Early the next morning~
Sunlight streamed through the window, instantly brightening the room!
Tsunade opened her eyes early out of habit. Seeing Uchiha Lei, whom she disliked, right in front of her, she immediately sat up, folded her arms across her chest, and screamed!
"Aah-"
Her piercing soprano instantly rang through the entire ward, waking everyone nearby like an alarm!
Kushina Uzumaki and Mito Uzumaki, who had been sleeping slumped over on either side of the hospital bed, abruptly sat up!
Seeing that Uchiha Lei merely frowned slightly and had not woken up, Mito Uzumaki immediately reached out with her right hand and covered her granddaughter Tsunade's mouth, holding her left index finger before her own lips in a shushing gesture!
Upon seeing her grandmother, Tsunade immediately turned her head to escape the hand over her mouth and threw herself into her arms. Her fair arms wrapped tightly around her grandmother as she complained softly:
"Grandma... why are we sleeping in the same bed as this brat?
He nearly drained all my chakra last night. I still feel weak!"
Feeling the strength of Tsunade's embrace, Mito Uzumaki did not believe for a moment that her granddaughter was weak. She quietly instructed Kushina Uzumaki:
"Kushina...
Keep an eye on Lei. You don't need to go to school today. I'm taking your big sister Tsunade outside to discuss something!"
"Got it, Grandma Mito."
Kushina Uzumaki immediately nodded to Mito Uzumaki!
With her right arm around Tsunade's peach-shaped bottom, Mito Uzumaki carried her eldest granddaughter out of the room and into the hospital corridor!
In the corridor~
The conversations between patients and doctors abruptly stopped the instant the two came out~
Seeing Tsunade, Dan Katō paid no attention at all to her situation. He walked straight up to her, stopped a meter in front of her, and raised a hand to greet her with a sunny smile!
"Good morning, Lady Tsunade!"
Being carried into the corridor by her grandmother Mito Uzumaki, Tsunade already had a deep blush across her fair cheeks!
Now, seeing Dan Katō before her, her face turned even redder, as though it might bleed. She forced a smile and nodded to him!
"Good morning, Dan Katō!"
Hearing the young man beside them greet her granddaughter, Mito Uzumaki immediately turned and greeted Dan Katō with a smile:
"Hello there!"
Seeing that Lady Mito Uzumaki had actually greeted him, Dan Katō's smile widened further, and he replied enthusiastically:
"Good morning, Lady Mito!
I'm Dan Katō, a student in the same year as Lady Tsunade. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Mito Uzumaki looked Dan Katō over and felt that he was quite a good match for her granddaughter, so she smiled and began to invite him:
"Little Dan..."
Before Mito Uzumaki could finish~
Tsunade immediately jumped from her grandmother's arms to the floor. Her fair hand took her grandmother's wrinkled hand, and she hurried toward her own office across the corridor!
The door slammed shut with a bang~
Tsunade had already pulled her grandmother Mito Uzumaki into her office and immediately locked the door!
Inside the office~
At a glance, there was a two-meter-tall wooden storage cabinet on the left, holding Medical Ninjutsu scrolls, hospital bed records, and various medical books!
Beside the cabinet, to its left, stood a one-meter-tall antique white vase!
On the right was a balcony with two green flowerpots. The pot on the left held white daffodils, while the one on the right held red, thorny roses!
Directly opposite the door stood a red desk. Medical documents, paper, and pens sat on its left side, while a green tea set sat on the right. Behind it was a black office chair!
In front of the desk was a white hospital bed used specifically for examining patients!
Tsunade pulled her grandmother Mito Uzumaki over to sit beside the bed. The blush on her face had almost faded, and her brows drew together slightly. Patting her grandmother's hand with her other hand, she explained softly:
"Grandma...
Dan Katō is just an ordinary classmate of mine. Please don't make things difficult for me, all right?"
A kindly smile appeared on Mito Uzumaki's face as she gently urged:
"Little Tsunade...
You're not that young anymore. Before I pass away, could you let me hold a great-grandson?"
The skin around Tsunade's eyes reddened slightly, and tears misted her eyes. Her fair arms wrapped tightly around her grandmother's lower back as she cried and said softly:
"Grandma...
Don't say things like that... you're not going to pass away!"
Hearing Little Tsunade cry, Mito Uzumaki knew this attempt to urge her to marry had failed again. She raised her right hand to stroke Little Tsunade's back and comforted her softly:
"Don't cry, Little Tsunade...
