Naruto: Tsunade's Brother

Chapter 216: Sudden Love

The summer night was exceptionally tranquil. A crescent moon hung like a hook in the sky, stars scattered across the firmament, reflecting the countless lights of the village below.

From the nearby woods came intermittent croaks of frogs. Everything seemed peaceful and serene.

Tsunade and Arima sat together on the rooftop, while Shizune had been sent off by Tsunade to wash the dishes.

Gazing at the brilliant starry sky, Tsunade fell silent for a moment before asking, "Arima, you seem very familiar with me. But how is it that I've never heard of you before?"

Arima smiled and replied with a question of his own, "What do you want to know? I'll tell you everything."

Such frankness was somewhat unexpected for Tsunade.

After thinking for a while, she asked, "Then how can you prove that you're really from the Senju clan?"

If this had been in the past, that question wouldn't have troubled Arima in the slightest.

He had a thousand ways to prove his identity. But now that he had lost his chakra, proving it seemed far more difficult.

Arima said, "There's something wrong with my body. I can't condense chakra anymore.

You could ask me some of the Senju clan's confidential matters, or I can tell you a few interesting stories about my grandfather and grandmother."

Tsunade frowned in confusion. "Grandfather? Grandmother?"

"Yes," Arima said. "Hashirama, my grandfather, and Mito, my grandmother. If we go by age, I'm actually your cousin."

Tsunade found it hard to believe. The young man in front of her looked to be only in his early twenties, while she herself was already well past fifty.

"I'm six years older than you," Arima said calmly. "As for my appearance, you can think of it as me preserving my youth through some special method."

Tsunade exclaimed in disbelief, "You're six years older than me? What method did you use?"

Arima extended his hand. "Aren't you a master of medical ninjutsu? Examine the problem inside my body. That way, you'll get the answer you want."

With some doubt, Tsunade placed her hand on his pulse. Very quickly, she discovered something strange.

The moment her chakra entered his meridians, it vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

Even more bizarre was that the chakra reappeared inside her own body.

Biting her thumbnail, Tsunade fell into deep thought.

"The fragments of time inside my body keep it frozen in the state it was in back then," Arima explained.

At first glance, the explanation sounded reasonable, yet it perfectly concealed the truth behind his ageless youth.

Tsunade scrutinized Arima closely, as if trying to see through his very soul. Yet he remained as composed and unflustered as ever, which made her waver despite herself.

After much deliberation, Tsunade decided to observe for the time being. "I'll come find you again after I've dealt with the matters at hand."

With that, she leapt down from the rooftop and left with Shizune.

After Tsunade and Shizune departed, Arima lay back on the roof, staring at the crescent moon above, murmuring to himself.

"Sigh… maybe I shouldn't have appeared in her life at all. I can't exactly take two Tsunades from two different worlds with me when I leave, can I?"

Suddenly, a serious thought occurred to him. If he existed in this world, then shouldn't his old enemies exist here as well?

Thinking of Tsunade soon taking up the position of the Fifth Hokage, he couldn't help but feel worried.

Over the next few days, neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya appeared at Arima's small shop.

That night, only after the shop had closed did Tsunade arrive belatedly with Shizune. Perhaps she had learned this tactic from Jiraiya himself.

The moment she stepped inside, Tsunade shouted toward the kitchen, "Boss, you've got customers!"

But she waited a long time without seeing Arima come out.

She had Shizune call out once more, yet there was still no response. Curious, Tsunade walked into the kitchen, only to see Arima staring blankly at the flames in the stove, lost in thought.

"Boss, I'm hungry," Tsunade said.

Arima didn't move at all, as if he hadn't heard her.

She tried again. "Boss, I'm hungry!"

Without even lifting his head, Arima replied flatly, "We're closed."

Dissatisfied, Tsunade said, "That's unfair treatment. Why is Jiraiya allowed to order after closing time?"

"None of that counts anymore," Arima replied. "Next time, he'll have to follow the rules too."

Those words deflated Tsunade's expectations.

Recently, Tsunade had been extremely busy.

The handover ceremony for the Fifth Hokage was approaching, and she had to deal with an overwhelming amount of paperwork every day.

Today was no exception. Halfway through processing the documents, hunger had struck, and her stomach had begun to growl nonstop.

Only then did she realize she hadn't visited Arima's place for several days. She found herself missing those delicious dishes.

She simply tossed all the paperwork aside, called Shizune over, and headed to Arima's barbecue shop, ready to indulge herself.

What she hadn't expected was to be treated so coldly.

Tsunade grew stubborn. Ignoring Arima's attitude, she rummaged through the kitchen on her own, looking for food.

To her disappointment, the kitchen was spotlessly clean.

There wasn't even any leftover food or rice. Thinking of all those mouthwatering dishes only made her feel hungrier, and her stomach growled again.

Arima glanced at Tsunade and sighed. "What a karmic debt…"

Then he retied his apron and prepared to make something for her after all. This time, however, he had Tsunade help him prepare the ingredients.

Seeing him change his mind, Tsunade immediately beamed with joy.

She might not know how to cook, but when it came to handling ingredients, she wasn't intimidated at all.

'Isn't this basically the same as shaving someone down with a kunai?' she thought.

Just as Tsunade gripped the handle of the knife and was about to cut the meat, Arima stopped her.

Her clumsy movements made him laugh. He had no choice but to put down his own work and teach her, hand over hand, the proper way to hold a kitchen knife.

After explaining carefully, Arima asked, "Tsunade, do you know how to use a knife properly now?"

Tsunade nodded and began mechanically slicing the fresh meat, her mind filled with the scene of Arima teaching her moments earlier.

Her heart suddenly started pounding faster. Her head buzzed, and it felt as though the entire world had narrowed down to just his voice, his scent, and his warmth.

Suddenly, a piercing pain shot up from her fingertip, snapping her back to reality. Only then did Tsunade realize that she had been distracted and accidentally cut her finger.

Arima noticed the mishap as well. Seeing blood flowing steadily from Tsunade's left middle finger, he hurried over to tend to her wound.

In truth, such a minor injury was nothing to Tsunade. Yet Arima unexpectedly became rather nagging.

As he used the power of the Paw-Paw Fruit to stop the bleeding, he said, "You silly girl. You're about to become Hokage, and you're still this careless."

It had been a long time since Tsunade had felt this kind of careful, gentle concern.

The look of affection on his face left her dazed, and for a moment she didn't even notice that her wound was healing at an astonishing speed.

Arima pushed Tsunade out of the kitchen. "Stop getting in the way. Go wait for a bit. The food will be ready soon."

With that, he ignored her and went back to his work.

Sitting on a lounge chair in the courtyard, Tsunade watched Arima's busy figure. Waves of warmth flowed through her heart, and the scene etched itself deeply into her memory.

Shizune quietly observed the two of them from the side and thought to herself, 'I hope Lady Tsunade can finally find happiness of her own.'

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