Surging

"If I haven't thought it through, we won't meet"—this excuse is so classic.

Naruto gasped. He knew Tsunade well that it would be naive of him to believe Tsunade's words. Anyone who believed a woman was simply out of their mind.

Tsunade said she needed to think it over before speaking, implying she didn't know what to say. But she should calm down; if Naruto really left, he would be dead.

"Then I'll wait until you've thought it through. I'm not in a hurry."

"Naruto Uzumaki, are you sick in the head?" Tsunade frowned.

"Yes."

Tsunade: "."

A tree without bark will surely die; a person without shame is invincible.

She couldn't very well just punch Naruto to death, so she looked him over carefully before finally giving in.

"Wait for me."

Things couldn't be accomplished in one go, and he was in a hurry. He sat by the campfire waiting, Shizune didn't come all night, and Tsunade didn't sleep a wink either.

Being young is great; you don't need to worry about anything.

After an unknown amount of time, the night gradually faded, dawn broke, and the sky turned a pale white. Light gradually appeared in the deep mountains and forests. Tsunade looked up and saw Naruto beside her.

The fire had been extinguished, leaving only charred wood and some silvery-white ash at the bottom.

"The idea of returning to eighteen years old is really strange. I've been thinking about it all night and I still can't figure out how you did it. It's probably something left behind by the Uchiha."

Tsunade has also gone astray, and when she's indecisive, she always Uchiha.

Anyway, the Second already taught us that if the village is in trouble, it's all the Uchiha's fault. It's all the Uchiha's fault! They're always up to something weird, those evil Uchiha brats!

"It should be, but I'm not too sure." Naruto started to play dead. "It's probably Ninjutsu created by the Uchiha Clan, but the conditions for activating Ninjutsu are extremely demanding."

There was only one thing Tsunade couldn't understand: how could this damned technique to Return to Youth be more sophisticated than her own Hundred Healings Jutsu, not even catching up to its taillights?

That's a bit disheartening. You've dedicated your whole life to something, only to find it's worth less than a single hair from the Uchiha?

Naruto gave her a vague answer, and Tsunade had nothing more to say. So the topic returned to feelings, and this time Tsunade was even more conflicted, glancing down at her chest.

So you were this big when you were eighteen?

As dawn broke, Tsunade and scrutinized him closely, her gaze sweeping over his face, which made Naruto's body tremble.

"What's wrong?"

"You're not trying to repay a debt of gratitude, are you?" She stared at him suspiciously for a while. "You're making these weird things so I can go back to being eighteen and live again with a young body."

"You keep saying strange things like you like me, but you just want to repay a debt of gratitude, right? After all, I took such good care of you back then."

Take care of?

Damn it! If she hadn't retaliated against me before, I wouldn't have been so bored. I'm already traversing the Dragon Vein, and I still can't resist teasing her in a cheeky way.

Looking back, Naruto only felt that he had committed a terrible sin.

I originally thought that the spacetime within the Dragon Vein was a parallel spacetime, so I could do whatever I wanted without any recklessness, because as long as I left the Dragon Vein, everything would be unrelated to it.

But who could have known that the two timelines would overlap? At a time when he was unaware, a mysterious closed loop formed, and their fates became intertwined.

This sense of destiny was so intense that it was only in retrospect that I realized...

Upon hearing this, Naruto couldn't help but say.

"It's not like I can't tell the difference, and I didn't say I had to do it any way. I'm just saying it out loud. I can't control how you choose to do it. There will definitely be many problems in the future."

"But the premise is that there is a future."

"Sometimes I think I should just give up. Anyway, Lord Tsunade, you never intended to stay in the village. Even if I catch up with you, what can I do? I can't change anything."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade sighed.

She reorganized her thoughts before slowly speaking.

"Naruto, I'm also very happy to be liked by you. Being liked by a young boy is something that easily satisfies one's vanity, and I'm no exception."

"But you also know we have many problems. Leaving aside other issues, age... that doesn't seem to be a problem anymore. But there's the issue of experience, the generation gap, and the things we both want to do."

She couldn't continue speaking; it seemed like she had nothing left to do in her life. The pain faded little by little with time, and she had done what she needed to do.

The Fifth Hokage's duties have been completed, so there's really nothing to regret.

If I had to point out a regret, it would probably be about the person in front of me. Twenty years ago, I had the opportunity to leave, but after waiting for twenty years, I got nothing.

Naruto doesn't seem to have any grand ambitions. He has told her more than once that he has never thought about pursuing anything in his life, he just wants to do whatever he wants.

He said this six years ago, when he was just a child.

"So what?" Naruto asked calmly.

It's almost dawn; Shizune will arrive when it's fully light.

"So, I hope you think this through, instead of acting impulsively." Tsunade herself was a little confused, wondering what she was saying. "As for that Ninjutsu, I don't know how to thank you, but it was indeed something I needed."

"Anything but liking you is fine, just don't say those kinds of things again. It's impossible between us. Time has passed, and I can't undo it by going back to being eighteen."

"I understand." Naruto stroked his chin. Actually, he didn't want to be with Tsunade or anything like that; he just wanted to accomplish something he had been thinking about for a long time.

I don't know what Tsunade misunderstood, but that's not important.

It was impossible for him to completely sever ties with Tsunade and forget her altogether. Their connection was already intertwined, and even with regrets, they couldn't part ways.

"Kiss?" he asked tentatively.

Upon hearing this, Tsunade immediately turned and walked away without hesitation. This person was an impenetrable prison; why provoke him? What did a young man know about restraint?

The next moment, a body bumped into Tsunade; she could have dodged it. She paused for a second, unable to dodge, and was then firmly embraced.

"You said it yourself." Naruto quickly hugged Tsunade, not with much force, and before she could say anything, he pressed his lips against hers and sealed her kiss.

Tsunade had actually thought about it; the first thing she would do after returning to the age of eighteen was probably to be... but when it actually happened, her mind was still completely blank, and all her thoughts vanished instantly.

The defensive line that they had been holding firm just moments before collapsed, and they were swept away in a rout.

She braced herself against Naruto's forearm, trying to push him away, her whole body trembling with love, from her skin to her bones. After a while, she was met with an even more passionate kiss.

She was held down, feigning reluctance, and every movement seemed to be coated with icing sugar.