Tsunade's curiosity

Seeing that Tsunade was about to lash out, Yūto quickly bit his finger, and the scent of blood immediately spread through the air.

"You!" Tsunade's eyes widened, and her face instantly turned deathly pale.

She staggered back two steps, her legs going weak as that familiar dizziness struck again.

Clinging to the last of her consciousness, she glared at Yūto. "You... underhanded... brat..."

Before she could finish, Tsunade's vision went black, and she pitched forward.

Yūto swiftly caught her and turned to the panicking Tsukimi. "Quick, help me. Let's get Lady Tsunade back to the Medical Tent."

Tsukimi nodded frantically, and the two of them supported Tsunade, one on either side.

Though her consciousness was hazy, Tsunade could still vaguely sense that she was being moved.

Anger and fear filled her heart. That perverted brat is definitely going to do what he did last time...

After returning to the Medical Tent, Yūto carefully laid Tsunade on a bed, his movements gentle.

He stepped back and told Tsukimi, "Go get some bandages. I'll stay here with her."

Though her body remained weak, Tsunade was gradually regaining consciousness.

She kept her eyes tightly shut, her heart racing.

Why isn't he coming closer?

Is he waiting for Tsukimi to leave?

Tsunade silently resolved that if Yūto dared touch her even once, she would give him a Heavenly Foot of Pain, even at the risk of triggering her hemophobia.

Yet Yūto stayed at the foot of the bed, keeping a safe distance.

When Tsukimi returned with the bandages, he even stepped aside of his own accord. "Tsukimi, you look after Lady Tsunade. There's blood on my hands. I'm afraid I'll trigger her again."

Hearing this, Tsunade's eyelashes quivered slightly.

She secretly opened her eyes a crack and saw Yūto bandaging the finger he had bitten. His expression was focused and calm, without a trace of his earlier frivolity.

Strange...

A flicker of puzzlement arose in Tsunade's heart. He clearly had a chance to take advantage of me. Why was he different from last time...?

"I'm going to report what happened tonight to Captain Minato," Yūto told Tsukimi. "Take good care of Lady Tsunade." With that, he turned and left without another glance at Tsunade.

The tent fell quiet, leaving only Tsunade's uneven breathing.

Tsukimi carefully tucked her in and said softly, "Lady Tsunade, get some rest. Yūto is actually a very earnest ninja. He wouldn't deliberately take advantage of anyone."

Tsunade did not respond, but her heart beat faster.

She had always hated frivolous men, but Yūto's behavior today had confused her.

He could clearly have taken advantage of the opportunity, yet he had chosen the most proper way to act.

She suddenly realized that she was actually looking forward to seeing that perverted brat tomorrow, wanting to see what else he would do to surprise her.

The feeling was unfamiliar, yet inexplicably made her heart race.

Early the next morning, Tsunade went to Command Headquarters and deliberately interrupted Shikaku Nara during the mission assignments. "The medical supply escort mission to the Southwestern Border-I'll go myself."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the crowd. "That newly promoted jonin... Yūto. He's coming with me."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow. Tsunade had always hated leading missions, yet today she had specifically asked for someone. But he asked no questions and simply stamped the mission scroll.

Yūto was sparring with Tsukimi when he received the notice. On hearing that he would be going on a mission alone with Tsunade, he nearly dropped his shuriken.

"Does she still hold a grudge over last night?" he muttered.

Tsukimi put away her kunai, hesitating before speaking. "Lady Tsunade might... just want to assess your abilities?"

She puffed out her cheeks. Yūto was leaving again, when she had wanted him to spend a little longer with her.

When they set off, Tsunade walked briskly, her two blond ponytails swinging behind her head.

Yūto followed three paces behind, his mind filled with ways to handle any questions she might ask.

As they passed through the forest, Tsunade suddenly stopped. "After that last battle, why did you do that?"

Yūto's breath caught. He could not tell her the real reason.

If he said he had deliberately provoked her because he wanted Tsunade to beat him to death, he would be treated as mentally ill and sent to Konoha Psychiatric Hospital.

Yūto thought for a moment and offered a strained explanation. "I was exhausted from the battle, so the muscles in my hand were twitching a little..."

"You're lying."

Tsunade turned and closed in, her green eyes fixed on him. "You were never that frivolous again afterward."

She realized that what bothered her was not being taken advantage of, but the contradiction between his attitude then and afterward.

Yūto's back pressed against a tree trunk.

Tsunade was so close that he could smell the faint herbal fragrance in her hair.

He turned his head aside. "What if I said... I thought you looked beautiful when you were angry?"

It was the closest excuse to the truth he could think of.

The tips of Tsunade's ears grew hot. What kind of reason is that!

She grabbed Yūto by the collar, only to notice fine beads of sweat forming on the back of his neck. He was nervous.

The discovery made her heart skip a beat. His apparent ease had all been an act.

"Brat." She released him, her tone softening subtly. "Once this mission is over, come to the casino with me."

It was not an invitation, but an order.

Yūto's eyes widened.

Tsunade had already turned and continued on her way, leaving him with one sentence. "Any money I lose is on you."

The corners of her mouth secretly lifted. Suddenly, she was looking forward to seeing him hopping mad over his losses.

On the first day of the medical supply escort mission, Yūto witnessed the legendary sucker's prowess.

"One more round! I'll definitely win it back this time!"

Tsunade slapped the casino table, making the chips rattle.

She had already lost all their mission funds and was now putting up the medical supplies' deposit as collateral.

Yūto stood in the doorway, holding a sealed case full of antibiotics, and watched Tsunade write her fifth IOU.

The casino owner smiled until his eyes narrowed to slits. "Lady Tsunade, would this subordinate of yours like to play a few rounds too?"

"Him?" Tsunade glanced back at the utterly helpless-looking Yūto. "This brat's salary wouldn't cover even a fraction of the chips."

As she spoke, she suddenly dragged Yūto over to the gambling table. "But we can let him try his luck. Losses are yours, winnings are mine."

"Lady Tsunade, I don't know how to gamble..."

Yūto struggled, but Tsunade forcibly pressed him into place at the gambling table.

When the dice cup was lifted, Tsunade stared at the three sixes in disbelief.

The casino owner wiped away his cold sweat and offered an ingratiating smile. "Congratulations, young man. That's our first triple of the day..."

"Keep going." Tsunade snatched up the dice cup and shoved it into Yūto's hands, her eyes frighteningly bright.

After Yūto rolled triples seven times in a row, the entire casino fell silent.

Tsunade suddenly grabbed his collar and growled, "Didn't you say you couldn't gamble?"

Yūto blinked innocently. "I really can't. But did you forget? I have the Sharingan."

He pointed at his eyes. "Where the dice land looks like a slow-motion replay."

There was something else he did not say: after training under the Elder, his chakra control was extremely powerful.

This was a method of control entirely different from Medical Ninjutsu.

If Medical Ninjutsu was like carving flowers on an eggshell, then Yūto's chakra control was like threading a needle in a raging storm.

Through the resonance between muscle memory and the environment, he turned chakra into extensions of his nerve endings.

His method of control was closer to the closed-loop feedback system of a precision instrument. Every output of chakra came with real-time feedback from his skin's sense of touch, changes in airflow, and even an enemy's body temperature.

This information formed a three-dimensional network within his body, ultimately distilling into absolute control as effortless as moving his own limbs.

Tsunade's expression froze.