It was another morning, and Tsunade had gotten up early once again. She skillfully tiptoed into the kitchen and put the food she'd prepared into a lunchbox.
"You're up early again today, Little Tsunade."
However, a familiar figure had appeared in the living room today.
"Eh? G-Grandma?"
Tsunade stiffened and instinctively hid the lunchbox behind her back as she looked at the beautiful woman sitting on the sofa.
She had red hair and brown eyes, with her hair tied into a cluster of buns. She wore a white kimono and a round headdress behind her hair. She looked to be in her thirties and was breathtakingly beautiful.
But what drew the most attention was the purple, diamond-shaped mark on her forehead, brimming with vitality.
Mito Uzumaki, wife of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi. She had devoted her entire life to Konoha's ultimate weapon.
Though she looked to be in her thirties, she was actually nearly eighty—and Tsunade's biological grandmother.
"Grandma!? W-When did you come out?"
Seeing Mito Uzumaki, Tsunade was startled and hurriedly asked in a cautious voice.
"Probably when you got up this morning."
Mito glanced at her granddaughter and said with a faint smile, "You were making so much noise... You didn't even let Grandma sleep a little longer."
"Sorry, Grandma."
Tsunade lowered her head and apologized honestly. "I disturbed your rest."
"I don't mind. I'm just a little curious."
Mito studied her granddaughter. "You usually can't get out of bed until noon. Why have you been getting up so early every day lately? And..."
Her gaze settled on the hand behind Tsunade's back. "You've even been making a special lunchbox every day. Who's it for? I don't remember any boys around you who've been pursuing you."
"I... I don't sleep until noon every day!"
Tsunade corrected her indignantly. "And these past few days, it's just... just..."
"All right, I won't tease you. Little Monkey told me everything. Is it that young man from the Uchiha Clan?"
Mito went straight to the point.
"Little Monkey said you've been spending a lot of time with that young man lately. The most talented genius of this generation of Uchiha, the little fellow who awakened the Three Tomoe in his early teens and has limitless potential."
"...Yeah."
Since Mito had decided to be upfront, Tsunade stopped pretending.
"His name is Uchiha Sakuya."
"Sakuya... I see. The beginning of the night of the new moon?"
Mito repeated the sound of Sakuya's name and nodded. "It sounds like a rather cool, distant name. It suits a girl quite well."
"Eh? Is that so?"
Tsunade blinked.
As a ninja who'd graduated very early, she'd never properly attended literature classes.
In other words, Tsunade was illiterate too.
"I never heard that guy explain where his name came from..."
"Little Tsunade."
Ignoring her granddaughter's lack of education, Mito spoke up. "That young man... he's only fourteen, right?"
"Mm..."
Tsunade nodded.
Though that guy was only half a head shorter than me, and didn't look like he was fourteen at all.
"Fourteen..."
Mito's expression turned a little strange. "How old are you?"
"...Twenty-three."
Tsunade honestly gave her age.
"That's a nine-year difference, Little Tsunade."
Mito emphasized the age gap. "I don't want to make fun of my granddaughter, but that's quite a big difference."
"...So what?"
Tsunade hurried to correct her. "Grandma, aren't you eight years younger than Grandpa? And to give a closer example, wasn't Lady Biwako five years older than the old man?"
"...All right, all right. You're always right."
Mito shook her head, torn between laughter and exasperation. "Grandma was only reminding you about the age gap. Just keep it in mind."
"I'm leaving."
Tsunade turned away, blushing.
"Wait a moment."
Mito looked at her granddaughter. "There's one more thing I hope you'll know in advance."
"What is it?"
"The Uchiha Clan has a tradition. I wonder if you've heard about it."
"A tradition?"
"Mm. Any woman who marries into the Uchiha Clan has to change her surname."
Mito's expression grew serious as she spoke of changing surnames. "And you're the last Senju."
"..."
Tsunade fell silent.
"Grandma supports you, but the older generation may not, Little Tsunade."
Mito continued, "Especially since your great-uncle fought against everyone else and left the Senju name to you alone. Quite a few people objected back then. If you marry into the Uchiha Clan and willingly give up the Senju name, do you know what those elders will think of you?"
"...S-So what?"
Tsunade turned her head away. "I'm just doing what Grandpa said, too. He said to give up the small family and embrace the greater whole..."
"But..."
"All right, Grandma."
Seeing that Mito wanted to say more, Tsunade spoke up, rather embarrassed. "I know. But don't worry. He and I... we're just close. We haven't gotten to that point yet."
"?"
Mito froze. She stared in disbelief at her granddaughter, whose face was bright red. "You haven't...?"
"I... I haven't even gotten a proper confession from him yet!"
Tsunade sounded a little frantic and a little heartbroken. "I-I've gone this far, and he... he still hasn't said anything."
"...Heh, hahahaha."
Seeing how flustered her granddaughter was, Mito burst out laughing.
"He knows how I feel... but he still hasn't said anything... If he just asked, I'd say yes to something like that. That idiot!"
Tsunade stamped her foot on the ground and complained indignantly.
"I absolutely won't be the one to say it first, that guy!"
The real reason was that Tsunade herself couldn't bring herself to say it, but she unconsciously ignored that part.
"You..."
Mito sighed as she watched her.
She shook her head. "Fine, have it your way."
As an elder, she understood her granddaughter's personality very well.
But as someone who'd been through it herself, she also knew what could happen when her granddaughter was so stubborn about this.
If you liked someone, you should just say so.
If you didn't, you might miss your chance.
Hashirama had been the same. He'd desperately wanted to have a proper talk with Madara Uchiha, but he'd always assumed that Madara, as his closest friend, understood him and knew what he was thinking.
In the end... it had all concluded with Hashirama killing his closest friend, then dying in depression.
Now Tsunade was doing the same thing.
People said the Uchiha Clan were terribly complicated. They couldn't be direct and liked to keep everything bottled up.
The Senju were like siblings to the Uchiha. They assumed the other side understood them, and thought there was no need to say anything—but then...
If Tsunade didn't speak plainly, it might take a very long time before anything came of their relationship.
Besides, these were troubled times, with another war on the horizon.
And that boy was an Uchiha.
What if...
Watching Tsunade walk away, Mito let out a deep sigh.
She hoped her granddaughter wouldn't end up regretting it like her grandfather had.
Still stubborn as ever.
Before you continue