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"Tsu… Tsunade, maybe you should, um, go out and change first…"
Kotarou's face turned even redder as he stammered the words out.
Tsunade tilted her head, the corners of her lips lifting in a half-smile, and replied with a look of innocent confusion.
"But this is my house, you know."
Kotarou's brain went boom, like it had exploded.
He immediately dropped his head and babbled, "S-sorry, I… I'll go out first."
He practically bolted from the room.
Out in the courtyard of the Senju compound, a chill wind blew past, clearing his head a little.
He took a long breath, exhaled slowly, and looked up at the moon hanging in the sky, his heart pounding like crazy.
Through the window, Tsunade watched Kotarou standing in the yard and couldn't help bursting into laughter in her room.
How had she never noticed that this usually quiet, reserved boy had this side to him?
Looking at Kotarou bathed in moonlight, she suddenly felt that he actually looked kind of handsome. She shook her head, then pulled the curtains closed and changed into looser but still proper clothes.
In the courtyard, Kotarou raised his head again, gazing at the moon in the sky. Silver light spilled down like water.
It fell across his body, and for a moment, Kotarou just stood there in a daze.
"Men of today do not see the moon of old,
Yet this same moon once shone on those of the past…"
The lines of an old poem slipped from his mouth, adding a faint air of melancholy to him.
Tsunade's hearing was excellent. The moment she heard that poem, she felt a jolt of admiration.
She glanced again at Kotarou in the moonlight and suddenly found herself blushing.
"Kotarou-kun really has a way with words.
'Men of today do not see the moon of old, yet this same moon once shone on those of the past'…
With lines like that, I don't know how many girls will end up falling for you."
Tsunade said with a smile.
Kotarou turned his head slightly and looked over at her.
Tsunade was now wearing a loose kimono.
Her pale arms were smooth and flawless as she stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder, looking up at the bright moon.
"Tsunade-sama, sorry about just now."
Kotarou smiled and bowed. Strictly speaking, he was still just a genin, while she was a jōnin.
Even if they were classmates, in terms of rank Tsunade was still his superior.
But Tsunade just shook her head.
"Kotarou-kun, just call me Tsunade. No need for all that formality. We're not only superior and subordinate, we're classmates too."
Only then did Kotarou straighten up.
This time, Tsunade was the one who tilted her head back to look at the moon.
He took the chance to quietly observe her up close.
An oval face, a high ponytail, big bright eyes sparkling like gemstones.
A chest that was already starting to take shape, long slender legs, and a smile tugging at the corner of her lips that she couldn't quite hide.
Right now, the beauty beside him had eyes only for the moon.
The moonlight seemed to become a shining lens reflected in her pupils, like a piece of jewelry resting in her gaze.
Suddenly, Tsunade seemed to realize something.
She looked up at the man who was a full head taller than she was and smiled.
"Kotarou-kun, congratulations. After eighteen years, you finally awakened your eyes."
Her smile was clear and pure, different from anyone else's.
There was not a trace of mockery or sarcasm, only sincere goodwill and heartfelt congratulations.
Kotarou's lips lifted slightly and he smiled back.
"You're the first person who has ever truly wished me well."
"Hm? Back in your clan's compound, was there no one who cared for you or looked after you?"
Tsunade froze, then turned her head to look at him.
Kotarou smiled faintly.
"There used to be. But because of some things, they aren't around anymore…"
He was talking about his parents and his old friends. Back when his parents were alive, he had been the treasure in their palms, the apple of their eye.
But during the First Shinobi War, his father died on the battlefield.
His mother overworked herself and passed away the following year.
As for friends, he had once had a few.
But under the instigation of certain clan members, they gradually drifted away from him.
Just like that, he slowly became a marginal figure within the Uchiha clan.
Tsunade looked at Kotarou, who could still smile as he said these things.
She suddenly felt that he was more mature than other people his age.
As for the reasons behind that maturity…
If she kept digging, it would just make her seem tactless. Tsunade shook her head and gave a small smile.
"Well then, Kotarou-kun, you should get some sleep early.
We're marching out tomorrow…
If you don't rest, you won't be able to get up."
She pointed toward the guest room, stretched lazily, and then went back to her own bedroom.
Kotarou chuckled softly and headed in the direction she'd indicated.
It was already midnight.
At this hour, the village was utterly silent.
Aside from the patrols on the streets, there wasn't another soul around.
With war on the horizon, going out at night had been forbidden.
If you were caught wandering after dark, you could easily be suspected of being a spy or trying to do something shady.
So Kotarou had no choice but to stay in the Senju compound for now.
When he entered the guest room and saw how spotless it was, he immediately thought that Mito must have had someone come clean it.
He couldn't help feeling a surge of gratitude toward her.
If he remembered correctly, next year
the Land of Whirlpools would be invaded by the Four Great Nations, all of them hungry for Uzumaki blood.
No matter what, he had to find a way to stop that from happening.
His gaze hardened like stone at the thought.
Then he lay down on the bed, pulled the blanket up, and drifted off to sleep.
At that moment, Mito opened her eyes, got up, and knocked on Tsunade's door. Thump, thump, thump.
"Who is it?"
Tsunade had just finished undressing, her snow-white thighs bare.
This was her own home.
This room was hers, so naturally there was nothing she felt she needed to keep covered.
Nawaki, meanwhile, had been called over to Orochimaru's house.
Orochimaru was reminding him of various things to be careful about during wartime, and giving him a bit of "extra tutoring" as well.
So Nawaki was not at home today.
As for Kotarou?
After their conversation just now, Tsunade felt she could be sure he had a good character.
Sneaking peeks or pulling some cheap perverted trick really didn't seem like something he would do.
That said, there might be something he needed to talk to her about, so she still asked who it was first.
"It's me."
Mito's voice came from outside the door. Tsunade immediately perked up.
She both loved and respected this grandmother of hers. After her grandfather passed away, it was Mito who raised Tsunade and Nawaki.
So of course, Tsunade's feelings for her grandmother were full of respect and affection.
Creak…
The door opened.
"Grandma."
Her voice came before she did, and Mito's face lit up with a gentle smile.
Her granddaughter's voice was the sweetest sound.
But when the door swung fully open and she saw Tsunade standing there completely naked, her face fell at once.
She frowned, her tone dropping.
"How many times have I told you? A young lady should sleep with her clothes on, and you never listen!
On ordinary days it would already be bad enough, but now we even have a guest in the house and you're still so careless. What if someone sees you?!"
Mito scolded.
Tsunade's neck shrank in on itself. She knew her grandmother was truly angry this time.
The brain she didn't use very often suddenly spun up to full speed.
How to coax Grandma…? But no matter how she tried to think of something to say, nothing came to mind…
(End of Chapter)
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