It was June of Konoha Year 51.
The weather was scorching hot.
Yet even the summer heat seemed mild compared with the enthusiasm of two men who treated "youth" as their personal creed.
"Thank you so much, Seiryū!"
Guy, dressed in his familiar green jumpsuit with his bowl cut and thick eyebrows, looked at Seiryū excitedly.
"If it weren't for you, my father would have..."
"There's no need to thank me like that. Aren't we friends?"
Seiryū waved him off.
"Since I had the ability to restore Duy-san's health, there was no reason for me to stand by and do nothing."
"It has been so long since my body felt this light!"
Might Duy clenched his fist, his entire demeanor overflowing with youthful passion.
"I can never repay such kindness! I'll burn my youth for Konoha once again!"
Although his life had been saved, Duy had assumed he would spend the rest of his days bedridden or confined to a wheelchair.
He had never expected to recover completely, as though his injuries had never happened.
And it was all thanks to Seiryū.
Seiryū smiled.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Duy-san."
After awakening Yang Power and mastering Quincy Vollständig, Seiryū had also gained an ability he called Divine Healing.
Using it, he had completely healed Might Duy's severe injuries and paralysis.
He had to admit that Divine Healing was even more ridiculous than Kaidō.
As long as someone was still alive, Seiryū could practically restore them to full health.
It was almost like an ability governed by its own absolute rule.
Tsunade was also present, and even she looked surprised.
"That isn't Medical Ninjutsu anymore."
"I possess Yang Power too, so why can't I do anything like this?"
She had briefly thought that she had finally surpassed Seiryū in at least one area.
Yet only a few days later, his healing abilities had overtaken hers again.
She had received Yang Power from the Sage of Six Paths.
Seiryū had reached it through his own efforts.
"It's just a difference in talent."
Seiryū clicked his tongue.
"I've developed a deeper application of Yang Power through Quincy Vollständig and named it Divine Healing."
"As long as someone isn't dead, I can heal them!"
"I'm terrifyingly strong now."
"Can't you just call it Sage Mode?"
Tsunade looked helpless.
"And why Divine Healing? Why not name it after Kaidō instead? Doesn't Divine Healing sound a little excessive?"
"How is it excessive?"
Seiryū looked completely serious.
"It's practically a divine technique. Divine Healing fits perfectly."
"At this point, if I started calling myself Sage Seiryū, who would object?"
"Can you use it indefinitely?"
"Yes."
Seiryū nodded.
"I developed Yang Power myself. As long as I activate Quincy Vollständig and combine all three forms of Senjutsu Chakra, I can continuously generate more."
"Then can you replenish the Yang Power I consume?"
"Huh?"
Seiryū blinked.
"Why didn't I think of that?"
He immediately became interested.
If he could replenish Tsunade's Yang Power, she would no longer need to worry about conserving it during battle.
With that thought in mind, Seiryū and Tsunade bid farewell to Guy and Duy.
They moved to an isolated clearing.
"Quincy Vollständig, activate!"
As Seiryū entered Vollständig, wings of condensed Chakra spread behind him.
They were shaped like several linked magatama extending outward.
The wings were white, formed from Yang Power produced by combining the three types of Senjutsu Chakra.
Sage Mode.
Yang Power Chakra Mode.
Quincy Vollständig.
It was a completely new state unique to Seiryū.
"This should fundamentally be the same type of power as my Yang Power Chakra Mode."
Tsunade was seeing Seiryū use the transformation for the first time.
She could not help looking curiously at the wings.
"But why do you have wings?"
Seiryū answered solemnly, "Because Vollständig is supposed to have wings."
Tsunade fell silent.
"What do the wings actually do?"
"They look cool."
"What kind of answer is that? Maintaining them still costs Chakra, doesn't it?"
"What do you mean, what's the point of looking cool?"
Seiryū sounded offended.
"Looking cool is important!"
"It would be even better if I had a halo above my head."
"You know what an angel is, right? I basically look like one now."
"An angel?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"Are you copying Konan-senpai? Don't tell me you even have ideas about her."
"Hey, don't talk nonsense."
Seiryū immediately protested.
"Konan-senpai already has someone she cares about. I believe in pure love. I'm not stealing anyone from anybody."
"You'd better not."
Tsunade snorted.
Then she looked at the wings again.
"If they aren't just for decoration, what else do they do? Are you showing off your Chakra control?"
Seiryū moved slightly and floated effortlessly into the air.
He looked unbearably pleased with himself.
"Of course they aren't just decorative."
"They let me completely ignore gravity and fly freely."
"Couldn't you fly before?"
