You're Finished!

"At this moment, kneeling before you is—"

"The descendant of Konoha's most esteemed family, the granddaughter of the God of Shinobi, the final inheritor of the Senju House, the unparalleled Medical Saint praised throughout the entire Ninja World, the woman who had held first place on Konoha Young Men's Association's 'Most Desired Dating Partner Ranking' for ten consecutive years. Under the quadruple debuffs of 'weakness,' 'hunger,' 'mental fatigue,' and 'combat incapacity,' she had only managed to get her first boyfriend near the age of thirty, only to return to glorious singlehood at lightning speed as a newly widowed woman—Miss Tsunade!"

"Now, she was looking at you with the sincerest gaze in the world, making a request she would fulfill at any cost!"

"Clearly, praying was not the only thing she would do after getting on her knees."

"Sahara Mizu, choose me as your system and your life will be set!"

"Even if your staff technique is poor, your strength insufficient, your waist and knees aching, and your heart willing but body powerless, I have thirty-six refined steel secret arts here to turn the tide! Such as the 'Awei Eighteen Forms,' 'Golden Staff Immobility Art,' and 'Delay Stillness Technique'!"

"One book keeps your staff standing, two books turn your spray gun into a shower, three books grant immortality."

"Type 1 to receive them, free home delivery!"

"Come on!"

"Abandon reason, embrace your beastly nature, and let me see your limits!"

"Take it off, take it off, take it off, take it off, take it off!!!"

"I want to see Table Ay—!"

All of a sudden, System Sister, who had been silent within the panel for so long, seemed to have gone completely mad. She spewed out a string of incomprehensible nonsense that instantly flooded Sahara Mizu's entire field of vision.

He had nearly wavered.

Fortunately, he had clearly not lost his mind yet.

Looking at Tsunade, kneeling before him with a sorrowful expression, he seemed to sigh sympathetically and lowered his voice.

"Lord Tsunade."

"Because this soul secret art has been passed down through my clan, please do not spread this matter around after today."

"And..."

As he spoke, his tone seemed somewhat hesitant. "It would be best not to disturb those who have passed on to the Pure Land."

"Even if some soul imprint remains in the necklace after this secret art is used, I fear I can only help you this once."

"..."

Tsunade, clutching the edge of his clothes, froze.

Yet after a long silence, the hollow void and crushing pain deep within her heart still made her agree.

"Even if... it is only once!"

"Please."

Seeing how obediently she agreed without the slightest suspicion, Sahara Mizu quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Since it was going so smoothly, perhaps resolving Tsunade's heart knot while forming a bond with her would not be that difficult either?

With that thought, he held the azure crystal at the tip of the necklace before Tsunade and said gently,

"Please hold it and look into my eyes."

"I'm going to begin the technique."

Tsunade knelt there. Even lifting her head seemed to take effort, yet she tightly gripped the crystal.

The instant her eyes met those of the young man before her—a youth whose name she had not even had time to ask—she suddenly noticed a flash of brilliance deep within his azure pupils.

"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."

The next moment.

Her mind fell still, and the world turned upside down.

When she opened her eyes again, she had appeared in a pitch-black world.

Three familiar figures stood quietly before her.

At the mere sight of their faces, Tsunade, fragile beyond measure at that moment, covered her mouth, afraid that her sobbing might disturb their rest.

"Grandfather... Nawaki... and Dan."

Tsunade looked at the three figures and approached them on trembling legs, struggling to raise a hand and touch them.

She remembered the young man's warning.

These three were merely soul imprints they had left behind in this world.

But she could not stop herself.

Yet when her fingers touched their bodies, Tsunade suddenly froze.

They felt real.

Although there was something slightly unnatural about it, she could still feel distinct sensations—the warmth of their skin, the slight softness of their scars, the rough calluses on their palms and knuckles, even the faint scent of sweat.

It all felt as though it truly existed.

That vivid feedback made Tsunade instinctively seize Dan Katō by the shoulders and shake him twice, calling out tentatively,

"Dan? Dan!"

Almost instinctively, that body suddenly opened its eyes.

Tsunade froze.

Yet deep within those pupils was a sky-clear azure blue.

The instant their gazes met, Tsunade felt an immense torrent of memories pour into her mind like a waterfall, making her entire brain cry out in unbearable agony.

Scene after scene from Dan Katō's life flashed endlessly through her mind like slides.

Meanwhile, in the outside world.

