Tsunade, Please

"Good, good, good!"

Dongfang Mao laughed and said "good" three times, then immediately instructed Inumaru.

"Remember to hire as many people as you can, Tokichiro. Make your rally as big as possible. We need to unite these recruits in their thinking as soon as we can. Then have Yasuke and Kyuzo train them into an army at the fastest possible pace!"

"Yes, sir!"

After Inumaru left, Dongfang Mao paced excitedly back and forth in his study.

More than two thousand recruits. Adding them to the New Martial Army already in service brought the total to nearly five thousand. With an army like that, some of the gloom and pressure that had been building in his heart over the past few days began to ease.

"What are you so happy about?"

At the sound of her voice, Dongfang Mao came back to himself and turned to look. Tsunade was coming in through the doorway, holding a bowl of steaming medicinal porridge.

Tsunade was reliable enough when it came to making medicine, but asking her to cook patiently was a bit much. This was clearly Shizune's handiwork.

Dongfang Mao didn't point that out. He quickly took the bowl from Tsunade and set it on the desk, then pulled out the roster of soldiers he'd just received and handed it to her, excitement edging into his voice.

"Tsunade, look. These are the recruits we've gathered from the villages recently—more than two thousand of them!"

"What?"

Tsunade took the roster in surprise and studied it closely.

As the person closest to Dongfang Mao, she naturally knew what had been troubling him lately.

They had money and provisions, and they'd solved the problem of sourcing weapons. The only issue was that they had too few recruits.

There was no need to mention the situation in the city. As for the group of refugees they'd settled earlier, Dongfang Mao had already squeezed every able-bodied man fit for military service out of them before taking Tsukimiura.

Lately, Dongfang Mao had complained to her about this problem more times than she could count.

After hearing so much about it, she'd begun to feel sorry for him. Her earlier misgivings about how aggressively he had suppressed Tsukimiura had started to fade, too.

She was beginning to think that the people in the city were simply too ungrateful.

Sometimes, she even wondered if she should just go back to Konoha, drag out a genjutsu squad, and brainwash everyone in the city! Make them obey Dongfang Mao without question, so they'd stop giving her Mao such a hard time!

Tsunade hadn't considered whether the squad would have enough Chakra, or whether they'd collapse and die after brainwashing sixty thousand people.

But before she could make up her mind, she heard that Dongfang Mao had recruited new soldiers. She was sincerely happy for him.

"Mao, congratulations."

From the roster, Tsunade could also tell that the villagers had enlisted willingly and genuinely supported Dongfang Mao.

That only strengthened her conviction.

Why could the villagers in those villages accept Dongfang Mao's rule and support him so wholeheartedly, while these people in the city did nothing but make trouble for him? They were nothing but troublemakers!

For a moment, Tsunade was so indignant that she even felt Dongfang Mao had been too lenient before. He should've been harsher—then they'd see if those people dared to talk back!

But as her anger ebbed, Tsunade suddenly remembered something important and asked, "By the way, are you confident about the army from the Land of Rice Fields?"

Dongfang Mao raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

Tsunade thought he lacked confidence and was about to reassure him, but he said, "The Land of Rice Fields is sending thirty thousand troops. That's not a huge number, but I don't know how strong their army is, so I can't be absolutely sure."

Tsunade stared at him. She'd asked if he was confident, and he'd said he wasn't absolutely sure. Didn't that mean he was seventy or eighty percent confident?

Then she noticed a gap in what he'd said.

"How do you know the Land of Rice Fields is sending thirty thousand troops?"

"You didn't know?"

Now Dongfang Mao was the one who looked puzzled. Then he explained, "Just ask the merchants who've been coming to Tsukimiura these past few days. According to them, as soon as the Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields finished discussing things with his officials in the palace, the contents of their conversation were common knowledge throughout the city. By now, I'd guess everyone following this business with the Land of Rice Fields knows.

"And apparently, the general leading the army to put down the rebellion is the younger brother of one of the Daimyo's consorts, a woman named Zhangzi. Rumor has it that her skin is as milky white as cow's milk, and as smooth to the touch as—"

"Stop!"

Tsunade's expression darkened. Wasn't she discussing military matters with Mao? How had they ended up talking about the Daimyo's consort?

And what did that woman have to do with him? Why was he so interested?

"Is my skin not milky white enough? Am I not smooth enough to the touch?"

Dongfang Mao snapped out of his reverie and met Tsunade's icy gaze. He shivered and shrank his neck, forcing a laugh.

"Smooth, smooth! Your skin feels absolutely—"

"I'll give you smooth, you big-headed idiot!"

Tsunade could hold back no longer. She flicked Dongfang Mao hard on the forehead.

"Ow..."

Only after Dongfang Mao clutched his head in pain did Tsunade's mood improve. Then her expression turned serious again.

"The military intelligence from the Land of Rice Fields is being passed around in a way that's just too... theatrical. I think you should be careful. Don't let them mislead you!"

Tsunade had taken part in all sorts of battles, but she'd never heard of intelligence being leaked in such a ridiculous way. She couldn't help worrying that the Land of Rice Fields was laying a smokescreen to make Dongfang Mao let down his guard.

Dongfang Mao lowered his hand from his head, revealing a forehead without even a mark.

As if! Tsunade would never really hurt him. You could call that little tap a caress at most.

Dongfang Mao hadn't actually been hurt, but he pretended to be in terrible pain anyway. It was a little unspoken game between them, a private bit of fun.

"Tsunade, don't worry. The survival of the Governor's Mansion is at stake, so how could I slack off? I'll keep training my troops as usual. If the Land of Rice Fields really is that ridiculous, all the better. If not, I'll still face them in the best possible shape."

Seeing that Dongfang Mao wasn't underestimating the enemy, Tsunade felt relieved. She was about to say something more when Dongfang Mao suddenly leaned close, a suggestive smile on his face.

"Tsunade, these new recruits were a huge surprise. I feel so much more relaxed now. Don't you think we should celebrate?"

"Celebrate?"

Tsunade blinked.

"How?"

Dongfang Mao leaned toward Tsunade's ear and whispered.

As she listened, Tsunade stiffened, a blush creeping across her cheeks.

She turned to glare at Dongfang Mao and snapped, "You call this the two of us celebrating? I'd be the one celebrating you! What is wrong with your brain? What we did last time wasn't enough, and now you've come up with this... this... trick!"

By the end, even Tsunade was struggling to say the words. She couldn't help glancing down at her own impressive figure. Was it really that alluring? Was Dongfang Mao so fixated on it?

"Tsunade, please!"

Dongfang Mao didn't give her a chance to react. He pulled her into his arms.

Tsunade's heart jumped, and she stammered, flustered, "W-wait... Here?"

"If you want a thrill, you have to see it through! Don't worry, no one's coming around at this hour!"