Chapter 41: How About You Carry Me
Inside the izakaya.
Renji still sat between Tsunade and Shizune, just as he had when they first met. Jiraiya sat alone on the opposite side.
"Lady Tsunade, I've already learned the Mystical Palm Technique!" Renji looked at Tsunade with sparkling eyes.
Tsunade was startled, then looked at Shizune, who nodded with a smile. She showed a helpless smile and ruffled Renji's head. If Renji hadn't mentioned it himself, Tsunade would have forgotten about it. Originally, she had made this request merely to make things difficult for him and to buy herself some time. She hadn't expected Renji to actually achieve it, especially not in such a short span that left her reeling from the sheer speed of it all.
Truly… amazing. He was indeed the boy she had her eyes on, the one whose potential seemed to burn brighter with every passing moment.
"Tsunade…" As Jiraiya was about to speak, Tsunade pinched Renji's cheek and said to Jiraiya, "From today onwards, don't call me Tsunade."
Jiraiya looked at her in surprise, his eyes widening just a fraction as the weight of her words sank in.
Renji exclaimed joyfully, "Lady Hokage!"
Tsunade hugged him tightly and rubbed his head. "How are you so quick-witted?" she asked, her voice warm with a mix of amusement and genuine affection, the kind that came from someone who'd finally let her guard down.
Jiraiya was so envious of Renji's treatment that he forgot what he was about to say, his mouth half-open as he watched the scene unfold with a jealous twitch in his jaw.
"Lady Hokage, what about my companions then…?" Renji looked at Tsunade with anticipation, his voice carrying that earnest plea that tugged at the heartstrings without even trying.
Tsunade had already overcome her hemophobia. She looked at her own hands, flexing her fingers slowly as if reacquainting herself with their strength. She was no longer the powerless Tsunade of the past, adrift and broken; she had to pull herself together now, step into the role that had been waiting for her all this time.
"I will treat them when we return to Konoha, but…" She stared at Renji, her gaze steady and full of quiet expectation, "I want you and Shizune to assist."
Renji's face went blank for a moment, surprise flickering across his features. "Me?" He looked at Shizune beside him. "I can understand Shizune assisting with surgery, but I don't know Medical Ninjutsu… not beyond the basics you've just started showing me."
Shizune, holding Tonton close against her chest, seriously told Renji, "Renji, your talent for Medical Ninjutsu is much better than mine. Lady Tsunade means for you to diligently learn from her during this time, shadowing every step so you can grow into it fully."
Renji looked at Tsunade and nodded seriously, his expression hardening with resolve. "I will work hard, Lady Hokage—no shortcuts, no holding back."
A cold sensation suddenly appeared on Renji's neck. He looked down. A crystal pendant necklace strung on a black cord had appeared around his neck. Renji's pupils constricted slightly, recognition hitting him like a sudden gust.
If he remembered correctly, this crystal necklace sealed the Wood Release power of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, right? Renji had always focused on researching Wood Release, pouring over every scrap of knowledge he could find. Although he possessed all chakra natures and the memories of Hashirama awakening it, developing Wood Release was far from easy, a puzzle with pieces that refused to fit no matter how he twisted them. Even now, Renji still had no clue how to fully unlock it without risking everything. This necklace would undoubtedly provide him with a lot of help, a direct bridge to that legendary power he'd been chasing for so long.
"It's for you. You can't refuse." Tsunade extended a finger and pressed it against Renji's forehead, the touch firm but kind, like a silent vow between them.
Renji held the pendant tightly in his hand, feeling its weight and the faint hum of sealed chakra within, and promised, "I will not let down Lady Tsunade's trust—I swear it."
Tsunade, of course, believed him completely. It was precisely because she believed him, down to her core, that she gave him such an important item, entrusting a piece of her grandfather's legacy to the boy who'd reignited her own fire.
That night, after finishing the afternoon's Medical Ninjutsu study with Tsunade—hours of intense focus on chakra control, precise incisions on practice dummies, and layered explanations of yin release flows that left even Shizune impressed—Renji washed up quickly and immediately fell asleep, his body finally surrendering to the day's exhaustion.
In the adjacent room, Tsunade and Shizune, however, couldn't sleep, the quiet hours stretching out as their minds replayed the whirlwind of the day.
"Renji's talent is too good," Shizune sighed with emotion, her voice soft in the dim light. Throughout the day, she had sighed more than ten times, each one a mix of awe and disbelief. No matter how complex the Medical Ninjutsu, once the principles and process were explained in detail, Renji could basically grasp it in one go, his hands moving with an instinctive precision that bordered on uncanny. By the second time, he was as proficient as if he had used it many times before, adapting on the fly without a single stumble.
