Tsunade

Tsunade arrived quickly. In just two or three days, Neji sensed a warm, radiant chakra entering the Main House.

"Here already? That was fast. Don't tell me she was busy dodging debts!"

Neji's swiftly moving figure abruptly stopped, sweat pounding onto the ground like rain. Seeing that unusually gentle chakra through his Byakugan, his spirits rose.

"Let me give you a hand. A top-tier medical ninja's cover identity can't be exposed here."

Neji took the towel Xiao Xi handed him and wiped away his sweat. He did not deactivate his Byakugan, instead keeping his gaze fixed on the figure whose chakra brimmed with vitality, as though waiting for something.

When the Byakugan was activated without focusing on a specific person, it was difficult for those being observed to notice it. Besides, the clan's ninjas needed to train every day, so long as he did not stare at the clan grounds' secret areas, the family would not interfere.

Besides, the important places were protected by barriers, and even the Byakugan could not see through them.

The reason Neji dared to do this was because he had discovered that if he used Qi to power the Byakugan, then even within a hundred meters, those he observed would not detect it. It truly was the ultimate spying tool, though Neji did not have that much time to waste on idle pursuits.

Kosuke Hyuga's muffled whimpers ricocheted between the walls, while his fingernails scraped five pale arcs into the edge of the steel bed.

Tsunade tore open his collar, soaked through with cold sweat. When her fingertips pressed against his carotid artery, she felt a strange double-frequency vibration—as though two different hearts were sharing one chest.

"His chakra circulation has accelerated by 400%, yet his organs are completely unharmed?" Medical ninjutsu lit up at Tsunade's fingertips as she examined every acupoint and chakra pathway throughout Kosuke Hyuga's body. The bizarre sight left her utterly incredulous.

"If this could be used in battle, wouldn't ninjutsu casting efficiency increase severalfold?"

Tsunade could not help searching for the cause of the accelerated chakra. Yet even when she controlled her chakra down to the molecular level to investigate, she still found nothing unusual. She only vaguely felt that something within Kosuke's chakra made her own chakra feel an inexplicable affinity.

"It's time. Release!" Neji, who had been monitoring this side all along, sensed Tsunade's chakra surging and feared that she might discover something. He quickly released the Qi sustaining the Soul-Seizing Needle.

The Qi dispersed in fine, intangible strands, and Tsunade instantly noticed that the sense of affinity had suddenly vanished from Kosuke Hyuga's chakra.

"Huh? Why did it disappear..." Unwilling to give up, Tsunade examined him once more, only to finally confirm that the mysterious substance was indeed gone.

"Mm~ That feels so good. It... it doesn't hurt anymore, Grandpa! It doesn't hurt anymore!" Kosuke Hyuga, who had been struggling before, suddenly felt the bone-deep pain slowly recede from his body. An unprecedented sense of ease instantly filled him from head to toe, and he cried out excitedly.

"Good, good! As expected of Princess Tsunade. Your medical ninjutsu has truly reached the pinnacle! Someone, bring the things prepared for Princess Tsunade."

The Great Elder cried out in delight, the burden in his heart finally lifted.

"Huh? Oh! Of course... Hahaha, how could such a minor problem possibly stump me? Hahaha..."

The Great Elder's words jolted Tsunade out of her thoughts. Her reaction was half a beat slow, but once she recovered, she accepted his praise without the slightest blush.

"Then what exactly was wrong with my grandson?"

The Great Elder asked in confusion.

"Well, um... it involves rather profound medical knowledge, so it's not easy to explain in detail. Put simply, there was a conflict between his nervous system and self-awareness, which caused mental disorder. Yes, that was it."

Tsunade blinked and spoke with a certain expression.

"I see. I understand now. Recently, Kosuke had some things he wanted to do but could not accomplish, so he could only keep them bottled up inside. Is that related to this?"

The Great Elder recalled something and asked.

Tsunade's eyes rolled. "Yes, yes, exactly. That's the mental issue I was talking about. If there's something bothering you, be bold and resolve it. Never keep it bottled up inside."

Tsunade said, hands on her hips.

"In that case, this old man thanks Princess Tsunade. This is your consultation fee. Please accept it."

"Hahaha, accept it? I'll absolutely accept it. Shizune, put it away. Farewell."

Tsunade hurriedly left the Hyuga Main Estate with Shizune. Neji tracked Tsunade's chakra until she had gone far away. Only after seeing that Tsunade was not immediately leaving the village did Neji let out a breath and deactivate his Byakugan.

"What a decisive woman. Her bloodline, status, and strength gave her the right to refuse. Yet at the same time, she was also a pitiful person."

Thinking of Tsunade's life, Neji could not help sighing.

In life, every gain came with a loss.

Some people were born without choices, yet refused to accept fate. They struggled, seeking to break free of their cages. Many failed, collapsing unwillingly by the roadside or spending the rest of their lives in numbness.

Some people were born with countless choices, yet chose greed, rage, obsession, or hatred... In the end, they wasted away and vanished like bubbles.

How many could truly transcend the mundane world? Most were nothing more than firewood.

"If one truly cannot break through their present circumstances, choosing to keep walking forward is still a kind of courage."

Neji sighed, changed into a moon-white outfit, and went out to stake out Tsunade.

"Just as expected, she's here." Outside the casino he had previously guessed she would visit, Neji sensed Tsunade's warm chakra.

"She didn't return to the clan grounds, nor did she go see the Hokage. It could only be you, Tsunade." Neji laughed soundlessly, formed hand seals in a secluded spot, and used the Transformation Technique to turn himself into a young man before entering the casino.

The casino's bronze chandelier swayed amid the smoke, scattering mottled golden light across Neji's snow-white clothes.

"VIP Room Three. The house takes all." The scantily clad dealer smiled softly before the roulette table. The Chakra Amplifier on her earlobe was converting the sound of dice into codes imperceptible to ordinary people.

Neji's Byakugan saw through the crystal dice cup and spotted the miniature sealing array embedded within the die. The array released minute traces of Earth Release chakra to alter its center of gravity.

"So Tsunade's constant losses couldn't entirely be blamed on her strange luck."

Neji saw Tsunade shouting loudly at the gambling table while Shizune, holding a pig, spoke anxiously to her and kept tugging at Tsunade's sleeve.

The chips piled before Tsunade had already been reduced by more than half.

"Shizune, you don't understand. I need to spend this money quickly before I can feel at ease. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'll stop after one more round."

As Neji approached Tsunade's table, he happened to hear her reassuring Shizune.

"Stop? Only if you chop off your hands."

Neji rolled his eyes and silently mocked her.

"Let the bullets fly for a while. My time to shine will come later."

Seeing that Tsunade still had enough chips to keep playing, Neji stopped beside the table to watch, with no intention of joining in yet.

Sure enough, before long, more than half of Tsunade's remaining chips disappeared, making her shout in disbelief.

"Close enough. It's time for me to act, or she'll run off soon enough."

Neji took out a stack of money, exchanged it for chips, and sat down in the seat beside Tsunade.