"That was different."
Seiryū explained.
"Before, I had to step on the air. The movement wasn't very graceful."
"Now I can simply spread my wings and soar into the sky beside the sun!"
"That's enough."
Tsunade cut him off.
"Let's see whether you can replenish my Yang Power. I've been practicing with it over the past few days, so I've already consumed a noticeable amount."
"All right. Let's try."
Seiryū nodded.
Unfortunately, the attempt failed.
Although both possessed Yang Power, the two sources were fundamentally different.
Not all Chakra could simply be mixed together.
Only Chakra that shared the same origin or sufficiently similar properties could be fused safely.
It was similar to a father and son forming a Rasengan together, or ocular power from close blood relatives being more compatible.
Tsunade's Yang Power had originated from the Sage of Six Paths.
Seiryū's Yang Power had been produced through the fusion of three different forms of Senjutsu.
Both were Yang Power, but they were neither identical in origin nor sufficiently similar in nature.
They could not simply be merged.
Tsunade was not particularly disappointed.
"If it doesn't work, forget it."
"I'll be more careful about how much I use. What I have should still be enough for several major battles."
"There might still be another way."
Seiryū suddenly remembered something.
"Wait here. I'll go find Sāra."
"The Rōran royal family has a Forbidden Jutsu called Divine Transference that allows the user to share control over the Dragon Vein with someone else."
"Maybe that principle can be adapted."
Seiryū still remembered the technique clearly.
The Rōran Forbidden Jutsu, Divine Transference, allowed one person to grant another access to the Dragon Vein.
This situation was not identical, but the underlying principle might be similar enough.
If Seiryū could analyze the technique and change what was being shared, perhaps he could make it work.
And if he succeeded, the technique could have plenty of other uses.
"Wait."
Tsunade had barely spoken before Seiryū disappeared using the Flying Raijin Jutsu.
The corner of her mouth twitched.
"This man."
She remembered very clearly that Divine Transference required a kiss to activate.
Was Seiryū genuinely only interested in replenishing her Yang Power?
Or was he using this as an excuse to take advantage of her?
Less than a minute later, Seiryū returned.
However, Tsunade immediately noticed that his Chakra reserves had decreased slightly.
He had almost certainly used the Shadow Clone Jutsu and left part of his Chakra elsewhere.
'Damn bastard.'
Tsunade cursed inwardly.
She knew exactly what he had probably done, but did not bother asking.
Instead, she gave him a falsely pleasant smile.
"You moved awfully fast."
"Anyone who didn't know you might think you had some other motive."
"Huh? What other motive?"
Seiryū immediately pretended not to understand.
His expression became perfectly righteous.
"Don't think of me as some kind of womanizer."
"Everything I'm doing is for you. What else could I possibly be after?"
Tsunade crossed her arms and sneered.
"I really like that expression you make when you pretend to be innocent."
Seiryū fell silent.
"Anyway, the method has some potential."
He quickly changed the subject.
"Whether you want to try it is up to you."
"I was clearly working myself to the bone for the sake of peace in the shinobi world, yet I'm still misunderstood."
"That's just my fate, I suppose."
"I never said I was refusing."
Tsunade stepped closer.
"I'm also doing this for Konoha and for the shinobi world."
Seiryū stared at her.
"Wow. You somehow made yourself sound even more righteous than I did."
"I underestimated you."
"Then let's..."
Tsunade never finished.
Seiryū leaned in and kissed her.
Her eyes widened for a moment before she responded.
After a while, they separated.
Tsunade's cheeks were faintly flushed, but her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Don't tell me you mastered the Rōran Forbidden Jutsu in less than a minute."
She had just realized something very important.
This man had absolutely not mastered the technique yet.
Seiryū scratched his head and put on an exaggeratedly annoyed expression.
"Oops."
"Now that you mention it, I forgot I haven't actually practiced it yet."
"How careless of me."
Tsunade sneered.
"Heh."
"You're getting bolder and bolder."
"You kissed me without even having the technique ready?"
"Misunderstanding. Complete misunderstanding."
Seiryū had barely finished speaking before Tsunade grabbed him and kissed him in return.
This time, it was Seiryū who was caught off guard.
When they separated again, Tsunade wiped her lips and raised an eyebrow.
"Now we're even."
"Go research the technique properly."
"You're still nowhere near good enough to act smug in front of me."
Seiryū fell silent.
He had always known Tsunade was fierce.
He had not realized she would refuse to lose even in something like this.
Seiryū spread his hands.
"Fine. I'll study the Forbidden Jutsu first."
