Tsunade gently rubbed Seiryū's head, suppressing the seriousness in her heart, and showed a gentle smile. "Kid, I'll be your Sensei from now on too. I will take good care of you."
If no one kept a close eye on Seiryū, guided him, and prevented him from becoming truly extreme, the consequences could be very serious.
Seiryū was someone she acknowledged, a younger brother she acknowledged.
She wanted to protect Seiryū from harm.
The events of the morning had greatly shaken her, but they also caused Seiryū's position in her heart to change somewhat.
At the same time, she was Seiryū's attending physician and needed to cure his illness.
Tsunade's gentle tone made Seiryū shiver unconsciously. He slapped away Tsunade's small hand, shifted his position, and looked wary. "What kind of bad idea are you cooking up now?"
What's wrong with this bad woman? She's actually showing such a gentle expression?
Something's not right. It's a conspiracy.
Is she trying to swindle his money again?
Must stay vigilant.
Tsunade's delicate eyebrows twitched slightly, but she suppressed her reaction and continued to smile. "What? Am I not qualified? I told you before, I can teach whatever Jiraiya can teach. I'm not inferior to him, so you don't want to become my disciple?"
"Huh?"
Seiryū was stunned and became even more alert. He cautiously asked, "So sudden? Is it free?"
"..."
Don't get angry, this kid is mentally ill, Tsunade reminded herself.
However, the gentle smile on her face was beginning to crack. "Have you ever seen a Sensei charge money to instruct a disciple?"
Seiryū replied without hesitation, "Asuma's family tutor. I heard the fees are quite high. It's a good way to make money."
Tsunade laughed, but it wasn't a gentle smile. It was a furious, grinding laugh. "As expected, I shouldn't treat a brat like you nicely."
Smack She knocked Seiryū on the head. Tsunade stared at him, her tone completely domineering. "Starting today, you are my disciple! I will teach you all my signature skills!"
Seiryū: "..."
What an overbearing woman. He hadn't even agreed yet.
Wait, this bad woman wants to default on her debt. If he became her disciple, could he still demand payment from her?
Damn it, what a deep scheme.
Realizing this, Seiryū's eyes became even more cautious. He waved his hand and righteously refused. "No way. You're definitely trying to default on your debt."
"If you become my Sensei, I won't be able to legitimately ask you to pay me back. That's five hundred thousand Ryo!"
That was close. Luckily, his mind worked fast enough, or he almost missed seeing through the bad woman Tsunade's true intentions.
Tsunade was so angry she laughed. Her teeth ground together, and her tone turned menacing. "Whether you agree or not, you must agree. You have no right to refuse!"
The next day.
Inside a room at Tsunade's house.
Seiryū woke up around nine o'clock.
Having a strong constitution was great. After just one night, the feeling of physical weakness had mostly disappeared.
He might recover faster than expected. He'd probably be full of energy tomorrow.
He wouldn't even need to take Shen Bao.
"I'm hungry. Time to find something to eat."
Feeling a bit hungry, Seiryū didn't linger in bed. He got up to wash and brush his teeth.
Yesterday, he was forced by Tsunade to become her disciple.
Being forced means having no control over oneself.
But Seiryū didn't acknowledge it. He was extremely stubborn, believing that Tsunade wanted to default on her debt, and he wouldn't agree no matter what.
However, Tsunade didn't care whether he agreed or not. She had accepted Seiryū as her disciple regardless.
The current situation was: Seiryū did not consider himself Tsunade's disciple, while Tsunade insisted Seiryū was her disciple.
Schrödinger's disciple?
Anyway, that was the gist of it.
But no matter what.
There was no way that bad woman Tsunade could deny the money she owed him.
He still had to demand payment, and he still had to call her bad woman.
This would not change.
After washing up, Seiryū went to the kitchen.
"Only noodles?"
Opening the refrigerator, Seiryū found there weren't many ingredients left.
Everything had been eaten yesterday, leaving only some noodles.
After thinking for a moment, Seiryū knew what to do. He clapped his hands. "I'm a patient now, so I need to nourish my body. I'll make a medicinal meal. I happen to be craving soldier pill-flavored ramen."
The medicinal meal referred to ramen with soldier pills added.
Speaking of which, Kurenai hadn't made soldier pill-flavored ramen in a long time.
It had been at least half a year, and Seiryū was craving it.
Plus, since he was a patient now, he needed to supplement his health.
So he'd make it himself.
"Let's get started."
Seiryū's cooking skills were good. Even without formal training, they weren't much worse than Kurenai's, who had diligently studied cooking.
However, over time, Seiryū noticed that Kurenai's cooking gradually lost its flair and could no longer produce the same memorable deliciousness that had impressed him.
This made Seiryū a bit disappointed.
He wondered if he could still let Kurenai "invest her skills" in his barbecue restaurant later on.
Currently, Kurenai's cooking probably wouldn't work. It was too ordinary.
A chef who loses their flair is like a novelist who loses their inspiration. They can only fail.
Bang bang bang
Just as he put a few soldier pills into the pot, Seiryū heard a knock at the door and couldn't help but mutter, "This bad woman has pretty good connections, huh? Another visitor?"
Wiping his hands, Seiryū walked to the main door.
Opening the door, he saw a familiar person.
Long white hair, a forehead protector with the kanji for "oil," and red markings beneath his eyes. It was none other than Jiraiya.
After seeing Jiraiya, Seiryū paused. "Huh? Sensei, why are you here?"
When had this unreliable, cheap Sensei returned to Konoha?
"Seiryū?"
Jiraiya was also surprised to see Seiryū open the door. "Why are you at Tsunade's house?"
This was Tsunade's house, right? Why was this kid here?
He knew that Seiryū and Tsunade had a good relationship, though their interactions were very strange.
But for Seiryū to be here first thing in the morning, something felt off.
"I stayed here last night."
"Stayed, stayed here?"
"Yeah."
"Come in, Sensei." Seiryū nodded, inviting Jiraiya inside, and politely asked, "I'm cooking noodles. Would you like a bowl?"
Jiraiya: "..."
Seiryū stayed here last night?
And he was treating this place like his own home?
Strange, extremely strange.
Suppressing the confusion in his heart, Jiraiya did not refuse Seiryū's kindness. "Then make me a bowl too."
Walking into Tsunade's house, Jiraiya finally asked what he had been wondering. "Why did you spend the night at Tsunade's house? Did something happen?"
Seiryū sighed. "That bad woman made me stay here. She's swindling my money under the guise of treating my illness. Ten thousand Ryo a day."
Jiraiya fell silent again.
It wasn't because Tsunade was swindling Seiryū under the pretense of treatment, nor was it the outrageous amount of ten thousand Ryo a day.
It was because he still couldn't get used to Seiryū calling Tsunade bad woman.
A few months ago, when he had just returned to the village, Seiryū's single utterance of "bad woman" had scared him stiff.
He was afraid Tsunade would erupt in anger and beat up the reckless brat.
To his surprise, Tsunade wasn't that violent. She only gave Seiryū a mild tap on the head.
He thought Tsunade had changed her ways.
So he teased her a few times, and ended up with several broken bones.
Since then, he realized that Seiryū held a higher position in Tsunade's heart than he did, despite being her comrade and one of the Sannin.
(To be continued.)