Shizune's naturally submissive personality, thoroughly conditioned by years of dealing with Tsunade's chaotic, debt-ridden lifestyle, made it incredibly easy for her guard to drop. Combined with Darian's flawlessly handsome, deceptive appearance, she quickly fell into the role of a well-behaved maid, obediently serving him hot tea and fresh water.
Following Tsunade around the world was arguably the greatest fortune, and simultaneously the absolute worst curse, of Shizune's life. It had turned her into a complete, reliable doormat who put up with everything. But Darian internally admitted that he absolutely loved this specific, compliant trait in a woman.
Thus, while Tsunade was down the street fighting fiercely against the house odds in the Yakuza casino, Darian lay back on the plush tatami mats and thoroughly enjoyed the royal treatment. Shizune was incredibly attentive; with just a single glance at his posture, she knew exactly whether he wanted his tea refilled or a slice of fresh fruit. Every single reasonable request he voiced was instantly met by her quiet, obedient service.
Perhaps her extreme compliance was fueled by a deep surge of guilt. After all, Tsunade had already swindled this handsome foreigner out of fifty solid gold coins, and there was a statistically high probability that the Sannin would lose it all and never pay him back. The kind-hearted Shizune felt that she and Tsunade were acting very unfairly and dishonorably in this matter, so she harbored a desperate urge to make amends however she could.
"Lord Darian," Shizune said, her cheeks flushing a light pink as she knelt beside him. "I noticed that your shoulder muscles look quite stiff from your travels. I happen to be an expert in advanced massage techniques to relieve physical tension."
Darian paused for a brief moment, a dark smirk spreading across his face. He flipped over onto his stomach, resting his chin on his arms. "Then I'll gladly trouble you, Shizune. I'm a little physically exhausted anyway."
Providing a world-class massage was a given for Shizune. After all, she was an elite medical ninja with a flawless, comprehensive understanding of the human muscular and nervous systems. She frequently performed deep-tissue massages on Tsunade to relieve the legendary kunoichi's immense combat fatigue. This level of medical, expert physical treatment was something ordinary civilians couldn't buy even if they offered millions of Ryo.
However, the physical reality of the massage turned out completely different from what Shizune had anticipated. Darian's body was not something a small, teenage girl could easily manipulate.
Using both of her hands to firmly knead the dense muscles of Darian's broad back, Shizune found herself exerting massive physical pressure just to make a dent. She wiped a bead of sudden sweat from her forehead, her breath hitching.
"Mr. Darian... are you an elite practitioner of some hidden chakra-infused taijutsu?" Shizune asked, her voice filled with professional bewilderment. "Why exactly are your skeletal muscles so incredibly tough? Kneading your back literally feels like trying to compress dense, highly resilient rubber."
"Uh... yeah, something like that!" Darian laughed it off smoothly, keeping his eyes shut.
He didn't know a single strand of local chakra taijutsu; he didn't even possess a functioning chakra network yet. His rubbery, incredibly dense flesh was the direct result of his Human Path silicone anatomical modifications combined with his hardened Armament Haki.
Hearing his vague confirmation, Shizune continued to ask curiously, her hands moving down his spine, "What specific kind of physical conditioning style do you practice to make your body this tough while keeping your skin so smooth and flawless?"
This line of questioning was an unconscious reflex. As a fully trained Konoha ninja, Shizune had automatically begun gathering intelligence on the dangerous foreigner during their casual conversation.
"Oh, this is just a highly restricted, special physical cultivation technique passed down exclusively within my family lineage," Darian lied through his teeth, inventing a bloodline trait on the spot.
Upon hearing that she had accidentally pried into a highly confidential, secret clan technique, Shizune's face paled slightly, and she quickly apologized. "Is that so? Please forgive me, Lord Darian. I was incredibly rude to question your clan's secrets."
"Actually, it's completely fine," Darian replied casually. "It's probably just that my family's fundamental methods of refining and circulating energy are completely different from what you're used to."
Hearing him speak so bluntly about energy circulation made Shizune's heart pound wildly against her ribs. As a medical enthusiast, she felt as though she were on the absolute verge of grasping the core theory of an undiscovered, legendary style of taijutsu.
Although Darian had entirely made up the clan backstory, his assessment of the energy wasn't a total lie. In his mind, he analyzed the systems. Both Haki and Chakra were essentially functional products of fusing spiritual energy with physical energy. The only real difference lay within the exact methods and ratios of the fusion.
The baseline quality and density of Haki were arguably much higher than standard Chakra. High-quality, advanced Haki was likely directly comparable to the mythical Yin-Yang Release of this world, acting as a perfect, absolute condensation of spiritual intent and physical cellular power. Furthermore, basic Chakra could be easily refined by any toddler with a shred of genetic ninja talent, even at the tender age of three or four. Haki, however, required years of brutal, agonizing physical conditioning and a terrifyingly dominant will just to awaken the spark. A powerful individual capable of consciously wielding Haki in the One Piece world would easily scale to at least a high-level Jonin or specialized combatant in this world.
