The first ray of sunshine in the morning shined through the hotel's thin window paper, casting mottled light and shadow in the room. Tsunade hummed softly in her sleep and turned over. The strong smell of alcohol and exhaustion made her brain a little sluggish. She slowly opened her eyes, her green eyes still a little hazy, and the hangover headache was beating in her head like a snare drum.
"Lady Tsunade, are you awake?"
A gentle voice came into his ears, Tsunade turned his head and looked, Shizune was holding a cup of hot tea, and cautiously Earth Flow came over. The girl's eyes seemed to be a little red and swollen, but her face was filled with unconcealable joy.
Tsunade took the tea cup and took a sip. Warmth flowed down her throat, dispelling some of the chill. Her brain gradually cleared up, and the memories of last night came flooding back like a tide - the boy who suddenly appeared, that familiar and reassuring embrace...
"Shizune, I dreamed of Little Chen again..." Tsunade's voice was a little hoarse.
As she spoke, her eyes unconsciously drifted to the corner of the room. There, a tall and tall young man was sitting at the table, with his back to her, as if he was checking some scroll. The familiar black hair and the unique aura of aura made her heart tremble suddenly.
Tsunade blinked hard, trying to dispel the illusion caused by the dream. She even subconsciously reached out her hand to rub her temples, feeling that she was hallucinating before she woke up from the wine.
"Lady Tsunade, it's not a dream, Little Chen he is really here!"
Tsunade suddenly turned his head again and looked at the boy intently. Senju Chen seemed to sense her gaze and turned around slowly.
There was a gentle smile on his face, his eyes were clear and bright, and he looked at her quietly.
"Sister, I'm here to find you." Looking at the stunned Tsunade, Senju Chen said softly.
"Weng..."
At this moment, Tsunade's mind suddenly went blank. Then she jumped out of bed suddenly, without even having time to put on her shoes. Her smooth ankles stepped on the cold wooden floor, but she felt no chill at all.
She just staggered and walked quickly to Senju Chen, reaching for his cheek with her trembling hands.
Real touch, warm skin.
It's true... it's true.
Without any hesitation, Tsunade rushed forward and hugged Senju Chen tightly. The strength seemed to rub him into his own bones and blood.
"Little Chen...Little Chen..."
Senju Chen was staggered by this sudden hug.
"Sister..." Senju Chen slowly raised his hands, hugged Tsunade tenderly, and patted her back gently, his voice was low and full of comfort, "Sister, you have suffered... outside these past few years."
This sentence was like a lead, completely igniting the long-suppressed grievances and longings in Tsunade's heart. She hugged Senju Chen tightly, buried her head on his shoulder, her body twitched uncontrollably, and her tears poured down like a flood that burst a dam, soaking Senju Chen's clothes.
Shizune stood aside, looking at the siblings hugging each other, her eyes moistened again. She knew that Lady Tsunade had been wandering and suffering in her heart in the past few years.
After a long time, Tsunade raised her head from Senju Chen's arms, with red and swollen eyes, crying like a child. She wiped her tears randomly and looked at Senju Chen carefully, for fear that he would disappear again.
"You... you brat, why did you come here without saying a word?" Tsunade's voice had a strong nasal sound, but his tone was full of joy of meeting again.
Senju Chen smiled and led Tsunade to sit down at the table. Shizune also quickly poured a new cup of hot tea for Tsunade.
After Tsunade drank some hot tea to sober up, Senju Chen slowly opened his mouth and told the reasons for his trip and his experience at Konoha, half truthfully and half falsely.
He deliberately avoided those dark political calculations and bloody battlefields, and talked about his experiences in the past few years to Tsunade in an understated way.
Why did he win over Land of Rain, sit in the headquarters, capture Five-Tails Jinchuriki with his teacher and Hanzo of the Salamander, then help Kumogakure capture Four-Tails Jinchūriki, design to bring down Land of Earth, etc. However, in order not to worry them, he always said nice things.
"After that, out of concern for my safety, the village transferred me back to the village. Out of my ability to control the war situation, they even made me the deputy minister of Strategic Command, hahaha."
Shizune listened with horror. She knew that Little Chen spoke calmly, but the danger behind it was by no means as simple as what he said. But the more Tsunade listened, the darker his face became.
"I thought it would be nice to go back to the village and have a good rest." Senju Chen continued.
"Now that the war is over, I, the deputy minister of Strategic Command, have nothing to do, so I came to see you."
He paused and then added, "By the way, sister, the village also gave me the title of 'Konoha Battle Hero', and a bonus of 30 million taels. It was said to be a reward for my Shinobi World battle."
Shizune was also dumbfounded. Although she had briefly chatted with Senju Chen for a while, she didn't expect that Senju Chen would reach this level. Strategic Command, deputy minister, Konoha Battle Hero... This is an honor that even some senior Jonin can't match!
She is sincerely proud and happy for Senju Chen's achievements.
But Tsunade is different.
Although she has been wandering around in the past few years, as a descendant of the Senju Clan, a disciple of Hokage, and a princess consecrated by Land of Fire, she knows the twists and turns of Konoha High Command better than anyone else.
"Strategic Command Vice Minister?!" Tsunade slammed the table, making the teacup jump, "Those old guys! They are obviously jealous of your military exploits and are afraid that you will threaten their power, so they transferred you back to the village and used a false position to oust you!"
Tsunade became more and more angry as she spoke, and her chest heaved violently. She recalled that back then, she chose to leave Konoha because she was disappointed with Konoha High Command. But now, her brother has encountered the same predicament, even more sinister.
"How dare they?! How dare these people treat you like this?!"
Tsunade reached out and gently stroked Senju Chen's hair, his blue eyes filled with distress.
She thought of Senju Chen on the battlefield, single-handedly capturing Five-Tails Jinchuriki alive, assisting Kumogakure in capturing Four-Tails, and planning and leading the war. Iwagakure's complete defeat. These achievements are enough to make any shadow in the ninja village moved. But those old guys at Konoha only think about how to suppress him and how to restrict him.
"No wonder... no wonder you ran out as soon as the war ended..." Tsunade's voice was choked with sobs. She knew that although Senju Chen said it calmly, the real reason for coming out this time was that the senior officials were afraid and excluded him, which made him feel heavy pressure.
"It's all my fault..." Tsunade held Senju Chen's hand tightly and said with self-blame, "If I were still in the village, who would dare to do this to you?! As a sister, I am useless at all. Not only did I fail to protect you, but I also made you suffer with me..."
Then Tsunade looked down at his hands again, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart. He was not even an ordinary medical ninja now, so how could he protect Senju Chen? If he had not left Konoha, if he had not been troubled by hemophobia, if...
"Sister, it's not your fault." Senju Chen held Tsunade's hand, speaking firmly but gently, "I can take care of myself. Besides, wasn't the reason why I came out this time just to find you? Being able to see you is more important than anything else."
He paused, with a relaxed smile on his face, trying to divert Tsunade's attention. "By the way, sister, can I tell you a happy event?"