Chapter 23: Bond Shredder

Chapter 23: Bond Shredder

"You won?! YOU?" Sarutobi looked at all three of his disciples with the wrinkles near the corner of his eyes stretching somewhat as his widened gaze trailed Tsunade's irritated visage.

"Yes, me! I still can't understand why you all would even enter into a bet with me knowing that my students would wreck yours!" She always bragged so she thought if the two are still willing to bet then it must be because they have some form of secret... but no. Her students just shot the remaining six out of the park!

"Well..." Hiruzen muttered, not knowing how to put it but everyone could just trust their resident researcher to be as deliberate while as mocking as ever, "Tsunade, we did bet but not against your students. It was your horrible luck we were counting on. In just these two months, you have lost over 3,000,000 Ryo in gambling... we expected your bad luck to just screw with your team somehow. Apparently, skill does trump over luck, whether good or bad."

"Bunch of bastards!" Tsunade hissed as Jiraiya winced, his ribs aching and the woman stared at the Third Hokage, "But you will keep your promise, right, Sensei? I would feel horrible if something happened to the stash you asked Jiraiya for safety."

Realizing which stash she was talking about, Hiruzen's eyes widened while Orochimaru chuckled with his eyes narrowed and Jiraiya gulped.

"Of course... your team, as an assault force, covers all the basics for being promoted to a chunin. You still have ten months before the end of the year. Complete 20 C-ranked missions without any problems and your team will be promoted quick enough."

"And what if the mission rank turned out to be faulty?" Tsunade inquired so that there aren't any loopholes.

"You can choose to give it up and it will be considered complete for our bargain. Or, you can choose to continue but it will still be counted as 1 C-rank mission amongst ourselves."

"Hmm," she nodded, "Alright, it's you two's treat," she looked at the losers and Orochimaru shrugged while Jiraiya grinned, "You got it, it's a date!"

Ignoring to even comment on it, she left while Orochimaru followed but stopped when he was Jiraiya still in his position.

"I'll meet you there. I have something to report to Sensei," Jiraiya smiled as the man left with a small stare.

"So?" Hiruzen's expression grew somber while Jiraiya hummed thoughtfully, "Sensei... you must know that my information network is still young. It needs more people to work and integrate into... I did find quite a great detail but..."

Hiruzen grumbled as he saw his disciple's shameless expression and scoffed, "Fine, fine. You can build another redlight district but you will only get 400,000 Ryo as initial capital."

"More than enough," the man chortled and spoke with a huge grin, "And I did find something... but it's a tad, too serious."

His smile soon receded, "Uzushiogakure controls Land of Whirpool and has many, many business ventures that allow them to peacefully invest themselves in seals. Even their teams only take up a mission if they feel like having a vacation. But... a few merchants who are now no longer in the Land of Whirpool purchased a large number of seals of various kinds across the entire island at once. By the time Uzushiogakure realized what was happening, they were nowhere to be found."

"My sources suggest that two teams from Uzushiogakure left to investigate this but never returned. It is unlike a seal master to get captured or the Uzumaki skills would have been long revealed. Most likely speculation is that these shinobi used some triggering seals and tried to take their assaulters with them. With that being said, the merchants of Kirigakure are extremely interested in business ideas within the Land of Whirlpool," Jiraiya said meaningfully, "But others have yet to make a move. Maybe we're just being paranoid?"

Hiruzen frowned, "Maybe... but keep this knowledge to yourself. Not even Tsunade and Orochimaru need to be informed about this."

"But"

"That's enough of it," Hiruzen looked up and stated sharply, "Go and relax. It's rarer than a war Tsunade to win a gamble."

Jiraiya frowned and left reluctantly.

After a few minutes... Hiruzen called for another shinobi and soon, a blue-haired man with his long hair simply falling on his back walked into the office and knelt, "Lord Third!"

"Dan... try your mission again. Tsunade is relaxing with Orochimaru and Jiraiya in the usual spot."

" Lord Third... my identity is already"

"Then be honest. This could be your last mission of this kind so make it count," Hiruzen smiled and Dan blinked before nodding and flickering away.

"Huff... What did Tsunade change in her diet? Winning gambles and making stable political moves for her clan..." He shook his head with a sigh.

---

"Ah, Cinnamon, it feels that we haven't met in such a long time... I missed you, my dear friend," Kai smiled as he fed the unsuspecting koi fish in their clan compound's courtyard pond. He kept his hand in the water as Cinnamon the Koi was slowly reaching out and about to eat a treat from his hand when

"Kai-chan! Let's go!" A loud, boisterous tomato came crashing into him while the Koi fish scurried away fearfully as Kai's lipa parted in bewilderment. So close... yet so far. His heart could barely take it!

"Just ugh!" Kai groaned and pulled Kushina away, "You're all bones, Kushina! At least grow up a bit!"

"Shut it!" sporting a red redder than the red of her red hair, Kushina hissed, "Come on, Mikoto said that she will give us a treat for winning at her clan compound's ramen place. Don't get me wrong, I like Ichiraku Ramen but Teuchi-san still couldn't get his hands on that Gruff Boar and that shop in Mikoto's compound just has the best flavor"

Dan looked at her teammates and smiled politely, "May I please speak with her alone?"

"Over my dead body!" Jiraiya growled as Orochimaru chortled, "You heard him, over his dead body."

