Chapter 289: Tsunade's Return, Akiyama Makoto's Popularity
"Then let's talk about gambling?"
At Akiyama Makoto's suggestion, Tsunade's face immediately changed. "Is gambling the only thing I'm good for?"
"Or we could talk about medical ninjutsu?"
Tsunade proposed, but he quickly shook his head. "Why talk about such professional content at a drinking party?"
"Damn it—"
Seeing that Tsunade couldn't come up with any more suggestions, he suddenly smiled and said, "Then let's talk about your childhood with Senpai Jiraiya. I can just write you into my new book."
"Oh, oh, oh! I couldn't ask for more!"
Jiraiya rubbed his hands together. He had naturally read Makoto's books.
Although Makoto's books were written with humor, they were quite serious historical biographies.
If he could be written into the book with a positive image, his life wouldn't be considered mediocre.
"You, Jiraiya, aren't you afraid that Makoto will write bad things about you in the book?"
Tsunade naturally thought of the previous incident. Because Makoto threatened to write her little hobby into the book, she got on his pirate ship and became his girlfriend for a week.
And now, looking at his face, Tsunade still couldn't help but feel ripples in her heart.
Although she said being his girlfriend for a week was the end, people's hearts were made of flesh. How could she forget it in an instant?
"How is that possible? Makoto-kun's books are quite serious readings. And compared to the protagonists in his books, we are just supporting characters."
"Why would he waste ink on our bad habits, right, Makoto-kun?"
Jiraiya hugged his shoulder and laughed loudly, but his smile was a little guilty.
He didn't answer, which was a tacit agreement.
But this made Tsunade explode. So Makoto had been deceiving her all along?
Seeing that she was about to flip the table, he said, "Sister Tsunade, maybe you'll become the protagonist of my book?"
"Come on, come on, tell us about your childhood."
Under his temptation, Tsunade was moved.
Although she and Shizune had been wandering for so many years, she was actually a person who was very afraid of loneliness.
Her relatives were all dead, her teacher Hiruzen Sarutobi was also dead, and Orochimaru had turned against them.
The only peer she could talk to, Jiraiya, no longer had common topics with her, which made Tsunade instinctively panic.
Now, under his temptation, she felt that by telling him about her childhood, maybe she could have another confidant?
So, under the influence of alcohol, Tsunade recounted everything she could remember.
In the end, even Jiraiya sighed, "Why do you remember these trivial things so clearly?"
"That's because I'm young!"
Tsunade smiled triumphantly. Her active organs told her that her youthful state had not faded yet.
The three people with extraordinary physiques drank all night. Near dawn, Jiraiya couldn't hold on and passed out on the table first.
"Hahaha, Sannin Jiraiya, so lame!"
Tsunade kicked Jiraiya over. He fell onto the carpet and continued to sleep soundly.
Makoto frowned and wanted to pull Jiraiya up, but Tsunade hugged him and said, "I was testing if he was asleep. Now he's finally asleep."
"Alright, it's our time alone. Do you have anything to say?"
He shook his head. By now, he really had nothing to say.
He had done everything he should do. If Tsunade was still limited by her own situation and dared not open her heart, he could only use her as a tool for simulation.
Disappointment flashed in Tsunade's eyes, but more of it was panic.
She could feel that the life force from him was fading rapidly.
And the result of this was that her body was slowly returning to its original age state, inside and out.
She had to adjust the Yin Seal to maintain her youthful appearance.
But Tsunade didn't do so.
She took him out of the hotel, jumped out of Tanzaku Town, and arrived on the roof of the ancient castle in Tanzaku Town, waiting for the sunrise.
In the original timeline, this ancient castle was directly crushed into ruins by the giant snake summoned by Orochimaru. But now, because the story had changed, this cultural heritage of the Land of Fire was preserved.
"Come, sit on my lap."
Tsunade patted her plump thigh. He sat on it in confusion. Then Tsunade hugged him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder.
Such an intimate gesture was no less intimate than a kiss.
But compared to a kiss, this action had a strange feeling of care.
It was as if the two sitting here were not lovers, but an elder and a junior.
As the sun gradually rose, sunlight shone on their skin.
His skin was fair and firm. Even without any maintenance, due to his vigorous life force, it would make countless girls envious.
However, Tsunade's skin gradually darkened and lost its original firmness, turning into the appearance of her original age.
He subconsciously wanted to turn back, but Tsunade exclaimed loudly, "Don't look!"
"Please, don't look—"
Hearing her plea, he stopped moving.
Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Makoto-kun, I admit that you made my heart flutter this week. I almost agreed to your request."
"It's just that we are not on the same path after all. Thank you very much for everything you did for me, but the dream must end eventually."
