The moment Hiruzen said the word arm, Tsunade froze.
Her smile vanished.
She stared at him for a long, silent second… then slowly turned her head toward Shiki.
Shiki sat there calmly, sipping tea like this had nothing to do with him.
Tsunade's eyebrow twitched.
If Hiruzen came personally to request arm reattachment…
And that arm belonged to someone who had recently lost it…
There was only one answer.
Shinnosuke.
Her eyes narrowed.
Hiruzen didn't notice a thing.
He stood there anxiously, still waiting.
"So?" he urged. "Tsunade? Can you treat him?"
Tsunade let out a deep, slow breath—then cleared her throat and put on the fakest professional expression imaginable.
"Ahem… Sarutobi-sensei, I've just had an increase in my strength. I need… oh, I don't know… a year and a half to stabilize my chakra before I attempt something like reattaching a limb."
Hiruzen blinked.
"…You think I'm an idiot?"
Even Tsunade almost laughed at how ridiculous the excuse sounded.
But her face stayed perfectly serious.
She crossed her arms.
"Anyway, I'm not available. You should go ask the Deputy Chief of the Medical Corps. She's decent."
Hiruzen stared.
"I seem to recall you are the Medical Chief of Konoha."
"So? Delegation is a skill."
Hiruzen's eyelid twitched.
This wasn't "delegation." This was "go away."
And then it clicked.
He glanced very discreetly toward Shiki.
Of course.
Shinnosuke had lost his arm because of this man.
Shiki must've already told Tsunade everything.
That explained the sudden stone wall of refusal.
Hiruzen's face stiffened.
Still, he pressed the anger down. Two kage-level monsters sat in front of him.
He forced a smile.
"…I see. If you need time to adjust your strength, then I won't disturb you."
He stood up.
Shiki and Tsunade watched him move toward the door with the grace of a pensioner pretending he didn't want to strangle someone.
As soon as Hiruzen stepped outside—
"PFFFFFT—HAHAHAHAHA!"
Tsunade burst out laughing so loud the windows rattled.
It wasn't even subtle.
It was the kind of laugh meant to be heard.
Hiruzen's body froze outside the doorway.
His face darkened like storm clouds gathering.
She did that on purpose.
"She's gotten worse because of Shiki," he thought angrily.
"Shiki is corrupting her… and endangering Konoha."
His fury shifted, hardening.
Shiki must die first. Tsunade could be dealt with later.
Without another word, Hiruzen disappeared in Body Flicker.
Tsunade was still giggling when she dropped onto the floor.
"Hah! Did you see his face? He looked like he swallowed a living toad!"
Shiki smirked.
"It seems Hiruzen hates you now."
"He can hate all he wants."
Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "The old man's still Hokage, but I'm not scared of him. Let him glare."
She stretched, cracking her knuckles.
"And honestly? Shinnosuke is useless. One elite jōnin from their family losing an arm? Boohoo."
Her tone sharpened.
"My Senju clan was wiped out. Compared to that, one brat missing a limb is nothing."
She leaned back with a cruel smirk.
"If he wants to remember grudges… he's free to try."
Shiki chuckled.
Hiruzen, furious yet helpless, stormed toward the Medical Department.
His mood worsened when every medic gave the same answer:
"Sorry, Hokage-sama… we are not Senju Tsunade."
Even the best of them couldn't restore an arm.
Only Tsunade could.
But Tsunade had slammed the door in his face.
Hiruzen clenched his teeth.
Outside, Shinnosuke waited in front of the building, pale and anxious.
"Daddy…"
One look at Hiruzen's expression, and he knew.
His arm wasn't coming back.
Hiruzen put a hand on Shinnosuke's shoulder.
"…Don't worry. I'll teach you one-handed seals myself. Konoha has good sealing techniques."
Shinnosuke nodded weakly.
But he knew what this meant:
His future had been shattered.
And the one who shattered it was Shiki.
Hiruzen looked toward the direction of Tsunade's home.
'Shiki… this won't end here.'
--
A few days passed quietly.
On this particular morning, Shiki was in the courtyard going through his daily training routine — smooth, controlled swings of Oto and Kogarashi slicing through the air.
Off to the side, Tsunade and Kurenai sat on the veranda, chins propped on their hands, both watching him with identical blinking eyes.
Two women. One man. One very dangerous love triangle.
Just then, a masked ANBU appeared in the courtyard with a sharp flicker of movement.
"Lord Shiki! Tsunade-sama!"
Even though Shiki and Tsunade weren't technically part of the Hokage's chain of command, the ANBU still bowed deeply.
Strength earned respect and fear.
"Tsunade," Shiki said without looking back, still in mid-swing. "Go take it."
"Mm."
Tsunade immediately understood. After so long together, she didn't need explanations.
She walked straight toward the ANBU, expression cool.
"Give it here."
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