto. She said, "Let's go," and the two strolled leisurely along the riverbank.

Naruto remembered that Tsunade later developed a habit of taking walks, strolling around the Hokage Building whenever she had a spare moment. Sometimes she would bring Shizune, and sometimes Sakura.

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before, but I just can't remember," Tsunade said.

"Really?" Naruto grinned mischievously, glancing at her as he turned his head. "Maybe we met in a dream?"

"Heh." Tsunade chuckled coldly, but then turned and said, "Play a few more rounds before you go back to sleep. In a few days, you won't be able to play with me anymore."

"I'm not playing anymore," Naruto refused outright.

"Why?" Tsunade a little confused.

"No reason, I just don't want to play anymore," he said. "Anyway, I'm leaving in a few days, so I'm getting used to it beforehand, so I won't feel uncomfortable being alone in the Land of Hot Water."

"You don't seem like you're going to the Land of Hot Water, so why are you talking about the Land of Hot Water?" she complained.

"Isn't Lord Tsunade the same?" he retorted.

Upon hearing this, Tsunade was speechless. Naruto's statement was obviously false, and her explanation wasn't much better, but now wasn't a good time to probe for secrets.

Besides, given the current situation, the research definitely has to be abandoned. Although she didn't take it to heart, she still felt a little reluctant at the thought of not being able to play cards together anymore.

"Why don't you just not go to the Land of Hot Water?" she asked tentatively.

"Then where should I go?" Naruto found it somewhat amusing.

Tsunade, "How would I know where you're going?" But given the circumstances, she had no choice but to change her words.

"Will we have another chance to meet again? Let's play cards together."

"We'll definitely meet, but it might take a long time," Naruto said half-jokingly. "But Lord Tsunade certainly won't wait that long."

Tsunade: "."

With a sigh, nothing happened, and the two strolled leisurely for a while before heading back. They slept as usual, and in the morning, they washed up and set off.

The second day was uneventful, much like the first day's journey. We traveled while enjoying the scenery, but at a much slower pace than the previous day.

On the third day, night fell.

The group arrived at the Land of Hot Water Springs, Naruto mentioned that the hot springs here were quite famous. Without a second thought, Tsunade immediately led the two of them to the hot springs.

The hot springs here are separated for men and women. Tsunade and Shizune went to one side, while Naruto went to the other side, with thick bamboo separating their views.

Naruto enjoyed a relaxing soak, then got dressed and waited for the two women to come out. Tsunade, her face flushed, was feeling a little dizzy from soaking in the hot water for so long.

She was in a daze when she went out and collapsed into Naruto's arms. Fortunately, Naruto caught her in time and she was fine. Tsunade recovered after a short while.

After the meal, Shizune stayed at the inn. Tsunade played a couple of games with Naruto, but Tsunade was clearly distracted.

"What's wrong?" he asked.