Chapter 461 The Relationship Has Subtly Changed

From the distance, Shizune saw the two of them approaching together. She remembered how she had gone out to buy food for Tsunade earlier, only to return and find herself completely abandoned.

She felt extremely aggrieved at the time and wanted to cry but couldn't, so she could only squat outside the inn and wait.

Although she had been feeling aggrieved just now, the moment she saw Tsunade walking over with a puzzled expression, her anger immediately dissipated. She could only purse her lips. What else can she do? She'll just forgive her.

"What's wrong with you?" Naruto asked.

"It's none of your business!" Shizune snapped fiercely.

"What's wrong with you?" Tsunade asked again.

"Wow, woo, woo, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune threw herself into Tsunade's arms while crying.

Naruto: "????"

'Seriously?' Naruto thought, feeling baffled, 'Playing favorites much?'

Although he was exasperated by the clear double standard, seeing the little Shizune sobbing, he decided not to provoke her any further.

With a wave of his hand, Naruto walked past the two of them, intending to head back to his room first.

"Hey, it's time for dinner soon, where are you going?" Tsunade, still holding Shizune, called out to him.

"Oh, uh… I…"

"Just wait a bit. Let's all go together." Tsunade suggested without thinking too much.

Unexpectedly, Shizune in her arms reacted violently and burst into even louder sobs.

Naruto and Tsunade looked at each other with confusion and puzzlement in their eyes.

Fortunately, Shizune stopped crying after a short while, but no matter how much Tsunade asked, Shizune just kept her head down and refused to explain the real reason. She just said that she was in a bad mood and couldn't hold it back.

Tsunade didn't press further and simply took the two of them to eat.

Later that night, Tsunade and Naruto gathered together again for a few rounds of games. It was just a casual play, not as intense as the previous nights when they stayed up all night playing.

After playing for a while, Tsunade decided to take a bath. Seeing her leave, Naruto also got ready to return to his room for a bath and some rest. However, just as he was about to leave, he was called back by the yawning Tsunade.

"Wait. After I finish my bath, let's play one more round, the last one." She said.

Hearing this, Naruto chuckled and nodded in agreement.

Tsunade went to take a shower, leaving Shizune and Naruto sitting there. Shizune didn't want to see Naruto, nor did she want to pay attention to him, so she just snorted and turned away.

Naruto was a little speechless by this, but didn't say anything. He just idly fiddled with the dice on the table.

Tsunade soon came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, with her damp hair bundled in a towel as well. Her snow-white shoulders were exposed, gleaming like ivory.

The bulge in the towel was even more stunning, like a snow-capped mountain. The large towel covered most of Tsunade's body, all the way to her calves.

Seeing this, Shizune frowned. She had realized that the relationship between Tsunade and Naruto had subtly changed. She silently wondered what happened when the two of them went out, and soon her face turned red.

"Let's continue." Tsunade sat down casually, her robe loosely draped over her body, and she doesn't even bother to adjust it.

"Okay." Naruto looked down and found that Tsunade's feet had been stretched out and placed casually next to him.

Her delicate toes lined up neatly, and her smooth legs were in full view. Although the position wasn't particularly graceful, the sight was captivating enough to shift his thoughts.

Despite her earlier comment about playing only one more round, it was impossible to play only one round after getting started. After playing several rounds back and forth, Tsunade finally called it quits. Seeing it was getting late, she kicked Naruto out of the room.

Naruto could also see that she was not in a very good mood today, so he didn't try to tempt her further. He simply went back to his room to wash up and rest.

…

The next day.

Tsunade was in good condition again. She picked up Naruto from his bed in the middle of the day, hollering about playing more. They played until the evening, at which point they decided to resume their journey the next day.

Naruto then remembered that he had wasted a long time on the road, so he put down the dice, thought for a while, and said with a frown, "We're almost at the Land of Hot Water. I should probably leave soontoo."

Tsunade, focused on her cards, didn't react much, only slightly curling her pinky in response. She gave a nonchalant 'Hmm', acknowledging his words.

Seeing her lack of reaction, Naruto naturally didn't continue talking about this topic. He fiddled with the dice with one hand, and looked at the cards carefully with the other hand.

In fact, Naruto also felt that he had teased Tsunade enough. Once he left, other gambling games would not be able to satisfy her. Whether it was from the perspective of revenge or helping her quit gambling, it was almost enough.

It was impossible for him to continue wandering with Tsunade. They just met by chance and it was normal for them to part ways.

He didn't expect any major reaction from Tsunade, after all, Tsunade had been to too many places and met too many people. This was just a friendly farewell before their carefree time together ended.

Naruto had come here to get information and would need to assume a new identity before heading to Konoha. Since Tsunade had already seen his face, there was no need to hide it anymore.

However, he had to be cautious when heading to Konoha, as Konoha was still a very powerful Shinobi Village at this time. Sandaime is still in his prime, the Uchiha Clan were ambitious, and Danzo was lurking in the dark.

Moreover, the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, was at the peak of his strength, and Kakashi was already earning his reputation as a genius. Had Tsunade not left, Konoha could have been described as having 'four Kage-level figures in the same era'.

The current situation in Konoha is not the Konoha that would be riddled with internal struggles 20 years later. Even Naruto needs to be cautious if he wants to get important top-secret information from Konoha.

These thoughts flashed through his mind before he returned to their game, laughing and joking with Tsunade. At one point, Tsunade tried to cheat, but Naruto caught her.

"Tsunade-sama, that's a bit much, don't you think?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about. Let go! Hurry up!" Tsunade, thick-skinned as ever, didn't feel the least bit embarrassed after being caught cheating. She even tried to continue cheating.

He naturally couldn't stand it anymore, and grabbed Tsunade's wrist to make a stand. Eventually, Tsunade succeeded in her sneaky move, leaving Naruto feeling a bit helpless.

He tossed his cards onto the table with an exasperated sigh, "This is rigged. No more playing. No more playing."

After saying that, he got up and went back. Tsunade was holding the playing cards and laughing behind him, looking like she had gotten something. She didn't stop laughing until the door slammed shut.

Shizune had already finished washing up and was about to crawl into bed. When she looked up, she saw Tsunade sitting alone at the table in a daze, so she couldn't help but ask, "Tsunade-sama, is everything okay?"

"It's okay, I'm just thinking about how to cheat better." Tsunade turned around, and replied with a smile.

Shizune: "… Go to sleep."

The night passed without incident.