Chapter 59: Byakuya: Do You Like This Story?
"Of course it's not some evil scheme."
Byakuya shook his head.
"How could I possibly have any bad intentions?
Even if I wanted you to do something, it would only be for your own good~"
"Then what exactly do you want me to do?"
Naruto was still extremely wary.
"Secret."
Byakuya shook his head again, refusing to say it outright.
Instead he continued, "Do you want to know how I convinced Tsunade or not?"
"I do!"
"Then just agree to my request.
If you don't agree, I'm not telling you anything."
With that, Byakuya promptly ignored Naruto.
Meanwhile, Tsunade and the other two women watched Naruto with great interest.
They were very curious about what choice Naruto would make.
At the same time, they were also curious about what Byakuya planned to have Naruto do in the future.
Naruto fell silent for a few moments.
Then he turned his head toward Tsunade.
At the same time, he forced out an ingratiating smile.
"Granny Tsunade…
What exactly happened this morning?"
"This morning?"
At those words, a smile unconsciously bloomed on Tsunade's face.
This morning she had been caught in a genjutsu.
The moment she woke up, without realizing it, she had been pulled into Byakuya's illusion.
That genjutsu was incredibly realistic.
She saw Orochimaru attacking.
Orochimaru, together with Yakushi Kabuto, came straight to her.
He threatened her, demanding that she heal his injuries.
In exchange,
Orochimaru promised to revive the two people most important to her—Kato Dan and Nawaki—using Edo Tensei.
Hearing such an offer,
Tsunade instantly went silent.
She thought about how Orochimaru was indirectly responsible for the Third's death.
She thought about how, once his injuries were healed, Orochimaru would definitely go on to destroy Konoha.
And Konoha was the place everyone she cherished had fought desperately to protect.
In the end,
Tsunade decided to refuse Orochimaru—and fight him.
She smashed Orochimaru's snake head with one punch.
But then Jiraiya found out about the situation.
So Jiraiya came straight over and gave Tsunade a long lecture.
In the end he even threw down harsh words:
"If you dare do anything that endangers Konoha, then I'll kill you myself."
Tsunade immediately flew into a rage.
She was furious.
Because Jiraiya actually didn't trust her.
Moreover,
she had already made up her mind to refuse Orochimaru and was just about to say it.
And then Jiraiya suddenly drops a line like that.
So…
if she went to refuse Orochimaru now,
would it be her own decision?
Or would it be a decision made only after being persuaded by Jiraiya, a "reformed" choice?
She was certain—
Jiraiya would definitely take credit for "changing her mind"
and attribute it all to himself.
The proud Tsunade hated being misunderstood as someone who only changed her mind because Jiraiya talked her into it.
So,
she decisively drugged both Jiraiya and Kushina.
It served as punishment, and also allowed her to face Orochimaru alone.
However, she miscalculated.
With her hemophobia, she was no match for Orochimaru at all.
She was instantly defeated.
Fortunately Jiraiya arrived in time, otherwise she probably would have been killed by Orochimaru.
But because she had drugged Jiraiya,
his strength couldn't be fully displayed either.
He could only barely hold Orochimaru back.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru's subordinate Yakushi Kabuto was terrifyingly powerful.
He instantly dealt with Kushina and Shizune,
then exploited Tsunade's hemophobia to cripple her.
Only Naruto—this little brat—was like an unkillable cockroach, stubbornly holding on.
Not only did he stubbornly hold on,
he also kept using talk-no-jutsu while desperately protecting her.
In the end he even caught Kabuto's kunai bare-handed, gripping Kabuto's wrist tightly.
Then his shadow clone stepped forward, formed a Rasengan, and took Kabuto out in one blow.
But of course Kabuto wasn't going to just stand there waiting for Naruto to form the Rasengan.
Taking advantage of the moment Naruto used to create it, Kabuto swiftly cut through Naruto's heart with a chakra scalpel.
So when Kabuto was sent flying by the Rasengan,
Naruto also fell into a near-death state because his heart had been severed.
Tsunade watched this scene unfold.
Instantly, memories of Nawaki and Kato Dan dying before her eyes resurfaced.
Without thinking, she rushed to Naruto's side
and began treating him.
But her hands kept trembling uncontrollably.
In the end,
as if it were fate,
the third person who wanted to become Hokage died right in front of her.