As Tsunade's voice fell, she activated the Yin Seal and regained her youthful and exquisite appearance.
Only then did she pat his shoulder, push him off her lap, and lie on the roof, closing her eyes to enjoy the morning sun.
"I've decided. I'm going back to become Hokage."
Tsunade continued, "If I don't become Hokage, I'll probably become a hateful old woman before long."
"Now that Konoha needs me, I will dedicate the rest of my life there. I hope that when I die, more people will remember me."
"As for you, you can still be your commoner, but if I encounter difficulties, you must help me!"
He rolled his eyes. "Why should I?"
"Because you liked me once, isn't that enough?"
Tsunade sat up, lay on his shoulder, and put on a pitiful look.
"But Grandma Tsunade—"
Before he could finish, Tsunade's fist hit him in the kidney.
Of course, the initial punch was explosive, but in the end, it turned into a gentle twist.
"Just treat it as Sister Tsunade begging you. At worst, I'll allow you to kiss me every time, okay?"
"Or do you think I'm really your Grandma Tsunade and no longer qualified to be liked by you?"
Although Tsunade acted cute and coquettish on the surface, she never thought he would still make a move on her.
They had intimate interactions before because she had indeed become younger.
Now she was just pretending to be young, and no longer had the qualification to be intimate with him.
"Alright, I agree."
He suddenly nodded, which stunned Tsunade.
She blinked guiltily. If he still made a move on her at this time, what should she do?
No, he won't—
Tsunade comforted herself in her heart, then decided to introduce a few girls of the same age to him after returning to Konoha, so that he wouldn't have to pester her.
"Then it's a deal—Also, give me back the necklace, right?"
Tsunade reached out to grab it, but he slapped her hand away directly.
The stinging pain made Tsunade scream, but he smiled and said, "You just promised another thing. You can only get this necklace back after you do it. Otherwise, what if you break your promise?"
"You—you really want to make a move on me?"
"Who can say for sure?"
Tsunade felt he was teasing her, so she said, "Fine, keep the necklace for now. But if you encounter any danger, you must take it off, understand?"
Now that Tsunade knew his strength, she felt few people in the ninja world could hurt him, so she felt relieved letting him hold the necklace.
Moreover, he also knew Wood Style. Although not very skilled, the chakra in this necklace might help him master Wood Style. This was the real reason Tsunade allowed him to hold the necklace.
The two chatted for a long time, and then Tsunade yawned and slowly fell asleep.
He carried her back to the room and handed her over to Shizune.
Just as he went out and planned to use the Flying Thunder God to return to Konoha to rest, he saw Jiraiya waving at him with a teacup.
He walked over curiously, and Jiraiya poured him tea.
He calmly drank a sip of tea, waiting for Jiraiya to speak. He knew Jiraiya had something to say.
"Since we're all familiar, I won't beat around the bush."
"Makoto-kun, what is Tsunade to you? A chance encounter without knowing her age and identity, a momentary desire for conquest, or just playing around?"
"Forgive my rudeness, but I should be Tsunade's last partner. I have to consider her."
He nodded, expressing understanding.
It would be strange if Jiraiya remained indifferent seeing the intimacy between him and Tsunade.
It was just that Jiraiya had focused on finding the Child of Prophecy for so many years and had no intention of interfering in Tsunade's private affairs. Now he was fulfilling the last bit of comradeship.
Then, under Jiraiya's calm gaze, he spoke, "Met by chance, known by inevitability."
"As for whether we fall in love in the end, I like her anyway, but she doesn't seem to accept it."
Jiraiya's eyes were full of relief, but also a hint of melancholy. Finally, he said, "Then the age gap between you—"
"You don't need to worry about this, Senpai. I can find a way to make up for it."
There was another half sentence he didn't say.
If I don't mind Tsunade's age, she has no right to dislike me having many girlfriends, right?
"I understand. Then I offer you my blessings."
Jiraiya poured another cup of tea for him, chatted for a few words, and then left with the excuse of training Naruto.
Leaving Makoto alone drinking by himself, and feeling Tsunade's surging heartbeat around the corner next door.
In fact, Tsunade hadn't slept at all. She just didn't know how to say goodbye to him, so she could only pretend to sleep.
When she came back and saw Jiraiya inviting him, she was worried that the two would quarrel, so she followed them out.
She didn't expect to hear such mature words from him, which made her blush and almost unable to restrain herself.
Unfortunately, she ultimately chose silence, because she was no longer young.
For the next two days, Naruto enjoyed a mixed doubles match from Jiraiya and Tsunade.
The reason was that Naruto questioned whether Tsunade was qualified to be Hokage, because she was obviously a terrible gambler.
