By the time Tsunade returned, it was very late. Kushina, Nawaki, and Grandma Mito were already asleep. Tsunade rummaged through the fridge and found a slice of cake left for her, with a note that read, "Tsunade, don't forget to eat this."
"That little girl."
Tsunade smiled at the cake and the note, then took the other, larger slice-the one without a note. She burned through enormous amounts of chakra every day, so she had to replenish her energy. Kushina's little tricks wouldn't work on her.
After eating and drinking her fill, Tsunade tidied up a little and went straight to bed.
Early the next morning, Tsunade blearily heard Kushina cry out in the kitchen and hurriedly pretended she was still asleep. Even when Kushina came in and smacked her backside twice, Tsunade kept up a convincing act. A little later, Kushina had to leave to meet her team, so she couldn't linger and headed out.
Only after Kushina had been gone for a while did Tsunade climb out of bed. By the time she came out, Nawaki had already set her breakfast on the table.
"Sis, breakfast is ready."
After saying that, Nawaki silently headed upstairs. Ever since learning that he could no longer be a ninja, he had remained deeply depressed. For a boy whose dream had been cut short just as he was about to realize it, the blow was devastating. Even after more than a year, he had only barely managed to return to a normal life.
"Nawaki!"
Tsunade called him back. When he turned around, she looked at him with determination and said, "I promise you'll become a ninja. Within a year at most!"
At those words, a little life slowly returned to Nawaki's eyes. Seeing the confidence on Tsunade's face rekindled hope in his heart.
Whenever Tsunade had promised him before, her expression had been strained. Now, however, she looked utterly confident, as though she really had found a way.
"Thank you, Sis. But don't push yourself too hard."
"Don't worry. This is easy for me!"
With that, Tsunade picked up a bowl of miso soup and drank it, then hurried upstairs to see Mito Uzumaki. She emerged a little later with a smile, changed her clothes, and left home.
"Tsunade, are you saying he wants to work with you to develop a drug that can improve a person's constitution and heal anything?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi repeated the question with a grave expression. He knew Tsunade had recently been researching regenerative medical ninjutsu, and he worried someone might exploit her concern for her younger brother.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura looked equally skeptical. From Tsunade's description, this drug could even regenerate severed limbs in mere seconds. That was practically comparable to the First Hokage's constitution.
"To be precise, it isn't a drug. It's a serum-a serum that can change how the human body functions."
Tsunade gave the three of them a brief explanation, but only Utatane Koharu understood any of it. The other two remained thoroughly bewildered.
After a moment of silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a mouthful of smoke. "Tsunade, can we trust what this Karn says?"
"Should we have Jonin Shinku Yuhi and someone from the Yamanaka Clan investigate his background?"
Utatane Koharu's suggestion made her intentions obvious. Genjutsu and mind-reading techniques could uncover virtually everything about a person. As long as there were no seals protecting his mind, he would have no secrets before a member of the Yamanaka Clan.
But her suggestion immediately drew a loud objection from Tsunade. "Absolutely not!" She continued, "You'd better abandon that idea. The things he brought out clearly aren't something one person could develop. Even a medical team would need a long time to research them. If you make a move against Karn, you won't get anything. You might even provoke the people behind him, and then..."
Tsunade paused before continuing, "Don't think I don't know what you're planning. You still haven't managed to reverse-engineer the medicines, so now you want to get the formulas out of Karn? Give up on that idea right now. As long as he doesn't threaten Konoha's safety, nobody is laying a hand on him!"
"Watch your tone, Tsunade!"
With her hidden intentions exposed, Utatane Koharu snapped furiously.
"I'm doing this for Konoha. What if he harbors ill intentions toward the village?"
Tsunade gave a dismissive snort. "Ill intentions toward Konoha? Should I ask Grandma Mito to take another look at Karn? In these past two years, he's done practically nothing except make money. If that counts as harboring ill intentions, we might as well arrest and interrogate every merchant who comes to Konoha!"
Tsunade's retort left Utatane Koharu unable to find a suitable response. "You..."
"Enough! Stop arguing!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his voice and quickly put a stop to their quarrel. Then he said to Tsunade, "Tsunade, the village's finances are extremely tight right now. We really can't spare any more research funds."
"I'll find a way to handle that myself. I only came to let you know."
Tsunade frowned slightly as she spoke. Although she had known the old man probably wouldn't allocate any money, being turned down so flatly still irritated her.
"In that case, I hope you'll keep the village informed of your progress with that drug. After all, Danzo also suffered serious injuries during the Second Shinobi World War..."
Danzo had been wounded by the Sand Ninja's puppeteers. Despite every effort to treat him, one eye and half his shoulder had still been damaged, leaving him wrapped in bandages even now.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to contribute nothing while reaping the benefits of a successful experiment. His words made Tsunade laugh in anger before she replied, "I'll do what I can."
The other side would provide the serum and equipment, while her side would provide personnel and funding. Only then could they share the results. Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted the benefits without paying anything. Was her status as one of the Sannin really worth that much?
With that, Tsunade left the Hokage Building. She needed to discuss things with Karn first. If necessary, she would sell some of the Senju Clan's treasured possessions to raise enough money for the experiments.
Karn was still at home waiting for news from Tsunade. If she agreed, he would be the greatest beneficiary once the research succeeded. And if Tsunade took on the research, he could also have her mentor Nonō.
At that thought, Karn headed to the pharmacy next door to ask Jiekang Weilai about Yakushi Nonō's studies.
When he entered the shop, Jiekang Weilai was explaining a medicine to an ordinary villager. Upon seeing Karn, however, Jiekang Weilai respectfully asked, "Boss, what do you nee-"
Before he could finish, Karn pointed toward the villager, signaling for him to attend to the customer first.
Only after the customer had left did Karn approach. "Looks like quite a few people come here to buy medicine."
"Yes. Medicines can be stored, after all, so most households keep some common ones on hand. That man just now has already come here three times."
"You even remember that? He must have bought quite a lot."
Jiekang Weilai shook his head and smiled. "Not really. He's just so conspicuous that he's hard to forget."
Thinking back, Karn recalled that the man had indeed been rather dark-skinned, which was unusual in the village. He didn't dwell on it, though, and instead asked Jiekang Weilai about Yakushi Nonō.
Although Jiekang Weilai had lost a hand, he still retained his knowledge of medical ninjutsu and had frequently taught Yakushi Nonō over the past year.
How about Harry Potter for the next world, then The Boys after that?
Before you continue