"How many more casinos have we not visited?"
Standing by the roadside in Tanzaku Town, Tsunade yawned.
Truth be told, at first, when she'd come to gamble in Tanzaku Town and inexplicably won a huge sum, she was ready to leave right away. That ominous premonition had haunted her all along, forcing her to take it seriously.
At the time, she'd planned on just a couple more bets before departing. Yet somehow, every gamble she made turned into a sweeping victory that she found hard to believe.
[Could something bad have happened in Konoha?]
That was her initial suspicion. She even went so far as to inquire about the news; indeed, there had been a conflict with Sunagakure and Otogakure, but it had quickly subsided, with the Sand fully surrendering—by all accounts a good outcome.
Because she was digging for information, she'd stayed in Tanzaku Town, continuing to test her luck at gambling. And she just kept on winning. By this point, she was numb to the whole experience of winning.
Shizune, holding Tonton the pig in one arm, flipped through the list of local casinos with her free hand.
"Puu-yu, puu-yu~" Tonton grunted in protest.
"Ah, sorry, sorry." Shizune paused reading, shifted how she held Tonton, and resumed, "We've got two left."
"I see." Tsunade stretched, and as she did so, her chest heaved mightily—causing quite a stir among the onlookers. She ignored their stares. One hand massaged the back of her neck. "Then tomorrow we'll swing by for another bet, and after that let's get out of here."
"We've already stayed too long," she added. "Next…"
Abruptly, she stopped mid-sentence, her gaze falling on a young boy in the distance who was looking around. Her face went rigid.
"Tsunade-sama? Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked, puzzled. "—Eh?!" From across the way, a kid wearing a Konoha forehead protector looked over, eyes lighting up in delight. He broke into a grin and sprinted forward, calling out:
"Big Sis!"
Shizune reflexively loosened her hold on Tonton and shifted into a guarded stance, one hand sliding down her sleeve where hidden weapons waited. She was prepared to shield Tsunade. Then a strong hand pinned her in place.
Tsunade's face was unreadable, but her chest rose and fell with her ragged breathing. One hand was on her subordinate's shoulder, the other hung at her side.
Her ninja instinct told her that the dead had no business being here. But as an older sister, she couldn't reject her little brother who was running right toward her.
Shizune attempted to release a dispel on the perceived illusion but got no result. Her voice was grim:
"Tsunade-sama, that might be some transformation even I can't unravel. Let me—"
"Enough, Shizune," Tsunade interrupted in a shaky voice. She exhaled heavily. "Enough…"
She took two steps forward. As if fulfilling an uncountable number of daydreams, she opened her arms, showing a smile, and drew her younger brother into a hug.
"Welcome home—
Nawaki."
"Sis, I missed you so much…"
"Me too."
Standing behind them, Shizune's hand froze halfway toward the trigger mechanism in her sleeve. Not that she'd wanted to remain still, but two inky-black hands had gripped her arms, one on each side.
She glanced around to see two pitch-black human figures standing there, left and right. And more shadows on the ground were moving all over.
Cold sweat slid down her cheek.
"No need to be nervous." A slightly boyish voice spoke from the side. "I'm Link, a Special Jōnin from Konoha."
At that, the black humanoid forms melted back into the floor, merging with the other shadows.
If each of them is that strong…this brat…
Shizune relaxed her trigger mechanism, staring at the child calling himself a Konoha Special Jōnin. He couldn't be more than about ten years old. Special Jōnin?
She recalled some intel she'd collected before—Konoha's youngest Special Jōnin, known for shadow-based jutsu. Yes, it had to be this kid.
She sighed in relief. Given Tsunade-sama's mental state, if these people had been enemies, things could have gotten messy.
"I suppose you already know about me from your intel, Shizune-senpai," the boy said gently, not standing too close. Indeed, Shizune was a fully-fledged Konoha Jōnin around Kakashi's age, a special medic-nin skilled with poison. She'd be a tough foe to fight. Hence, Link had used his Eight Gates–empowered shadows to stealthily approach and subdue her in an instant. A normal shadow was too slow—he was too slow. Summoning data suggested that on a scale, his speed was around "7," which was near the standard for a Special Jōnin. (Before training with Might Guy, it might have been only "5.") That was why he'd been so helpless against Orochimaru. Speed often determined the winner in Naruto battles.
