Recognition

"Dan~"

Tsunade murmured unconsciously, a depth of tenderness and reluctance appearing on the face of the woman who was usually so carefree.

Time had not carved traces of age upon her, yet it had made the wine called womanhood ever richer and mellower.

A clear tear slid from the corner of her eye, carrying both the joy of reunion and the bitterness of parting, before finally settling into relief.

The deepest darkness before dawn spread through the room. Amid the fragrance of morning dew and tea, Tsunade sank into a deep sleep. Her breathing grew long and steady, the tight furrow between her brows finally easing as her expression brightened, like a goddess fallen into the mortal world.

Shizune held the pig in one arm and tightly covered her mouth with the other, tears faintly glimmering in her eyes.

"Alright, let her sleep."

Neji rose and walked out of the room, arriving beneath the covered corridor. Moonlight fell through the mottled bamboo, casting fragmented shadows across the courtyard. Its clear radiance was like frost, sheets of silver light spread over the green stone tiles.

From the Senju Clan Compound, he looked toward the jade disk hanging above the eaves. Its cold glow spilled across the human world like a giant eye peering down upon mortals.

"Ōtsutsuki Clan... Tenseigan..."

Neji gazed at the moon and fell into thought.

The morning glow flowed over the window lattice like melted honey, passing through the screens left open the night before and gradually brightening the room.

Still asleep, Tsunade unconsciously buried her cheek deeper into the herb-scented pillow. The brows that were usually tightly drawn now relaxed like fresh leaves in Konoha's early spring.

A wandering ray of light happened to climb over the soft hair draped across the tatami, baking the bitter scent of medicinal herbs lingering in her locks into a warm fragrance of pine resin.

When the patch of light swept across her trembling eyelashes, the morning breeze brushed past.

Tsunade instinctively raised a hand to block it.

She stared blankly at the pale blue veins beneath the skin on the back of her hand. The rhythm pulsing there had never been so clear.

"Haah—"

A long-lost yawn, carrying the faint sweetness of sake, trembled through the air. Tsunade's arched back stretched like a phoenix butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

Her loose sleeping robe slipped from her shoulder, revealing a patch of golden light kissed onto her collarbone by the sun. The pearl earrings she had neglected to remove last night had become swaying pendulums of light.

Her curled toes touched the small stool beside the low table, and she suddenly chuckled. "I didn't have that nightmare."

On the pine floorboards, her shadow was slowly shedding its shell—from the outline of armor wrapped in Katsuyu's mucus, it gradually melted into the figure of an ordinary woman draped in morning gauze.

The medicinal brew simmering in the tea kettle rippled, reflecting her reaching hand as she caught at motes of light. Layer upon layer of radiance gathered in her palm, forming a tiny sun.

Shizune sat curled up in a chair with the pig in her arms. Her sleeping breaths burst the snot bubble blowing from the pig's nose as it snored.

Tsunade smiled gently and lightly draped her outer robe over Shizune.

Suddenly, the faint sound of palm strikes splitting the air came from the neighboring courtyard. Tsunade stepped into the yard, tapped off with her toes, and drifted onto the wall, looking toward the moon-white-clad youth moving below.

Neji's white robe had long been soaked half-transparent with sweat. The raised bones of his spine beneath the inner garment rose and fell with his palm strikes like the back of a wandering dragon.

When the eighth Vacuum Palm tore through the air, the dragon-shaped chakra flowing around him suddenly collapsed into a vortex. The force surging from the twelve regular meridians condensed into two dancing pools of dark light in his palms.

"Wandering Dragon: Mountain Breaker!"

The youth's low shout shook fallen leaves from the eaves. The instant his right palm thrust forward, a dragon-shaped blast of force shot from his palm like lightning. Thirty paces away, the rock touched by its claws shattered in an instant, fragments flying everywhere.

"Wandering Dragon: Sea-Covering!"