"Renji has both soul-based jutsu and such high talent in Medical Ninjutsu, he's really like…" Shizune realized her next words might touch upon Lady Tsunade's sorrow, the old wounds that had scarred so deep, so she immediately stopped, cautiously looking at her mentor's face in the low light.
Tsunade's face showed no sadness, only a gentle wave of nostalgia washing over her features. She smiled faintly and continued Shizune's sentence, her voice steady and warm, "You weren't going to say he's really like the child of me and Dan, were you?" The words hung there, not as a reopening of pain, but as a bridge to something healed.
Shizune chuckled softly, a surge of emotion welling up in her heart like a quiet tide. Seeing Lady Tsunade move on, reclaiming her strength and her smiles, she was happier than anyone else in that moment. "Yes, he really is very similar." Shizune nodded, the parallels too clear to ignore. Personality, talent, appearance, Kekkei Genkai… Renji Mahito was like a combination of Dan and Lady Tsunade, blended into one resilient soul who carried their echoes without even knowing it.
"Haha, no wonder I was so happy the first time I saw him. Maybe he really does have that kind of fate with me," Tsunade joked, the lighthearted lilt in her voice cutting through the room's heaviness, drawing a shared laugh that felt like the first clear breath after a storm.
…
In the desert.
Three figures appeared faintly in the wind and sand.
"Hey, I say, is your headquarters really that far?" Hasumi Maki lay on the sand like a mummy, playing dead. "I'm tired, can't walk anymore," he said, his voice muffled against the hot grains as he sprawled out dramatically.
Kisame Hoshigaki and Uchiha Itachi stood on either side, staring at the person lying on the ground.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +100!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +100!]
[Chakra (10,349,840 / 100,000,000)]
"Don't you want to join the Akatsuki?" Kisame had a headache. His partner was Itachi, who was silent but easy to communicate with. This was the first time he had encountered such an active but completely uncooperative ninja, one who turned every step into a negotiation.
"Yes, I do."
Kisame somewhat regretted picking up Hasumi Maki. But now he couldn't get rid of him, nor could he kill him. The other party was like sticky candy with a very bad temper, clinging on with relentless, grating persistence.
Hasumi Maki closed his eyes peacefully, his hands clasped over his lower abdomen. "I'm just tired," he said, drawing out the words for maximum effect.
Kisame Hoshigaki: "You're too weak to join Akatsuki."
Upon hearing this, Hasumi Maki opened his eyes, his expression serene. "How about you carry me?" he suggested, as if it were the most reasonable request in the world.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +500!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +500!]
[Chakra (10,350,340 / 100,000,000)]
Kisame gripped Samehada, his attitude very clear, the blade's writhing form underscoring the unspoken threat.
Hasumi Maki shifted his target, looking at the silent Uchiha Itachi. "Itachi, can you do me a favor?" he asked, his tone light and wheedling.
Uchiha Itachi's dark pupils stared at him, a blood-red light flashing in his eyes, the Sharingan activating just enough to send a chill through the air.
Hasumi Maki: "…"
These two really can't take a joke.
Hasumi Maki got up, shook off the sand, and continued walking with them, grumbling under his breath about the lack of chivalry.
Midway, some wandering samurai, not seeing the situation clearly, tried to rob them. The result was that Hasumi Maki created a camel with his bare hands, reshaping one of the attackers into a lurching, four-legged beast on the spot.
Kisame and Itachi led the way.
Hasumi Maki rode the camel-modified human, galloping wildly through the desert, the wind howling past as the "mount" bucked and snarled.
"Hahahahaha! So much fun!" Modified humans generally had very bad tempers. They ran in the desert like perpetual motion machines, never getting tired, their fury fueling endless strides across the shifting sands.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +500!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +500!]
[Chakra (10,350,840 / 100,000,000)]
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +500!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +500!]
[Chakra (10,351,340 / 100,000,000)]
Kisame and Itachi were almost driven to a mental breakdown by Hasumi Maki all the way, their stoic facades cracking under the relentless barrage of laughter and chaos.
"Whoa." After crossing the desert and a river, the Village Hidden in the Rain finally appeared. The camel-modified human was already so exhausted it had lost its vital signs. Hasumi Maki stretched out his hand, and the camel's head immediately exploded, splattering blood all over the unsuspecting Kisame and Itachi. Hasumi Maki himself had dodged far away, not getting a single drop on him, leaving the pair drenched and fuming.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +60!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +60!]
[Chakra (10,351,400 / 100,000,000)]
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +100!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +100!]
[Chakra (10,351,500 / 100,000,000)]
Hasumi Maki bolted into the rain. Kisame and Itachi looked down at the bloodstains on themselves, swallowed their anger, and led him towards the tallest iron tower in the village, the structure looming like a spike through the perpetual storm.
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