Sahara Mizu stood before Tsunade and slowly exhaled.

Although he had anticipated the chakra reserves of this final descendant of the Senju, and had deliberately chosen a relatively weakened point in time to come here, even the small amount of chakra she had left exceeded his expectations.

His hypnotic will had nearly been forced out.

Fortunately, it had barely succeeded.

Sahara Mizu looked at Tsunade, who was holding his hand in a mysterious "prayer" pose, and finally felt at ease.

He had read the original work. He knew that Tsunade felt an inexplicable guilt and longing toward those loved ones who had died after wearing this necklace, as if her younger brother and lover had both died in war because they wore the necklace she had given them.

It was not until the original protagonist Naruto appeared that he shattered that baseless "curse" through his actions.

Since the root of the problem lies here, as long as I let these deceased people open their hearts to her, turning this object she considers cursed into a token linking her soul with theirs, into the most important thing in her life...

Then... it should at least relieve some of her symptoms, right?

Sahara Mizu's expectations were not actually that high.

As long as he could resolve this heart knot, it would be pure profit for him.

If he could gain Tsunade's friendship and officially hitch himself to the Hokage faction's wagon, then his future would be even smoother.

That way, before long, he could clear his name as a spy, get promoted and receive a raise, become general manager, take office as Ninja Village CEO, marry a beautiful rich woman, and reach the pinnacle of life!

"Perfect."

Mr. Sahara lightly pumped his fist.

However, that thought had barely flashed through his mind.

"Ding."

A strange sound suddenly rang beside his ear.

The next moment, his gaze locked onto the top of Tsunade's head.

Above the single white halo that had originally been there, a blue halo suddenly appeared.

This was the sign of a Mid-Level Heart Knot.

A few seconds later, a red halo appeared as well.

"!?"

Seeing this, Sahara Mizu was instantly stunned.

What was going on?

Before he could react, another serious notification appeared on the panel.

"Deep Heart Knot activated for the first time."

"Host information query capacity up↑"

"Bonding Path unlocked."

While he was still dumbfounded, System Sister's sarcastic voice sounded beside his ear.

"Congratulations, Master~!"

"You've taken another step deeper into the endless hell of bonds."

"Didn't I tell you? Pin her to the ground and give her a good pounding, and every heart knot would be solved. But no, you just had to make trouble."

"Go on, then! Now you've run into something huge!"

"Huh?"

Hearing that, Sahara Mizu immediately felt a sense of foreboding rise in his heart.

Although every "Shallow Heart Knot" he had encountered since obtaining the system had been a rather simple problem to resolve, his caution toward the unknown still made him feel a trace of reverence for deeper layers.

After all, he had no idea what consequences there would be if he failed to resolve a deeper heart knot.

With that unease in his heart, Sahara Mizu opened the newly appeared "Bonding Path" option and instinctively selected Tsunade's image.

A massive string of information immediately popped up on the panel.

"Ultimate Bond Path 1: Fourth Hokage"

"The war has reached this point because the high seats are occupied by nothing but vermin and incompetents! Only the most thorough purge can completely wipe away this village's darkness!"

"Mizu, you'll always stand by my side, right?"

"Ultimate Bond Path 2: Mature Honey Princess"

"Mizu, breakfast is ready. Remember to take Sora and Keiko to school later. You knew it was a workday, yet you still stayed up so late last night!"

"Ugh~ The room smells so strong. Open the windows already. I'll wash the sheets later."

"You're still laughing! It's all your fault! (angry)"

"Ultimate Bond Path 3: Ten-Tails Jinchuriki"

"You Five Kage think you can block my path? Dance as you please."

"No matter what... I will create a world where Mizu exists."

"Ultimate Bond Path 4: Island Remainder of Life"

"From now on, we'll spend the rest of our lives here."

"Cut off from the mortal world, away from those incomprehensible people, in a world where only the two of us exist—a world with only... Mizu and me."

"Future Worldlines undetermined."

"Bond calculation continuing."

Looking at that huge mass of information, Sahara Mizu stared blankly for a while before his eyes abruptly widened, then widened even further!

What was this?

What the hell were these paths?!

Were the names written here wrong?

While shock roiled through his heart, System Sister kept chattering in his ear.

"You actually opened the heart knot all the way to the deepest level in one go. Idiot, there's nowhere for you to run even if you want to quit!"

"You're finished!"

"You're tied to this woman for life!"

(Image: Mature Honey Princess 3, upper half↑)