Light at Last

"Kid... kid, was it... was it you... who bullied Shizune?" The blonde woman growled groggily.

"Shizune?" Yizhe pondered the name. It sounded familiar, but he could not recall where he had heard it.

Although the blonde woman's face was flushed red, her whole body reeked of alcohol, and she swayed unsteadily, unable even to speak clearly, her angry appearance was not frightening in the slightest.

Instead, she seemed somewhat more alluring, making Yizhe unable to resist taking a few extra looks.

"Kid... kid, I'm... I'm asking you something! What... what are you staring... at?" She seemed to be getting impatient.

"My lady, you've had too much to drink. Be careful!" the woman in black warned loudly.

"It's... it's fine! Just... just watch me!" the blonde woman replied carelessly.

Before her words had even faded, her body swayed, and she was suddenly standing before Yizhe.

So fast! Yizhe's heart tightened in shock.

Only then did he understand that when he had fought the blonde woman before, she had not used her full strength at all!

A powerful presence rose from the blonde woman's body, pressing heavily upon Yizhe's heart and completely extinguishing his will to fight.

That overwhelming pressure even made him feel as though he could suffocate at any moment.

He watched helplessly as a long, slender leg came chopping down from above his head. The sight was strangely familiar.

Such beautiful legs! Such a beautiful woman! Yizhe praised inwardly.

Bang!

With a dull thud, an overwhelmingly powerful force smashed him straight into the snow.

He felt as though every bone in his body had been shattered. He hurt everywhere, and he did not even have the strength to move a finger.

"Urp—"

After that single strike, the blonde woman let out a drunken burp and slumped to the ground, utterly motionless.

"My lady?" The woman in black walked over softly and asked in a low voice.

But the blonde woman did not react at all. Upon closer inspection, she realized that she had fallen asleep!

"My lady, let's go back to the room and sleep. It's very cold here!" With great effort, she hoisted the blonde woman onto her back and prepared to return to the inn.

"Big Sister Shizune? Don't go!" A hoarse cry came from the snow pit.

"Who's your big sister? Get lost!" Hearing the cry, the woman in black stopped in her tracks, her face full of malice as she rebuked him without hesitation.

"I'm Yizhe! We've met before!" He then slowly recounted the past.

Ever since he had first met the blonde woman, Yizhe had thought she looked familiar. The movement she used to kick him flying had looked even more familiar.

He had felt that he had seen it before, yet he could not remember where.

Until this time, when he heard the blonde woman call the woman in black "Shizune," and then got kicked by her again.

Only then did Yizhe remember that when he had first met her, she had also violently smashed through the bathhouse partition with a kick just like that.

At last, he remembered. The blonde woman was Tsunade, one of Konoha's Three Legendary Ninja!

However, her face looked far younger. She must have been using some sort of disguise, which was why Yizhe had only found her familiar. Coupled with the fact that they had not met for more than two years, he had failed to recognize her at first.

And the woman in black was Shizune, the little girl Yizhe had met in the hospital back then.

He had heard that Tsunade had long since left Konoha with Shizune. He had thought it would be difficult to ever see them again.

Who would have thought that they would meet here again?

Heaven truly favored him!

Just when both his hands were nearly crippled and he desperately needed a renowned doctor, he had encountered Tsunade-hime, known as the "Medical Master."

More importantly, he had met both Tsunade and Shizune before, and they were all Konoha ninja. Seeking treatment should not be too difficult.

What a deep bond of fate!

"Oh—so it's you, brat!" After hearing Yizhe's account, Shizune finally remembered the little fellow she had met at the hospital.

At first, not knowing had been one thing, but once she recognized the person lying in the snow as someone she knew, the chill on her face only deepened!

"Hmph! You bastard!"

She set down Tsunade, hurried over to Yizhe, and viciously kicked him several times, cursing as she did so, "That's for bullying me! That's for bullying me!"

"Ah—"

"Big Sister Shizune..."

"Ah—"

"I didn't..."

"Ah—"

"Lie here for now! We'll talk later!"

"Don't go, Big Sister..."

Still unable to vent her anger, Shizune ignored the boy in the pit and returned to the inn with Tsunade, fuming.

Who knew how much time passed? Yizhe eventually passed out from pain and cold, yet Shizune never returned.

Perhaps two hours, perhaps three. Only then did the inn's doors open again, and a woman in black slowly emerged, pulled Yizhe out of the snow, and carried him into the inn.

"Mmm—" Tsunade, lying on the bed, groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

"Shizune!" She rubbed her still-aching head and called out.

"Ah? My lady, you're awake!" Shizune, lying on the other bed, immediately woke upon hearing her call and answered.

"Is there any water? Bring me some water!"

"Okay!"

Before long, Shizune returned with a cup of water.

Taking the cup from Shizune, Tsunade casually asked, "Who's that kid lying on the floor?"

As she drank, she pointed at the boy lying on the floor.

"Him? You don't remember what happened last night?" Shizune asked in return.

"Ha—" After finishing the water, Tsunade yawned and shook her head. "Last night? I don't remember!"

As she spoke, she walked over.

"Tut, tut, tut!"

"Shizune, you've improved quite a bit lately. You actually beat him into such a state!" Tsunade praised her with an extremely satisfied expression.

With one glance, she could tell that the boy before her was badly injured, with several bones broken.

"My lady..." Shizune blushed and said softly, "I didn't do that. You were the one who beat him up last night!"

"Huh?" Tsunade froze.

"I did this?" She looked confused.

She inspected him carefully and discovered that the boy on the floor was the brat who had followed her outside the gambling house yesterday.

But she clearly remembered only giving him a light lesson at the time. She had not hit him hard, so he should not have been injured this badly!

"My lady, you were drunk last night. You beat him into this state!" Seeing Tsunade's bewildered expression and realizing that she truly could not remember, Shizune finally reminded her softly.

"Oh—now that you mention it, I do remember a little!"

"Then why did you bring him back? There was no need to care about him!" Tsunade waved her hand and said indifferently.

She assumed Yizhe was just an ordinary thug who had chased after her to collect a debt.

"Lady Tsunade, he's no ordinary debt collector!" Shizune covered her mouth and chuckled.

Having spent so long with Tsunade, she naturally understood that Tsunade had mistaken the boy on the floor for someone sent to collect a debt.

"Then who is he?" Tsunade looked at Shizune in confusion.

"He's a Konoha ninja. I met him at Konoha Hospital, and he said he knew you too!" Shizune explained.

"Someone I know?"

"Mmm!" Yizhe, lying on the floor, let out a muffled groan and woke up as well.

"Hiss—" The agonizing pain throughout his body made him bare his teeth.

He had long seen the miserable state Jiraiya had been in after being beaten by Tsunade and knew she was powerful. But only now, after being beaten by Tsunade himself and personally experiencing that power, did he truly understand how terrifying she was!

Tsunade must have held back last night! Otherwise, he would not be alive right now!

"Kid, I hear you're someone I know?" A familiar female voice interrupted Yizhe's thoughts.