Bathing Tsunade

Li Tong carried Tsunade into the bathroom, set her on the bench, and began filling the tub. After testing the water temperature, he lifted her horizontally and lowered her slowly into the water.

Although it was highly unlikely that Tsunade would wake up at this moment, Li Tong remained extremely cautious.

He was terrified that if she suddenly woke up, his head would likely end up mounted on a flagpole, and no one would be able to stop her.

He splashed water to wash her face and hair, but the clean bathwater turned into black sludge almost instantly. Li Tong immediately pulled her out, placed her damp form back on the chair, drained the tub, and refilled it. He repeated this process five times until the water stored in the tank was completely exhausted.

The bathroom's water tank was located on the roof and connected via pipes. Because the tank was made of heat-absorbing metal, the sunlight during the day was enough to turn the water inside into a comfortable temperature for bathing.

Now that the water was gone and there was no more warm water, Tsunade looked only marginally cleaner.

Her hair was still full of mud and sand, but Li Tong dared not submerge her completely, fearing she would choke on the water and wake up instantly, making her hair particularly difficult to wash.

Li Tong didn't dare waste a second. He ran out of the bathroom, scrambled onto the roof to remove the empty tank, dashed to the lake to fill it, used a Fire Style jutsu to heat the exterior of the tank, then hauled it back to the roof, reconnected the pipes, and returned to the bathroom.

Once the tub was full again, Li Tong placed Tsunade back inside.

This won't work. She won't get clean this way, and I can't dry her clothes. If she wakes up, she'll definitely notice. Should I... just kill her? Li Tong considered the consequences of killing Tsunade for a moment and immediately shook his head; the fallout was too terrifying.

There seemed to be only one solution left: remove Tsunade's clothes. This would make her much easier to wash, the clothes would be easier to clean, and they would be easier to dry.

But if he did that...

Take them off?

Don't take them off?

Should he or shouldn't he?

Li Tong went through a full second of internal struggle before making his decision.

Take them off!

"Please don't wake up, please... don't... wake up..." Li Tong's hands trembled as he slowly undid the buttons on Tsunade's clothes, peeling them off one by one, from the outer layers to the inner.

Tsunade was a masterpiece of God!

When Li Tong pulled her light-colored undergarments out of the water, this thought crossed his mind.

If Li Tong were eighteen, something might have actually happened, but unfortunately, he was only twelve! And on the thinner side for a twelve-year-old, at that.

"This isn't my fault!" Li Tong muttered to himself. He flicked his fingers to push his sunglasses up, revealing his eyes, took a lightning-fast glance at Tsunade's entire body, and then rushed out of the bathroom clutching her clothes and shoes.

He reached the lakeside, quickly washed everything he had removed from Tsunade, used a Wind Style jutsu to dry them, and returned to the bathroom to hang them up.

He walked back to the side of the tub.

Li Tong felt a bit hesitant; after all, a bath required scrubbing.

"This really isn't my fault!" Li Tong muttered again before extending his "sinful" hands.

The sensation was beyond words.

******

Li Tong was surprised that for an entire day, no one had come to the lake. Even though news of him being buried alive by Tsunade had clearly spread, not a single person had shown up!

How terrifying!

Tsunade was so terrifying!

To think she possessed such a deterrent force!

Li Tong felt a bit relieved about his decision. Thankfully, he had cleaned Tsunade, washed her clothes, and dressed her back in them.

Late at night.

A gentle breeze blew by the lake, the moon hung in the sky, and everything was silent.

Li Tong sat cross-legged on the grassy slope, motionless, his breathing steady.

Cultivation!

He had spent the entire day cultivating, not daring to leave, not even eating dinner. Tsunade was still in his room, sleeping. Li Tong could have woken her up, but he was worried she might sense something, so he had hesitated until now.

"So beautiful!"

Li Tong's breathing suddenly turned ragged. He opened his eyes and sighed at the lake.

He simply couldn't calm down.

It had been a whole day.

Every time Li Tong closed his eyes, Tsunade appeared in his mind. Although his body was only twelve, his soul was over twenty. He had to admit, aside from her terrible personality, Tsunade was perfect in every other way! Everything! She was perfect!

"What the hell, it was just a bath, really—" Li Tong's voice cut off abruptly. He leaped up, turning around to face the direction of Konoha in a defensive stance.

A powerful surge of chakra erupted from the wooden cabin!

Tsunade had woken up!

And her state was extremely unstable!

"Did she find out? No way, right? No way?" Li Tong muttered nervously.

"You bastard!!!" Tsunade's scream echoed through the air.

Li Tong turned and bolted!

Walking on water, Li Tong flew across the lake and dove into the woods on the opposite bank. He was running for his life, his mind haunted by visions of Tsunade dismembering him, hacking him to pieces, and mounting his severed head on a flagpole.

If he had known it would come to this, he would have run away earlier!

