Uchiha Xiao watched Nawaki walk over. He smiled faintly, ruffled Nawaki's hair, then turned to look at Tsunade.
Tsunade looked puzzled, so Uchiha Xiao explained the reason to her.
"Experiment is the only way to test the truth. Since you don't believe me, Tsunade, why not try it yourself?" Uchiha Xiao's confident smile, paired with his good looks, seemed pretty convincing!
Tsunade thought for a moment, then nodded. "You're right. We should try it." If it really worked, Nawaki would have some protection when he went to the battlefield!
"Try it? How? You want my sister to hit this thing?" Nawaki scratched his head. Just then, Uchiha Xiao's lips curled up before his expression turned serious.
"Nawaki, tell me: do you want to go to the front lines and gain some experience?" Seeing Uchiha Xiao's expression, Nawaki couldn't help getting serious too.
"Yes, Big Brother Xiao. I'm going!" Nawaki looked so earnest that Uchiha Xiao felt a little guilty. Tricking the poor kid didn't sit right with his conscience.
But only for a moment. Uchiha Xiao said, "Then put on the suit, Nawaki. Your sister can test its defenses in a moment. If it's strong enough, she'll agree to let you go to the battlefield!"
As he spoke, Uchiha Xiao patted Nawaki on the shoulder.
"Okay!" Nawaki started to put it on, then suddenly came to his senses. Wait, test its defenses? By letting his sister beat him up? Memories of his sister hitting him throughout his childhood flashed through his mind, and his face turned deathly pale.
Uchiha Xiao naturally noticed. His eyes shifted. Looks like he'd have to pile it on a little more!
"Nawaki, you know what your sister's like. If she can't be sure you'll be safe, she won't just sit by while you go to the front lines," Uchiha Xiao said with a smile, glancing at Tsunade.
"Right, Tsunade?" Uchiha Xiao asked. He hadn't kept his conversation with Nawaki from her; Tsunade had heard everything.
Tsunade nodded. "That's right, Nawaki. Nothing matters more than your safety! If I can't be sure you'll be safe, I won't let you go to the front lines, no matter what!"
Hearing Uchiha Xiao and Tsunade, Nawaki exhaled and looked at his sister. "I understand, Sis!"
With that, he took the Explosion-Proof Suit from Uchiha Xiao and put it on. Uchiha Xiao nodded to Tsunade, then jumped back to put some distance between himself and Nawaki.
Tsunade had inherited Senju Hashirama's monstrous strength. Even though she was only at the Jonin level, she could unleash power approaching the Kage Level.
If he happened to get punched while standing nearby, yikes...
Uchiha Xiao shook his head and stopped thinking about it. Otherwise, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to sleep.
Nawaki watched Uchiha Xiao move away and looked at his completely serious sister. He couldn't help swallowing hard.
"Here I come! Get ready, brat!" Tsunade stepped forward with her right foot. The ground in the Senju Clan Compound cracked, and then she shot toward Nawaki like a streak of light.
Nawaki had inherited the same monstrous strength, but he was six years younger than his sister. His strength was nothing compared to hers!
"Monstrous Strength: Mountain Crushing Strike!" Tsunade appeared in front of Nawaki. She drew her right arm back, twisted her waist, and threw a punch.
Boom! The punch landed on Nawaki's Explosion-Proof Suit with a thunderous impact. Nawaki flew backward and didn't stop until he crashed into a wall.
His body was embedded several inches into it. Tsunade had held back, limiting the force to the peak Chunin level.
"Nawaki!" Tsunade shouted. Nawaki quickly replied, "Sis, I'm fine! I'm not hurt at all!"
His voice was strong and steady, so Tsunade let out a sigh of relief. Nawaki strained and leaped out of the wall.
Just before Tsunade had felt herself hit Nawaki, a Light Membrane had appeared. Her fist struck the membrane, and Nawaki went flying.
Nawaki had felt it most clearly. A pale-yellow Light Membrane had appeared just then. It was hard to notice unless you looked closely, but his sister's punch hadn't actually hit him. It had struck the membrane instead.
He hadn't been hurt at all inside it. He smiled, realizing that he had the Explosion-Proof Suit to thank for all of it!
"Sis!" Before he could share what he'd realized, Tsunade flashed in front of him, her expression icy. "Heavenly Foot Pain!" It was the most devastating of her Taijutsu techniques.
Although she was a Jonin, her monstrous strength combined with Taijutsu could push this attack to the peak of the Jonin level!
Nawaki had already seen how powerful the Explosion-Proof Suit's defenses were, but the pressure coming from his sister seemed even more terrifying!
With a boom, Tsunade slammed her foot down on Nawaki. She carefully felt the impact. What she'd stepped on wasn't flesh but a layer of membrane, a very soft one. It absorbed all the force, then disappeared, allowing her foot to come down on Nawaki's chest.
That strike had come close to the Kage Level, yet the membrane had still held up without showing the slightest sign of breaking.
Tsunade was thrilled. With this ninja tool, Nawaki would be fine on the battlefield as long as he didn't run into the leader of an entire village!
Tsunade turned toward Xiao-kun, who was standing off to one side, and leaped at him!
Uchiha Xiao didn't notice in time. Tsunade tackled him, and they fell to the ground.
"Thank you, Xiao-kun! Thank you. With this ninja tool, Nawaki will be safe and sound!" Tsunade was filled with gratitude.
Uchiha Xiao froze for a moment. Feeling the soft sensation against his chest, he drew in a sharp breath. If Tsunade didn't get up soon, his little brother was going to wake up!
So Uchiha Xiao patted Tsunade gently on the head and said, "Get up. Nawaki's still watching!"
At that, Tsunade hurriedly stood and looked at Nawaki. The moment he met his sister's gaze, he shuddered and looked up at the sky. "What a sky! Such a sky!"
He had no idea what he was saying, but he was now certain that Uchiha Xiao would be his brother-in-law someday!
Tsunade huffed and turned back to Uchiha Xiao, looking at him shyly. "Xiao-kun, it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention to how hard I was pushing, and I ended up..."
She seemed to realize that saying it like that was a little too forward, so she quickly shut her mouth, her face turning red.
But Uchiha Xiao took an interest. He smiled, leaned close to Tsunade, and said, "It's fine. You're pretty soft—ah, I mean, it felt pretty nice."
With that, he ran off without looking back.
Tsunade froze, then chuckled helplessly. She looked at Nawaki. "Brat, now I'm comfortable letting you go to the front lines. But remember to listen to your teacher, Orochimaru!"
"Orochimaru isn't just the strongest of the three of us. He's also better at escaping than Jiraiya and I could ever hope to be. You should learn from him." After saying this, Tsunade headed inside. She wanted to tell Grandma the news!