Heart's Touch

Shame?

Dongfang Mao sneered inwardly. He had been a bandit in the mountains for so many years that he had long since forgotten where he'd tossed his sense of shame.

Never mind that he was currently holding Tsunade's fragrant, fair, and beautiful legs; as long as the benefits were sufficient, he wouldn't even mind holding Utatane Koharu's legs if he had to!

What is the language of flowers for a Wealthy Blossom?

Endurance!

So, upon hearing Tsunade's words, Dongfang Mao remained silent, simply hugging those fair legs even tighter.

Feeling the strange sensation against the base of her thighs, Tsunade's porcelain-white, pretty face gradually flushed with a crimson hue, and ripples of an unfamiliar nature stirred within her heart.

Although she was usually a bit free-spirited and careless in her daily behavior, she was, after all, only a woman in her early twenties who had never had such intimate contact with the opposite sex.

Even with Dan, it had only been the night he confessed his feelings, when they walked a stretch of road hand-in-hand before both departed for the battlefield.

How could she have ever encountered someone like Dongfang Mao, who hugged her without a word, nearly pulling her pants off in the process?

Tsunade forcibly suppressed the strange flutter in her heart. Looking at Dongfang Mao, her lips twitched violently, black lines appearing on her forehead as she fought the urge to use her Super Strength to kick him flying.

Yet, Tsunade also understood that while Dongfang Mao might be spouting nonsense, one thing was true: the misery of his childhood.

Tsunade truly could not imagine what kind of situation his childhood—which Dongfang Mao had summarized with only the four words "lonely and helpless"—must have been like.

At that time, Dongfang Mao was not a leader commanding hundreds of bandits, but a child without a soul to rely on, full of ignorance and confusion about this cruel world.

What kind of hardships had he endured just to survive in this world?

At this thought, Tsunade felt as if her heart had been pierced by a needle, the pain making it hard to breathe.

In truth, there were many children in the world like Dongfang Mao, and many who had suffered even more tragic fates.

Tsunade was not some sheltered young lady who never stepped out of her home.

She was one of the "Sannin" who had made a name for herself in the Ninja Wars; she was well aware of the realities of the ninja world.

But because Dongfang Mao was a child of the Senju clan, and because he had appeared before her just as the Senju were completely erased from Konoha—and indeed the world—at a time when even she herself had abandoned the Senju name, it hit differently.

This allowed a glimmer of light called hope to shine once more into the world that had turned completely dark for Tsunade.

This made Dongfang Mao's plight stand out with particular clarity in her heart. In fact, just from those four words, Tsunade had filled in the blanks with a series of unfortunate images, each more tragic than the last, touching the softest part of her heart.

Suddenly feeling emotional, Tsunade felt a sting in her nose and rubbed her reddened, moist eyes.

She then leaned down, opened her arms, and pulled Dongfang Mao into an embrace, her palms stroking the back of his head as if he were a treasure she had lost and found again.

Caught off guard, Dongfang Mao's head was pulled into the narrow mountain crevice. The milky-white mist of the mountains obscured his vision, and his face was even compressed and distorted by the tight pressure between those twin peaks.

He was utterly bewildered.

What had suddenly gotten into Tsunade? Her mood swings were so fast—wasn't she cursing him for being shameless a second ago? Why was she suddenly handing out benefits?

Could it be that she had imagined something strange?

Just as Dongfang Mao's brain was crashing, Tsunade loosened her grip, releasing him from that suffocating confinement.

Tsunade then leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his, her red lips close to his ear, moving slowly as her warm, orchid-scented breath brushed against his cheek.

Following that, a soft, gentle whisper, like melting snow in a spring stream and tinged with a slight sob, reached Dongfang Mao's ears.

"Mao, don't worry. From now on, I am here. I will teach you ninjutsu; I will teach you every technique I know. From this day forward, no one will ever be able to bully you again..."

Hearing this, Dongfang Mao was confused, but deeply shocked.

Could it be that his talent for spouting nonsense had reached such a masterful level? Had he actually moved Tsunade to tears?

Though the location was a bit off, the atmosphere was perfect. Despite his self-doubt, Dongfang Mao wasn't stupid enough to say anything to ruin the mood.

He lay contentedly in Tsunade's arms, enjoying the caress of her smooth, tender hands, sniffing the fresh, milky scent wafting from the mountain peaks, his face filled with intoxication.

Off to the side, Shizune, who had been peeking the entire time, watched this Lady Tsunade who kept shattering her perception of reality. The expression on her face had shifted from initial shock and astonishment to complete numbness.

"Big Brother, you're really something!"

After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Yasuke led his men to clean the cave, re-bandage the wounded, and get everyone settled before approaching Dongfang Mao.

He first snuck a glance at the cave entrance that had been crudely excavated to house Tsunade and Shizune, then looked at Dongfang Mao with an expression of pure admiration.