Fortunately, Tsunade beat Naruto severely and then healed him, making Naruto realize that Tsunade would protect Konoha with iron fists and medical ninjutsu, which was very important for Konoha, currently in a state of recuperation.
In the end, Naruto bowed and apologized to Tsunade, and Tsunade also gave Naruto some pointers on how to improve his chakra control.
It was just that Naruto couldn't control chakra partly because the Nine-Tails caused trouble, and partly because Naruto couldn't make good use of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
So Naruto ultimately had to borrow a shadow clone to release the Rasengan.
He wasn't surprised by this. Anyway, in the future, after he became friends with the Nine-Tails, the Nine-Tails would help him form the Rasengan. These things didn't affect Naruto's combat power at all.
Two days later, the group embarked on the journey back to Konoha.
He had originally planned to use the Flying Thunder God to take them back, but Tsunade refused.
According to her, for this last leg of the journey, she wanted to walk back step by step with her determination.
However, Jiraiya ruthlessly exposed Tsunade's thoughts. It turned out Tsunade just wanted to enjoy a collective welcome in front of the Konoha gate.
This was not something he needed to worry about. He had Jiraiya write a letter, brought it back to Konoha, and handed it to the Hokage's office. Let Koharu and Homura worry about the rest.
In fact, in the original story, when Tsunade first returned to Konoha, she didn't enjoy any warm welcome.
At that time, Danzō was in power secretly. Tsunade had left Konoha for many years, and many younger generations of ninja hadn't even seen her.
Therefore, restoring Tsunade's reputation was originally a rather complicated matter.
But now Danzō was dead, Koharu and Homura basically had no military force left, and with Tsunade's arrival plus Makoto's support, Konoha's top combat power was even stronger than before the Chūnin Exams.
Then the welcome ceremony for Tsunade had to be arranged.
He was even ready to release the Biography of Tobirama Senju, in which he would write some stories about Tsunade's childhood.
These were all recounted by Tsunade herself, without a single falsehood. As for whether Tsunade would break down when she saw it, that was none of his business.
Two days later, Tsunade returned to Konoha.
Looking at her expression, she was obviously a little uneasy, not knowing if she would be welcomed by Konoha.
Because although she had sufficient reasons for leaving Konoha at the time, she had still abandoned Konoha.
But when she saw the crowd lining the path in front of the Konoha gate to welcome her, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Amidst the cheers, Tsunade entered Konoha.
She had thought most people wouldn't recognize her, but after sitting down in the Hokage's office, she realized why so many people welcomed her.
It turned out that over the past two days, Koharu and Homura had vigorously publicized the fact that Tsunade and Jiraiya had severely injured Orochimaru in Tanzaku Town.
Supported by such deeds, the relationship between Tsunade and Konoha immediately became intimate.
As for Orochimaru trying to get Tsunade to heal his hands, that part wasn't mentioned at all. It could be seen that Koharu and Homura also understood the principle of how to release information.
Tsunade's return almost injected a backbone into Konoha.
Everyone knew that Tsunade would become the next Hokage. Therefore, the feudal lords, nobles, and wealthy merchants who had fled Konoha because of the Chūnin Exams also began to return to Konoha upon invitation.
Their arrival immediately brought a large amount of supplies and money to Konoha, restoring it to prosperity.
If it weren't for the fact that many houses had tree roots going straight underground at the bottom, clearly temporarily built with Wood Style, the Konoha Crush plan might have been forgotten.
Of course, everyone wouldn't forget that it was Makoto's strong intervention that saved the vast majority of low-level ninja and civilians from being affected by the war.
This led to a massive amount of visiting cards being delivered to the Akiyama house. Many people wanted to meet him, even including the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
"Makoto, are you really not seeing anyone?"
Tenten was wearing a training suit, steam still rising from her body.
She had just returned from the border after being relieved to attend the Hokage's inauguration ceremony.
After witnessing Makoto's performance in the Chūnin Exams, Tenten's parents had also had a long talk with her. The result of the talk made Tenten blush.
Actually, what Tenten's parents wanted to say was very simple: they would no longer interfere in the matter between Tenten and Makoto, even if Tenten lived in his house.
It was just that afterward, Tenten's mother instructed her on how to protect herself and not to get pregnant and have children so early, which almost made Tenten collapse.
Although she was very intimate with him, and they had even hugged, she definitely wouldn't do that kind of thing yet!
He sat beside Tenten, hugging her waist.
Tenten pushed him away. "Don't get so close. I smell like sweat."
"It doesn't matter. I like it."
He kissed Tenten's cheek, making her immediately go soft in his arms.
Then he said, "There's no need to meet them. If they want to see me just with a visiting card now, isn't the asking price too low?"
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