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In the dim recesses of a cave, a weathered old man with no legs moved on a trolley with surprising agility, his frail body revealing the harsh toll of time and neglect. Despite his own malnourished state, he carefully tended an injured teenager lying on a makeshift bed of leaves and discarded cloth.
The flickering light of a meager candle lighted the cave as he wrapped bandages on the teenager's wounds. With gnarled hands and a gaze that bore the weight of countless years, the old man attended to the young one's wounds, he carefully wrapped the teen's body and observed his fading wounds.
It amazes the old man every time he changes the teen's bandages due to his fast inhumane healing.
He had only changed the bandages three times in the week he had found the teen, and every time he had seen the horrible wounds lessening, to the point there were barely any marks left on his smooth caramel skin, he becomes suprised. But what amazed him the most was the toddler-size hand growing on the teen's right shoulder.
The hand wasn't present when he first found the teen, as a matter of fact, there was none when he found him.
A new arm has grown in this span of a week.
It is one of the reasons the old man is willing to share his hard earned food and medicine on the unconscious teen. Just the mere thought of regaining his legs and leaving this accursed place is enough for him to sell his soul, sharing some resources is nothing in comparison.
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-The Pure Land-
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In the ethereal realm of the afterlife, Ryoichi found himself wandering through timeless landscapes where the boundaries between past, present, and future were blurred.
"Am I dead…?" He muttered as an unknown emotion welled from deep within his soul.
"Sigh~" 'So much for achieving Immortality…' Ryoichi sighed as he observed the ever-expanding grassy land and feeling the warmth of the sunlight peaking through the cloudy blue sky. Ryoichi sighed again as the cool wind ruffled his brown mane.
'Honestly, it's not too bad to spend the rest of my existence here…'
"You're not dead."
Ryoichi who had relaxed his body and lowered his guards in years, heard the sudden call from his back which caused him jump forward and rotate his body 180 degrees to face the speaker.
His eyes widened for a moment in surprise when they landed on the speaker and why wouldn't they when a curvaceous blonde eerily similar to Tsunade was standing parallel to him?
"I am Tsunade, well… a much more mature and sexier version of hers," Tsundae spoke as she traced her curves, causing Ryoichi to subconsciously follow her hand movements.
Ryoichi controlled his eyes and looked back to her smirk adorning face. He opened his mouth to speak, but Tsunade beat him to it.
"I'm not a mind reader, but waking up beside someone for half a century can help one predict that person's thought process."
Ryoichi frowned at those words, not about marrying Tsunade—no he already knew that much from Aina, but at the fact that he was intimate enough for Tsunade to guess his thoughts.
"So I will marry you, huh?" Ryoichi asked putting his suspicious stray thoughts away.
"Yes. And you were- are going to become a loving husband." Tsunade answered and laughed as she saw Ryoichi's poker face. No doubt she could see through his poker face.
"Haha! Why that face? Is it that hard to believe?" Tsunade questioned amidst her laughter.
Ryoichi looked at her carefree laughing as he felt an unknown emotion tugging, he controlled that emotion before answering
"Yes, it is hard to believe" He said curtly before continuing. "I've always approached life with a pragmatic mindset, assessing situations objectively. Emotions can be a liability, don't you think?"
Tsunade smirks at Ryoichi's words. "Interesting perspective. Is that why you haven't tried to revive your mother despite knowing the location of Rinnegan?" Tsunade paused as she looked at Ryoichi's face getting colder. She chuckled at his reaction before continuing.
"But life isn't just about logic, Ryoichi. Emotions add depth to our existence. What's the point of an Immortal life if you can't feel the highs and lows?"
For some reason Ryoichi felt attacked which made him subconsciously defended himself.
"Efficiency matters. Emotions cloud judgment. How do one navigate life's complexities without being burdened by sentimentality? So yes I believe its better to supress them and live life rationally than to effect your every action on them."
"Like when you went on a rampage after your mother's death" Tsuande retorted, making Ryoichi's cold face become even colder.
