Hospital

A wave of weakness washed over him. The hand he had tried to raise fell back down.

He blinked hard twice, and the scene before him finally came into focus. Ryōken looked carefully.

Before him was a pretty face that could look either annoyed or delighted, watching him intently. Green chakra glimmered around her hands as they moved over various parts of Ryōken's body.

From time to time, faint purple traces were drawn out, and a sense of relief spread through his entire body.

Tsunade? Wasn't she on the front lines?

Ryōken was somewhat confused. And why was she dressed so casually?

That was right. Tsunade was currently wearing loose robes. As she bent over to treat Ryōken's injuries, her clothes naturally draped downward. When Ryōken woke up, he naturally caught sight of an exceptionally wonderful view.

"Ah, you're awake."

When Tsunade saw Ryōken open his eyes, a confident smile appeared at the corner of her lips. Konoha's strongest medical ninja was no empty title.

But when she looked again, she found Ryōken staring blankly at her without even blinking. She slowly followed his gaze downward, then slowly raised her head again, meeting his eyes directly.

A strange glint flickered in Tsunade's eyes, and her lips curled into a dazzling smile.

Ryōken was stunned by the sight.

"Does it look good?"

Tsunade asked with a smile.

Ryōken nodded instinctively, then immediately realized something was wrong. This is bad.

He abruptly turned his head away, coughed awkwardly, and played dumb. "Lady Tsunade is naturally very beautiful."

Those words were rather pleasing, but Tsunade knew Ryōken belonged to the type with an exceptionally mature mind. She would never be fooled by his youthful appearance.

Tsunade nodded indifferently. Then, her beautiful eyes flashed as she extended a hand, curled her fingers, and flicked them sharply.

Bang!

The next moment, Tsunade's delicate finger struck Ryōken's forehead.

"That hurts!"

Even though Ryōken's body had long surpassed that of an ordinary person through constant training and skill enhancements, he still cried out in pain.

But in order to cover up the embarrassment from before, Ryōken decided to keep playing dumb.

Tsunade straightened up and folded her arms across her chest. Seeing Ryōken pretending to be foolish, her eyes narrowed slightly, glinting with danger. "If you keep pretending, next time it won't be just a finger."

As she spoke, Tsunade waved her dainty fist. A beauty's jade-like hand was naturally pleasing to look at.

But everyone knew how terrifying that fist containing Super Strength was. For specifics, one only needed to look at Jiraiya, who was sent flying every so often.

"Cough, Lady Tsunade. Isn't that a bit much?"

Ryōken looked rather awkward. Women really were not to be provoked, especially violent women like this.

More importantly, Ryōken couldn't beat her right now!!!

Ryōken pursed his lips miserably. Why had this woman returned from the front lines?

With Ryōken's recovery rate through meditation, combined with his naturally Tenacious physique, the poison carried by that jonin had not been particularly concentrated. Moreover, Ryōken had reacted in time and had not inhaled too much poisonous mist.

In truth, as long as Ryōken remained asleep, the toxins in his body would naturally be cleared within a few days.

"Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade looked at Ryōken with a half-smile. Blue light suddenly flickered around her fist, and her golden hair began to stir without wind as she said calmly.

"Am I that old?"

Cold sweat immediately formed on Ryōken's forehead. On second thought, Tsunade did not seem that old at all. She was only in her twenties, in the prime of her youth.

Calling her that really was somewhat inappropriate. Besides, Tsunade had yet to reach Kage-level, so it was inappropriate to address her that way based on status as well.

A flash of inspiration struck him, and Ryōken hurriedly called out, "Sister Tsunade!"

At those words, the light around Tsunade's fist immediately faded. She actually lowered her head and pondered for a moment before smiling and nodding. "You little brat sure know how to talk."

"I'll let you off this time."

As Tsunade spoke, the smile faded from her face. She gave a soft snort, surprise appearing in her eyes as she examined Ryōken's body from head to toe.

"You've got a strong life force, kid. Interested in learning some medical ninjutsu from me?"

"Uh..."

After so long, Ryōken had recovered some strength. He barely managed to sit up, scratched his head, and said, "I don't mind learning medical ninjutsu, but I already have a teacher."

"Wouldn't that be a little inappropriate?"

Tsunade smiled and shook her head. "I'm not saying I'll become your teacher. I'm merely suggesting that you learn some medical ninjutsu. It'll always come in handy during battle."

"That White Fang fellow is still quite suitable as your teacher."

As she spoke, a trace of envy appeared in her eyes. Who would not want a genius with talent like Ryōken's?

Besides, with a disciple like Ryōken, the Senju Clan could at least have someone to rely on. She would not need to shoulder the rise and fall of the entire clan alone.

