Evening had arrived.
"You… you…"
Shizune stared at Kitazawa, so stunned she couldn't form a single coherent sentence.
"What's wrong, Shizune-senpai?"
Kitazawa smiled brightly.
Shizune opened her mouth, hesitated, then said nothing.
Just last night, Kitazawa had no grasp of how anesthesia even worked. Yet now, he'd already mastered it.
And that wasn't the only thing—his control over yang-type chakra had clearly leveled up.
"You seriously never studied medical ninjutsu before?"
Tsunade, who'd been silently watching, finally spoke.
"Never," Kitazawa answered honestly. "I've skimmed a few medical texts here and there, but no one ever taught me hands-on."
And only a trained medical-nin could teach it properly.
Tsunade, though usually away from the village, was still the head of Konoha Hospital. She could verify his story easily.
In other words, he wouldn't dare lie.
"That's enough for today. Go bring Kurenai and Yakumo down," she said after a short pause.
"Got it." Kitazawa nodded.
Yakumo's fourth jutsu was finally ready to be completed.
He turned and started up the stairs.
…
On the Rooftop
Kitazawa spotted Yakumo quietly painting. But where was Kurenai?
He glanced around—and found her up in a tree, practicing the Rasengan.
"Kurenai!"
He waved.
She leapt down and landed softly in front of him, her red dress fluttering in the air.
Kitazawa couldn't help but admire the view.
"Eyes up, perv,"
she said, catching his look and rolling her eyes.
"I wasn't looking. You're the one imagining things."
He raised a hand and playfully tapped her thigh.
"Don't slander me, now."
Her eyes widened.
Wow. Gaslighting me while being handsy?
She clenched her fist, scanning him for a suitable target to hit.
"Aren't you worried Yakumo might see you?"
Kitazawa coughed and quickly changed the subject.
"Tch… I'll let it slide."
Kurenai huffed. Her chest visibly rose with tension.
But not quite done, she stomped on his foot anyway.
Kitazawa chuckled. Teasing Kurenai was surprisingly fun.
And honestly, she was getting used to his casual physicality.
…
The three headed downstairs and got straight to work.
No small talk—just focus.
They began refining and finalizing Yakumo's fourth jutsu.
The moon was already high in the sky.
Usually they'd finish by 9 PM, but tonight dragged to 10.
"It's done!"
Kurenai beamed with excitement.
"Finally."
Shizune let out a breath.
"This jutsu took way too long."
Though she wasn't officially part of the psychological medical-nin team, she'd been helping Tsunade develop the technique.
"What should we call it?"
Tsunade smiled, relaxed.
The technique was pretty advanced—around B-rank.
And in her mind, that meant the Hokage better not think he could get away with just a million ryō this time. She was already thinking about what she'd gamble on tomorrow.
"How about Memory Reconstruction Jutsu?"
Kurenai suggested after thinking it over.
"But it's more like sealing memories, not reconstructing them," Shizune said.
"'Reconstruction' feels off. Something with 'seal' makes more sense."
"Fair enough," Kurenai nodded.
"It's just a name anyway, no need to argue over it."
"What do you think, Kitazawa?"
Shizune looked at him.
"I'm terrible at naming things."
He shrugged.
"Come on, just toss something out so you feel like part of the team," Shizune teased.
Kitazawa thought for a moment.
"Sealing memories… is basically sealing emotions too. Maybe call it Emotion Severing Jutsu?"
"Let's just call it Memory Seal Jutsu,"
Tsunade stood up.
"That's enough for today."
"Wait… Tsunade-sama, are you okay?"
Kurenai noticed something off in her expression.
Kitazawa froze for a moment—then it clicked.
The phrase Emotion Severing had triggered a memory.
"I'll go check on her."
He followed after her.
It wasn't intentional, but it was still on him.
Shizune had figured it out too.
She started to stand… then sat back down.
She'd tried comforting Tsunade plenty of times—maybe Kitazawa would succeed where she couldn't.
…
"Tsunade-sama," Kitazawa caught up.
"You again? Where's Shizune?"
"She… stayed behind."
"You catch on fast."
Tsunade turned her gaze to the night sky.
"Go back. I'm fine."
"Heading somewhere this late? Maybe I can help."
"...Actually, you might be useful. Got any money on you?"
She and Shizune had already blown all their cash at the casino.
"You're going gambling?"
Kitazawa didn't even flinch.
People always turned to their comforts when they were feeling low.
"Problem?"
She held out her hand.
"I'll pay you back tomorrow—once the old man gives me my cut."
"Tsunade-sama," Kitazawa suddenly had an idea.
"Ever heard of drinking games with gambling?"
"...Drinking while gambling?"
Her eyes lit up like gemstones.
Drinking and gambling—her two favorite things—in one package?
"You're serious?"
"I'll even treat you. Want to go?"
"Lead the way!"
Before he could say anything, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him along, heading straight for her go-to izakaya.
"Tsunade-sama—slow down!"
"What, a special jōnin can't keep up?"
She smirked.
"You really need to train that body of yours."
