💎 WEEKLY POWER GOALS 💎
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⏰ Resets Monday!
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Heshu went to Tsunade's office first.
He peeked through the doorway. Tsunade was the only one inside. He knocked.
"Come in!"
Tsunade propped her head up with one hand, exhaustion etched across her face. The flood of wounded from the front lines was overwhelming, and her hemophobia didn't help. Forcing herself to guide other medics these past days had pushed her to her absolute limit.
"Tsunade-sis."
Heshu walked over obediently and placed a steaming bowl of Ichiraku ramen on her desk.
"Did you make this?"
Tsunade's pupils shrank. Pure dread washed over her as her wary gaze swept over him.
"…"
Heshu explained, "I bought it."
Tsunade's relief was palpable as a sigh escaped her.
"Alright, brat. What's your angle?" she asked, unwrapping the bowl. Her eyes glanced at him sideways with faint suspicion. Unprompted kindness always meant trouble.
"I came to apologize for the lunch incident. And… Tsunade-sis must be tired."
Heshu was eager but not slimy. His slightly ingratiating smile made Tsunade relax a bit.
"Hmph!"
Tsunade snorted. "At least you know how to behave!"
Today's lunch had indeed inflicted lasting psychological damage, but the kid's apology was satisfactory. As one of the Legendary Sannin, she wouldn't hold a grudge against a child.
[Ding! Affection from Target: Tsunade Senju has reached 50!]
He heard the system prompt. Heshu finally let go of the tension in his chest. He'd been worried her affection wouldn't recover.
"Enjoy your meal, Tsunade-sis. I'm going to look after my uncle!"
Heshu bowed politely and left.
Only after he was gone did Tsunade lift her head from the ramen bowl.
This kid's a menace in the kitchen, but otherwise… he's not bad.
[Ding! Affection from Target: Tsunade Senju has reached 55!]
Back in the hospital room, feeding the supposedly disabled Takenouchi, Heshu's hand paused.
Efficient.
Night fell.
Quiet, cool moonlight crept into the room. A small, dark shadow stretched across the floor.
Heshu stood by Takenouchi's bed and reached out.
Takenouchi's wounds were a mess. Suture lines crawled across his body like centipedes, and the burns were hideous. This body had been pushed to the absolute limit of human endurance.
Heshu's heart suddenly grew heavy. The steady flow of his chakra wavered.
"Don't lose focus."
The system saw everything. Its voice echoed in his mind. It had chosen this host for his acting and other qualities; they were all up to par. His one flaw? Too soft-hearted. He hadn't yet shed the peaceful mentality of his past life.
As Heshu's chakra delved deeper, a pale green energy began to glow around the wounds, slowly and painstakingly repairing the ravaged flesh.
Fine beads of sweat gathered on Heshu's forehead. He had chakra reserves rivaling a jonin's, but the Reverse Cursed Technique demanded surgical precision—a delicate unraveling and reweaving of energy. After just an hour, Heshu's face was pale. He withdrew his hand.
His skill was still elementary. Fully healing Takenouchi with this technique right now was a fantasy.
Defeated, Heshu sighed. He went back to his little couch and slept.
Morning.
A scream from Heshu jolted every patient in the hospital awake.
Takenouchi scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Heshu! Did I scare you?" A faint, amused smile touched his eyes.
Heshu tried to calm his racing heart.
Who could understand this feeling? You wake up. You open your eyes. A fully-wrapped mummy is staring straight at you.
"Uncle… how are you walking?"
Yesterday, a cripple. Today, bouncing around. Heshu hadn't expected his Reverse Cursed Technique to be this potent.
"Well… it's strange! I woke up and found I could move parts that were locked up before. It hurts if I move too fast, though."
Heshu's question mirrored Takenouchi's own confusion. His smile faded, replaced by bewilderment.
"Anyway, it's good you can move!" Heshu said with a bright smile.
If I'm already this effective at the beginner stage… what about the ultimate level? Instant healing?
"Mhm."
Takenouchi reached out and ruffled Heshu's hair. His fingers brushed through the silvery, waist-length strands, and his eyes filled with pure affection. He'd been so afraid—afraid he'd have to leave Heshu behind. It seemed heaven still favored him. To die after finally having a daughter… he would have been filled with regret.
"Heshu! Let me braid your hair today!"
Takenouchi held up his ten bandaged fingers. In his palm was a purple butterfly hair ribbon, conjured from who-knows-where. "I bought this in a little town on a mission. I saw it and thought, 'Heshu would love this.'"
He smiled, seeing Heshu's fixed stare on the ribbon.
"…"
Thanks.
I don't love it.
Heshu turned his head, his expression utterly dead. He hadn't expected the first thing a healed Takenouchi would demand was to braid his hair.
Takenouchi's fingers moved deftly through the lustrous silver strands. Two minutes later, a freshly braided Heshu was presented.
"My daughter is so beautiful!" Takenouchi sighed with genuine admiration.
Heshu's face was a wooden mask.
Creeeak.
The door opened. Tsunade walked in, her eyes widening as she looked Heshu up and down.
"Wow! Different look today!"
She almost has the charm I did as Konoha's number one beauty!
"Hm?"
Then she saw Takenouchi sitting on the small couch. Her brows knitted into a tight line, her gaze turning heavy.
"Why are you out of bed?"
Takenouchi's injuries shouldn't allow for movement. She'd come specifically to check on his recovery.
"Lady Tsunade, I seem to be much better!" Takenouchi explained.
"Much better?"
Tsunade stepped forward and gripped his wrist. She had personally overseen his surgery; she knew his condition inside and out. It hadn't been enough days. There was no way he should be walking.
"This…!"
She stiffened. Her diagnostic chakra told her the wounds were half-healed. It was unbelievable.
