Under the sheer force of Kenya's overbearing "declaration of nationhood" and the physical persuasion of a chest of gold coins...
Tsunade finally let down her guard.
Or perhaps, deep down, she had always longed for someone to drag her out of the mire in such an utterly unreasonable way.
After they agreed on a preliminary plan...
Tsunade went to wash up and change, ready to visit the Land of Waves with Kenya.
Kenya, meanwhile, took Shizune to the restaurant of Tanzaku Town's most luxurious inn for breakfast.
"Young Master Kenya, what would you like to eat?"
Shizune asked somewhat stiffly, menu in hand.
Although she had confirmed that he was Lady Tsunade's nephew, the violent aura surrounding this young man, as though it could swallow everything, still frightened her a little.
Even Tonton huddled obediently in her arms, not daring to oink.
"Order whatever. Pick the most expensive dishes. Don't worry about the money."
Kenya sat sprawled in his chair and waved a hand.
"But make sure the portions are big. I have a pretty large appetite."
"All right."
Shizune nodded and turned to the waiter. "Two premium wagyu set meals, please, and three bowls of tonkotsu ramen, plus..."
"Hold on."
Kenya interrupted Shizune.
He took the menu, glanced at it, then pointed to the most expensive marbled wagyu listed.
He said to the dumbfounded waiter:
"Start me off with a hundred plates of this beef."
"Then ten whole roasted lambs and twenty large lobsters."
"Finally, pack up every rice cracker you have in the restaurant. I'll have them as snacks."
Kenya rattled off his order in one breath, then tossed the menu to the waiter.
"Bring it out quickly. I'm hungry."
The waiter stood frozen, staring at Kenya as though he were a monster.
"S-sir, are you sure you mean a hundred plates of beef, not ten?"
"What, afraid I can't pay?"
Kenya pulled a thick stack of banknotes from his pocket and slapped them onto the table with a smack.
"Keep the change as a tip. Hurry up and bring the food."
The waiter's eyes instantly lit up at the sight of that valuable stack of banknotes.
"Yes, yes, of course! Just a moment, sir! Coming right up!"
The waiter shot off toward the kitchen, moving even faster than a genin.
Sitting across from Kenya, Shizune's mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.
She looked at Kenya and stammered:
"Y-Young Master Kenya, can you... finish everything you ordered?"
"A hundred plates of beef... wouldn't even an elephant be stuffed?"
Kenya grinned.
"That's nothing. Back when I was doing special training on the island, I could eat an entire sea monster in one meal."
That really was no exaggeration.
After merging with the Garp Template, his stomach had become a bottomless pit.
The more he ate, the faster his strength recovered, and the denser his muscles became.
"A s-sea monster?"
Shizune swallowed, feeling her entire worldview being frantically rewritten.
Just what kind of Senju clansman is he?
Soon, waiters filed in with serving carts, delivering a mountain of food to the table.
Wagyu sizzling with fat, whole roasted lambs crisp outside and tender within, and enticing bright-red lobsters...
The rich aroma instantly filled the entire restaurant.
It drew the attention of every diner around them.
"Time to eat!"
Kenya pressed his palms together and casually uttered those words.
Then, under Shizune's horrified gaze...
He turned into a merciless meat grinder.
Using both hands, he grabbed plate after plate of beef and poured them straight into his mouth.
He swallowed with barely any chewing.
"Huff-huff-"
Sweeping everything clean!
That was the only phrase Shizune could think of.
She watched the mountain of food disappear into Kenya's mouth at a visible rate.
One plate, ten plates, fifty plates...
Rather than slowing down, Kenya ate faster and faster.
He even held a roast lamb's leg in one hand and a large lobster in the other, attacking with both hands, his mouth glistening with grease.
"This... this is ridiculous..."
Holding Tonton, Shizune stared dumbly.
She even forgot she had yet to eat breakfast, simply watching Kenya demonstrate his "whale-like gulping" in a daze.
In less than half an hour...
A hundred plates of beef, ten whole roasted lambs, and twenty large lobsters...
Had all been eaten clean by Kenya alone!
Only a small mountain of empty plates and bones remained before him.
"Buuurp-"
Kenya let out a belch that rang through the entire restaurant and leaned comfortably back in his chair.
By now, his belly had swollen like that of a woman nine months pregnant.
It was perfectly round, with bulging veins clearly visible beneath the skin.
"Ah, finally half full."
Kenya rubbed his round belly and sighed in satisfaction.
Half full?!
Shizune nearly fell out of her chair at those words.
After eating all that, he was only half full?!
Yet something even more unbelievable happened.
Just as she thought Kenya might burst from overeating...
A strange churning sound suddenly came from his belly.
"Grrrrumble-"
It sounded as though something were frantically stirring inside.
Then...
Under Shizune's disbelieving gaze...
Kenya's round belly rapidly shrank at a visible rate!
In just ten seconds...
That pregnant-looking belly returned to its original firm, flat state.
Even his eight sharply defined abdominal muscles reappeared, gleaming with a faint dark-gold sheen.
"W-what's going on?!"
Shizune cried out, and even Tonton was so frightened that she hid beneath the table.
She rubbed her eyes, unable to believe what she had seen.
All that food had been completely digested in just ten seconds?!
"Young Master Kenya..."
Blushing, Shizune cautiously leaned closer, studying Kenya's belly with curiosity.
"Did you... use some advanced medical ninjutsu?"
"A secret technique that instantly breaks down food and converts it into chakra?"
As Tsunade's personal apprentice, Shizune was also highly accomplished in medical ninjutsu.
She racked her brains but could think of no ninjutsu capable of such an outrageous effect.
Unless it involved controlling fat through special medicinal pills, like the Akimichi Clan did.
But Kenya clearly had not taken any medicine.
"Medical ninjutsu?"
Kenya picked up a toothpick and chuckled as he picked his teeth.
"Nothing that flashy."
"I just have good digestion."
Just good digestion?!
The corners of Shizune's mouth twitched.
You call that fucking good digestion? He's practically a walking black hole!
She finally understood why this young man who called himself Lady Tsunade's nephew possessed such terrifying monstrous strength that even Lady Tsunade could not match it.
Such an inhuman constitution simply could not be judged by normal ninja standards!
Kenya ignored Shizune's shock.
He grabbed a handful of rice crackers from the bag beside him, freshly packed by the waiter, and went on munching with loud crunches.
Just then...
The restaurant door was pushed open.
Wearing her signature green gambler's coat, Tsunade strode inside.
Compared with her earlier dejection and irritability in the casino...
The Tsunade before them had washed the weariness from her face and combed her hair anew.
She radiated a sharp, confident aura.
Her beautiful eyes even held a vitality and sparkle absent for the past two years.
She walked up to the table, looked at the mountain of empty plates, and curled her lips into a smile.
"Had enough to eat, brat?"
Tsunade swept her hand boldly, a long-absent fighting spirit burning in her eyes.
"Come on, lead the way!"
"Let's see this so-called deserted-island base of yours!"