By unlocking the Second Gate (Gate of Rest), Link finally reached a speed rating of "8," around Shizune's level, enough for a surprise ambush. It was a classic "first strike kill" on someone who didn't know his tricks.
"Drip…drip…"
"Nee-san…" Nawaki, hugging his sister, glanced up, seeing her tears. He looked a bit lost.
Sensing the tension, Link spoke up timely, "How about we find somewhere to have a drink?"
Tsunade wiped her tears and turned to look at this kid, half baffled.
Shizune's expression also turned a bit odd.
"Puyo, puyo~" Tonton, up on the eaves, seemed to be snickering—though it was just a pig.
Try picturing a 140-something centimeter boy, in all seriousness, telling a curvaceous grown beauty:
"Let's go for a drink."
It was impossible to think of that as flirting—just bizarrely comical.
"Cough… I meant, let's go have some tea," Link corrected himself. He was used to speaking like an adult, but well, bridging relationships by "sharing a drink" was normal. Especially with people like Tsunade or Jiraiya, who liked a bit of alcohol or a good time. But it'd come out sounding ridiculous.
"Sure," Tsunade said, giving him a vaguely playful smile. "Then let's go 'have a drink' together."
"Hehe~" Shizune, though well aware of the seriousness of the situation, couldn't help giggling.
Seems we have yet another duo who don't know the meaning of "restraint," Link thought, sensing a premonition of chaos.
…
Tanzaku Town – A tearoom with a private chamber overlooking a small courtyard
"This one…nope. This one…nope…"
Link sat under the eaves, methodically comparing each cat the shadows had caught in Tanzaku Town to the photo in the mission sheet. If a cat didn't match, a shadow promptly carried it back to where they'd found it.
Shadows had practically zero intelligence. They only had his inherited instincts. They couldn't compare a photograph to reality. So they could ensure the captured cat matched the rough size or gender, but Link himself had to do the final check.
"Aha, found it." He lifted a cat named "Shu," telling the shadows to return all the others. Turning, he said, "Sorry, Lady Tsunade—my mission caused a bit of a delay."
"No worries," Tsunade said, seated at the table sipping tea with a calm air.
Nawaki had already returned to the Pure Land; Rashōmon's duration was far less than the Summoning Jutsu's. Link signaled a shadow to watch over the cat, then sat down across from Tsunade and said:
"I have a technique that contacts the Pure Land and summons the dead to the living world. A few days ago, by chance, I summoned Nawaki. We spoke, got to know each other, and once I found out you were in Tanzaku Town, I came here hoping to find you."
He didn't try to stage some "coincidental" meeting—that would be obvious nonsense. A lie must have some truth to be convincing. As for how he got this intel—ninjas rarely pry into each other's sources. Jiraiya wouldn't reveal them either.
"So you just wanted Nawaki to see me?" Tsunade asked.
"No." Link was direct. "I heard you're the greatest medical ninja, so I wanted to learn medical jutsu from you."
Tsunade studied the kid carefully, interest showing in her eyes. "If it's medical ninjutsu you want…I'm not sure I can help. Because—"
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune blurted, cutting Tsunade off.
"It's fine." Tsunade shook her head, surprisingly open. "Long ago, I developed hemophobia. I can't personally guide you very well."
Treating patients inevitably involves seeing blood; in shinobi battles, it's blood everywhere. Tsunade had left the village partly due to the deaths of her loved ones, and partly because even as a doctor, her phobia made her job nearly impossible.
"Still, if you really want to learn, Shizune can help," Tsunade continued.
"Thank you, Lady Tsunade." Link bowed his head in gratitude. Although he couldn't have Tsunade as a teacher just yet, Shizune was still great. In all Konoha, no one was more skilled at medical ninjutsu than her—aside from Tsunade. And Tsunade hadn't strictly refused; maybe time spent with Nawaki would eventually cure her hemophobia. Between his Summoning and Rashōmon, it was only a matter of time before she came around.
"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune's eyes widened. If she was to teach this kid, that implied…
"It's about time I return to the village," Tsunade said softly, as though a wanderer finally heading home.
"But the other day you said we were going to—" Shizune began, then cut herself off at Tsunade's sweet yet threatening smile. So it was about Nawaki, right?
She sighed internally. If Link could truly summon Nawaki, maybe he could also bring her uncle, Dan…? Her thoughts trailed off, and she found herself unexpectedly looking forward to life back in the village.
~~~
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