"Mama, wake up~ Mama, wake up~ Mama~" Yamato and Akeno knelt by Tsunade's side, lightly pushing her body while softly calling out to her.
Perhaps it was the sensitivity of children, or perhaps the instinct of young ones of their kind. Their voices were full of tenderness and attachment. That kind of childlike voice, enough to melt anyone's heart, caused Tsunade—caught in a nightmare—to jolt awake in terror, sitting up in bed.
"No way… I must still be dreaming!" Tsunade stared blankly at Yamato and Akeno for three seconds, then shut her eyes and, with a thud, flopped back down onto the bed.
The chakra seal on her forehead emitted pulses of chakra, probing her surroundings to determine whether this was a genjutsu.
Five seconds later, she took a deep breath. She had already realized who these two kids were and could roughly guess why they were here.
But… Why were they calling her "Mama"?
These two were victims of the Wood Release experiments. Even if, because of her grandfather's cells, they barely counted as having some blood connection to her…
This still made no sense!
Could this just be some prank from Kei?
No, no, no!
That guy definitely had a nasty personality, but he usually acted on impulse—rarely did he go out of his way to do meaningless things.
She opened her eyes and sat up straight.
Looking at the confused and anxious children, she fought hard to suppress the urge to punch Kei to death.
With a gentle smile on her face, she reached out to touch the little heads of the two kids.
The little girl, Akeno, had light yellow hair just like her.
When Tsunade touched her head, she slightly shrank her neck back, but upon feeling the warmth from Tsunade's palm, a shy, sweet smile bloomed on her face.
The little boy, Yamato, had a soft face with delicate features like a girl's.
Seeing Tsunade reach out, he eagerly leaned his head over, making it easier for her to pat.
"Mama~" Akeno called out cautiously, eyes full of fear and uncertainty.
Tsunade's forehead veins bulged. Suddenly a mom… without consent!
Kei, you've really outdone yourself!
"Okay, you two stay here and be good for a bit. I'll take you to eat something tasty later."
Her smile stiffened as she patted their heads.
After the two nodded obediently, she, still in her pajamas and walking stiffly, stepped out of the bedroom.
"Kushina, do you think if rumors spread in the village that Akeno and Yamato are Tsunade's kids, people would believe it?" Kei's voice dripped with mischief.
"Heehee~ Probably! Especially Akeno—they have the exact hair color!" Kushina stifled her laughter, doing her best to play along with her boyfriend.
"Then, what if she becomes Hokage, would anyone dare to say such things then?"
"Definitely not! One gag order from the Hokage, and who would dare gossip? Plus, if she made those old experiments public, Danzō would be in deep trouble."
"Yeah, makes sense. But I wonder if she would even want to be Hokage." Standing in the living room, Kei's words were practically laced with threats.
"Hokage? NO!"
Tsunade's eyes widened in fury. Now fully understanding Kei's intentions. Chakra surged around her fists as she charged forward barefoot.
"Kushina, take care of the two little ones. I need to have a nice long chat with Tsunade."
As Kei finished speaking, he dodged Tsunade's powerful punch with a tilt of his head and body, grabbed the fabric at her waist, and disappeared with her using Flying Thunder God Technique.
BOOM—
A violent explosion rocked the ground in front of the Training Cave.
"Bastard!" Tsunade tightly gripped Kei's hand on her waist, her feet cracking the ground beneath her as she pulled him towards her, lifting her knee to strike straight at his lower half.
"OH SH—‼(•'╻'• ۶)۶"
Kei's arm instantly turned to water using the Hydrification Technique, slipping free from Tsunade's grip.
Using [Zero-Frame Start], he quickly retreated three steps, barely avoiding the knee strike that would make any man break out in cold sweat.
Sure, Hydrification Technique could prevent damage… But seriously—what man would want to be hit directly down there, even if it wouldn't injure him?
BOOM—WHOOSH—
Missing with her knee strike, Tsunade stomped the ground hard, cracks spiderwebbing beneath her. Using the recoil to spring forward instead of back, her hand aimed straight for Kei's lower vitals again!
"C'mon! Is this necessary? Every strike aimed there?!"
Kei twisted and pivoted, whipping a leg toward Tsunade's attacking arm.
THUD—
As fist and leg clashed, thick white smoke suddenly exploded between them.
"You're done for." A cold, triumphant smile crept onto Tsunade's tense face.
She raised her left hand and bit down on the bright red fingernail of her index finger, crack—breaking it off and swallowing it.