"Look dude, you had a shot and you blew it. Did Sensei put you up on it again? Honestly, he likes to brag that his wife left your kind after she had him but damnit, not everyone likes that!" Tsunade grumbled, "If you wanna drink, you can join but nothing else."

"I would be honored," Dan smiled but Orochimaru noticed a twinkle that Jiraiya and Tsunade would fail to see. Oh, the kind of twinkle Jiraiya had the night he almost lost his toad nuts forever. The twinkle of reckless planning.

'Oh, boy. This night is unfolding even better than I could have expected, fufufu.'

Dan entered the fray but it was clear to everyone that he had the social skills needed to ease into the situation and that made him earn Jiraiya's begrudging respect yet they didn't stop drinking. For all their bodies were better and more resistant than any civilian's imagination, special concoctions still left them in a state of high unless they used chakra to rectify the situation. But why wouldn't they want to relax?

But Orochimaru was waiting and he hoped that the reckless seed would bore a bloody fruit in front of his eyes and it did.

"Tsunade," Holding Tsunade's hand as Jiraiya stiffened, Dan spoke with an ostentatiously sincere expression and exhaled a sigh full of regret, "It was true that the Hokage set us up but that life is behind me now. I swear. The moments I had with you... I... felt lost without you. Please don't hate me when I"

Dan's gaze flickered as he leaned forward with his lips slightly puckered out and his eyes closed. A mistake, Orochimaru smirked and held the table as they were giving the treat, and damn he was already short on research funds, meanwhile, Dan didn't see the punch coming as Tsunade's quicker reaction showed how long ago she had cleared the alcohol from her system. The punch broke his nose with an audible crunch before Dan's body tore through the partition of their private table and blasted out of the restaurant's wall.

"Orochimaru, contact the hospital..." Tsunade walked out as others gasped in surprise. Oh, she would physically heal Dan but not his mental trauma that Jiraiya got healed that time, too, fortunately. Others around Tsunade are definitely a beast in their own rights but should she get in one serious punch... that's enough.

---

"Nine ribs, all organs ruptured, broken skull, castration alongside broken legs. Even for you, Tsunade, this is..." Hiruzen sighed at the blonde woman standing in front of him when the other person besides the duo growled, "This is an atrocity! What gave you the right to mentally incapacitate an Anbu for provably the rest of his life? Tsunade Senju, heal Dan Kato's mind!"

Tsunade's gaze grew dull as she wondered... Dan was pleasing to the eye. Originally... she would have given him another chance. After all, there won't be any need for lies and they certainly clicked... Originally, she also would have lost her cool and would have argued about the fairness of it all... Originally... Originally...

'Ah... that's right. Grandma has started drinking wine again. I started actively helping out the clan and making sure that Nawaki doesn't waste his time. If the boy wants to become a Hokage, he needs to work for it. Nothing is the same... not even me. Not since I realized that power can be so... seductive. But that was never a problem. Just allowed me to keep the clan in one piece. I wonder how many of them would have died by now? After the three incorrect missions where the clan nins survived only because of the various seals and stock of distracting weapons... we have yet to be attacked again.

Sigh, couldn't I just be allowed to drink happily? Would have been a better night...'

" ade! Tsunade! Did you hear what I said?!" Danzo spoke in a cold tone as Tsunade blinked and looked around before smiling, "Ah, sorry, Elder Danzo. I was lost in my thoughts."

The man gritted his teeth. Dan and he had a deal. If he manages to get Tsunade and be free of Anbu missions related to seduction, he would work for Root secretly for very lucrative terms but... not only did Danzo lose out on a very experienced Shinobi but also the ability to heal the man that resided in the bitch's mutty paws.

"Tsunade, if you knew why he was there, you could have just sent him away. We're all adults and know that men like Dan, despite being a civilian have too much strength to be treated as such." Hiruzen sighed. Unlike Dan, he liked to be clear and honest when the situation required it.

"Then let's speak like adults," Tsunade snorted, "Sensei, I have no interest in authority. I've seen what this position does to the people I loved. Nawaki is a clear candidate for the Senju seat but I can understand your need for me to 'produce' a backup. Not going to happen."

Danzo's gaze flickered for a second before he hid it as she continued, "As far as Dan goes, he tried to take advantage of the Senju Matriarch believing she was drunk. Be happy he is alive and has a chance to pull through as tiny as it may be. Even Jiraiya of all people knows that it's the last thing a person can do to me ever, I make sure of that."

"Alright, message received loud and clear," Hiruzen sighed and closed his eyes, "You can leave Tsunade. Know this, I do feel regretful to have caused such an incident during your first gambling victory."

Tsunade nodded plainly and snorted before leaving while she could already hear Danzo's arguments as if a hurt little mistress he was.

She smirked and recalled something, "Now that I remember... Nawaki goes to meet Grandma twice a week. She really did a number on him, huh... hehe... but..." Her gaze grew somber, "I must find someone to marry... or else I'll die a single and lone pure flower... ah, that would be too regretful!"

But did she have time for romance with the war almost upon then...

'Fuck being a clan leader... really. Maybe I should find my top dog and hand him or her the administrative work. Let's see, Uzumaki won't cut it. One whiff of ramen and she'd bounce away. The genius wants a fricking harem... pfft, as if! And Mikoto is an Uchiha. Working in an administrative capacity for a Senju is too... controversial. Damn... should I find another disciple?'

'Ah... I forgot to congratulate sensei on his new child. Damn, so old and still going at it with Lady Biwako. She is still pretty, alright... the lucky dog...'

***

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