Tsunade's Will to Live Vanishes

Chapter 47: Tsunade, Bereft of Life

Danger!

Hikawa immediately pledged his loyalty. "There's only one teacher in my heart."

The killing intent on Tsunade's face instantly dissipated.

She crossed her arms, thinking to herself, This brat knows how to behave.

"Tsunade-sama seems to really like Hikawa."

Kushina Uzumaki glanced between them and said.

"I don't."

Tsunade said without changing her expression. "Too mischievous."

Kushina Uzumaki just smiled and said nothing more.

She had known Tsunade for a long time, so she understood her well.

"Minato didn't come today?"

Tsunade changed the subject and asked.

"He has a mission."

Kushina Uzumaki waved her hand and joked, "And even if he did come, I'd still be keeping Tsunade-sama company."

"Liar."

Tsunade saw through her and asked, "Who was it that left me hanging last time?"

"Tsunade-sama, want to play cards?"

Kushina Uzumaki coughed and asked.

"Then I'm sure to win!"

Tsunade's spirits lifted as she said.

"Oh?"

Kushina Uzumaki didn't believe it.

They had played cards before, and Tsunade always lost.

"That was then."

Tsunade gave a light snort. "My luck has turned now!"

Ever since she got Hikawa, whenever she went to the Casino, she won more than she lost.

"Wait for me."

Kushina Uzumaki got up and went into the room.

The corner of Hikawa's mouth twitched.

Tsunade clearly hadn't realized one problem.

The reason her luck turned was because she brought him along.

But now that he was her opponent, the luck-bringing effect would no longer apply.

"Here we go!"

Kushina Uzumaki reappeared with a deck of cards.

"Betting money?"

Hikawa asked curiously.

"Betting money hurts feelings."

Kushina Uzumaki glanced at Tsunade and said, "Let's just stick paper strips on our faces."

"Let's begin."

Tsunade said confidently.

Kushina Uzumaki couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Where does that confidence come from?

Seeing this, she began to shuffle the cards.

"The first round was just an accident."

Soon, Tsunade's smile froze, but she still insisted stubbornly.

"Hikawa."

Kushina Uzumaki took out a strip of paper, blinked, and said, "Don't go easy on her just because she's your teacher."

"Don't worry."

Hikawa assured her. "I'm completely impartial."

"Tsunade-sama, a bet's a bet."

Kushina Uzumaki said with a look of pure amusement.

"I know."

Tsunade pursed her lips.

Because of the height difference, she bent down on her own.

Her sleeveless top instantly pulled taut, revealing a full, curved outline.

Kushina Uzumaki subconsciously glanced down at herself and immediately lost her smile.

The contrast was simply too brutal.

Hikawa exerted immense willpower to keep his eyes from straying downward.

He looked at the beautiful, delicate face before him, reached out, and pressed his hand against her chin.

Tsunade's beautiful eyes widened, already plotting how to win back the next round.

Yet she soon realized she was overthinking it—the first round wasn't a fluke; it was just the beginning.

"Seventeen cards—how are you gonna kill me?!"

After losing for a straight hour, Tsunade was already delirious.

"Sorry."

Kushina Uzumaki shook her head.

"Damn it!"

Tsunade ground her teeth.

"How about we stop here?"

Hikawa glanced at Tsunade, whose face was plastered with sticky notes, and asked tentatively.

"No way!"

Tsunade refused without hesitation. "Until I win one round, no one's leaving today!"

Hikawa and Kushina Uzumaki exchanged a look, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

Try cheating?

Hikawa's heart stirred; an idea came to him.

But what left him dumbfounded was that the moment he thought about cheating, his hand turned absurdly good.

The kind of hand you couldn't lose no matter how carelessly you played.

Time quickly reached noon.

"I'm done!"

Tsunade set down her cards, leaned back, and looked utterly defeated.

An entire morning, and she hadn't won a single round.

She finally understood that all that talk about a change of luck was fake—from start to finish, the lucky one was Hikawa.

"I'll go make lunch."

Kushina Uzumaki let out a sigh of relief.

She'd really been afraid Tsunade would keep dragging them into playing cards.

"Need any help?"

Hikawa offered proactively.

"No need."

Kushina Uzumaki walked into the kitchen.

Hikawa turned to look at Tsunade.

She was sprawled on the sofa like a limp snake.

"Teacher, let me take off those strips for you."

Hikawa walked over and crouched in front of her, his eyes involuntarily drifting toward the sloping snow-white peaks.

"Looked like you were having plenty of fun sticking them on, though."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed.

"What about 'a bet's a bet'?"

Hikawa gently pulled a strip of paper from her face and asked.

"A bet's a bet is one thing. But your act of defying your master and betraying your teacher is another."

Tsunade suddenly smiled as she spoke.

Hah, women!

Hikawa sighed and said, "You go ahead."

"Go ahead with what?"

Tsunade paused, puzzled, and asked.

"Aren't you going to take revenge on the student?"

Hikawa hesitated, then said, "No head-patting."

Tsunade reached out without hesitation and messed up his hair into a complete mess.

"..."

Hikawa wore an expression of utter despair.

Tsunade laughed with pure delight.

So dazzling.

This wave was a total win.

Hikawa thought to himself.

After lunch, the two took a stroll around the area under Kushina Uzumaki's guidance, then took their leave.

The new day was still part of the holiday.

Hikawa went to buy fitness equipment.

In the original work, there had been a scene of dumbbells placed in the Raikage's Office.

He had thought back then that the Raikage was just casually working out, but he never expected it to be an actual training method.

"Where do I put this?"

Hikawa stared at the fitness equipment scattered all over the floor, lost in thought.

The equipment included small dumbbells and large items like a bench press rack.

Yuhi Shinko's home wasn't big inside or out.

So... Tsunade's place?

She didn't just have one house, but a row of houses.

According to Tsunade, this area used to be the Senju Clan's territory, and after they split off, it was left vacant.

As for whether anyone would figure it out—no, they wouldn't.

Because these fitness routines were very common.

The key to this body-training method lay in the chakra nurturing after the workout.

Thinking of this, Hikawa packed the fitness equipment into a Tool Summoning Scroll and headed to Tsunade's place.

As expected, she wasn't up yet, but that was fine—he had a key.

After a flurry of activity, everything was finally set up.

Hikawa began training according to the method on the Lightning Release Chakra Mode scroll.

A moment later, a new entry appeared.

C-rank Ninjutsu Entry: Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

Trigger Condition: Lightning Release Chakra Mode Initiation.

Current Progress: 0%.

It's C-rank?

That means even just initiation reaches chunin level.

The difficulty is high, but the hope is also great.

Hikawa couldn't help but feel full of motivation.

"What's this brat making all that noise about so early?"

Tsunade got up, changed clothes, and came to the window.

When she opened it, she saw Hikawa training.

His face was serious as he sprinted from a distance, then leaped and cleared the high jump bar.

Tsunade glanced twice, then went back to sleep.

Two months passed in a flash, and soon it was time for school to start.