"Where's the trust between comrades? You sleep with poison on you, and hide the antidote in your nail wrap? Who are you even guarding against? Didn't we agree everything was settled between us?"
Kei's palms glowed with senjutsu chakra.
He slapped his body in several places, using [Yin-Yang Sage Master] to forcefully expel all the random toxins from his system.
So many things to complain about.
It was obvious Tsunade had premeditated all this, just waiting for a chance to make a move on him.
What a petty woman!
"You're the one who messed with me first! Hahaha~ Don't bother resisting, it's useless. Don't you feel your limbs going weak, your whole body heating up? Isn't your heart racing, your breath short? Did you really think the title of Konoha's No.1 Medical-ninmwas just for show? Hahaha~"
Tsunade stood with her hands on her hips, laughing triumphantly.
She hadn't yet figured out that crazy medical ninjutsu of Kei that made people lose control, but so what? She had strength—and methods.
If ninjutsu couldn't achieve that effect, she'd go straight to using drugs.
This concoction was something she spent a lot of time and effort on—three whole days of intensive mixing at Konoha Hospital. It was potent, fast-acting, colorless, tasteless, and hard to neutralize.
Not just in Konoha—even across the entire shinobi world, no one could crack this formula within three days.
Kei might be powerful, but what, could he just slap the drugs right out of his system?
"Aren't you afraid I'll just handle you right here, right now?"
His breathing grew a little heavier, his eyes roaming freely over Tsunade.
"Gah…"
Tsunade's laughter froze. She glanced around the secluded training cave—isolated and empty.
She took off running straight back toward Konoha!
Damn it!
She messed up!
She'd been so focused on revenge she didn't even check where they were!
"Hahahahaha~" Kei laughed so hard watching Tsunade flee that his gums showed.
Hearing his full-bodied laughter, with no sign of being poisoned, her face contorted again.
When he didn't pursue, she realized instantly she'd been played. Fuming, she spun around, face flushed with anger and frustration.
"Why didn't it work on you?! When we first started fighting, I already opened the vial! Even if you didn't breathe in the final smoke, just from our earlier exchange—if you so much as breathed—there's no way you avoided it!"
"Would you tell your ultimate technique to a ninja from Suna?"
"Just name your terms."
"Become Hokage!"
"I already said it—NO! Only fools are Hokage!"
"Come on, Tsuna~ I am so sad to hear you say that…"
Hashirama's soul form popped out from Kei's shoulder, lines of exasperation on his face.
"This jerk threatened me! That's why I said it like that!"
Tsunade glared daggers at Kei. This bastard even dragged her grandfather back from the Pure Land again.
"So you do want to be Hokage, right? Hahahaha~ I knew it, how could you not want to be Hokage? Kei, you're overthinking this."
Hashirama scratched his head, laughing like it was nothing.
"…!!!"
Tsunade froze—realizing her grandfather and Kei were in cahoots to trap her.
Unbelievable... Was this still her grandfather or Kei's grandfather now?
"Tsuna, I saw those two kids earlier. They're both great. Of course, I'd love it if you and my son-in-law had a few of your own, but since you don't yet, adopting them first—"
"Grandpa! What nonsense are you spouting?! He's NOT your son-in-law!"
"Uh… mixed it up, mixed it up! Th-this… Let me have a word alone with Tsuna?" Hashirama said with a smile to Kei.
Floating off his shoulder, he waved to Tsunade, heading toward the lakeside pavilion in the training cave.
Tsunade glared at Kei for three seconds, gritted her teeth, and followed Hashirama's spirit.
"What're you staring at? Stare any more and I'll pour porridge down your throat," Kei muttered under his breath.
Feeling the effect of [Borrowed Account Login] reaching its max range, he stepped toward the lake, picked up a stone, and skipped it across the water.
After over ten minutes. a system notification rang unexpectedly in his mind.
---
[Major alteration to an important character's fate.]
[The worldline progression has deviated.]
[Obtained:
- 1 trait duplication
- 1 trait removal
- 1 gifting opportunity
- 1 trait reset]
[Original worldline trajectory nearing collapse due to repeated intense interference. Complete collapse and reformation will yield large rewards.]
---
"Nearing collapse, large rewards..." Kei blinked at the messages.
He'd expected changing Tsunade's fate would cause major deviation—after all, he was prepping her to rise to power, leading missions to Iwa and Suna, and uniting the villages.
That was no minor change.
But now the worldline itself was on the verge of collapse…
Sure, the massive rewards were tempting—but if the original worldline shattered and reformed… Wouldn't he lose his edge as a transmigrator with future knowledge?