The ripples raised by his left palm concealed the patterns of a deep-sea whirlpool. As dragon scales formed from chakra sliced through the morning mist, another deep-blue coiling dragon moved through the air over the earth before him. Slow yet swift, it surged forward like an unstoppable tsunami. The instant the tidal wave passed, the green bricks paving the ground were peeled up layer by layer, swept along as dragon scales, and hurled onward until everything before it was smashed apart.

"Dragon Battles in the Wilds!"

His palms flashed past one another, dark yellow light filling them. Every strike of the blazing golden radiance boomed like a great bell; the light continued without end, as though thousands upon thousands of palms bloomed around Neji. A dark dragon also roamed around his body in protection, its roars ringing out in long succession.

Tsunade's expression changed as she stared blankly at Neji's form fighting through the third technique. In a daze, she saw a flash of crimson dark armor.

"Huu~"

Neji came to a stop, smoothing the force throughout his body and exhaling a long breath of turbid air. He looked up at Tsunade. "Morning, Lady Tsunade!"

Tsunade came back to herself and sighed inwardly before leaping down from the wall.

"I've never heard of the Hyuga Clan having such overbearing palm techniques... Did you create them yourself?"

Tsunade asked curiously.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"

"Looks like I underestimated you. You really are no ordinary genius. Not bad—these palm techniques are fierce enough. They suit my taste perfectly, hahaha!"

Compared with yesterday, Tsunade now possessed an extra measure of composure that came from deep within her heart.

"Looks like you've recovered well, Lady Tsunade. My efforts weren't wasted!"

"I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time. Kid, your treatment method is pretty good. Sometimes I really want to crack open your head and see where all these genius ideas of yours come from!"

"Everyone has ideas. I'm merely standing on the shoulders of giants."

"What an arrogant little brat. I acknowledge your treatment. Go on—what do you want from me?"

"I want to leave Konoha!"

"Leave Konoha? Do you know what you're saying, kid? I'll give you one chance to rephrase that!" Tsunade's expression turned somewhat dangerous.

"You misunderstand, Lady Tsunade. Leaving isn't the same as defecting. Aren't you doing the same thing yourself? I have no bargaining chips worth showing the village, so I can only rely on you. It's simple—when you leave the village to travel, take me with you. The world is so vast. I want to see it too."

"You mean you want to stay by my side?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.

"Yes. There are some reasons why I have to leave the village for a while, but it would be dangerous for me to be out there alone. What could be safer than staying beside Princess Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin?"

Neji smiled faintly and continued, "As for the reasons, they're nothing more than those filthy matters. I won't mention them, lest they soil your ears."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully.

"Besides, your treatment cannot be completed overnight. At present, all it can do is let you sleep peacefully. The treatment period will take at least a year. I don't think you want to continue receiving treatment in this place either, do you?"

Neji said with a smile.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and stood with her hands on her hips, scolding him with equal parts anger and amusement. "You sly little brat, scheming against me now, are you? And what if I refuse?"

"You're different from ordinary shinobi, Lady Tsunade. If you didn't want to step forward, then no matter how much effort I put in, it would be useless. But since you have taken this step, with your way of doing things, you surely won't stop until you achieve your goal."

Neji answered with complete confidence.

"Hmph... You damn brat, get lost!"

Tsunade snapped, murderous intent glinting in her phoenix eyes.

Neji smiled faintly, gave her a bow, and turned to leave.

"Stop... Take this."

Tsunade paused, gritted her teeth, and removed the necklace faintly radiating a warm, gentle aura from around her neck before handing it to Neji.

Neji froze, his face full of question marks as he hesitantly raised his hand.

"Take it already. Why are you dawdling? I saw you staring at it for ages. It's yours!"

After putting on a generous act, Tsunade slapped the necklace into Neji's hand. As if afraid she would change her mind, she hurriedly leaped back into the neighboring courtyard.

Neji wordlessly gripped the necklace, still carrying her warmth. "I wasn't looking at the necklace..." he muttered.

"Well, I suppose this is an unexpected gain!"

Neji felt the Primordial Bagua Diagram stir with excitement once more, and his joy was plain to see.