You've got Senju DNA—I don't, Kitazawa muttered in his head.
"A good medical-nin doesn't always get to hide behind teammates."
She let go of his wrist, cracked her knuckles.
"Real medical-nin can beat enemies themselves."
"I know you're an amazing taijutsu user."
Kitazawa grinned.
"Will you teach me sometime?"
"Not shy, are you?"
She gave him a look, then waved it off.
"Learn proper medical ninjutsu first. Then we'll talk."
…
It was late. The place was empty.
Tsunade walked into a private booth like she owned the place.
She ordered like a regular—even got a free plate of peanuts.
"So how do we play this drinking game?"
She sat down, practically bouncing with excitement.
Kitazawa hadn't even sat yet.
His eyes couldn't help but notice her generous curves.
When it came to mature beauty, Tsunade was basically in a league of her own.
"Super simple—finger guessing game."
He held up his hands.
"Each of us shows a number with our fingers and guesses the combined total. If you guess right, you win. Loser drinks."
"Oh, I like this."
To her, this wasn't just gambling—it was a battle of perception and wit.
And with alcohol on the line? Even better.
The food and drinks arrived.
"Let's do this!"
Tsunade shed her green jacket and poured two cups, her necklace swaying across flawless skin.
Kitazawa stared.
That necklace has a better life than me.
"Don't stall!"
She reached out her hand.
"Go easy on me—I can't hold my liquor,"
Kitazawa laughed.
"I love watching people like that get wrecked."
She smirked.
"Then I'll just have to win."
"Hah! Not a chance."
Her eyes gleamed.
"Let's go!"
But—unsurprisingly—Tsunade couldn't win a bet to save her life.
"Ugh, damn it!"
Twelve shots in, and she was flushed and fuming.
"I'll drink one with you—"
Kitazawa reached for his glass, but she grabbed his wrist.
"What're you trying to pull?"
As she leaned in, her top dipped dangerously low.
Kitazawa immediately looked away.
"I lost. Don't pity me!"
She released his wrist.
"Next round!"
Kitazawa could only smile helplessly and keep playing.
"You've got some luck tonight, kid…"
She was slurring, swaying gently. The combination of alcohol and curves was lethal.
"Tsunade-sama, slow down and eat something."
It's not that I'm lucky—you just have the worst gambling luck ever.
"Don't nag me!"
But she still let him feed her a piece of chicken.
After chewing and swallowing, she went quiet.
"…Last time someone fed me like that was… Nawaki…"
Her mind drifted.
He hadn't done it out of affection—it was because her cooking was awful and he refused to suffer alone.
"Some things are in the past. Others can still change," Kitazawa raised his glass.
"You should look forward, Tsunade-sama."
"What do you know?"
"I don't," he admitted.
"My parents died when I was really young. I've never really… lost someone that close."
"…Right."
She remembered now—Kitazawa was an orphan.
"Come on, eat before it gets cold."
"You're so annoying," she muttered, but still took the chopsticks and started eating.
"You mentioned Nawaki, right?"
Kitazawa refilled her glass.
"You know him?"
"Only by name. Not much else."
"He was this cheerful little idiot who wanted to be Hokage…"
Tsunade stopped drinking.
Once she started talking, the words just poured out.
She hadn't spoken about Nawaki in years.
Kitazawa didn't interrupt. He was a natural listener.
To him, it felt like he was watching a beautiful, tragic spin-off from the main story.
"…That's all. His whole story… was that short…"
Suddenly, she stood and drank straight from the bottle.
The liquor dripped down her jaw, tracing her neck, disappearing under her clothes.
She slammed the empty bottle down.
Drunk, she locked eyes with Kitazawa's soft, steady gaze—and froze.
"…It's late. I'll walk you home," he said gently.
"…Yeah. Probably should."
She turned and staggered toward the door.
"Wait—your jacket—"
Before he could finish, thud!
She walked right into the door.
Holding her forehead, she grumbled, "Who the hell put that there?!"
Kitazawa couldn't help laughing.
"What're you laughing at? Come help me!"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
He opened the door.
She kicked it as she stumbled out.
"You're lucky I didn't knock it off its hinges!"
Kitazawa grabbed her jacket and caught up.
She wasn't walking straight. He paid the bill and gently took her wrist to steady her.
"You… paid already?" she mumbled.
"You don't skip out on drinks, huh?"
"Hey—I never skip out!"
She smacked his back.
"Don't spread lies!"
"So the IOUs at Shizune's place are fake?"
"What? She told you that? Betrayal!"
"I just saw them by accident. She didn't say anything."
"…Well… they all offered to lend me money. Willingly!"
Kitazawa had no words.
Technically, she wasn't wrong.
"…No more questions."
She slumped against him.
"I'm tired. Take me home."
He slid an arm around her waist.
She relaxed into his chest, a swirl of perfume and sake.
Soft, warm, and close—Kitazawa carefully walked her back.
The door creaked open.
"You two—"
Shizune stood frozen in the doorway, eyes wide, staring at the two of them wrapped around each other.
~~~
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