"A little monster like you, to think you could suddenly pop out of nowhere."
"Those old guys doing things, it's really outrageous."
Walking side by side down the long street.
In Tsunade's small hand was a bottle of rice wine she had just bought from the street. She carried the tokkuri sake flask in one hand and casually said, glancing sideways at the young man beside her who was looking straight ahead.
"Lord Tsunade has already investigated, huh."
"What guidance do you have for me today?"
Sahara Mizu just smiled shyly. His azure pupils could see everything within a 360-degree range without needing to look sideways. He seemed completely unconcerned by Tsunade's scrutiny.
"No hurry, my home isn't far."
Tsunade's alcohol tolerance was surprisingly good, or perhaps the rice wine had a very low alcohol content. She drank more than half the bottle by herself without her face flushing or her heart racing. Only the faint scent of gardenias in her hair had a hint of alcohol mixed in.
Sahara Mizu also didn't pay it much mind. He just happened to buy two skewers of dango when they passed a sweets shop.
He casually offered one to Tsunade, who scoffed at the nearly thirty-year-old woman:
"Kid's stuff."
"Indeed."
Sahara Mizu helped himself to one, chewing on the sweet jicama flavor inside. "Because of your appearance, I almost forgot. Lord Tsunade is also getting on in years."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the dango in his other hand disappeared.
Tsunade chewed on the dango. She clearly felt she had been offended, but the first half of the sentence seemed like a compliment, leaving her in a dilemma.
She could only scold him irritably:
"Sharp-tongued little brat!"
Sahara Mizu turned his head and smiled at her, saying nothing.
Before long, the two of them arrived in front of a building that occupied an exaggeratedly large area.
The courtyard wall, made of blue bricks and dark tiles and several meters high, stretched across more than half a street. The red lacquered wooden gate was wide and heavy, and the door knocker was intricately carved with the double-headed halberd crest of the Senju clan.
However, between the cracks in the stone steps, fine moss was growing.
This was likely because not many people had entered or exited here for a long time.
This was the Senju Clan Compound.
Tsunade led Sahara Mizu through the gate and was about to go inside, but the young man suddenly stopped, standing by the wall.
"Lord Tsunade."
"If there's anything, please resolve it quickly here."
"I still need to go home and cook for my sister."
However, no sooner had his words fallen than a bamboo skewer suddenly shot out with a 'whoosh', faster than lightning.
Sahara Mizu stood still, not moving.
The bamboo skewer brushed past his cheek and plunged deep into the blue brick wall behind him.
Tsunade's palm pressed against his cheek and slapped the wall.
As her fair palm pressed the bamboo skewer completely into the wall, her voluptuous body also suddenly moved extremely close. Although she was slightly shorter, her imposing presence was no less. Her forehead was almost touching the tip of his nose, and the feeling of her warm breath on his skin was incredibly clear.
A very forceful wall slam.
Their eyes met.
But Sahara Mizu seemed to have anticipated this scene and remained quietly waiting.
"Sahara Mizu, fifteen years old, parents deceased, younger sister Sahara Yukie."
"Great-grandfather Sahara Masahide was from the Land of Rainbows. His grandparents moved to Konoha to reside. Both parents were Chunin, died in the First Great Ninja War, with no outstanding combat achievements. The only member of this family who was a wandering ninja was the great-grandfather. Both parents graduated from the Ninja Academy, with no inherited secret techniques, no Kekkei Genkai, and no special master's guidance."
Tsunade stared intently into his azure eyes, as if trying to discern every subtle change in his psychology from his gaze.
"Do you have anything you want to explain?"
Several days of transition and rest had clearly allowed her to move past the recent loss of her lover and comrades. Reason had also regained the upper hand, and she was no longer as vulnerable and helpless as she had been when she first met Sahara Mizu.
At this moment, this calm and domineering woman was the Tsunade that everyone in Konoha was most accustomed to seeing.
"Holy crap! Boxed in!"
"This damn woman is so divine and beautiful, she's completely seen through all your weaknesses, and she even dares to threaten you. She's asking for death!"
"The only way now is to use your peerless massive [redacted] and [redacted] her into submission right here!"
"You've been buffed, Mizu! Get her!"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!"
At this moment, System-nee was like the King of Urgency, shouting loudly in his ear, her tone clearly mixed with schadenfreude.
Inside and outside his mind, it seemed like her voice had split into two worlds.
Sahara Mizu ignored the noise buzzing in his ears, lowered his head to look at Tsunade, and feigned a slightly surprised expression, though his voice remained unchanged:
"Truly impressive."
"You've only been back in the village for one day, and you've already found out so much information."
"Should I say, as expected of Lady Tsunade?"
Tsunade, however, had no intention of being brushed off like that. She still spoke coldly, "If you're unwilling to answer, then I'll just ask directly."
"What exactly is this 'Soul Secret Technique' you mentioned?"
Sahara Mizu smiled at her, composed and at ease: "There is a lot of confidential information, information that would be fatal to a family, that you won't find."
"For example, Kekkei Genkai that are too powerful for some weaker ninja."
Hearing this, Tsunade's brow furrowed.
Before she could say anything else, Sahara Mizu suddenly tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze.
This provocative action immediately ignited a spark of anger in Tsunade's heart.
However, before she could pull back, her gaze suddenly froze.