"Yes…"
Tsunade shot a smirk at Ryoichi's cold face and spoke "Efficiency has its place, Ryoichi, but so does connection. Relationships aren't equations, they're nuanced. Sometimes, a little sentimentality makes life worthwhile, don't you think. Or are you still scared of losing loved ones."
'Somehow I find this version of Tsunade even more annoying.' Ryoichi thought looking at her annoying smirk before he replied.
"Practicality ensures survival. Sentimentality risks vulnerability. Why expose oneself to potential weaknesses? And as for fear? Yes I fear but not of loosing people I know but of death. That's why I chase Immortality so obsesly "
"Vulnerability isn't weakness; it's strength. It allows for genuine connections and shared experiences. Life's not just about survival; it's about living. What use of Immoratl life when all your love ones die and you live miserably for… eternity." Tsunade said with smug face.
'Ahh! First time I'm winning against my know-it-all husband probably… although he has almost a century less experience than me, but winning is winning right… Right?' Thought Tsunade giddily, not knowing this very interaction was the reason behind Ryoichi's pettiness of never letting her younger self win any argument.
"Living, surviving — mere semantics. I'll stick to my calculated approach. Sentimentality is an unnecessary variable." Ryoichi retorted turning away from Tsunade's smug face.
"Sigh~ Ryo…" Tsunade sighed, her smile fading away.
"You have to open your heart… or else you'll become nothing but a hollow fleshy machine. Remember the countless times you thought of a scenario like this… reincarnating in a different world. You are are from completing any of those scenarios — no it will be better to say you haven't even thought about them."
Ryoichi turned back at Tsunade's words as his emotionless eyes flashed with a surprise.
'Reincarnation rule number 1— you don't talk about reincarnation.' Ryoichi mused— no he seriously considered the possibility of why Tsunade knew about his reincarnation. Did his future self fall for her so deeply that he told her everything? This dumb, annoying, gambling, alcoholic of a woman?' Despite his confused thoughts, Ryoichi answered her.
"Well, I wanted a slave harem of beautiful and powerful women worshipping me."
Tsunade's face turned emotionless at his shamless words, especially when she knew he was telling the truth.
"The ones you thought after nutting yourself," Tsunade clarified, her voice becoming colder after every words she uttered while she cracked her knuckles.
Ryoichi for unknown reason shivered as he felt a phatom pain in his gut when he saw Tsunade's action.
"…I thought of becoming OP and enjoying life without being bound by anything like laws, morality or any other societal constraints. I wished to live a life that I would remember at my death bed and not regret anything like my previous one..." Ryoichi said as a contemplating look appeared on his face.
"Sigh~ looking at your face, at least you realise… but it seems our time is drawing near."
Tsunade's word broke Ryoichi out of his contemplating thoughts.
"What do to mean?" He questioned.
"It's time for you to return to your body," Tsunade answered while pointing at his body that was slowly becoming transparent.
"Can't I stay more…? I have so many questions to ask."
"Nope, nor do you need any answers to them." Tsunade spoke as her smug smile returned to her face which Ryoichi didn't minded this time.
"Sigh~ I knew it couldn't be that easy, but anyway at least tell me the location of my future self so I can ask him to send me back." "You won't be able to reach him even if I tell you."
"Huh? What is that?"
"He's in a different world all-together, but if you want to return to your timeline, climb the Heavens Arean Tower, his last lab is on the highest floor."
Tsunade's answer left Ryoichi silent as he comprehended the meaning behind Tsunade's words.
'A different world…?'
Ryoichi opened his mouth to question Tsunade further on the topic, but the moment he did the world turned dark, and when it returned to normal Ryoichi found himself in a dimly lit cave with bandages covering his body.
Ryoichi did a quick scan of the cave before his eyes stopped on the crippled old man making something on a makeshift stove.
He inspected the crippled man as he thought about the unexpected ontological debate he had with Tsunade
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[AN: If you want to read more go to my Patr*on/41_Claws. There are 10+ advance unedited chapters on it…]
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