Come, Hit Me

The sun blazed overhead.

Tsunade had been sprawled across the bed without a shred of decorum. The harsh sunlight finally stirred her.

"Ha..."

She cracked her eyes open, still groggy. The glaring light made her instinctively raise an arm to shield herself, and memories of the night before came flooding back.

Yesterday... Ye Ning had come over, hadn't he? And she'd poured drinks down his throat?

Remembering how Ye Ning had struggled fiercely in her grasp, Tsunade couldn't help covering her face, overcome with shame.

What had she done?!

She'd forced a minor to drink...

If word got out, her hard-won reputation would be ruined!

Should she go over and give him a little warning, just to make sure Ye Ning understood what would happen if he spread rumors?

Tsunade thought it over briefly, then suddenly felt that would be a little too shameless.

She was one of the mighty Sannin, and she'd forced a kid to drink. Then she'd go threaten him to keep him from talking about it...

Tsunade lay limply on the soft bed, sprawled out like a starfish and letting the sunlight from the window fall on her.

That brat!

He'd brought her back and hadn't even bothered to close the curtains!

She didn't want to move...

Whatever. She'd just sleep a little longer.

Tsunade rolled over, retreating to the shadow where the sun couldn't reach, and clamped her legs around the blanket.

Nothing mattered more than catching up on sleep!

As for whether Ye Ning would spread the story about her, she didn't care anymore.

There was only one word for it: whatever!

Being lazy felt great for a while; being lazy forever felt great forever!

Crash!

The loud bang jolted Tsunade awake just as she was about to drift off again. Still clueless about what had happened, she sat up in a daze with the blanket clutched around her—and came face-to-face with Ye Ning, who had just kicked the door open.

Ye Ning looked furious. He had clearly come to settle the score with Tsunade.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Tsunade ignored him, lay back down, pulled up the blanket, and covered herself with it.

The whole sequence flowed smoothly, as if she'd rehearsed it countless times in her head.

Seeing that Tsunade was already awake—and probably remembered at least a little of what had happened last night—Ye Ning's mouth twitched twice.

Playing ostrich?

He'd liked Tsunade quite a bit when he watched the anime.

After meeting her, he'd discovered she was a shameless woman through and through!

Knowing Tsunade was fully dressed and wouldn't expose herself, Ye Ning didn't bother with any courtesies. He walked over, yanked the blanket off her, and tossed it aside, his expression dark.

"Stop pretending to sleep. I know you're awake."

"Get up. I'm not going to hold you responsible for making me drink last night."

Ye Ning was in a foul mood, and it showed in his rough movements. He hauled Tsunade straight out of bed.

"You promised to start teaching me ninjutsu today and help me survive in the shinobi world."

Seeing there was no point pretending anymore—or perhaps because Ye Ning had said he wouldn't hold her responsible—Tsunade finally opened her bleary eyes and acted as though she'd just woken up. "What? I made you drink last night? I don't remember any of that."

What a shameless woman!

He'd known she'd deny it!

Ye Ning took a deep breath, doing his best to suppress the urge to beat Tsunade up, and said irritably,

"You have ten minutes to get ready. Hurry up. I'll wait for you in the courtyard."

Only after Ye Ning had left did Tsunade let out a long breath and pat her ample chest.

"Phew... I got away with it."

"That brat. He actually dared to be so rude to me. I'll teach him a lesson later!"

Half an hour later.

Yawning, Tsunade stepped out of the house and stretched, arms extended, in the courtyard.

Her perfect figure was on full display, but Ye Ning clearly wasn't in the mood to admire it.

He'd wasted another twenty minutes waiting for this shameless woman!

He was getting mad!

His fists were clenched!

After stretching at length and loosening up her stiff body, Tsunade finally turned her attention to Ye Ning.

Bathed in sunlight, Ye Ning looked even more handsome. The way he kept his face cold gave him an especially sharp air. Even through Tsunade's discerning gaze, he was utterly flawless.

Noticing Ye Ning's expression growing colder by the second, Tsunade finally put on a serious face. She beckoned him over and wore a faint smile.

You were rude to me just now, weren't you?

Well, don't blame me for showing no mercy in a moment!

"Come, hit me."

!?

Ye Ning tilted his head. He suddenly wondered if Tsunade had drunk herself stupid.

He'd never heard such an outrageous request.

Was she okay?

When Ye Ning didn't understand what she meant, Tsunade rolled her eyes and explained, not particularly patiently,

"If I'm going to help you survive in the Shinobi World, I first need to know what level you're at. All I know so far is that you've learned a few ninjutsu. I don't know anything else, which is why I told you to hit me."

"Only by fighting can I find your weaknesses and help you improve. You understand that much, don't you?"

He understood, but the way she'd put it...

It was easy to get the wrong idea!

Ye Ning curled his lip and stepped forward.

Tsunade was secretly looking forward to using this opportunity to get back at him for being rude just now. He felt the same way, didn't he?

A shameless woman like her needed to be taught a proper lesson!

"Let's get one thing straight. If I beat you up, you're not allowed to cry, and you can't run all over town. If you run around crying for your dad like last time, no one will be able to save you."

Tsunade wore a teasing grin, while Ye Ning's face darkened. He was reminded of how she'd chased him all over the Capital of the Land of Fire years ago.

In the end, with nowhere left to run, Ye Ning had to summon his dad, hoping he could put a stop to Tsunade's outrageous behavior.

His supposedly powerful father was the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and Tsunade's elder, but he'd been completely helpless against her. When Tsunade flew into a rage, he hadn't even dared to show his face. He'd just let her teach his precious son a lesson.

So he was never going to live that history down, was he?

Ye Ning gritted his teeth, already imagining pinning Tsunade to the ground and spanking her hundreds of times.

If only he were strong enough right now, he'd turn that fantasy into reality!

"Heh. You should be worrying about yourself. Careful you don't get tripped up."

"Tough talk from a brat."

Ye Ning took a deep breath, trying to get himself into peak condition.

Despite all his bluster, he was being very cautious.

This was his first time facing someone powerful since arriving in the world of Naruto.

The Old Abbot of the Fire Temple was certainly strong, but he was old, and he'd also held back out of consideration for Ye Ning's status as the Daimyo's Son. He'd never been able to fight without restraint.

But Tsunade was different.

Ye Ning was sure that if Tsunade got the chance, she absolutely wouldn't hold back!