Tsunade glanced at him sideways.
"You brat, this is the Hokage office, don't start gr*ping!"
She said that and then glared at Shizune, who looked aggrieved, motioning for her to look away.
"I'm just looking at how hard you're working, Sensei, helping to ease the burden a bit," Aoba weighed it a few times in his hand. Soft, yet surprisingly full.
Tsunade rolled her eyes again. She did feel considerably lighter, so she didn't bother further.
As for Shizune's opinion, Tsunade suddenly asked, "Shizune, are you jealous?"
"I-I'm not!"
Shizune looked away, offended but not admitting it.
"Really?"
Tsunade's mouth curled in a teasing smile, "Make this brat work harder, maybe he'll grow a bit more."
She still remembered the time Shizune took advantage of her drunkenness and tossed her into a room. It wasn't that she was unwilling to give herself to this brat, she just disliked Shizune's method.
So when only the three of them were present, she would occasionally bully her top disciple.
Shizune could do nothing but watch, glaring fiercely at the instigator of this situation, Aoba.
Aoba, for his part, looked completely innocent.
He quietly averted his gaze and focused on what he was doing.
Tsunade looked pleased, then lazily asked, "Alright, tell me. What's the important matter?"
Aoba dribbled a small ball with one hand as he spoke, "I seem to have awakened an ability similar to the First Hokage's constitution."
"Huh? Huh?"
At first Tsunade had no reaction, but once it sank in she suddenly sat up straight.
Aoba lost his ball to dribbling.
Tsunade turned and stared at him, "What did you just say?"
"I seem to have awakened a constitution like the First Hokage's," He repeated it.
Tsunade's expression remained one of disbelief, "Are you sure it's not the effect of a yin seal?"
She knew her grandfather's constitution well.
Setting aside that terrifying chakra amount, even the perverse self-healing could only be matched when she fully opened a yin seal and used the Hundred Techniques. That was not a constitution a normal ninja should have.
Even his corpse had been a subject of much study after death.
Seeing Tsunade's suspicion, Aoba nodded seriously.
To prove it, he imitated Konan and took out a kunai, cutting a shallow wound in his palm.
Under the shocked gazes of Tsunade and Shizune, the wound on his palm had already fully healed by the time the kunai was raised.
Tsunade inspected his palm left and right. It was indeed intact, with only a faint scratch indicating there had been a wound.
She checked further and found no signs that Aoba had used a yin seal. His chakra now was more terrifying than before, like an ocean, even more immense than Naruto with the Nine-Tails.
No wonder Tsunade doubted it. In her view, the most absurd thing about Hashirama had never been wood release, but that near-tailed-beast-like constitution.
No, calling it a humanoid tailed beast was actually flattering the tailed beasts.
"To be honest, I'm tempted to slice you up and study you," Tsunade licked her lips, interested.
"Sensei…", Aoba shrank back a little.
Tsunade's expression seemed like she could pounce and strip him at any moment.
Or perhaps she really did want to rip his clothes off now.
"Heh!"
Tsunade found his reaction amusing.
"What, are you really afraid I'll cut you up?"
"No, I'm afraid you'll suddenly strip my clothes off."
Aoba answered weakly and tried to withdraw his hand.
"What did you say?"
Tsunade's brows rose. She pinched his palm until it creaked.
"Ugh!", Aoba gasped.
"Hmph!", Seeing the pained look on his face, Tsunade let go and said, "Leave some of your tissue samples for me. I'll compare them with my great-grandfather's."
Although Konoha stopped research into Hashirama's cells, that didn't mean there weren't any Hashirama cells left in the lab.
"Actually, I have another special discovery," Aoba continued.
"What is it?"
Tsunade resumed her lazy posture.
This brat popped strange abilities from time to time. After the shock passed, she treated it as just another oddity.
She wasn't overly concerned. After all, the Hokage position would soon be his.
"Well… um…", Aoba thought for a moment and rephrased, "My cells seem to help others increase chakra, heal wounds, and improve regeneration."
"If it really is your great-grandfather's constitution, that could make sense. But, how did you discover it?"
Tsunade looked at him curiously. It wasn't like someone bit him.
"Uh… Konan and Yugao discovered it. This morning they—"
Aoba briefly recounted what had happened that morning.
After hearing it, the two wore strange expressions. Tsunade looked at him with contempt.
"Of course you're a perverted brat. Whatever ability you get turns into something lewd."
"Ahem! I was forced into it."
Aoba's protest sounded feeble.
"Hmph!"
Tsunade sneered.
"Still, if it has this effect, can't we make good use of it?", Shizune suddenly said.
She hadn't thought much, only that if the effect was real, perhaps you could get stronger lying down.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow and looked at Shizune, "You want this brat to bring back a few more girls?"
"Huh? No! No!"
Shizune blinked, then shook her head quickly, explaining, "That's not what I meant. I just thought, if we had this ability, couldn't we get stronger without effort?"
As she said the last part, her face turned red.
Tsunade stroked her chin and thought for a moment, her look at Aoba growing stranger.
'If I cast a yin seal, then…'
'Wouldn't the chakra lost be replenished instantly?'
"Gulp!"
Aoba swallowed, "Sensei, you won't actually slice me up for research, will you?"
"I only think Shizune's idea has some merit. But we still need to carefully check for side effects."
Tsunade's mouth twitched. She then told Shizune, "Shizune, step outside. Don't let others come near."
Shizune: "?"
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