Tsunade

Chapter 30: Tsunade

With a plan in mind, Shuji first spoke with Hongshan Cheng. Though Hongshan Cheng was unhappy about Shuji leaving and begged him repeatedly to stay, faced with Shuji's utterly unwavering gaze—and the fact that he was leaving behind two ninjas—he could only agree.

Not long after, Wasabi Jirocho came calling again, inviting Shuji to the Wasabi Clan estate.

The Wasabi Clan was both the name of the faction and the estate. It was not particularly luxurious, but it housed dozens of core Wasabi Clan members and their relatives. Security outside the estate was tight, with guns and bows fully prepared. Before entering the rear courtyard, Shuji could even see several watchtowers, each manned by quite a few guards.

Jirocho was deeply respected by the clan members, and Shuji, whom he personally escorted all the way in, received no small measure of respect as well.

Passing through an exquisite paper door painted with pines and cranes, they entered an even quieter, more elegant setting. A covered corridor encircled a small dry landscape garden, connecting several more private tea rooms and residences. Shuji's steps slowed slightly as he asked, "This seems to be the inner residence?"

Without stopping, Jirocho replied, "Indeed. There is someone here whom Jonin Shuji may wish to meet."

At that, Shuji's instincts warned him, and he prepared himself.

Before an especially tranquil detached courtyard screened by several stalks of slender bamboo, Jirocho stopped and bowed toward the interior. "Jonin Shuji of Konoha has arrived."

The courtyard gate slid open soundlessly. A young girl in dark blue casual clothes with neat, short black hair leaned out. She looked around seventeen or eighteen, with delicate features and gentle eyes carrying the calm peculiar to a medic. The instant she saw Shuji, a faint flicker of surprise crossed her eyes before turning into a polite appraisal.

Shizune...?

Shuji understood at once. If Shizune was here, then the person inside was obvious.

The vigilance he had raised eased once more.

"Please come in." Shizune stepped aside, her voice calm.

Jirocho did not follow them inside. He merely gave Shuji a deep bow, then quietly retreated to wait beneath the corridor outside the courtyard. Shuji followed Shizune into the small courtyard, and his gaze was immediately drawn to the figure beside the stone table in the garden.

Sunlight filtered through sparse bamboo leaves, casting mottled shadows across the meticulously raked white sand. A woman in a green robe lounged casually against a stone bench. Her dazzling golden hair was left loose, spilling over her shoulders and back like flowing molten gold, gleaming beneath the light. Several sake bottles stood before her, some already empty. She held a thick, rough earthenware sake cup in one hand and tipped her head back, pouring the clear liquor down her throat with almost greedy abandon.

The light and shadow outlined the breathtakingly sharp contours of her profile. Her skin was taut and smooth, and there was not a trace of age between her spirited brows and eyes. She looked no more than twenty-something.

It really was Tsunade.

"Hm?" Tsunade lowered her sake cup and casually wiped the liquor at the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. Only then did she slowly turn her head, heavy with drunkenness. Her amber eyes were misty from drink as her unfocused gaze swept over Shuji.

"Lady Tsunade, you've had too much to drink," Shizune reminded her softly. "Shuji is here."

"Ooh..." She drew out the sound, her voice sticky and hoarse with a thick nasal tone. "That brat?"

"Grandma Toka isn't dead yet, is she?"

Shuji's face twitched. He deeply respected that old woman; she had treated him with genuine sincerity.

"Grandma is in excellent health and full of vigor. Compared with your current condition, she may be healthier."

"Heh... that's good." The last princess of the Senju seemed entirely unconcerned by Shuji's slightly barbed retort. Or perhaps her current state filtered out most emotions from the outside world. Swaying slightly, she raised her right hand and casually pressed it against the stone table beside her, using it to support herself as she stood. Her body wobbled as she stepped closer, her alcohol-laden breath nearly spraying Shuji's face. Her hazy eyes held a scrutinizing look as she carefully examined his young yet steady features.

"I heard you were about to die before... Grandma Toka even sent me a letter asking me to save you..." She let out a small drunken hiccup. "But now you look... lively as ever... Seems you're fine." She extended a finger as if to poke Shuji's chest, but withdrew it halfway. Her words became somewhat slurred. "Since you survived... wouldn't it be better to stay in the village? She's already... seventy-eight... She can't worry about so much anymore..."

The heavy scent of alcohol, mingled with fragrance, rushed at him. Shuji frowned slightly and took a step back. "The village assigned a mission. It has to be completed."

"The village, the village... None of you can let it go, not even Grandpa..." Tsunade muttered in a low voice, as though chewing over those words. "One after another... What meaning did any of it have in the end...?"

Suddenly, she lunged closer without warning, moving far too fast for a drunkard! A slender, fair hand that contained terrifying power slammed down onto Shuji's shoulder!

"Ugh!" Shuji let out a muffled grunt as an overwhelming force suddenly bore down on him! The bluestone slabs beneath his feet instantly groaned under the strain, and spiderweb-like cracks spread from where he stood!

The drunken haze in Tsunade's eyes receded like a tide, leaving only blade-sharp clarity and scrutiny as she locked her gaze onto Shuji's. "You! Grandma Toka... used that on you, didn't she?!"

Under the suppression of her monstrous strength, Shuji had no choice but to refine chakra. A condensed blue chakra aura, almost tangible and brimming with surging life force, erupted from every pore of his body.

Boom!

The bluestone slabs beneath his feet shattered completely, sending fragments flying everywhere! An invisible blast wave surged outward from the two of them, whipping up the white sand in the garden and making the bamboo leaves rustle wildly! Shuji's body forcibly straightened under the explosive force, resisting that terrifying pressure, though the crater beneath his feet sank even deeper.

"Hmph!" Tsunade gave a scoff filled with understanding and some complex emotion, instantly withdrawing the hand on Shuji's shoulder. The mountain-like pressure vanished at once.

"So, what important mission is it?" Tsunade crossed her arms and leaned back against the stone table again with composed ease, as though that thunderous strike had never happened. She picked up her sake cup and took another sip. Her amber eyes regained their previous laziness, but her appraising gaze was almost tangible. "That made the old man willing to send you out?"

"You misunderstand." Shuji patted nonexistent dust from his shoulder, his voice as steady as ever, as if he had not nearly been pressed into the ground moments ago. "Grandma Toka's attempt was only accidental, and it was never made public. The Third Hokage may have his suspicions, but they are only suspicions."

"As for this mission, Mr. Jirocho should have already told you about it."

Tsunade's beautiful amber eyes narrowed slightly, her long lashes casting a small shadow beneath them.

For a time, the courtyard held only the soft rustling of bamboo leaves in the wind. Shizune stood to one side with a faint furrow between her brows, her gaze shifting between Tsunade and Shuji with an almost imperceptible worry.

After draining the last of her sake, Tsunade casually tossed the cup onto the stone table with a light clatter. She did not look at Shuji again, merely waving a hand listlessly as she picked up another bottle.

"Fine. Go do whatever you need to do." Her voice turned sticky again.

Shuji said no more and bowed slightly. "Yes, Lady Tsunade." He turned, preparing to leave with Shizune.

At the courtyard gate, he paused. Without looking back, his voice carried clearly. "Grandma... misses you very much. If you have time, it would be good to return to the village and see her."