Just as Orochimaru was about to step out the door, he paused, looked back at the Third Hokage with a smile, and left without saying a word, quietly closing the door behind him.
"What deal did you make with Danzo? Why was he looking for you?"
Jiraiya, ever the curious one, leaned in, trying to probe for information.
Unfortunately, the only response he got was a cold glare from Orochimaru.
Ever since the war in the Land of Rain had ended, Orochimaru's attitude towards Jiraiya had become increasingly frosty.
Fine!
The coolest and most handsome toad sage won't ask anymore, alright? Who's that sour expression for anyway?
"Boss, give me two bouquets of flowers."
After purchasing the flowers, Takuya made his way to the cemetery, placing them in front of his parents' tombstone. He cleared the surrounding weeds, sat cross-legged in the snow, and quietly paid his respects.
Every year at this time, Takuya would visit his parents' graves alone, offering flowers and sitting in silence, keeping company with those who now rested in peace.
He wasn't like Kakashi, who had the habit of muttering to the gravestones.
If Kakashi didn't have that annoying habit of rambling on, maybe Minato and Kushina's fates wouldn't have ended so tragically.
"I thought I was early, but it looks like you beat me here."
Minato had also arrived at the cemetery, placing his flowers in front of Takuya's mother's tombstone. Like Takuya, he sat down cross-legged, arranging some small snacks in front of the grave.
"Another year is almost gone before we knew it."
"Want a drink?"
Takuya pulled out the hidden stash of alcohol from his sealing scroll.
"..."
Minato stared, dumbfounded, as Takuya pulled out bottles of liquor and various snacks.
"Takuya, we're still young. Isn't it bad to be sneaking drinks like this?"
"But you drank last time."
"That's because last time Nawaki ended up making a drunken fool of himself."
"Exactly. It's just the two of us today. After we finish, we can go visit Nawaki at the hospital and really rub it in."
Takuya grinned, already imagining Nawaki's exaggerated outburst of frustration, and couldn't help but chuckle.
Minato, who had been hesitant, suddenly lit up at the thought. This might actually be a great idea!
"Those jerks!"
"Both of them!"
"They're drinking behind my back while I'm stuck in the hospital! Aaaaargh!"
It was said that Nawaki wailed for the entire afternoon from his hospital bed, much to the dismay of the doctors who feared something was wrong with him.
The medical team had to perform a full-body examination before they were reassured that Nawaki was just extremely upset.
After all, Tsunade treated her brother like a disciple, and if something were to happen to him while he was recovering in the hospital, it would be hard for the doctors to face her.
Takuya's plan was simple. He just wanted to have a few drinks to mark the day, which wasn't a particularly happy one. Who could have guessed that Minato, still so young, would have a rapidly growing tolerance for alcohol?
In the end, Takuya ended up getting tipsy himself, dragging a dazed Minato to the hospital to visit Nawaki before returning home to collapse into bed.
Late at night, Tsunade arrived back in Konoha.
As soon as she returned, the Anbu were quick to report it to the Hokage's office.
"Hokage-sama, Tsunade-sama has returned."
"I see. If she comes to see me, you're dismissed for the night. No need for any of you to stick around and guard me."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The Third Hokage anticipated that if Tsunade came looking for him, things would likely escalate. People tend to say things they regret when they're in a rage.
If the Anbu were still around at that time, it wouldn't be appropriate.
But the Third Hokage was overthinking things.
Although Tsunade was visibly in a bad mood, she didn't storm into the Hokage's office in the middle of the night. Instead, she headed straight to the Konoha hospital to check on Nawaki.
"Tsunade-sama, Nawaki is recovering well, but he was causing a bit of a fuss earlier today," the doctor reported.
"A fuss? What about?"
Hearing that her brother's recovery was going well, Tsunade felt relieved. She yawned and asked casually.
The journey that would normally take two to three days, Tsunade had shortened to just one. She was exhausted from pushing herself so hard to reach Konoha so quickly.
The doctor's expression became somewhat awkward as he explained, "It seems his friends were drinking and didn't include him, so he's been complaining about it all afternoon."
Tsunade, in the middle of stifling another yawn, froze. Her drowsy eyes suddenly shot wide open.
"Drinking? That brat's still thinking about drinking?"
The last time Nawaki got drunk, he made an absolute fool of himself, and Tsunade had wanted to kick him to the curb.
And now, even while bedridden, he was still fixated on drinking!
Unbelievable.
It seems he hasn't learned his lesson.
She made a mental note to add this to her list of things to address with Nawaki once he was back on his feet.
"If he causes trouble over something like this again, just sew his mouth shut. I can always fix it afterward."
"..."
Sew his mouth shut?
The doctor was stunned, speechless.
Meanwhile, Nawaki, asleep in his hospital bed, seemed to be having a nightmare, his body twitching involuntarily.
They're definitely siblings. No one but family could say something like that.
"Nawaki is in your hands. I have some other matters to deal with, but I'll check on him again tomorrow."
"Please rest assured, Tsunade-sama. I'll take good care of him."
"Just keep an eye on him. No need to hover over him constantly—his recovery abilities are quite strong."
Waving her hand dismissively, Tsunade left the hospital. She wasn't particularly worried about Nawaki's health.
After all, he was a direct descendant of the Senju clan. While his recovery abilities weren't as extreme as those of the Uzumaki clan, they were still far beyond the norm.
Right now, Tsunade had more pressing matters—Takuya's situation.
Leaving the hospital, Tsunade made her way to Takuya's house. Too tired to bother asking Kushina for the key, she opted to climb through the window.
"Well, well, here I am, exhausted beyond belief, and look at you—drunk and snoring away."
She opened the door and saw Takuya sound asleep, even drooling a little. Annoyed, she tugged on the blanket a couple of times.
"Wake up, you little brat. You think you're old enough to be drinking like this?"
"???"
Takuya, who had been dreaming about playing board games with the daughter of the God of Dreams, was suddenly woken up. He blinked his eyes blearily at the figure standing over him.
"You're back already?"
"If I hadn't rushed back, were you planning on staging a rebellion or something?" Tsunade shot back.
Already back? Tsunade thought to herself, Most people would take two to three days to complete the journey I just made in one. I pushed myself to the limit, exhausting myself, just to make sure you didn't do anything stupid while I was gone.
Yet, here you are, passed out drunk, taunting Nawaki to the point where he was yelling in the hospital, and now sleeping it off without a care in the world.
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Bonus Chapter at 900 Power Stones
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 290+ at patreon.com/ Emik01. Don't forget to give a power stone for many bonus chapters