He had been guarding outside the woods and hadn't heard what Tsunade and Dongfang Mao were saying; he had only seen the two of them talking until they ended up in a heap, heads pressed together—he couldn't tell if they were kissing or not.

At the time, Yasuke had been awestruck by Dongfang Mao's maneuver. So, this was how a crisis could be resolved?

A powerful and aggressive female ninja had fallen in just a short amount of time?

In that moment, Dongfang Mao's image was mythologized in Yasuke's heart.

Seeing Yasuke's suggestive look, Dongfang Mao's lips twitched slightly. He couldn't be bothered to explain the complex relationship between him and Tsunade, so he asked instead:

"How are those three brats doing with their writing?"

Hearing this, Yasuke hurriedly took a stack of yellowed, creased papers from behind his waist, stepped forward to hand them to Dongfang Mao, and chuckled.

"Those three brats were likely scared out of their wits. I had them write their accounts separately, then collected them and compared them; every word in all three versions is identical. No one tried to pull any fast ones."

Dongfang Mao nodded upon hearing this and took the papers, which recorded the Konoha Chakra Refinement Technique.

In the past, this Chakra Refinement Technique would have been something he yearned for, if not exactly a dream come true.

But now, with Tsunade's promise in hand, Dongfang Mao felt no ripples in his heart as he looked at it.

After a brief scan, Dongfang Mao handed the pages back to Yasuke and said.

"Keep them yourself and try practicing."

Yasuke's body trembled slightly at these words. This burly man, whom Dongfang Mao had raised over the years to be as sturdy as an ox, had a face full of tension and bewilderment etched onto his rugged, fierce features.

"Big... Big Brother, me? Practice?"

Yasuke stammered.

Dongfang Mao watched Yasuke's reaction, narrowed his eyes, and said with a half-smile.

"What, is there a problem with you practicing? Or can you not read the words on them? Did you slack off when I had you learn to read all those years ago?"

"No... no!"

Yasuke shook his head repeatedly, then hurriedly took the papers from Dongfang Mao's hand. He held them carefully, flipping through them as if they were a priceless treasure, his face overflowing with undisguised joy.

But then, as if remembering something, Yasuke's smile faded slightly, and he looked at Dongfang Mao with some concern.

"Big Brother, do you think someone like me can also become a ninja?"

"Why not? A ninja has one head, and don't you have one too? If you don't watch it, and it falls off your neck, you'll die just the same."

Dongfang Mao scoffed, stood up, and patted Yasuke on the shoulder, explaining.

"In this world, everyone has a type of energy in their body called chakra. The difference lies in the amount of chakra one possesses and whether it can be controlled, and these are things that must be verified through this Chakra Refinement Technique.

Go try it first. If you succeed, it's a cause for celebration; if you don't, we'll just keep living the way we always have. You won't lose anything."

"Big Brother..."

Hearing Dongfang Mao's comforting words, Yasuke suddenly felt his nose sting, and his voice choked up.

However, seeing Yasuke's sentimental display, Dongfang Mao felt an instant chill and immediately gave him a hard kick in the backside, cursing.

"Stop being so mushy! Get lost, I haven't slept since yesterday!"

Dongfang Mao's scolding immediately made Yasuke feel that his behavior, as the former "Mad Tiger of Yoshino," was perhaps a bit inappropriate.

He hurriedly rubbed his moist eyes, gave Dongfang Mao a sheepish grin, and scrambled out of the cave.

Once outside, Yasuke glanced back into the cave, then looked down at the papers in his hand recording the Chakra Refinement Technique, his smile fading.

He had originally been a farmer, but when disaster struck his hometown that year, he became a refugee, living like a walking corpse. He had been beaten by six or seven people while fighting for a scrap of food; if Dongfang Mao hadn't appeared and saved him, he would have died long ago.

Later, he followed Dongfang Mao up the mountain, who gave him food, gave him a surname, and taught him how to read and write.

In his heart, Dongfang Mao was like a brother and a father.

Yet, previously, when the government soldiers entered the mountains, he could only watch alongside Dongfang Mao as the mountain stronghold they relied on for survival was burned to the ground. This left him feeling deeply useless and filled with guilt toward Dongfang Mao.

But Dongfang Mao not only didn't blame him, but also gave him this ninja cultivation method that ordinary people would consider a treasure.

This left Yasuke even more bewildered and lost, not knowing how he could ever repay Dongfang Mao's great kindness of giving him a new life!

For a moment, looking at the papers in his hand, Yasuke's eyes couldn't stop welling up again.

But the moment he thought about how Dongfang Mao disliked such weepy behavior, he quickly suppressed his overflowing emotions.

Carefully tucking the papers away against his body, Yasuke's eyes gradually became firm and sharp.

He couldn't do anything about the past, but with this Chakra Refinement Technique, he would definitely cultivate diligently and become a powerful ninja.

When that time came, no matter what Dongfang Mao wanted to do, he would clear away all obstacles for him. He would not let a single person who dared to stand against Dongfang Mao go!