Shen Mo turned, reading Tsunade's thoughts.
He hesitated.
He knew Tsunade felt grateful—his giving her hope to revive Nawaki and the Holy Light seed lifting her despair made her see him as a friend, even a confidant.
But after a moment…
Shen Mo just smiled casually. "I don't mind, but there's not much to see."
He truly didn't care. Friendship didn't mean special treatment; he had that much professionalism.
Besides…
The cans' contents weren't his doing anymore.
It was all luck—fair and square.
"Really? I can look?" Tsunade, bold as ever, walked over without hesitation.
She was curious about Shen Mo's true nature.
Rarely acting but unimaginably powerful.
Smiling yet occasionally domineering.
A person's private space revealed much.
Shizune took a step, then froze, unsure if she should follow.
The others…
Pretended not to notice.
"So small!" Tsunade's voice echoed from the room.
"I said it's simple," Shen Mo replied, entering without closing the door.
The room was indeed modest—a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, totaling fifty or sixty square meters. For Konoha's princess, it was tiny.
"Didn't expect you to live like this," Tsunade said, eyeing a tidy bed, a coat on a chair, a snack bag, and a stack of dried fish on the table.
Simple, plain.
Like the home of any single, tidy, working man.
Hiju leapt onto the table, guarding her dried fish with her paws, glaring at Tsunade as if she'd steal them.
This only made it worse.
Tsunade couldn't resist wanting to tease her.
"Don't mess around; it'll start a fight," Shen Mo said casually.
Tsunade froze.
She'd nearly forgotten—this wasn't an ordinary cat.
Nor was this an ordinary man.
"This room doesn't match your image," Tsunade said, withdrawing her hand, a touch wistful.
"Just a matter of perspective," Shen Mo said, sitting as a teapot and cups floated over, pouring two cups of hot tea.
His expression stayed calm.
Unaffected by Tsunade's visit.
Tsunade took a cup, pulled a chair, sat with a mature posture, legs crossed.
But as she looked around, her expression seemed dazed.
"You're right," she said, gazing at Shen Mo with complex emotions. "My perspective's different. I thought you were a minor player in a mysterious group—capable, but not world-changing."
If Shen Mo had appeared as he did now…
It'd be different.
Her struggle was the clash between her initial impression and his growing mystique, especially since he now tied to Konoha's future.
"You're quite sensitive," Shen Mo said, sipping tea, meeting her golden eyes. "Most relationships fit a framework—siblings, parents, lovers, comrades. These help people understand emotions. You just can't pin down our framework."
"Interesting take," Tsunade said, hearing this for the first time.
She leaned forward, intrigued, listening intently.
"You first saw me as a friend because I helped you when you needed it," Shen Mo said, like chatting with a close friend, smiling. "But that framework was wrong from the start. My help was just business—and appreciation."
"Business… and appreciation?" Tsunade seemed to grasp something.
"Exactly, like with Neji, but clearer," Shen Mo said, pausing. "Take a nurse in a hospital. She cares for every patient, but if one's handsome, witty, likable, her care's slightly different."
It's human nature.
As long as the nurse has ethics, the difference stays small.
Tsunade got it.
It clicked like a puzzle solved.
"So, you're praising me?" Tsunade's lips curved, a hint of smugness.
"You could say that," Shen Mo admitted frankly.
His candor made her blush.
Despite her age, her skin was thin. In Shen Mo's telepathy, her mental age was maybe twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Early loss of her first love, years of aimlessness, and her youthful looks meant few saw her as older.
Her appearance was key.
Shen Mo figured he'd keep his own look, perhaps for centuries, millennia.
But his mindset wouldn't age.
Youth eternal, time meaningless.
"Since you put it that way," Tsunade said, blinking, then asked boldly, "are you picking the strongest among us to be senior members?"
This was her and Hiruzen Sarutobi's guess about the Chamber.
She hadn't dared ask before.
But Shen Mo's openness emboldened her.
Shen Mo felt a twinge of amusement.
Her mind was a whirlwind of theories—senior members to boost the Chamber, a looming world disaster needing their strength, or even pitting them against each other for the strong to entertain.
Such imagination.
But understandable.
Doing this just for a belief in unbound destiny lacked weight. Who'd guess his goal was wealth, something others thought he could easily grasp?
No need to explain.
Imagination was healthy.
"Senior members are just a possible outcome, not my goal," Shen Mo said, his smile cryptic. "Like a sparrow can't fathom an eagle's ambitions, some things are beyond understanding without reaching that height. So, keep moving forward, Tsunade—open more cans."
Tsunade's face fell.
Opening cans felt costlier than gambling.