"I've always exclusively used my family's specialized energy refining techniques," Darian said, feigning a casual curiosity as he rolled over onto his side to look up at her. "How exactly does a regular, standard chakra refining technique function for a normal ninja?"
"Huh? Lord Darian, have you truly never studied the basic foundational theory before?" Shizune asked, her short black hair swaying as she expressed massive surprise.
"I've been entirely locked away, honing my physical body and mastering our secret internal refining methods since I was a small child," Darian lied smoothly without blinking. "I simply never had the free time to study how the common hidden villages extract their baseline energy."
Believing his explanation implicitly, Shizune spoke up frankly. She began to carefully explain the foundational mechanics of the local Chakra Pulling Technique. She clarified that while different clans possessed varied, specialized circulation charts, the basic academy method only dictated the efficiency and raw speed of synthesizing the physical cellular energy with spiritual mental energy. Basic chakra refining was entirely commonplace in the ninja world; even the academy dropouts knew the mental visualization required.
After listening intently to Shizune's thorough, step-by-step explanation, Darian quickly sat up on the tatami mats. Shizune's small hands were completely numb from trying to massage his dense, rubbery muscles, and she was panting heavily from the physical exertion.
Closing his eyes, Darian followed the basic mental visualization Shizune had just outlined, targeting his own physical cells and spiritual intent. Whether it was because Darian's natural talent was simply monstrous, or because the baseline extraction of chakra was inherently primitive compared to Haki, the moment he initiated the circulation, a massive, roaring reservoir of dense blue energy instantly exploded into existence within his pathways.
Darian opened his eyes, slightly surprised to succeed so violently on his very first attempt. But upon deeper reflection, the reality made perfect sense. The mechanical application of using the power was slightly different, but the fundamental essence of physical and spiritual fusion was identical. Even though this was his absolute first second refining chakra, the sheer density of his physical cells meant his available chakra volume instantly flared to at least the massive level of an elite Jonin.
Seeing a dense, visible aura of roaring blue chakra suddenly surge violently from Darian's skin, illuminating the entire bedroom, Shizune gasped in absolute shock, stepping back.
"Hey! That's... that's impossible! I couldn't sense a single shred of chakra fluctuation from your body just a minute ago, Lord Darian! How is your output suddenly this massive?!"
Isn't that obvious? Darian thought, amused. Where the hell would I have gotten chakra from before you just taught me how to make it?
But Darian merely maintained his arrogant, superior facade, looking down at his blue-lit hands. "The standard chakra refined using your village's basic method is far too loose and undisciplined, which is why it constantly leaks out and shows to the naked eye. The internal energy I typically use to cultivate my flesh is tightly compressed; it stays sealed deep within my core and never easily leaks out of my body."
"Oh! Wow... I see!" Shizune nodded rapidly, her eyes wide with profound awe. She genuinely believed she had just been enlightened on a legendary, ancient secret of energy compression from a hidden master.
As the young girl sat there staring at him, Darian noticed that her forehead and the soft skin of her neck were completely damp with a layer of fragrant, exhausting sweat from her intense massage work.
"You've worked incredibly hard, Shizune," Darian said smoothly, waving his hand toward the door. "Go down and wash yourself up."
"Understood, Lord Darian," Shizune responded obediently, bowing her head before sliding the shoji door open and stepping out into the hallway.
Left entirely alone in the spacious suite, Darian stared down at the residual blue chakra crackling quietly across his palm. He began to actively ponder exactly how he was going to extract the forbidden space-time ninjutsu data from Tsunade's mind.
In normal diplomacy, things were always relative. When Tsunade was completely broke and desperate, he could easily use his gold to manipulate her immediate movements. But he couldn't realistically expect a legendary, fiercely protective Sannin to just sit down and casually teach a complete foreigner her village's high-level ninjutsu secrets just for a few gold coins; that would make his hidden intentions far too obvious and trigger her tactical defenses.
'Damn it, why the hell am I being so incredibly indecisive and hesitant lately?' Darian cursed himself internally, clenching his fist to dispel the chakra.
Suddenly, a wave of raw inspiration hit his mind. He had been trapped in this ninja world for less than a single day, yet he was already unconsciously plotting, scheming, and acting like a conniving, shadow-dwelling ninja.
Back in the One Piece universe, he was a ruthless, all-powerful pirate captain! If a pirate wanted a treasure, a weapon, or a woman, he didn't play intricate political mind games—he simply marched forward and took what he wanted by absolute force, or demanded it aggressively with a blade at their throat! Why waste his time acting like a weakling? If he needed Tsunade's space-time knowledge to get back to his ship, he would simply corner the blonde woman, dominate her pride, and force her to cooperate.
