Chapter 59: Tsunade's Birthday
"Hoshikawa!"
Kurenai was surprised and happy. "Why are you back so early today?"
"To train with you," Hoshikawa said, patting her head.
"Let's go then!"
Hearing this, Kurenai happily grabbed his hand and led him outside.
Kids these days. They grow up so fast.
Shinku Yuhi sighed, following them out to the yard.
Hoshikawa and Kurenai formed the confrontational hand sign and began sparring.
Both of them used genjutsu, so it didn't look like an intense fight, but it was actually extremely perilous.
Still, Kurenai was no match for Hoshikawa and was defeated quickly.
"I lost again," Kurenai said, pouting.
"A genjutsu user needs to judge an enemy's mental state; you can't just use genjutsu right away."
Hoshikawa pulled Kurenai over to go over their spar.
Although genjutsu had its limitations, it was a deadly weapon against most regular ninja.
By mastering it, Kurenai could at least guarantee her self-preservation, even if she couldn't become a top-tier ninja.
Hoshikawa looked at Kurenai's serious face and thought to himself, Should I get her a pair of Sharingan in the future?
But then he decided against it. Her ruby-like eyes were beautiful as they were; there was no need to replace them.
He suddenly thought of another method: brute force.
The more chakra you have, the more powerful your jutsu becomes.
The same applied to genjutsu.
If he could find a "power bank" for Kurenai, similar to a Tailed Beast, her power would increase dramatically.
"What are you looking at?" Kurenai glanced to her left and right instinctively. "Is something wrong?"
"You look a lot prettier, I think," Hoshikawa said, snapping out of his thoughts with a smile.
"Really?" Kurenai's eyes lit up. "Where?"
"Ahem!"
The nearby Shinku Yuhi couldn't stand it anymore and quickly interjected.
"Dad, if you're not feeling well, you should go rest in your room," Kurenai said, looking at him with concern.
"...?"
Shinku Yuhi was completely bewildered.
His fists were clenching!
He shot Hoshikawa a fierce glare.
"…"
Hoshikawa felt wronged.
He hadn't said a thing.
"Let's keep training," Kurenai said with renewed motivation.
"Alright."
Hoshikawa nodded.
Shinku Yuhi's mouth twitched.
Seriously? You're just going to ignore me like that?
He sighed and turned back into the house.
In the end, he was the one who was superfluous.
A new day dawned.
Hoshikawa arrived at Tsunade's house precisely at eight in the morning, just as she had said, and knocked on the door.
He waited for over ten seconds, but there was no response.
Just as he was wondering if he should use his key to open the door, it swung open, revealing a groggy-eyed Tsunade.
She was wearing a spaghetti-strap nightgown, her shoulders exposed in a smooth, milky white expanse that had a clear swell at her chest.
"Sensei."
Hoshikawa held out the gift with a smile. "Happy birthday!"
"Birthday? Whose birthday?"
Tsunade clearly wasn't fully awake yet and asked in a daze.
She rubbed her eyes, and a few seconds later, she realized it was her birthday.
"Thank you," Tsunade said, accepting the gift. She finally understood why Hoshikawa had been so uncharacteristically compliant yesterday.
This kid has a good heart.
"I'll go make red bean rice," Hoshikawa said, walking into the house and heading to the kitchen.
In the ninja world, the custom for birthdays was to eat red bean rice, just like how people in his past life ate longevity noodles.
Tsunade looked away, glancing at the gift box, and opened it.
Two of them?
She quickly looked at the sake set, then picked up the bracelet.
It was entirely silver, strung with pearls and small charms, simple yet exquisite.
Tsunade was silent for a few seconds before putting on the bracelet.
She rarely wore any jewelry, other than... She reached out and touched the necklace she wore.
Tsunade turned and went back to her room.
After changing her clothes, she sat at the dining table to wait.
Not long after, Hoshikawa brought out the red bean rice.
"When's your birthday?" Tsunade asked.
"I don't know," Hoshikawa said, shaking his head.
This was the truth.
He was a war orphan who was adopted and trained by the Cloud Village, eventually being chosen as a spy.
His birthday was irrelevant; all he remembered was that he was seven years old this year.
Tsunade pursed her lips.
She saw Hoshikawa eating the red bean rice as well, and said, "Then today is your birthday, too."
"Okay," Hoshikawa replied after a moment of surprise.
The next second, he felt something warm in his hand.
"A gift for you."
Tsunade picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the red bean rice. "It's not bad."
Hoshikawa looked at the pendant necklace in his hand, lost in thought.
Could I say no?
This was none other than the late Hashirama Senju's keepsake, something Tsunade treasured deeply.
In the original story, she had given it to three people, and they all died, which was why it was known as the Death Necklace.
Hoshikawa started to wonder if he was lucky enough to survive it.
"You don't like it?" Tsunade asked, looking at him with a deadpan expression.
"I love it!" Hoshikawa quickly nodded.
He unfurled the necklace and put it around his neck.
It smells good.
Hoshikawa took a sniff and could detect a faint fragrance.
The necklace itself wouldn't have a scent, so it was obvious where the smell came from.
"Take good care of this necklace; don't lose it," Tsunade said, looking him in the eyes with a serious warning.
"I won't," Hoshikawa replied.
He knew this pendant necklace was more than just jewelry.
It was also a chakra crystal, containing Hashirama Senju's chakra and possessing the power to suppress the Nine-Tails.
But most importantly, it held immense significance for Tsunade.
The fact that he received this necklace meant that he had truly earned her trust.
In other words, he could do whatever he wanted in Konoha.
"Sensei, that bracelet looks great on you," Hoshikawa said, noticing the one on Tsunade's wrist and praising her immediately.
"You smooth talker," Tsunade said with a laugh. "Let's eat. We're going to the casino after we're done."
"Right!" Hoshikawa said with a straight, serious face.
Tsunade just laughed even harder.
After breakfast, the two of them headed to the casino.
Tsunade sat down at the table and casually pulled Hoshikawa into her lap.
Hoshikawa was used to it by now. He sat on her thigh and leaned back, using her soft chest as a cushion.
Tsunade didn't mind; she was staring at the gambling table, radiating bloodlust.
She was ready to fight a bloody war all day!
Hoshikawa watched for a while before falling asleep.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes, he was back at home.
At Tsunade's home, of course.
"Is it afternoon already?" Hoshikawa looked out the window at the bright August sun.
He got up and went to the living room.
"You're awake?" Tsunade said, walking from the sofa to the dining table. "Today is both our birthdays, so come eat some cake."
She put the candles on the cake and lit them one by one.
"Blow out the candles and make a wish," Tsunade said, patting his head.
Looking at her, Hoshikawa felt a wave of emotion and didn't complain about her head-patting anymore.
He took a deep breath and blew out the candles.
The two of them clasped their hands together, closed their eyes, and made their wishes.
....
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