"Impossible!" Tsunade frowned. Something else must have happened. No one healed this fast.
"Rest properly!" she ordered Takenouchi, then took two quick strides to Heshu.
Before Heshu's widened eyes could react, she scooped him up, tucked him under her arm, and marched out, tossing a sentence over her shoulder.
"Borrowing your daughter!"
Heshu's world turned a soft white. His face was buried in a plush, suffocating embrace.
This is my karma.
Heshu endured the smothering agony.
If I don't go to hell, who will? The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha knew what he was talking about.
Tsunade hauled him all the way to her office.
SLAM!
The door shut behind her. Heshu was finally liberated from the dizzying, pale prison.
"Tell me. Did anyone else visit your uncle's room last night?" Tsunade sat in her chair, interrogating him with her eyes.
Heshu shook his head. "Just me."
"Just you?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Sure?"
Heshu nodded. "Sure."
Her sharp gaze made Heshu nervous. His eyelashes fluttered, but his lowered lids couldn't hide the panic in his eyes.
Tsunade stood up abruptly, her shadow falling over him. A threat materialized in her eyes. "Are you hiding something from me?"
Heshu was just a kid. He couldn't fool her. His earlier fidgeting was a clear sign of a guilty conscience.
"N…no!" Heshu squirmed under her oppressive stare and began explaining frantically. "I really didn't do anything!"
"Hm? Really?"
He definitely did something.
From his reaction, Tsunade already had her answer. This brat had done something. There was no other reason for that guilt.
"If you don't talk, I'll have someone inspect your memories!" Tsunade scoffed. Her standing form blocked the sunlight from the window, casting him in shadow.
Shrouded in darkness, Heshu looked like a pitiful, innocent lamb. His lips trembled as tears welled in his eyes. "I'll talk! Tsunade-sis, please don't let anyone check my memories! I'm scared!"
Heshu had a lovely face. With red-rimmed eyes and a pink nose, he looked exactly like a distressed kitten.
Tsunade had only been bluffing. She saw how pitiful he looked, and her heart softened. (Though she couldn't deny a flicker of… excitement when his eyes reddened.)
She stamped down the feeling. She wasn't a pervert like Jiraiya!
"Then spit it out! Now!" she demanded, putting on a fierce front.
"I… I used the Reverse Cursed Technique on Uncle last night," Heshu said, his voice tiny and punctuated by a little sniffle.
"Reverse Cursed Technique?" Tsunade's eyes widened. "What's that?"
Takenouchi's healing speed far surpassed her medical ninjutsu. What was this technique?
"It converts the aggressive chakra left in a wound into energy that heals it!" Heshu explained, watching her warily.
Tsunade was stunned. A tidal wave of implications crashed over her. It sounded like fantasy, but as a medic-nin, she instantly grasped its terrifying potential. She'd never heard of such a technique in the shinobi world, but her visionary mind saw its impact on the battlefield. It was… monstrous.
"Who taught you this?" Tsunade crouched down, her expression deadly serious.
"N…no one taught me," Heshu mumbled.
Tsunade's eyes lowered. Of course.
Tsukimi Heshu was an orphan. A mere chunin like Takenouchi couldn't have provided such a technique. And she'd never heard of it before. That pointed to one answer.
The Reverse Cursed Technique was Tsukimi Heshu's own original creation.
Tsunade drew a sharp, involuntary breath. How old is this kid?
"What a terrifying little brat…" The words escaped her lips unbidden.
A talent like this… it stirred a desire in her to nurture it.
[Ding! Affection from Target: Tsunade Senju has reached 60!]
Plan success!
Heshu allowed a tiny, invisible smirk. Now for the acting.
"Tsunade-sis, I just… I just didn't want Uncle to hurt…" He fidgeted with his fingers, radiating anxiety.
So… it was love and concern for his uncle that drove this child to create such a technique?
[Ding! Affection from Target: Tsunade Senju has reached 65!]
Tsunade gripped Heshu's shoulders, her tone grave. "I understand. You must never speak of this to anyone else."
She genuinely liked this little girl. In their short time together, she'd seen Heshu's qualities: kindness, soft-heartedness, filial piety, friendliness… If this power got out, the higher-ups would send her to the front lines immediately. Even as rear support, she'd be in danger. And a unique, self-created technique? People would pressure her, try to steal it.
Tsunade didn't want that to happen. She was the Hokage's disciple and stayed out of politics, but she wasn't blind to the darkness festering under Konoha's sunny facade.
"Tsunade-sis, why can't I tell anyone?" Heshu asked innocently.
The moment she said it, his own fondness for her began to rise. He wasn't a real child. He knew exactly why she wanted it hidden.
"Too many questions! Just don't!" Tsunade lowered her voice to a menacing growl. "If you tell anyone, I'll sew your mouth shut!"
Pure scare tactics for kids.
Heshu marveled internally but let fear show on his face. He looked at her, hesitating.
"What?" Tsunade saw he wanted to say more.
"Tsunade-sis… but I want to help people." A look of determination settled on his face.
"What?" Tsunade was confused.
"I saw so many injured shinobi uncles! The medics are too busy! Some injuries they can't fix… but I can! I can help them!"
Heshu slowly hung his head. "I don't want their children to… end up like Heshu. To become orphans."
Tsunade froze. She stared, dumbfounded, as her eyes began to sting.
"What is this!" she choked out, forcing back the threatening tears.
This kid… how can she be so kind!
[Ding! Affection from Target: Tsunade Senju has reached 70!]
[Ding! Affection from Target: Tsunade Senju has reached 75!]
"Fine!" Tsunade declared. "I still bear the name Senju! I can protect this little brat, Tsukimi Heshu."
Her own gaze grew firm with resolve.
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