Chapter 254: Love is a Light… So Green It Makes You Panic

Tōshirō left Naka Shrine and headed to his training ground. When he didn't see Tsunade waiting there for him, his brows furrowed slightly.

He couldn't help but imagine a few things. Shaking his head to push those thoughts away, he reminded himself that the top priority right now was increasing his strength.

He quickly formed hand signs and practiced the Water Style: Water Severing Wave over the stream to get a feel for the technique.

After training all morning, Tōshirō had basically mastered this jutsu. The next step was to gradually blend its essence into Hyōrinmaru.

Time flew by as he immersed himself in training.

Suddenly, several stones flew at him from the air.

Caught off guard, Tōshirō swiftly made hand signs and activated the Water Style: Heavenly Tears, the jutsu he had learned that morning. He spun and fired off water needles, which pierced the stones midair—and he even had enough room to launch a counterattack back at the assailant.

But the person who had attacked didn't even flinch. With a casual motion, they swatted away the water needles with their hand.

Tōshirō narrowed his eyes and saw the blackened, rock-hard arm. Based on the characteristics, he muttered, "Earth Style: Earth Spear."

Tsunade dismissed the Earth Spear jutsu and walked over with a graceful stride, a bright smile on her face."Looks like you're learning well. You've already put the jutsu I taught you to good use."

"Well, all those 'spit wars' between us weren't for nothing, right?"

Tōshirō's joking tone reminded Tsunade of that mortifying memory, and she clicked her tongue in mock annoyance."Don't bring that up—it's disgusting."

After lightening the mood a little, Tōshirō turned serious."Where did you go after I left?"

Tsunade's expression dimmed as she sighed."They don't seem to like you very much."

Tōshirō had already braced himself for that and wasn't bothered."Whatever. I'm not money—I can't expect everyone to like me."

Tsunade couldn't help but laugh at his humor. Her worried look faded, replaced by a bright, garden-like smile."You're so funny."

After the giggles, she regained her serious tone."But seriously—how are you planning to win their approval?"

"Approval? Why should I need their approval?" Tōshirō looked genuinely puzzled."All I need is for you to keep liking me. Whether others like me, approve of me—honestly, I don't have the time or the interest to care."

The hardest thing in this world is trying to shove your own thoughts into someone else's head—or getting money out of their pocket.

He wasn't Naruto. He wasn't full and bored, running around trying to gain people's approval.

Rather than wasting time pleasing others, why not make them want to please him instead?

Tsunade found some truth in Tōshirō's words, but it still felt off—it was just too different from the values she was taught.

"But even if you say that, you'll still have to face it eventually."

"Well, true." Tōshirō nodded. After thinking for a bit, he added,"In that case, I'll just beat them up."

"Huh?"

"I'm not good with words, and I don't know how to talk people into things. That just leaves fighting. In the ninja world, strength has always been the most effective and straightforward way."

"Well… I mean, that's not wrong," Tsunade admitted."But wait—what's this 'talk no jutsu' you mentioned?"

"Oh, that's a type of genjutsu."

"A genjutsu?"

"Yeah. A powerful illusion technique that works just by moving your lips. Doesn't even need chakra. It activates through sound—totally impossible to defend against."

"If the target's willpower isn't strong enough, they'll become the caster's puppet. They might even forget their own name… or in serious cases, end up killing their own parents."

Tsunade listened for a long moment before she finally pieced together what Tōshirō was saying."Can you please be serious?"

"I am being serious. Look, I even followed the naming rules for jutsu precisely. Not a single extra word."

Tsunade didn't want to keep bickering with him, so she changed the subject."What about your clan? How do they feel about this?"

Tōshirō laughed."My clan is way more open-minded than yours. They're hoping we get married as soon as possible—and have a kid while we're at it."

At the mention of having a child, Tsunade's face instantly turned red."Pfft—who said I'm having your child?!"

At that, Tōshirō lowered his chin, tapped it with his finger, and fell silent in thought.

"What's with you?" Tsunade asked curiously, noticing his sudden quietness.

Tōshirō raised his head and said seriously,"Not having kids is fine too, right?"

That one unexpected sentence completely threw Tsunade off. Her eyes widened in disbelief."...Huh?"

"Thinking about it, I don't really need that kind of thing."

"That kind of thing?" Tsunade thought she'd misheard.

Tōshirō, unbothered and blunt, said,"What? Why are you looking at me like that? Am I weird?"

Tsunade looked at him like he was from another planet."Of course it's weird! Who gets married and doesn't have kids?!"

Tōshirō realized he had said something quite shocking. He paused briefly, but instead of backtracking, he stuck to his belief.

"Sure, marriage usually comes with having children. But what's the purpose of that? Just to pass on the bloodline?"

"And what's wrong with that?"

"But I don't need to pass on my bloodline."

"...Huh?"

"As the saying goes: if there's no demand, there's no supply. I don't have the demand, so I don't need the supply."

Tsunade was completely stumped by Tōshirō's logic. She tried to use a real-life example to reason with him."But everyone else does it! Wouldn't it be weird if we didn't have kids?"

"Weird? I don't think so. Why care about other people's opinions? As long as we're not hurting anyone, why not just live the life we want?"

