Katsuyu of Shikkotsu Forest

The stuffy room was dim, with sunlight slanting in through a narrow window and illuminating tiny motes of dust floating in the air.

Tsunade had holed up in this temporary tavern residence for several days. The clamor of gambling tables and the clatter of dice seemed to have temporarily lost their magic, replaced by a mess of scrolls, scattered notes, and empty liquor bottles.

She was not squandering money at the casino. Instead, she was organizing the knowledge and experience in her mind like never before, and it felt even more suffocating than losing ten bets in a row.

"Argh!" Tsunade suddenly let out a short cry of anguish, irritably burying both hands in her brilliant blonde hair and rubbing hard.

In an instant, her hair became as unruly and disheveled as a bird's nest that had been disturbed.

"Damn it... Think! What else? Hurry up and remember!" She thumped the table in frustration, making the scrolls tremble.

A wave of intense regret surged through her. Had she known that fulfilling her promise to Minamoto Takuya would drive her to this point, she would have refused no matter what!

Ever since leaving Konoha, when had she ever been so overwhelmed by "knowledge" and "responsibility" that she could barely breathe? It was simply more exhausting than using Creation Rebirth more than a dozen times in succession.

A tempting thought arose: Why not just stop here? I can fill in the rest whenever I remember it later.

Just as she was caught between hesitation and exhaustion, the wooden door creaked softly open.

Shizune's small figure peeked in first, her arms full of miscellaneous items.

Right after that, Minamoto Takuya's steady figure stepped into the room, carrying a fruit platter that gave off a pleasant fragrance.

The plate was filled with plump, juicy