In those eyes, already clear and azure, a brilliant radiance suddenly shone forth, like a dazzling starry river.
Almost unconsciously, Tsunade's gaze was drawn to those eyes.
"This, what exactly is this...?"
Even Sahara Mizu's voice, at this moment, seemed somewhat ethereal and indifferent:
"Beautiful, isn't it? These eyes."
"These are eyes that appear once every five hundred years in our Sahara family, named 'Six Eyes'."
"They possess detection abilities surpassing the Byakugan, and analysis and tracking capabilities for Chakra equivalent to the Sharingan. Seeing souls is just one of their many functions."
"Furthermore, they possess a peculiar innate technique."
As he spoke, he extended his hand, took Tsunade's slender wrist, and brought it before them, spreading his fingers.
Their palms faced each other, making a gesture of touching.
However, Tsunade clearly saw it.
Between their palms, there was distinctly a 'space' that she couldn't get close to, no matter how hard she tried.
"Its name is 'Limitless Technique'."
"It controls the power of space."
"Because of these eyes, five hundred years ago, the Sahara family also produced a peerless master."
"But unfortunately, it was just a fleeting moment."
"The subsequent pursuit, on the other hand, lasted for countless years."
"Since then, the Sahara clan's Kekkei Genkai has become a legend passed down by word of mouth. The Hand Seals and techniques were passed down from father to son, not daughter... until my generation."
After hearing the story he told, the expression on Tsunade's face had turned into one of understanding.
Sahara Mizu smiled calmly, dispelled the invisible space, and interlaced his fingers with the woman in front of him, allowing her to feel the warm sensation of being 'able to touch' again. He asked softly:
"Now, do you have any more questions?"
At this moment, Tsunade, experiencing the feeling of being tightly held by a large hand, was momentarily stunned. Then, she suddenly reacted, shook off Sahara Mizu's hand, but her brows were still tightly furrowed.
No wonder there were no related records in the entire village.
And this cheeky brat, at such a young age, could wield such bizarre power.
If it was a Kekkei Genkai, then everything made sense.
However...
Tsunade looked at him doubtfully: "Do you know what the Hyuga and Uchiha would do if this Kekkei Genkai got out?"
Sahara Mizu spread his hands: "That's why I only told Lady Tsunade."
"Please, you must keep it a secret."
"..."
After a moment of silence, Tsunade scoffed softly:
"You certainly trust me."
"Because, you are that Lady Tsunade."
Sahara Mizu's smile was incredibly calm, as if this big secret had nothing to do with him at all.
She stared at the young man in front of her for a while, and then promised: "From today on, if that Danzo guy comes looking for trouble with you, you come find me."
This was the first condition.
Sahara Mizu didn't respond immediately.
Tsunade seemed to have anticipated his reaction. She took two steps back, took out a scroll from her sleeve, and threw it into his arms: "This is the Senju Clan's secret catalog. You can choose three things from it."
Sahara Mizu took the scroll and unrolled it immediately, asking casually, "I can choose the Strength of a Hundred Seal too?"
Tsunade scoffed, "If you can learn it, you can choose the Flying Thunder God Technique too."
That was the second condition.
But Sahara Mizu still didn't speak, just quietly scanned the contents.
Tsunade continued, "Although our clan has declined quite a bit, we still have some connections. If you need them later, you can come back and ask me for help."
That was the third condition.
After saying that, Tsunade finally stopped talking.
Sahara Mizu closed the index scroll and asked:
"Lady Tsunade."
"The deceased are gone. Aren't you afraid of regretting using such generous conditions as a 'price' just to see a memory?"
It was clear that Sahara Mizu knew what Tsunade had called him for from the start.
These three conditions were the 'price' she was willing to pay to see the illusory memories in the necklace.
Facing this sharp question, Tsunade merely turned her head away and said in a low voice:
"We can talk about that when the day of regret comes."
"I understand."
Sahara Mizu was a very understanding person. "However, I still need to remind you beforehand—souls and memories are forms of Chakra that exist in a special state. The more they are used, the more they wear down."
"Eventually, they will also completely disappear."
After a long silence, Tsunade said, "I know."
Only then did Sahara Mizu smile, hand the index back to her, and calmly say, "Then I'll choose this one for now... Basic Uzumaki Sealing Technique. Please wait until I've learned it before I choose the other two."
"Suit yourself."
"If there are no missions in the future, I'll come over every Saturday."
With that, Sahara Mizu prepared to turn and leave.
However, before he could get far, he heard Tsunade, who had her back to him, suddenly say:
"Thank you for what happened before."
Sahara Mizu's steps paused.
Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, her back still to him, and continued, "I'm talking about the day you saved me and helped me bring the necklace back."
"I don't like being in debt to others."
Sahara Mizu turned around and smiled at this awkward woman, saying:
"Please take care of me from now on."
Tsunade didn't reply, still facing away from him.
However, a message notification appeared on the panel in front of Sahara Mizu.
Sahara's Book of Friends: Added character 'Tsunade' Bond Level increased ↑ Tsunade Bond Level: Zero → One
Almost at the same time, information appeared above Tsunade's head in the faint white halo.
Tsunade's Heart Knot (Shallow) Details: In this blood-red world, as parents, siblings, and lovers disappear one by one, will I eventually be the only one left? I can't do anything.
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