"Lord Kawakaze, you're here again?" Shōta said as he looked up to see Kawakaze appear in the Hokage's Office using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Ah! Tsunade, Tsunade is still busy with something," Kawakaze stammered, unable to come up with a convincing excuse. He certainly couldn't admit he'd been roped into this again. Resigned, he sat down at the desk with a helpless expression.
"Oh..." Shōta replied, choosing not to press further. He knew Tsunade all too well and doubted she was genuinely busy. Laziness was her hallmark, and Kawakaze had likely been forced into this situation.
Suppressing a smile, Shōta went back to working on the documents.
Time passed quickly, and by the end of the day, Kawakaze returned home looking utterly drained.
"Sister-in-law, where is Tsunade?" Kawakaze asked, glancing around the house when he didn't see her.
"She's probably at the gambling house," Nayuki replied, guessing since Tsunade had left without a word.
"She's having a good time while I'm covering for her," Kawakaze muttered under his breath, frustrated but resigned. You can only spoil your own wife, he thought.
"What did you say?" Nayuki asked, not catching his words.
"Nothing. I'll go find her and bring her back for dinner," Kawakaze said. He sensed the Flying Thunder God Technique mark on Tsunade's body and disappeared in a flash.
"Big, Big, Big!" Tsunade's loud voice greeted Kawakaze before he could take in his surroundings.
He focused his gaze and saw the dice cup being opened—revealing a small number. No surprise, Tsunade had lost again.
"How did I lose again?" Tsunade grumbled, scratching her head in frustration.
"Have you ever won?" Kawakaze said, laughing silently at her misplaced optimism. Tsunade truly had no clear perception of her gambling luck.
"You're just in time. Help me gamble a few times," Tsunade said, finally noticing Kawakaze. She quickly pulled him over and seated him beside her.
"What's the point of playing anymore? Let's go home and eat," Kawakaze said, glancing at the small pile of chips left in front of Tsunade. Despite his words, he placed a bet anyway.
"Just a little longer, just a little longer," Tsunade replied, her focus entirely on the dice cup. She didn't even glance at Kawakaze.
"You're not doing well either."
His luck didn't fare any better, and he lost immediately.
"It's good that I lost. Let's go home," Kawakaze said, standing up after the round. Tsunade had run out of chips by then.
"Okay," Tsunade agreed reluctantly. "I'll come back tomorrow to win it back."
Kawakaze paused. Something didn't sit right with her words.
"Tomorrow?" he asked, stopping in his tracks and eyeing Tsunade suspiciously.
"No, I mean, when I have free time! When I have free time!" Tsunade quickly backtracked, realizing she had accidentally revealed her true intentions.
"Really?" Kawakaze studied her sincere expression, wavering slightly but growing more cautious. He silently resolved not to agree to anything tomorrow.
"Yes! Didn't you say you were going home for dinner? I'm hungry," Tsunade said, smoothly changing the subject and urging Kawakaze to leave.
"Okay, let's go home for dinner," Kawakaze said, dropping the matter for now. He still cared about her and didn't press further.
When the two returned home, everyone else was already there waiting for dinner.
"So? Did you win?" Nayuki asked Tsunade with a smile.
"Forget it. Kawakaze's luck is really bad," Tsunade replied, avoiding any mention of her own luck.
"Haha," Kawakaze chuckled at her shamelessness. Deciding to try his luck, he played a hand himself—only to end up being blamed for the outcome.
"What are you laughing at? Didn't you lose everything?" Tsunade shot him a sharp look, speaking with righteous indignation.
"Fine, fine, it was me," Kawakaze conceded, unwilling to argue further. Women really don't make any sense, he thought to himself.
"Okay, you two, eat," Sakumo interjected. He couldn't bring himself to support Tsunade's gambling habit. If there were wins and losses, he could understand, but losing all the time seemed pointless.
The group sat down for dinner and finished their meal. They chatted for a while before dispersing. The family atmosphere remained as warm and lively as ever.
Tsunade was relatively dependable in most respects. That night, however, she surprised Kawakaze by trying a few new positions—ones he had mentioned before but never expected her to act on. Despite being an old married couple, she still blushed as she took the initiative, willing to take risks to keep things fresh.
Afterward, Kawakaze embraced Tsunade contentedly.
"How do you even come up with things like this?" Tsunade sighed, giving him a look of mock disgust. "Kawakaze, you are a shameless man."
Both of them blushed as they reflected on the experience. It had certainly been a novel one.
"It's not my fault you're just too good-looking," Kawakaze retorted, refusing to admit he'd picked up the idea from love movies he had seen.
"Pfft, so you're blaming me?" Tsunade glared at him, her tone teasing. She herself wasn't the type to be so impulsive.
"It's got nothing to do with you," Kawakaze said, pulling her closer. His hands moved against her body with casual intimacy.
"Enough, go to sleep," Tsunade muttered, pulling the covers up over herself to end the conversation, her cheeks still flushed with embarrassment.
"Okay, go to sleep." Kawakaze tucked the corners of the quilt, and the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.
When it came to trust, Tsunade had a little—but not much.
The next morning, Tsunade used every trick in the book. She acted spoiled, spoiled, spoiled, and spoiled—doing everything she could think of. She completely forgot she had agreed to it just the day before, perfectly demonstrating what it meant to die in denial. No matter how much Kawakaze argued, she stubbornly insisted she had never agreed to anything. Only the sound of her low, rasping breath marked her final resistance.
After the morning exercise, Kawakaze eventually gave in to her tyranny.
"You just wait," Kawakaze said angrily as he dressed and stormed off to the Hokage's Office without even stopping for breakfast.
"No matter how clever you are, you can't escape from me," Tsunade said with pride, making a triumphant fist.
After exercising, Tsunade, feeling a little hot, only covered her stomach with the quilt before rolling over and falling asleep again.
In the days that followed, the process may have varied, but the outcome was always the same. Kawakaze's substitute career continued without pause. No matter how he resisted, Tsunade always found a way to make him go to work obediently. His position in the family was evident to all, earning him the title of "henpecked."
After some time, Kawakaze appeared to accept his fate. One morning, he didn't argue with Tsunade. When the time came, he got up as usual.
"Where are you going?" Tsunade asked, a little surprised. She had been expecting him to put up a fight.
"Don't you know where I'm going?" Kawakaze replied, glancing at her with disdain. She knew full well but asked anyway.
"You're quite self-aware today!" Tsunade snorted, showing no hint of apology.
"Is there really a difference between being self-aware and not?" Kawakaze asked, prompting a hearty laugh from Tsunade.
"Bye, sleep tight," Kawakaze said as he finished packing, tossed a comment her way, and left the house.
By this point, Tsunade had fully embraced her role as a hands-off manager. Every day, she either gambled, went shopping, or occasionally joined Orochimaru in the lab for research. She led a carefree life—if anything, even better than Kawakaze's.