Meeting Tsunade Again

Amamiya Maki was dreaming.

In his dream, a golden hedgehog was chasing him.

As it chased him, the hedgehog kept shouting, "Make the most of your morning!"

Its voice sounded exactly like Minato's.

He ran ten full laps around the training ground in his dream.

When he jolted awake, he found a gleaming golden head pressed against his shoulder.

Minato Namikaze was using his blond hair to give him a brutally physical wake-up call.

"...What's wrong with you?"

"Good, you're awake." Minato's voice drifted down from above his shoulder, gentle and composed, utterly unfazed by the complaint.

"Someone's here to see you."

Amamiya Maki rolled over and buried his entire face in his soft pillow.

Outside the window, the sky was a dull gray-blue, caught in that hazy moment just before dawn.

He had long since stopped bothering to argue with Minato over whether this counted as early morning.

The last argument had ended with Minato dragging him out of bed to spar for the entire morning.

All the while, Minato wore that gentle smile that begged to be punched, his breathing perfectly steady.

Maki slowly sat up, put on his clothes, and glanced toward the living room.

Senju En sat upright at the low table.

Nonō had just brewed her a cup of hot tea and quietly set it before her.

The elderly woman's gray-white bun was immaculately combed, and her Konoha Hospital uniform was clean and neatly pressed, without a single wrinkle.

Nonō knelt properly across from her, her back straight, her posture respectful yet stiff.

Without wasting a word on pleasantries, Senju En gently set down her cup and came straight to the point.

"Lady Tsunade has agreed to see you both."

Nonō's breath visibly caught.

Senju En turned toward her.

A faint trace of regret surfaced in those sharp, precise eyes that had spent years scrutinizing medical records.

"Your talent for medicine is the second finest I have seen in my life."

"The finest belongs to Lady Tsunade herself."

"With my abilities, taking you as my apprentice would only hold you back."

Her tone was even, but her fingertips gently rubbed the rim of her cup.

It was a little habit unique to her whenever she fell into deep thought.

Nonō lowered her head slightly, pale yellow strands slipping from behind her ear to hide half her delicate face.

Senju En then turned her gaze toward Amamiya Maki, who had just emerged from his room.

The regret in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a thoroughly businesslike expression.

"You two will go to the Senju Clan Compound today."

"Mind your words and conduct once you arrive."

"Lady Mito lives there. Be considerate."

Amamiya Maki nodded lightly.

Senju En had not finished her instructions.

"Your medical talent is, admittedly, unremarkable."

"If you wish to continue studying it in depth, you must work twice as hard."

Amamiya Maki nodded in acknowledgment again.

His understanding of "working twice as hard" differed subtly from Senju En's standards.

His approach to hard work had always been simple: find someone powerful whose talent far surpassed his own, stand beside them, and start tormenting them.

Of course, he could never reveal those thoughts to Senju En.

This head nurse, who had held the fort at Konoha Hospital for twenty years, hated two things most.

The first was interns recklessly wasting medical bandages.

The second was students derailing lessons with arguments and creating needless stress.

Of course, that second rule might have been made specifically for him.

So he answered respectfully, his tone proper. "Understood, Teacher En."

Senju En slowly rose, a shallow crease forming at the wrist of her uniform sleeve.

"The hospital is busy. You can go on your own."

At the door, she suddenly stopped and looked back, giving Amamiya Maki a long, searching look.

The meaning of that look could not have been clearer: I still don't trust you, but there's no point repeating myself.

The door closed softly behind her.

The road to the Senju Clan Compound was far quieter and more secluded than the area around the Ninja Academy.

The closer they drew to the heart of the compound, the more still and solemn their surroundings became.

There were none of the overlapping cries and bustle of Commercial Street, none of the sharp cracks of shuriken striking wooden posts at the training ground.

There were only lush treetops reaching over low walls and the faint, scattered chirping of birds.

Anbu patrols were stationed throughout the compound's perimeter.

Their footsteps were almost soundless, but Amamiya Maki clearly sensed at least two gazes linger briefly on them before slowly shifting away.

Nonō walked beside him, gripping the straps of her medical kit so tightly that her knuckles had gone slightly white.

Today, she had arranged her long hair into two neat braids, as clean and practical as ever.

But Amamiya Maki keenly noticed that she was breathing faster than usual.

"Nervous?"

"...A little." Nonō did not lie.

Senju En's earlier words weighed heavily on her heart.

It was not deliberate pressure, but the weight of recognition and expectation.

A veteran medical practitioner had openly declared herself unqualified to teach her, then recommended her to Konoha's finest medical ninja.

That gulf, and that honor, felt like being thrown into a raging waterfall, with nothing to do but struggle to keep her footing.

"Tsunade doesn't eat people," Amamiya Maki reassured her casually, his tone relaxed.

"At worst, she'll throw you out a window. If it comes to that, I'll cushion your fall."

Some of the tension quietly eased from Nonō's shoulders.

The gates of the Senju Clan Compound stood open.

They had not been opened especially for the two of them; they simply remained open year-round.

That was how the Senju Clan approached the world.

They never made a point of flaunting their pedigree. Those with the ability and the right connection could enter naturally, while those with ill intentions or no place there would stop of their own accord.

Standing before the gate, Amamiya Maki looked inside and saw a boy waiting just beyond the threshold.

With short, dark brown hair and a neatly pinned Senju Clan crest at his collar, he waved vigorously at them.

"Over here!"

Nawaki hurried forward to meet them.

He had clearly been waiting for some time; the morning dew had dampened his collar, leaving it slightly limp.

"What brings Lord Nawaki himself out to the gate to wait for me?"