In the dim forest, Li Tong pushed his speed to the absolute limit.

Whoosh!

The sound of wind heralded an attack. A ghostly figure left afterimages at Li Tong's side, flickering into existence to block his path. With cold, hollow eyes fixed on him and golden hair fluttering in the breeze, it was none other than Tsunade!

Li Tong slammed on the brakes and skidded to a halt, retreating a few steps.

Eyes locked, they stared at each other.

"I think I can explain."

"Where is my money?"

They spoke almost simultaneously, followed by an eerie silence.

Li Tong blinked, stunned.

"What? What did you say?"

"You little bastard, I asked where my money is! Did you take it?" Tsunade, looking furious, grabbed Li Tong by the collar.

Tsunade had just woken up in the wooden cabin. She was initially shocked by Li Tong's hypnotic ability, but then felt something was off. She patted herself down, only to discover her coin purse was missing.

"Uh... the money, the purse? Ah! The purse, it's right here, right here!" Li Tong feigned sudden realization, pulled the purse from his robes, and handed it over.

Tsunade took the purse, opened it, and pulled out a stack of banknotes, counting them carefully.

Over eighty thousand, not a single ryo missing.

She didn't notice, Li Tong thought, letting out a long breath of relief.

"Hmm?" Tsunade sensed something was wrong and looked at Li Tong with suspicion. "Why were you running?"

"You were so scary and aggressive, how could I not run?" Li Tong explained naturally.

"Oh?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Then how did my purse end up with you?"

"You were asleep, and I was going to the street to get food. I was afraid someone would steal your money, so I kept it safe for you." Li Tong was talking pure nonsense. He had taken the purse because he had forgotten to remove it before putting Tsunade into the bathtub. He had found it in her wet clothing pocket, and it had gotten soaked.

That was why he had taken it—to pull out the banknotes and dry them one by one. In the end, he had simply been negligent and forgotten to put the purse back.

"I was asleep... how long was I out?" Tsunade looked up at the sky; the moon was full.

"A whole day, ten hours," Li Tong said, feigning ease to shift the topic. He gestured with his hand. "Look! I told you I could hypnotize you, but you didn't believe me. Do you believe me now?"

Tsunade's expression became complex. She carefully recalled everything that happened before she fell asleep, subconsciously resting her chin on her hand in thought.

"If there's nothing else, I'm heading back." Li Tong turned to leave.

It wasn't until Li Tong had walked dozens of meters away that Tsunade finally looked up and called out.

"Stop!"

"Not stopping!"

Li Tong didn't slow his pace.

Whoosh! Tsunade flickered and blocked his path again.

"What now?" Li Tong gestured again. "Didn't I already prove it to you? Are you still going to bury me alive?"

"Teach me."

"What?"

"Teach me hypnosis."

"Sure! But..." Li Tong paused. He had originally wanted to apprentice under Tsunade, but given the "accident" last time and the fact that this shameless woman was capable of anything, he reconsidered. "But you have to show some sincerity and trade with me."

"Sincerity?"

"Right! For example, teach me ninjutsu. I teach you hypnosis, you teach me ninjutsu—how about that?"

Tsunade thought about it seriously; it didn't seem like a bad deal.

"Deal. What do you want to learn?"

"How about the Mystical Palm Technique? Let's start with that."

Li Tong already knew the Mystical Palm Technique! He had spent eight thousand reputation points to redeem and consume the skill card to master it. However, he couldn't just use it in public; there would be no way to explain how he knew such a high-level A-rank medical ninjutsu. He could use the Rasengan because he could claim he invented it, but the Mystical Palm Technique was different.

"The Mystical Palm Technique?" Tsunade was stunned, looking at Li Tong with a smirk. "You want to learn the Mystical Palm Technique?"

"Is there a problem?" Li Tong asked, confused.

"Of course there's a problem!" Tsunade said, hands on her hips. "The Mystical Palm Technique is an extremely difficult medical ninjutsu to master. Even in the Medical Department, the number of medical ninjas who have mastered it can be counted on one hand. Medical ninjutsu is different from other types; many talented ninjas can master S-rank forbidden techniques but still fail to learn the A-rank Mystical Palm Technique. Even I, hailed as the most talented medical ninja since the founding of Konoha, took two full years to go from beginner to master. As for you... I don't think you have a hope in this lifetime! Don't waste your time, okay?"

Li Tong suddenly raised one finger and shook it at Tsunade.

"What does that mean?" Tsunade glanced at the finger, then said with a look of utter astonishment, "One year? You... you think you can learn the Mystical Palm Technique in one year? Hahahaha, don't joke around. If you can master it in a year, I'll take your last name! Hahaha, that's hilarious..." Tsunade laughed unrestrainedly.

"No! I meant one day! As long as you teach me, I will definitely master the Mystical Palm Technique in one day!" Li Tong said with complete sincerity.