"What is it? Did you find something?" Tsunade noticed he stopped and assumed he had made a discovery.
Tōshirō's face darkened. "Yes, I suspect that the ones who hired the Mist ninja to target you are likely the pharmaceutical company."
"Really? How can you be so sure?"
"It's simple. If you're taken out, they stand to gain the most."
"Why go to such lengths..."
"There's a saying: 'Robbing someone of their wealth is akin to killing their parents.' Surely, you've heard of it."
"Sigh~" Tsunade let out a sigh tinged with a hint of sadness.
Tōshirō asked, "Tsunade, what do you plan to do next?"
Thinking about the loss of her comrades, Tsunade grew furious. "What else? Of course, I'll go back and investigate this thoroughly!"
"Want me to help?"
"Of course."
"Then remember to pay me."
Tsunade froze, a look of disbelief on her face—this would cost money?
Tōshirō replied without hesitation, "Of course! You don't expect me to work for free, do you? What a joke."
"What does 'work for free' mean?"
"Uh…"
By the time they reached the Land of Commerce, it was already night. Tōshirō found an inn that looked decent enough and decided to stay there.
Coincidentally, there was only one room left. Given that Tsunade was still weakened from the poison and effectively helpless, Aokiji had no choice but to sacrifice his dignity and reluctantly share the room, acting as her bodyguard.
He had no interest in a flat chest, so what mischief could he possibly be planning?
The two of them climbed to the second floor, found their room number, inserted the key, and with a click, opened the door.
The interior was quite nice and well-equipped, except for one basic issue—there was no bed.
Just a simple floor mat. How frugal could they get?
Not only was it just a floor mat, but there was only one.
Where was he supposed to sleep?
While Tōshirō was busy grumbling internally, Tsunade took off her cloak and collapsed onto the mat, letting out a sigh of relief. "Finally, I can get a good night's sleep."
Given her lack of combat strength and to avoid attracting attention from enemy scouts, Tōshirō had her wear a hood to stay incognito.
With only one mat and the presence of an unrelated man, Tsunade's thoughts naturally drifted to that.
Why is there only one mat here?
Am I really going to share this with that fool?
No way~ How would I ever get married after this?
But then again, he did risk his life to save me. How could she let Aokiji sleep without even a blanket? He might catch a cold.
After wrestling with her thoughts, Tsunade finally convinced herself.
There's no choice. It's a way to repay him...
Thinking this, Tsunade's face buried in the bedding turned red like a freshly steamed crab, with steam almost coming off her. "It seems there's only one room left, so sharing is inevitable. B-but let me tell you, if you try anything funny tonight, I'll, I'll..."
She shifted her face slightly and glanced at him.
Huh? Where did he go? Tsunade suddenly noticed that the spot he'd been standing in was now empty; Aokiji had vanished.
In her moment of confusion, she heard a "click" and turned to see Aokiji opening a small compartment and climbing inside.
If she remembered correctly, this small compartment was called a wardrobe.
Tsunade's face was filled with disbelief. "What are you doing?"
Tōshirō answered casually, "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to sleep."
He finished speaking, yawned, and pulled out his own special pillow. He preferred the comfort of his own pillow to sleep.
"Goodnight."
"Did you take the wrong medicine?"
Tōshirō frowned and said irritably, "What are you talking about? I'm being cautious here."
"Cautious?"
"Yeah, think about it. If an enemy suddenly attacks, they would never expect someone hiding in the closet, sleeping there." Tōshirō chuckled twice, pleased with himself, "I'm just too clever."
"I think you're just crazy."
Tōshirō didn't want to respond and closed the sliding door.
"Wait, you can't sleep in there…" Tsunade pushed open the sliding door and hurriedly said. With the special constitution of the Senju clan, her body had already somewhat recovered. Though she couldn't use chakra yet, she could move normally.
"No, I'm sleeping in the wardrobe."
"I said no, so it's no. This affects the image of the Konoha ninja."
"What does this have to do with Konoha's image? That's nonsense."
.....
In the middle of the argument, Tōshirō posed a profound question: "Why do you care so much? If I want to sleep in the wardrobe, how does it concern you? Could it be that you…"
He wasn't a fool; he could see her intentions.
In an instant, black and brown eyes locked, confirming each other's gaze.
Tsunade panicked. At such close proximity, her heartbeat accelerated, thumping loudly. To avoid embarrassment, she shifted her gaze and avoided eye contact. "Me, what?"
Tōshirō narrowed his wise eyes. "Could it be that you're…"
"W-what?"
"Coveting my prime real estate."
Tsunade decided to just go for it, her face flushing deeply. "Yes, yes, I do want to share with you... Ha, are you an idiot?"
Tōshirō, looking as though he'd read her mind, put on an expression of smug realization. "I get it. You're scared of being in danger, so you want to share my refuge, right?"
After maintaining his stoic facade for so long, Tōshirō's logic started to lean in an unusual direction. Coupled with a lifetime of being single, he was a bit clueless in this area and couldn't switch his thinking easily.
"Why are you randomly insulting me again?"
Tsunade exhaled, shook her head, and decided it wasn't worth arguing with this dense man. Despite being smart most of the time, he was completely clueless when it came to this.
Suddenly, Tōshirō said, "Oh right, let me ask you something."
Tsunade blinked. "What is it?"
Tōshirō questioned curiously, "Why is your face so red right now?"
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, but now Tsunade's face turned even redder. She stammered nervously, "I-I have a c-cold."
"A cold?"
A look of surprise crossed Tōshirō's face. The Senju clan could get colds?
"Yes, don't you remember how long I was in the freezing snow? Without being able to use chakra, it's only natural for the cold to enter my body."
Tsunade's nonsensical reasoning somehow convinced Tōshirō. His straightforward response was, "I see. Then you should drink more hot water. Drinking hot water is good for your health."
Tsunade felt a warm sensation in her heart. "Are you concerned about me?"
"No, it's just that if your cold gets worse, I'll have to find someone to treat you, which would waste time, energy, and money."
Tsunade's mouth twitched, and with an annoyed huff, she turned to leave. "I'm going to take a bath."
"Alone?"
"Yeah, is there a problem?"
"Wait, you can't go alone."
Tōshirō quickly climbed out of the wardrobe and grabbed Tsunade's wrist.
Can't go alone?
N-no, no way. Even though you saved my life, I can't share a bath with you!
Tsunade's thoughts spiraled, making her feel lightheaded.
Tōshirō said in his usual straightforward way, "If you take a bath while you're sick, it'll make your cold worse. Then I'll have to take care of you, which is time-consuming and exhausting."
Tsunade: …
"Idiot, you clearly didn't learn enough medical knowledge. Baths are okay for colds with wind-cold symptoms but not for wind-heat colds."
Tōshirō realized his medical ninjutsu training was lacking. Her explanation made sense. "But even so, you still can't go alone. What if an enemy attacks while you're bathing? I won't be able to get to you in time."
"Aren't you being a bit too cautious?"
Tsunade felt that Tōshirō's level of caution was bordering on paranoia. At this time..
Back then, Jiraiya was planning to peek at her while she was bathing. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and caught him before he succeeded, landing him straight in the ICU.
Speaking of which, someone else seemed to have the same habit. Thinking of this, she glanced at a certain "cautious" person. Should she purposely…
Just as this thought came to mind, Tsunade's eyes suddenly widened.
She felt like she must be going crazy to come up with such a strange idea.
(End of Chapter)
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