'Pirates take what they want and get straight to the point, instead of relying on underhanded, dirty psychological tricks like these local ninjas,' Darian thought, his dark eyes flashing with renewed dominance. 'If I become this calculating and fearful, it makes me wonder if this universe's ambient energy is actively trying to suppress my true nature.'
Knock. Knock.
Just as his thoughts solidified, a soft, deliberate knock rattled the wooden shoji door.
"Who is it?" Darian demanded coldly.
"It's just me, young master," a sultry, familiar voice murmured from the other side.
The heavy door was slowly, elegantly pushed open, and there stood Madam Takayanagi. The beautiful proprietress had completely changed out of her daytime garments, now dressed in a stunning, tight purple cherry blossom kimono that actively accentuated her voluptuous, mature curves.
Upon seeing the gorgeous, heavily breathing mature woman standing in the doorway, Darian smiled darkly to himself. His temporary philosophical doubts vanished; the universe was clearly treating him well tonight. The second he started overthinking, a beautiful woman arrived to distract his mind.
"Good evening, Landlady," Darian said, his face breaking into a bright, confident smile. "Is there something specific you need from my room?"
Surveying her voluptuous frame, Darian's predatory instincts flared. He calculated that during his transit through that dark temporal void, his body had been operating without food for at least two full days. The only reason his cells hadn't starved to death was due to his fruit's unique ability to store massive reserves of kinetic and physical energy. Now that he had eaten a massive, heavy meal at the izakaya, his accelerated metabolism was rapidly converting that fuel into pure, unadulterated horniness. It was a classic case of a powerful man being well-fed, warm, and instantly seeking the flesh.
Looking at Darian's striking, golden-ratio features and his broad chest, the mature proprietress felt her heart pounding violently against her ribs. She was just an ordinary civilian woman who had been intensely lonely for a very long time, currently navigating the peak sexual age of her late thirties. Faced with the passive, hypnotic masculine charm Darian projected, she completely lacked the mental fortitude to resist her own desires.
"Honored guest," Madam Takayanagi said, her voice dropping into a breathless purr as she offered a slight, submissive bow. "Our most luxurious, private hot spring bath has just become entirely vacant down the hall. If you would like to take a deeply relaxing, private soak... I can personally escort you there now."
She stood before him with her hands folded neatly over her lower abdomen, leaning forward just enough to ensure her massive, un-corseted breasts hung low, proudly presenting a deep, flawless valley of cleavage to his eyes. Her long dark hair was tied up in an elegant bun, exposing the fair, highly sensitive skin of her neck. She looked incredibly alluring, practically begging to be taken.
"Oh, I see! That sounds perfect," Darian smiled, stepping toward her. "Thank you for the excellent service."
"I noticed that you didn't bring any personal toiletries or robes with you when you checked in, young master," the landlady murmured, stepping entirely into the room and closing the distance between their bodies. "Would you like me to personally go fetch some premium oils and brushes for your skin?"
"Oh? I honestly don't have a single thing on me," Darian chuckled, looking down into her flushed face. "I'd deeply appreciate your hands helping me out with that, Landlady."
"Wonderful... please follow me closely. I'll take you directly to the water myself."
Looking down at the voluptuous woman, Darian experienced the unique sensation of a mature woman taking the absolute sexual initiative; back in the Grand Line, the girls usually required him to aggressively hunt them down first. The landlady's enthusiasm was palpable. Every single word she uttered and every micro-movement she made carried an explicit, adult double meaning that he understood perfectly.
Clearly, the mature landlady had been watching the hallway, waiting specifically for the young assistant Shizune to leave the suite before she sneaked inside to seduce the wealthy foreigner. However, her timing was slightly off. Just as Darian was about to follow the swaying hips of the landlady out into the corridor, Shizune walked right back into the suite, having merely grabbed a clean towel from the linen closet.
Looking at the highly intimate, low-cut positioning of the proprietress leaning against Darian's arm, Shizune froze, her eyes widening. She blinked in confusion, looking between the two. "Lord Darian... where exactly are you going?"
Darian looked at his pretty, short-haired hostage, a wicked smirk spreading across his lips. He realized he absolutely couldn't leave Shizune entirely unattended in the bedroom; if he left her alone for too long while Tsunade was away, the clever medic might use the opportunity to slip out the window and ruin his leverage.
Darian reached out, firmly grabbed Shizune by her slender wrist, and pulled her along with him toward the door.
"Change of plans, Shizune," Darian commanded dominantly, giving her no room to argue. "Drop the towel. We're all going down to soak in the private hot springs together tonight."
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Give me powerstones.
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