Speaking from the Heart

After listening to Jiraiya's account and seeing Uchiha Yato standing there beside him,

Tsunade, instantly sobered up, understood exactly what had happened this time.

Tsunade immediately cursed, "Damn it, Yato, spreading rumors about me again."

"Today, I'll show you a kind of pain called a broken bone!"

With that, she launched a Heavenly Foot of Pain straight at Uchiha Yato.

Knowing exactly how Tsunade would react, Uchiha Yato naturally wasn't about to let her land a hit. With remarkable agility, he predicted her next move.

Uchiha Yato then said, "If you want to fight, take it outside. Don't wreck the owner's tavern, or we'll have to pay for it again."

Uchiha Yato took three steps in two and leaped out of the tavern.

Tsunade immediately followed when she saw Uchiha Yato leave, and Jiraiya naturally followed when he saw Tsunade leave.

They chased each other all the way until they finally reached a vast forest on the border of the Land of Waves.

The forest was lush and verdant, its thick branches and leaves casting dappled shadows as sunlight filtered through the gaps. It looked tranquil and mysterious.

Yet before Uchiha Yato could even steady himself, Tsunade charged at him like an enraged lion. Without so much as an opening remark, she swung her fist and pounced on him.

Her ferocious manner made it seem as though she bore an irreconcilable grudge against him.

Facing Tsunade's fierce assault, Uchiha Yato, knowing himself to be in the wrong, did not strike back. Instead, he relied on his nimble movements to dodge left and right.

For a time, endless "bang, bang, bang" sounds echoed through the air as Tsunade's immensely powerful attacks repeatedly missed and smashed heavily into the surrounding ground.

In an instant, the entire forest seemed to ignite, explosions erupting one after another with deafening force.

Dust and wood chips flew everywhere, and the once peaceful scene instantly descended into chaos.

The culprit behind all this was Tsunade's monstrous strength, each missed strike mercilessly ravaging this innocent forest and turning it into a complete mess.

After that "pleasant" round of venting, Jiraiya could only carefully tend to Tsunade.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Yato stopped stirring up trouble and explained, "First of all, Jiraiya, I didn't mean to deceive you. It was just the fastest and most efficient way to find Tsunade. Pretty good method, right?"

Jiraiya merely replied, "All right, I understand your difficulties. Stop teasing Tsunade already. She's suffered enough."

She really had suffered enough. After losing both her money and her companion in gambling, she could only go drinking.

Just when she was enjoying herself while drinking, she ran into the person she least wanted to see.

And when she saw the person she least wanted to see, she heard the most ridiculous rumor about herself.

Then, when she tried to hit the guy who kept making her angry, she couldn't touch him no matter what.

Uchiha Yato turned his attention to Tsunade. "Tsunade, seeing as I'm still young, you'll forgive me, right?"

Tsunade had just been about to take a break when her anger instantly flared up again.

"Ding~"

"Congratulations, Host. Jiraiya and Tsunade's emotions have changed."

"Obtained 500 Emotion Coins."

Hearing the sound of the Emotion Coins being credited, Uchiha Yato felt a rush of satisfaction. That was why he had messed with Tsunade and Jiraiya in the first place.

Tsunade calmed down at this point and said, "Fine. I forgive you."

Jiraiya was instantly baffled when he heard that.

Something's wrong. Since when was Tsunade this easy to talk to?

Tsunade immediately added, "Whatever you came to me for this time, unless you let me punch you ten times, I absolutely won't agree."

Upon hearing her second sentence, Jiraiya and Uchiha Yato both let out sighs of relief.

Now this is the normal Tsunade. I almost thought that Tsunade just now was a fake.

Uchiha Yato said, "The old man wants me to bring you back."

The answer was unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable.

Tsunade did not take it to heart and said directly, "Then you can go back and report that your mission is complete. I'm not going back!"

Naturally, Tsunade would not return to Konoha Village so easily.

To Tsunade, that place was filled with pain.

Her lover and her younger brother had both left her forever in the recent war.

And because of it, she had developed hemophobia. Being unable to serve as an outstanding medical ninja was her greatest pain.

This time, Uchiha Yato spoke without joking. "Hemophobia is painful, isn't it?"