Looking at Naruto whose heartbeat was faint and breathing had stopped, Tsunade's heart turned to ashes.
For a moment her mind went completely blank.
She stared dazedly at Naruto, murmuring "Don't… die",
while frantically trying to heal him.
But just when Tsunade was in utter despair,
a special chakra suddenly surged inside Naruto's body.
It instantly swept through him, fiercely stimulating the heart that had just barely been healed.
Immediately, Naruto's breathing started again.
He weakly opened his eyes and reached toward Tsunade's necklace.
"I won… the bet…"
He spoke in an extremely faint voice.
The last sentence was only mouth movements, no sound at all.
"Because Hokage… is my dream?"
Tsunade, expression complicated, voiced the silent words for him.
In that moment,
it felt as though she saw the two people she loved most coming back to life.
Not in the literal sense of revival—
but in the inheritance and revival of their will.
Deeply moved, Tsunade slowly took off her necklace
and placed it around Naruto's neck.
"One last time.
This is the very last time…
I want to place my bet on you…"
Looking at the unconscious Naruto, she seemed to see again the two people who had died right after receiving that necklace as a gift.
Just as Tsunade sank into memories,
Orochimaru suddenly broke free from Jiraiya
and charged toward Naruto to kill him.
A snake emerged from his mouth, and from the snake's maw came the Kusanagi sword, stabbing straight toward Naruto.
Tsunade didn't have time to think.
To protect her dream, to win this final round of the bet,
she rushed in front of Naruto and blocked the strike with her own body.
"Tsunade."
Seeing Tsunade block the sword with her body, Orochimaru immediately gave up on further attacks.
He withdrew the blade and stood up.
"You're the one person I don't want to kill.
But if that child lives,
because of certain issues, he'll become trouble later.
Could you not get in my way?"
"Only this child…
Only this child…
I will definitely protect!"
"Your hemophobia is acting up again.
Why would a Sannin like you risk your life to protect a mere genin brat?"
"…To protect Konoha… to protect the village!"
"To protect Konoha?"
"If you're asking for a reason…
Because this brat is someone who will definitely become Hokage someday, right…?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Orochimaru sneered coldly, repeating the words Tsunade herself had once said.
"Besides, Hokage is trash. No one wants the job except idiots."
"From now on, I'll stake my life too!"
Tsunade thought for a long time before standing up with a resolute expression.
"If you can throw your life away for a mere brat…"
Orochimaru flew into a rage at those words. He spat out the Kusanagi sword again and attacked while roaring,
"Then hurry up and die already!"
One slash sent Tsunade flying, heavily injured—
even her lungs were severed.
Then he slowly walked toward Naruto.
"Next is this brat."
Saying so, he swung the sword once more.
But this time the strike was blocked by Tsunade who had thrown herself in the way again!
Orochimaru was briefly startled, then sneered coldly again.
"You're still going to protect this brat?"
"I already told you, didn't I?
From now on…
I'll stake my life…"
"You damn woman!"
In his fury, Orochimaru kicked Tsunade flying.
"Even if you put on an act, you can't stop your body from shaking.
You can't escape the curse of hemophobia.
Why would someone with a body like yours get hurt for that brat?
Why fight for Konoha?"
But right as Orochimaru looked at Tsunade with some mockery,
Tsunade suddenly stopped trembling!
She stood up fiercely and kicked Orochimaru flying with one blow.
"Because I am…"
As she spoke, Tsunade released the Strength of a Hundred Seal and activated the Byakugou no Jutsu.
"…the Fifth Hokage of Konoha!"
With those words,
in Orochimaru's shocked gaze, she instantly healed all her wounds.
Then, like someone who had activated a cheat,
Tsunade defeated Orochimaru in an instant.
And then…
Her vision blurred.
Once again she was back in her own bedroom.
"This…"
Tsunade froze instinctively.
Then she noticed not far away, a handsome young man she didn't recognize.
He slowly cut open his own finger, letting fresh blood drip "plink… plink…" to the floor.
At the same time, in a very gentle voice, he asked:
"Are you still afraid?
Still anxious?
Do you like this story?"
The golden morning sunlight poured down, falling across the young man's body.
It gave the already handsome youth an added sense of divinity.
At the same time, it filled Tsunade's heart with a trace of tenderness she hadn't felt in a very, very long time.
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