New Year's Gift Received Softly, Tsunade Wants Cuddles (Fifth Watch)

The three walked through some streets and arrived at Kushina's house.

Tsunade and knocked on the door, and soon a series of hurried footsteps came from inside.

"They're here! They're here!"

The door was pulled open, Kushina Uzumaki's energetic face peeked out.

Today she was wearing a brand new orange-red loungewear kimono, and her long, fiery red hair was draped over her waist.

"Lady Tsunade, Qingyu, Shizune."

Kushina's eyes lit up, her voice filled with surprise.

Happy New Year! Come in, come in, it's cold outside!

Happy New Year, Kushina.

Tsunade walked into the entrance hall with a smile, casually ruffling Kushina's hair.

In the living room, Karin Uzumaki was sitting by the fireplace, flipping through a notebook on Sealing Technique.

Her complexion was much better than when she was first rescued last year. Her originally pale and thin cheeks had become rounder, and her skin had regained the healthy rosy glow unique to the Uzumaki Clan.

Upon seeing the three enter, Karin quickly stood up and bowed slightly to them.

"Lady Tsunade; Qingyu- kun; Shizune -san, Happy New Year!"

"Hello, Karin."

Qingyu nodded to her, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment.

Qingyu sighed, marveling at how quickly the Uzumaki Clan bloodline worked.

Tsunade clearly felt the same way.

"Your complexion is getting better and better. It seems Kushina has taken good care of you."

"Of course!"

Kushina nodded, then lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "Lady Tsunade, Karin learns Sealing Technique incredibly fast. The 'Fire Sealing Technique' I taught her last time, she mastered it in just three days. Maybe she'll catch up to me in a couple of years."

That's perfect.

Tsunade picked up a mandarin orange from the fruit bowl on the coffee table. It seems that the Uzumaki Clan members all have good talent for Sealing Technique.

Tsunade thought to herself.

Then Tsunade asked, "Do you still have the cards I left with you last time?"

"Not playing cards during the New Year is like wasting the whole year."

Upon hearing Tsunade's words, Kushina went to look for the card and eventually found it.

Qingyu watched Tsunade's confident stance from the side and sighed silently in his heart.

Tsunade's gambling addiction is something she'll probably never be able to break in her lifetime.

"Qingyu, you're here to play too."

Tsunade patted the cushion next to her, gesturing for Qingyu to sit down.

Qingyu shook her head.

"If I cook, who will cook?"

Tsunade paused for a moment, then realized that she hadn't even had lunch yet.

She thought about it and realized that Qingyu was right, so she reached out and ruffled his hair vigorously, making it all messy.

"Okay, you go cook, I'll give you a reward afterwards."

What reward?

Qingyu tidied her disheveled hair and looked at Tsunade.

"Just name one, anything I can do, I'll do it."

Is anything okay?

Qingyu asked.

"It will be all right."

Tsunade, then began clearing the cards.

Seeing this, Qingyu turned and walked towards the kitchen, casually creating a Shadow Clone.

"Sister Shizune, why don't you play with them? That way, you'll have four people."

Shizune was organizing the gifts she had brought when she heard Qingyu's words. She nodded, sat down opposite Tsunade, and accepted the flower arrangement Kushina handed her.

Tsunade watched Qingyu walk into the kitchen, then looked down at the cards in front of her, her lips curving into a wider smile.

The kitchen is right next door.

She could hear Qingyu chopping vegetables, see his busy back, and even smell the aroma wafting from the pot.

Since you're here, you should at least get some good fortune, right?

With that thought in mind, Tsunade confidently picked up the first card in front of her.

We must win big today!

After all, based on past experience, as long as Qingyu is by her side, her luck won't be too bad!

Two hours later.

Tsunade stared at the scoreboard in front of her and fell into a long silence.

Zero points.

For two whole hours, she didn't win a single game.

Even more alarmingly, Karin, who had only just learned to play cards, won three rounds, Shizune, the usually quiet little apprentice, won five rounds in a row, and even Kushina won two rounds.

"This is unreasonable—"

Tsunade muttered to herself.

She's been gambling for so long, yet she's not as good as these people who hardly ever gamble.

Damn it, I'm bowing down to this lowly slacker!

"Lady Tsunade, um—don't be discouraged—"

Kushina offered words of comfort, her voice growing softer as she herself struggled to explain the phenomenon.

Tsunade's luck was indeed exceptionally bad.

Tsunade shook her head, pushed the flower cards onto the table, suddenly stood up, and strode towards the kitchen.

"Lady Tsunade?"

Under the questioning gazes of Shizune and Kushina, Tsunade walked to the kitchen door and hugged Qingyu from behind as she was seasoning the food.

Qingyu was startled.

He could clearly feel the heavy volume coming from his back.

"Sister Tsunade?"

"Don't move, let your sister hold you for a while."

Tsunade's voice was muffled, tinged with a hint of resentment.

"I've noticed it. When you're not around, my luck plummets. It must be because I'm not close enough and haven't absorbed enough of your good fortune."

Qingyu paused for a moment, her hand holding the soup spoon still.

It turns out it's because of his ability to improve his financial luck.

"Sister Tsunade, the pot's going to burn!"

"It won't burn. You keep cooking, I'll just hug it for a bit to replenish my luck."

Tsunade said matter-of-factly, and then rubbed her face against Qingyu's hair.

In the living room, Kushina watched the backs of the brother and sister embracing each other at the kitchen door, and her expression became somewhat subtle.

Is this really okay?