"Losing your lover and your brother doesn't feel good either, does it?"

Although Uchiha Yato spoke in the form of questions, his tone was certain.

That instantly turned the furious Tsunade sorrowful.

That was right. This was where her pain came from.

That was why she had left Konoha Village, numbing herself through gambling and drinking to escape reality.

Jiraiya said with some pity for Tsunade, "Yato, stop talking. Saying it like this will only make Tsunade suffer more."

But Uchiha Yato directly asked Jiraiya in return, "What I said is the truth."

"Even if I don't say it, it has already happened."

"I'm saying it because I don't think Tsunade can be defeated so easily."

Uchiha Yato was no longer speaking in his usual teasing manner. Instead, he sounded exceptionally calm and composed.

Tsunade also calmed down, laughing at herself as she said, "I'm not as strong as you make me sound. If it weren't for all this, why would I have left the village?"

Her words were filled with helplessness and a heavy sigh.

Uchiha Yato said, "The old man wants you to return this time because the Sand ninja representatives have come to Konoha Village, hoping to improve their medical ninjutsu."

"I suppose he also hopes you can return and cure your hemophobia at the same time."

Hearing this, Tsunade seemed to have already guessed as much. Her expression did not change much, and she remained cold and indifferent.

Uchiha Yato continued, "I came this time for selfish reasons. I hope you can return to the village."

"I opened an Uchiha Kindergarten to educate Uchiha children."

"I hope Princess Tsunade can become Uchiha Kindergarten's first medical teacher."

Tsunade could not help but laugh when she heard Uchiha Yato's words.

"You didn't listen to a single word I said just now."

"I, Tsunade, don't want to go back. I'm useless now, understand?!"

Uchiha Yato said, "The best medical ninja being unable to cure herself—what a ridiculous thing that would be. How can you not even try?"

As he spoke, Uchiha Yato shifted his gaze and added, "In that case, how about the two of us make a bet?"

Mentioning a bet piqued Tsunade's interest. "How do you want to bet?"

Uchiha Yato said, "Simple. I bet that I can cure what troubles your heart."

"The stake is that you return to Konoha Village with me."

"As for asking you to be a teacher at Uchiha Kindergarten, that's a separate price. What do you think?"

Upon hearing the terms of the bet, not only Tsunade but even Jiraiya thought it was a very good deal.

If she won, Tsunade could cure her hemophobia.

If she lost, Tsunade would not lose much. At most, she would have wasted an opportunity.

But Tsunade asked, "What if you lose? Isn't there any prize?"

Uchiha Yato foolishly said, "Then I'll pay you ten million ryo as the wager. How about it?"

At the mention of money, Tsunade's mood instantly brightened.

She accepted the bet without hesitation, which was exactly the effect Uchiha Yato wanted.

Only then did Tsunade come back to her senses and remember something.

"If I remember correctly, I said earlier that if I agreed to anything you asked, you had to let me punch you ten times."

Uchiha Yato had tried his best to play down that matter, yet Tsunade, that brainless big-chested woman, had actually remembered it.

At that moment, without any warning, the second intense chase began!

Uchiha Yato still maintained that baffling strategy. Faced with Tsunade's storm-like barrage of attacks, he continued to evade without showing the slightest intention of fighting back.

This only made Tsunade's fury burn even hotter. She mercilessly unleashed all her strength, and this pitiful forest in the Land of Waves became the target of her anger.

Second by second, three full hours passed.

As though she did not know exhaustion, Tsunade continued launching fierce attacks against the forest.

Every strike carried incomparable power. Trees were uprooted, and the earth was torn open with deep ravines.

The once lush and vibrant forest had been utterly ruined beneath Tsunade's rampage.

Finally, when Tsunade stopped moving, a horrifying sight lay before her: the once flourishing forest had become a field of ruins.

Great swathes of trees lay toppled across the ground, their branches and leaves shattered; the earth was full of craters and overturned soil, as though it had endured an apocalyptic disaster.

Tsunade, the one responsible for all this, stood amid the ruins, panting heavily, though the anger in her eyes had not completely faded.

And once Tsunade had fully vented her anger, the bet between her and Uchiha Yato was officially established.