"Then I'll go find Kurenai, Rin, Sāra, and Hina so I can practice it properly."
"If I can let other people use some of my Yang Power, at least they'll gain enough strength to protect themselves."
Although Kurenai was compatible with Yin Power, Seiryū had ultimately decided against giving it to her.
The power she could draw from it might not be enough to justify the additional danger it would bring.
Kurenai had been training diligently and had already reached Jonin-level strength.
However, the enemies Seiryū now faced were becoming more absurd one after another.
Ordinary Jonin-level strength was barely relevant.
Even Kage-level strength was only just enough to participate.
Therefore, the Yin Power should naturally go to someone who could make the greatest use of it.
Within Konoha, Fugaku, who had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, were clearly the best candidates.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
Rinnegan.
There was hardly any need to explain which was the better choice.
Meanwhile, Kurenai, Rin, Sāra, Hina, and the others all had close relationships with Seiryū.
Anyone willing to investigate him would quickly learn that.
They could easily become targets.
Naturally, Seiryū wanted them to possess enough strength to protect themselves.
His self-generated Yang Power might provide exactly that.
Of course, there was one major requirement.
Seiryū first had to discover a way to split his Yang Power and let someone else use it.
He had not yet reached the Sage of Six Paths' level and could not casually divide his own Yang Power.
That meant he could only experiment with the Rōran Forbidden Jutsu.
Tsunade fell silent.
This man really knew exactly how to irritate her.
"Their strength isn't enough. If someone targets them..."
"You don't want me doing it?"
Seiryū immediately looked at her suspiciously.
"Are you jealous?"
"Why are you so possessive?"
"And you accused yourself of being interested in younger men before, but I'm an adult now, so that excuse doesn't even work anymore."
"You're the Hokage. You should be more generous!"
Tsunade's eye twitched.
"You really are asking to be beaten, aren't you?"
"Look at you getting worked up again."
Seiryū did not get any further before Tsunade kissed him again.
A moment later, he pulled back.
"You did it again!"
"I..."
Tsunade kissed him again.
When she finally let him go, Seiryū looked toward the sky with a deeply resigned expression.
"If people knew their Hokage behaved like this in private, I wonder what they'd think."
Tsunade waved a hand dismissively.
"I am the Hokage."
"I'll do what I want."
"Can you, my Hokage Assistant, defy the will of the Hokage?"
"You're unbelievable."
Seiryū stared at her.
"Fine. You're tougher than anyone."
"But if you keep this up, they'll unite against you."
"Unite against me?"
Tsunade smiled.
"Who exactly do you think I am?"
"They're already on my side."
"You don't seriously think I sat around doing nothing during the more than two years you were trapped, do you?"
Seiryū stared at her in horror.
"You..."
Tsunade sneered.
"They listen to me now."
"I'm the Fourth Hokage."
"You didn't actually think I had no leverage over you, did you?"
"Times have changed, Seiryū."
Seiryū fell silent.
"They're on my side."
Tsunade stepped closer and straightened Seiryū's clothes.
A beautiful smile appeared on her face, but there was unmistakable authority behind it.
"You're the one standing alone now."
"So if you don't behave, I really don't know what I might do, Seiryū."
Seiryū said nothing.
Just how skilled had this woman become at manipulating people?
How had all of them ended up siding with Tsunade?
Damn it.
What exactly had happened during the more than two years he had been gone?
Had Tsunade already won everyone over?
Would he have to watch her mood from now on?
The thought alone made Seiryū feel miserable.
Strength was useful in a fight.
But overwhelming strength did not seem particularly helpful in situations like this.
Tsunade patted him on the shoulder with the air of someone completely in control.
"This is power."
"This is politics."
"You've already been outmaneuvered."
"My will is their will."
"They listen to me now."
"Very impressive."
Seiryū's forehead twitched.
"As expected of you, troublesome woman."
"I underestimated you."
"You're really using every trick you have against me, aren't you?"
Tsunade reached up and ruffled his short red hair.
She flashed a triumphant grin.
"Did you think I spent all this time as Hokage for nothing?"
"Don't think you can escape me that easily."
"I can still keep you under control."
She leaned close to his ear and lowered her voice.
"It was true before."
"And it will remain true in the future."
"You're never getting away from me. Understand?"
Her breath tickled his ear.
Yet Seiryū somehow felt a chill run down his spine.
"You really know how to play dirty, don't you?"
Why did Tsunade suddenly feel a little yandere?
Her smile certainly carried a faintly dangerous edge.
"How can anything done by the Hokage be called playing dirty?"
Tsunade whispered.
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for disappearing for more than two full years."
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)