"I want you to protect Kirito."
For once, Jiraiya's tone carried no humor at all.
Tsunade stared at him in disbelief.
"Protect him?" she scoffed. "You want me to take this brat with me?"
"No. Absolutely not."
"I'm already busy enough taking care of Shizune. And now you want to add another one?"
Shizune, standing to the side, stiffened.
A deep sense of grievance welled up in her chest.
She'd been following Tsunade around for years—handling debts, schedules, medical work—and somehow she'd still been labeled a burden.
"Danzō wants Kirito to be taken into Root."
The moment Jiraiya said that, Tsunade's gaze shifted back to Namikaze Kirito.
This time, it was different.
There was complexity in her eyes.
"…Does the old man agree?" she asked.
"He didn't when I confronted him," Jiraiya replied heavily.
"But because of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki plan and Kirito's own power... he's become a liability inside the village."
"A liability?" Tsunade smiled coldly.
"Isn't the danger coming from so-called 'allies'?"
"What a disgusting bunch of old men."
"Tsunade," Jiraiya said with a tired sigh, "you can't keep avoiding the village forever."
He already knew why she refused to return.
The blood phobia.
The trauma.
People she loved—one after another—dying on the battlefield.
And even if it was only a suspicion, all signs pointed back to Konoha itself.
That was why Tsunade had cut herself off.
That was why Jiraiya felt helpless.
If Tsunade were in the village, things wouldn't have rotted this far.
As the Senju clan's princess, her presence alone carried weight.
With the Third Hokage back in power, if Tsunade returned—
The Fifth Hokage would be hers without question.
"Bring that up again," Tsunade said sharply,
"and I'll make sure you regret it."
Jiraiya could only sigh.
He couldn't understand how the teacher he once revered had allowed the village to become like this.
"…But you mentioned a Kekkei Genkai," Tsunade continued, narrowing her eyes.
"This kid is Minato and Kushina's child. Since when did the Uzumaki clan have a kekkei genkai?"
"Let's talk somewhere quieter," Jiraiya said, lowering his voice as people passed nearby.
They moved to a hot-spring inn not far away.
Private courtyards.
Separate baths.
Complete privacy.
With Tsunade's finances, renting a place long-term was effortless.
…
Inside the courtyard, Jiraiya and Shizune stepped aside.
Only Tsunade and Namikaze Kirito stood facing each other.
"Well then, brat," Tsunade said, crossing her arms.
"Let me see this Kekkei Genkai of yours."
She was genuinely curious.
The Uzumaki clan had never possessed a kekkei genkai.
The Namikaze family were civilians.
Which meant only one thing...
Kirito was a first-generation awakener.
Kirito met her gaze.
His heart burned faintly.
In his previous life, he'd loved both the Naruto and One Piece worlds.
Now he carried the strongest power of the Pirate world...and an enhanced version at that.
He'd wanted to test it for a long time.
Slowly, energy gathered in his right hand.
Hummm…
A low roar echoed.
A pale white ring of light formed around his fist.
Kirito raised his arm, turning sideways, compressing power further and further.
"Air Shock Fist."
His fist swung.
KRAAACK—
The air shattered.
Space rippled violently.
A terrifying shockwave tore forward toward Tsunade.
Jiraiya's eyes widened.
He could see space collapsing.
And more horrifying...
He felt no chakra fluctuation at all.
No hand seals.
Nothing.
"Silent activation…? Instant release…?"
"And this power—why does it make me feel small?!"
Even Jiraiya was stunned.
Tsunade's expression finally changed.
The Senju clan's archives were vast.
Senju Tobirama had been both a genius ninja and a master researcher.
Tsunade had grown up immersed in ninjutsu theory.
Yet this—
She'd never seen anything like it.
Still, the shockwave was real.
She raised her fist and countered with a monstrous blow of her own.
BOOM!
The moment her punch met the shock force, Tsunade's pupils shrank.
Her hands were her livelihood.
Hardened. Trained. Reinforced endlessly.
Yet the impact sent a sharp tearing pain through her arm.
She hastily reinforced her fist with chakra—but even then, the strain remained.
Kirito wasn't surprised.
The gap was enormous.
If this had overwhelmed her, that would've been unbelievable.
Then...
His left hand moved.
Black mist erupted, swallowing his arm entirely.
"Dark Vortex."
A small vortex formed within the darkness.
Gravity surged.
Tsunade was pulled forward.
Not just her body...
Her chakra.
Her blood.
Even her cells felt like they were being dragged away.
But Tsunade was Tsunade.
A Sannin forged through countless battles.
Her instincts reacted instantly.
Seeing Kirito preparing a follow-up strike with his right fist, she snapped forward.
Bam.
She caught his punch.
The dark gravity dispersed.
Silence fell over the courtyard.
No one had expected this.
A three-year-old child—
Forcing Tsunade into a defensive exchange.
Jiraiya raised his thumb slowly.
You've got guts, kid.
Shizune's face burned red.
As Kirito blinked in confusion, Tsunade gritted her teeth.
"…Brat."
"How long do you plan on touching me?"
Kirito froze.
He looked down.
His left hand had shifted slightly.
"…Ah."
Soft.
Very soft.
BOOM!
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