Inside the carriage, the rich scent of Dragon Saliva mingled with a faint trace of blood.
Ye Tian (Ye Zhetian) lay comfortably with his head on Tsunade's warm, firm, remarkably supple thighs.
That earlier Dimensional Strike had taken too much out of him—or so he pretended. His already handsome face was now almost translucent with pallor. His eyes were half-closed, his breathing shallow, and he looked ready to exhaust the last of his vitality and undergo Corpse Liberation at any moment.
"Cough... cough, cough."
He coughed violently twice, then rubbed his face with remarkable ease against the warm, life-filled softness surrounding him. He could even feel the rapid tremors beneath Tsunade's taut black underlayer.
Meanwhile, his thoughts raced: Tsk. Admin's System Patch is underhanded, but this battle-damaged Fifth Hokage is the best the whole server has to offer. Look at that shock absorption. Look at those surges of Spiritual Power from her racing heart. That mouthful of tomato juice—fake blood—was worth every drop.
"Ye Tian! Stop talking and focus!"
Tsunade had lost every trace of a Hokage's authority.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, her amber gaze filled with guilt and anxiety unlike anything she had felt before.
Her broad palms, damp with sweat, pressed hard against Ye Tian's shoulders as she tried to pour Chakra into him. But the moment it touched his skin, it vanished without a trace.
"It's no use... Chakra is too... too impure."
Ye Tian weakly raised a hand. His trembling fingertips found Tsunade's smooth wrist with perfect accuracy, and his voice came out heartbreakingly hoarse:
"That strike shattered my... cough... three thousand years of cultivation foundation. My Meridians are leaking now. Your energy will only... make me explode sooner."
"Then what am I supposed to do? Tell me!" Tsunade's voice trembled on the verge of