She silently thought to herself, what if it were her and Minato Namikaze in that situation----

Kushina quickly shook her head.

Yes, this must be a pure sibling relationship!

When Qingyu came out carrying the last dish, Tsunade finally let go of him and sat back down at the card table, satisfied.

"Come on, let's play one more round. I feel like my luck has returned."

Tsunade picked up the karuta again, her face regaining its confident glow.

Then she lost again.

Tsunade:

She placed the flower cards on the table, stood up expressionlessly, walked to Qingyu's side, and hugged his arm from the side.

"Sister Tsunade, dinner's ready."

Let me catch up for a bit.

2

The atmosphere in the living room became lively again during lunchtime.

Qingyu prepared a table full of New Year's dishes: braised sea bream, rice cake soup, shrimp and tamagoyaki, honey-glazed roasted chicken wings, and a large pot of steaming oden.

--

After returning from the mission in the Land of Rivers, Qingyu participated in the Konoha Ramen Competition, raising her [Chef] trait from D-rank to C-rank and increasing the deliciousness of her food by 60%.

Therefore, the color and aroma of every dish Qingyu makes are incredibly appetizing.

Karin Uzumaki took a bite of the braised sea bream, her eyes widening slightly.

She didn't say anything, but the speed at which she reached for the fish plate with her chopsticks noticeably increased.

Kushina was even more unreserved, stuffing grilled chicken wings into her mouth while mumbling her praises.

"This tastes so good! Your cooking is even better than Minato's!"

Kushina exclaimed in surprise.

After finishing her meal, Kushina wiped her mouth, took out two red envelopes from her sleeve, and stuffed one into Qingyu and Shizune's hands.

"Here, a New Year's red envelope. Thank you for taking care of Karin all this time."

"And mine too."

Karin also stood up, took out two small cloth bags from her bosom, and handed them to Qingyu and Shizune respectively.

Kushina's red envelope was quite heavy; Qingyu could tell from the weight in his hand that it contained a lot.

Generous!

Just as Qingyu was about to express his gratitude, Kushina took out a long, strip-shaped object wrapped in cloth from the cabinet next to her and handed it to him.

"This is especially for you, Qingyu and Shizune."

Qingyu and Shizune accepted the heavy Kunai.

The blade of the Kunai is engraved with densely packed magical patterns, extending from the handle to the tip of the blade. The patterns interlock to form a complete Sealing Technique.

"This is Sealing Technique Kunai. After being infused with Chakra and thrown, it can form a temporary sealing barrier around the point of impact."

Kushina crossed her arms, her tone carrying a hint of pride as a member of the Uzumaki Clan.

"While it can't compare to Minato's Flying Thunder God Kunai, which allows for instantaneous teleportation, it's very useful for detecting whether there are any enemies nearby."

0

Qingyu flipped the Kunai over and looked at the spell patterns on the blade, marveling at the Uzumaki Clan's mastery of Sealing Technique.

"Thank you Kushina- senpai. This is very useful."

Qingyu thanked Kushina and put the Sealing Technique Kunai into his Ninja Tool Pouch.

Shizune quickly followed suit and thanked them.

When Qingyu opened the red envelope Karin gave her, she found that it didn't contain money, but a scroll.

He unrolled the scroll and scanned its contents.

"Fire Release: Ghost Lantern Technique".

A B-rank Fire Release Ninjutsu that creates multiple floating fireballs around the user to attack enemies, and the flames are difficult to extinguish with ordinary Water Release.

"This Ninjutsu— "

Qingyu looked up at Karin.

Karin lowered her head somewhat embarrassed.

"Back in Kusagakure, those ninjas didn't even try to hide their true intentions from me. I once thought about rebelling, so I secretly listened to their conversations and looked through some of the scrolls on the wounded."

"They found this technique on a dead ninja. I copied it down and hid it, but I don't have the talent for fire-style Chakra, so I can't learn it."

Karin Uzumaki Path.

[Collectible Trait Detected: Fire of Kusagakure]

[E-Rank Trait: Fire of Kusagakure]

[Effect: Increases Fire Release talent by 10%.]

[Synthesis: Learning the Kusagakure's Fire Release Ninjutsu will upgrade this trait to a higher level.]

Qingyu looked at the words that appeared before her, carefully put the scroll away, and nodded slightly to Karin Uzumaki.

"Thank you, I will study this technique carefully."

Karin Uzumaki looked up and gave him a faint smile.

The first month of the lunar calendar quietly passed by amidst feasting and visiting relatives and friends.

As the first month of the lunar calendar ends and the calendar turns to the third month, the atmosphere gradually changes.

The red lanterns and Shimenawa on the streets were quietly removed, and in their place, more and more mission notices were posted at the entrance of the Hokage Building.

In the corridors of Konoha Hospital, stretchers carrying the wounded were pushed in and out one after another, and the benches on both sides of the corridor were filled with ninjas wrapped in bandages.

--

"Rin Nohara and the others are graduating soon."

Qingyu pondered in her heart.

Ahead of him, Yūhi Kurenai and Rin Nohara were discussing who they would team up with.

Clearly, both of them were filled with curiosity about the future.

"Qingyu, who do you think we'll be paired with?"

Yūhi Kurenai asked.

Her face had lost its baby fat and become more delicate.

"Anything is possible."

Qingyu shook her head.

Actually, worrying about who to team up with is pointless. During wartime, squads can easily regroup or team up with other squads for missions.

Qingyu was concerned about whether the Kannabi Bridge would still take place.

He certainly didn't want to be the only one buried under the stones.