Thinking of the Senju Clan's current state, loneliness appeared in Tsunade's eyes, only to vanish into their depths in an instant, unseen by anyone.

"Since you've mostly recovered, it's time for me to leave."

Watching Tsunade prepare to go, gratitude appeared in Ryōken's eyes. He was about to thank her, since Tsunade had helped remove his poison and allowed him to wake several days earlier.

Before he could speak, Tsunade smiled and said, "No need to thank me. I should be thanking you instead. Although you weren't directly poisoned by Ibuse and only suffered diluted venom, it still greatly helped my research into an antidote."

"Hanzo's strength may be exceptional, but what's even more terrifying is the astounding poison he carries."

"Looks like the jonin you killed held quite a high position in Amegakure. Unfortunately, that corpse had already decayed beyond recognition, so there was no useful information to extract."

As she spoke, delight appeared in her eyes. After hesitating, she remembered that Ryōken was already strong enough to take part and continued, "War is bound to break out in the Land of Rain. Developing an antidote against Ibuse sooner will have a major impact on the village's strategic plans."

This was a world of the strong. Hanzo, who was called a demigod and was at least at the peak of Kage-level, would have an unimaginable influence on the battlefield. It would not be an exaggeration to say he could decide an entire campaign.

And the strongest means of restraining Hanzo was undoubtedly of strategic importance.

A strange look appeared in Ryōken's eyes. If so, perhaps the outcome of the Three Sannin's battle against Hanzo might be changed after all.

"All right, I'm leaving first. I finally made it back from the front lines, so I need to get some proper rest."

Tsunade turned around and gave a long stretch. Her nearly perfect, graceful curves were revealed without reservation as she yawned and walked outside.

"Wait, I'm heading back too."

Ryōken hurriedly stood up. After talking for so long, he had recovered seventy to eighty percent of his strength.

And after the earlier treatment, Tsunade had basically healed the poison in his body. Ryōken therefore planned to leave the hospital directly.

Hospitals were not good places.

"You're not staying in the hospital?"

Tsunade turned around, looking puzzled, then continued, "Although the poison has mostly been cleared, it'll still take some time for you to fully recover."

"No need. I feel like I'm mostly fine now."

Ryōken moved his body around and smiled.

Tsunade did not refuse. She knew how strong Ryōken's life force was, so whether he stayed in the hospital or not did not matter much. She nodded noncommittally and took the lead outside.

Ryōken followed behind her, his gaze involuntarily drifting toward Tsunade.

Cough!

It couldn't be helped. She was simply too eye-catching.

Suddenly, Tsunade seemed to give a soft snort and glanced sideways at Ryōken.

Their gazes met and immediately parted. Ryōken hurriedly put on a righteous expression and stared straight ahead.

Before long, the two arrived at the hospital entrance.

Tsunade casually waved her hand and slowly walked off into the distance.

Ryōken stood where he was, watching Tsunade's departing figure with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Shaking his head, Ryōken opened his status panel and gave it a casual glance. He immediately knew that the jonin's death had not been credited to him.

Therefore, he had not received a chance to draw a lottery.

Ryōken let out a long breath of relief. It was better to obtain inheritances whenever possible.

Thinking of this poisoning incident, a strange light flashed through Ryōken's eyes.

During meditation, although his entire body had been paralyzed and unable to move, his consciousness had been clearer and more focused than ever. Even the embryonic form of his sword intent had grown to some extent.

Therefore, he knew about Kouichi Uchiha's assassination attempt.

Fortunately, although Ryōken could not control his body, he still had sword intent. Against lower-level opponents, sword intent was still quite lethal.

After taking that hit, Kouichi Uchiha would become an idiot even if he did not die.

However, Tetsuki's good intentions had caused trouble instead.

With Kouichi Uchiha dead, Tsuki Uchiha would never let the matter rest.

A cold gleam flashed in Ryōken's eyes. He would never forget the utter contempt in Tsuki Uchiha's gaze that day. He had always remembered that humiliation and would never forget it.

However, Ryōken also knew his own limits.

Having grown to this point, although he could contend with Tsuki Uchiha for a while with his current strength, he would still ultimately be unable to escape death.

At that thought, Ryōken's expression darkened, and uncertain light flickered in his eyes.

Suddenly.

A figure appeared in the distance, walking toward Ryōken at an apparently slow but actually swift pace.

When the two saw each other clearly, intense killing intent surfaced undisguised in both their eyes.

Things had come to this. There was no turning back.

Ryōken would never retreat.

This was Konoha. Given some time, the ANBU scattered throughout Konoha would definitely appear.

Besides, Tsunade had not gone far yet.

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