"Don't call me lord!"

He scratched his head, his gaze sincere and direct. "Last time, you said you couldn't get into the Senju Clan Compound."

"So I made a point of waiting for you both at the gate."

"I didn't want you thinking we Senju don't see you as one of us again."

Amamiya Maki followed Nawaki onto the blue stone path within the compound.

On either side stood old, simple residences and towering ancient trees.

Green vines covered the weathered gray walls, their leaves gently curling and swaying in the cool morning breeze.

The architecture here was entirely unlike that of Konoha's other districts.

There was no deliberately manufactured weight of history. Instead, it felt as though time itself had slowed here, running decades behind the world outside.

He suddenly spoke, casually tossing out a question.

"How do the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan get along?"

Nawaki's steps faltered almost imperceptibly.

"Grandfather said the Senju and the Uchiha used to be mortal enemies."

"Then the two clans made peace and joined forces to establish Konohagakure."

"But a lot of the elders in our clan still feel distant from the Uchiha."

"It's not really hatred. They just don't know how to be at ease around them."

He kicked a loose pebble out of a crack between the paving stones, his tone carrying the earnest simplicity of youth.

"My sister's been saying lately that the Uchiha's position in the village is getting more and more delicate."

"There's been a change in clan leadership, frequent friction between the Konoha Military Police Force and the Anbu, and rumors everywhere that the Uchiha are increasingly disregarding the Hokage's orders."

"But I think, whatever clan we belong to, as long as we live in Konoha, we should trust one another and stand together. What do you think, Maki?"

"You could take that straight to the Third's office and use it as an official speech."

Nawaki's ears instantly reddened, and he quickened his pace in embarrassment.

Ahead of them, Nawaki's shoulders tightened unconsciously, his fingers tapping lightly against his leg.

It was his own little habit whenever he was nervous.

After a moment, he finally settled his emotions and explained what was unusual about today.

His sister Tsunade had finished developing her ninjutsu, yet showed no joy whatsoever.

For days, she had continued drinking behind closed doors, miserable and withdrawn, shutting herself away in her room.

Yesterday, another member of their extended clan had arrived at the compound.

Young and red-haired, the newcomer was from the Land of Whirlpools, a younger member of Grandma Mito's clan.

Yet Tsunade had no desire even to meet them. She had already packed her bags and planned to move out of the compound.

In truth, Nawaki had wanted to postpone this meeting.

His sister was in a terrible mood, hardly fit to receive guests.

But when he tentatively asked whether they should cancel the appointment, Tsunade had given him only a curt reply.

"As planned."

"I don't understand."

Nawaki did not turn around, his shoulders slightly taut, his voice full of confusion.

"If she's in such a bad mood, why insist on meeting us?"

Nonō looked down at the gaps between the paving stones and said nothing.

Amamiya Maki offered no answer either.

At that moment, Nonō was probably going over the proper etiquette and wording for meeting Tsunade.

He, on the other hand, instantly pieced together the whole story.

The root of Tsunade's anguish could not have been clearer.

Grandma Mito was nearing the end of her life. Time was merciless, and no one could reverse aging.

The Strength of a Hundred Technique and Creation Rebirth, which she had poured her heart and soul into creating, appeared complete, but in truth addressed only the symptoms, not the cause.

They could not preserve a lifespan or turn back time. That supposed self-healing was merely a double-edged sword that borrowed against one's life.

Even after giving everything she had, she still could not keep the person she wanted to save.

Her insistence on keeping today's appointment was probably an attempt to distract herself from the despair and frustration weighing on her heart through this chance encounter.

A rising medical talent of extraordinary promise, and a boy her little brother praised to the skies.

At least it was far better than staring at liquor bottles all day and drowning in helplessness.

As for where this meeting might lead, even Tsunade herself probably had no clear answer.

A little farther along, a simple old courtyard came into view.

An aged cherry tree stood within, its lush canopy shading more than half the courtyard.

Beneath the veranda, an elderly woman with black hair arranged in two buns sat quietly drinking tea.

She looked up toward the courtyard entrance, her gaze settling precisely on Amamiya Maki and lingering for a moment.

That gaze was entirely different from the Third's scrutiny.

There was no weighing of benefits and drawbacks, no judgment of strengths and shortcomings.

Only gentle acceptance and warmth.

It was as though she had known he would come and had simply been waiting quietly for him to step into the courtyard.

Nawaki hurriedly waved toward the veranda, then lowered his voice to give them careful instructions.

"Grandma Mito hasn't been feeling very lively lately. Try to keep your voices down."

"My sister's usually still in her room at this hour. I'll go get her."

Amamiya Maki stood quietly in the center of the courtyard, the cherry tree's dappled shadows falling across his shoulders.

Beside him, Nonō kept adjusting her breathing, tightening and loosening her grip on the medical kit's straps, unable to hide her nervous unease.

Under the veranda, Mito Uzumaki raised her cup for another small sip and gave him a faint smile.

It was barely a smile, only the slightest upward curve at the corners of her mouth.

Yet Amamiya Maki clearly sensed an exceedingly faint ripple of chakra, warm and pure.

It was as though an invisible thread extended from her, gently circled him once, then quietly withdrew.

There was no hostility, no probing.

She was merely confirming his presence.

The Shinobi World's foremost sealing master, the First Nine-Tails Jinchuriki-Mito Uzumaki.

He stilled his thoughts, withdrew his gaze, and stood quietly waiting.

Tsunade's room was at the very end of the corridor, its door tightly shut.

After days of sleeplessness and heavy drinking, dark circles shadowed her eyes, and she was exhausted in body and mind.