Tsunade couldn't make sense of it."You're so strange. Why do you even think like this?"

"Strange? Maybe…"

Tōshirō gave a self-deprecating chuckle.

To be honest, even he had startled himself by saying all that.

Getting married and having kids—that was the default mindset for most people.

In the past, Tōshirō didn't think there was anything odd about it.

But after Tsunade casually threw in that tsundere remark earlier, it seemed like something… strange had awakened inside him.

Tsunade thought Tōshirō was joking and laughed, "Go on, tell me—why don't you want kids? You said earlier there's only supply when there's demand. So if you don't want kids, you must have a legitimate reason, right?"

Hearing this, Tōshirō gathered his thoughts, just about to answer when something suddenly came to mind and he let out a chuckle.

Tsunade asked, confused, "What are you laughing at?"

"Weren't you just saying you didn't want to have kids with me? And now here you are practically begging for an explanation."

Tōshirō's counter-question caught Tsunade off guard. She raised her delicate little pink fist, ready to pummel him.

Tōshirō quickly gave in. "Don't hit me! I'll answer seriously this time."

Tsunade snorted and reluctantly lowered her fist, saying irritably, "Fine, explain why you don't want to have kids with me… Uh, don't get the wrong idea! I'm just making a point—an example, got it?"

Normally, Tōshirō would have teased her a bit over something like that, but not this time. He sighed and said, "I guess… I'm afraid the love will be divided."

"Divided love?"

Tsunade was stunned, not quite following.

Tōshirō glanced at her and explained, "If we had a child, naturally you'd end up focusing a lot of your attention on them, right?"

"Well, obviously," Tsunade replied. But as soon as she said it, realization dawned, and her lips curled into a sly smile. "Oh ho~ Don't tell me… you're jealous of your own kid?"

Tōshirō gave a cough and said nothing, which was as good as a confirmation.

Tsunade's mouth formed an O-shape, big enough to stuff in a sausage—clearly stunned. "That's way over the top!"

Tōshirō, somewhat embarrassed, opened his mouth. "If it's a girl, I could probably tolerate it. But if it's a boy, I really can't."

"What's wrong with a boy?" Tsunade didn't get it.

Tōshirō replied gloomily, "Just imagine—a brat lying on your chest every day, pushing boundaries in front of me… I can't help but think of a saying: Love is like a beam of light—it blinds you with green. Do you get what I mean?"

To Tōshirō, a child was a separate, independent being.

"How could I possibly get that!"

Tsunade looked at him with total disbelief. It was the definition of ridiculous.

"Sigh…"

"Why do you even think like this?"

"I don't know either."

"You've got a problem—like, seriously. A serious mental illness. You need help."

"I think so too. And maybe… it's hereditary."

"Hereditary?"

Tōshirō looked troubled. "The Uchiha clan seems to have a touch of neurosis. I think I might've inherited a little of it."

Tsunade laughed and scolded him. "Oh, cut it out. You're nuts on your own—don't go blaming your clan."

Tōshirō looked into her eyes, pleading, "Tsunade, let's not have kids after we get married, okay? Those little brats are just extra. I only want you. Let's not let them mess up our life together."

Maybe it was some strange influence from the Uchiha genes, but ever since falling for Tsunade, Tōshirō felt himself becoming more and more extreme.

He had the potential to go full psycho.

Tsunade, being a traditionally minded woman, was firmly opposed: "No way. What do you mean, not have kids? Of course we're having kids. And I'm gonna give you tons of them—like seven or eight. Let's see how jealous that makes you."

"You're a sow, huh?"

Tōshirō gave her figure a once-over. With her exceptional assets, it wasn't out of the question.

"Who are you calling a sow?!"

"Who else? Who even has that many kids unless they're out of their mind? Can you even afford to raise them?"

"I have more money than I could ever need."

Tsunade was the textbook definition of rich, beautiful, and successful. That statement wasn't wrong.

"Heh, and wasn't it you just now who boldly said you weren't giving me any kids?" Tōshirō shot her a teasing look. "So, what now, future mother of my seven or eight children?"

Tsunade blushed and huffed, "That's none of your business."

Tōshirō laughed. "How is it none of my business? Don't tell me you think you can do all that on your own?"

"…"

"Let's not get things twisted," Tōshirō said. "You're just the fertile soil, and I'm the ox plowing the land. Seriously… seven or eight kids? I can't believe you even said that. You're not tired, but damn, I am."

"Ugh, you're dead meat!"

Tsunade, unable to out-talk him, went straight to fists.

Tōshirō, afraid of her, was just about to run when suddenly he froze, as if something had struck him, a chill running down his spine.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked, seeing the seriousness on his face.

"Nothing," Tōshirō shook his head.

Just then, he had remembered that Uchiha Madara was likely still scheming behind the scenes, probably planning to kill Tsunade just to force him into awakening his eyes.

If, due to his own failure, Tsunade ended up dying… Even Tōshirō couldn't imagine what kind of person he'd become in that moment.

Maybe, just like those anime protagonists—driven by overwhelming emotion, he'd snap and completely lose his mind… fall into darkness.

(End of Chapter)

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