Lei helped me persuade the Nine-Tails yesterday. I think I can live a few more years!"
"Really?"
Tsunade immediately stopped crying and released her grandmother. Looking incredulous, she began to poke fun at Uchiha Lei:
"That brat... actually has that kind of ability? Then why did he look like he was about to die yesterday?
Could he have deliberately drained my chakra... just to get back at me? What a nasty..."
Before Tsunade could finish~
Mito Uzumaki curled her right hand and struck Tsunade hard on the head with her knuckles!
"Ow-"
Tsunade let out a cry of pain!
Her fair hands immediately flew to her head, and she immediately used the Mystical Palm Technique to heal herself. Tears of pain spilled from the corners of her eyes again. Pouting her rosy lips, she asked aggrievedly:
"Grandma...
Why did you suddenly hit me? I didn't say anything wrong!"
Mito Uzumaki's expression darkened. She immediately stood up from beside the bed, rolled up her sleeves with both hands, and instantly formed hand seals for the Adamantine Sealing Chains!
"No!"
Tsunade still failed to escape the Adamantine Sealing Chains' restraint, and Mito Uzumaki immediately swung the chains!
Following a sharp smack~
"It hurts... Grandma, I was wrong! I won't bad-mouth that brat anymore. Please let me off!"
Tsunade's pleas and admissions of wrongdoing did not win Mito Uzumaki's sympathy, because she could tell Tsunade was not truly repentant!
Grandma Mito was determined to cure her granddaughter of her prejudice against Uchiha Lei this time!
"Lei has a name. His name is Uchiha Lei, not 'that brat'..."
Noticing out of the corner of her eye that her grandmother's expression was very unpleasant, Tsunade immediately pleaded again in a small voice:
"All right, all right... Uchiha Lei. I'll call him by his name from now on. Surely that will do?"
Mito Uzumaki wanted to change her granddaughter's views. How could merely using his name bring the two closer? She immediately rejected it:
"No!
I don't care what you do outside, but at home, you must call him Lei too. Get into the habit of accepting Lei!"
"But..."
Halfway through speaking, Tsunade saw her grandmother raise her right hand again out of the corner of her eye. She trembled uncontrollably and immediately changed her words in a small voice:
"Lei, Lei, Lei... I'll call him Lei!
Surely that will do, Grandma?"
Mito Uzumaki's dark expression gradually faded. She retracted the Adamantine Sealing Chains into her body and warned her sternly:
"Little Tsunade...
Remember what you said today. If I ever hear you bad-mouth Lei again!"
Mito Uzumaki abruptly raised the Adamantine Sealing Chains before her and glanced at Tsunade's backside!
Tsunade shuddered all over in fright at her grandmother. She propped herself up with her fair hands, but the moment her peach-shaped bottom touched the soft mattress, her face contorted in pain and she sucked in a cold breath!
"Hiss..."
Forcing herself to endure the pain, Tsunade squeezed out a smile and clasped her hands together, replying to her grandmother with a smile:
"That little..."
"Hmm?"
Seeing her grandmother shoot her a fierce look, Tsunade immediately adopted a pleasant expression and corrected herself:
"Lei...
I'll treat Lei like my own little brother. I'll never bad-mouth him!"
Hearing "like my little brother," Mito Uzumaki thought of how Tsunade bullied her grandson Nawaki. She stared coldly at Tsunade and warned in an icy voice:
"Never mind treating him like your little brother... Lei can't stand being put through your antics!
You must be good to Lei, gentle and considerate. Get used to being a good big sister ahead of time. Did you hear me clearly?"
"I heard... clearly!"
Tsunade answered her grandmother in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz!
What she received in return was her grandmother's cold stare and the sight of both hands forming hand seals, so she immediately shouted:
"I heard you clearly, Grandma!
I'll definitely be a big sister who treats Lei well!"
"Very good!
Remember to request leave for Kushina, good big sister!"
After giving Tsunade those instructions, Mito Uzumaki's face once again filled with a kindly smile. She walked out the door toward the ward across the corridor!
After secretly watching her grandmother leave, Tsunade closed and locked her office door herself. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief, but she now thoroughly held a grudge against Uchiha Lei!
That damned Uchiha brat...
You got me beaten by Grandma. You'll have it coming from now on!
Before you continue