As everyone left the meeting hall, Hiashi stopped in front of Li Shang.
"Neji, can we talk?"
The elders behind him stared at Li Shang without much enthusiasm, but the look of disdain from before was gone. There was something different there now. Respect, perhaps. Or fear disguised as caution.
"Patriarch, I am still on duty."
Li Shang spoke politely, looking at Tsunade. His posture was respectful, but there was a firmness there that made it clear he would not automatically bow just because of clan hierarchy.
"I understand, I'll be waiting at home."
Hiashi turned and left, his footsteps echoing down the corridor. The two elders followed him in silence, casting final glances at Li Shang that mixed curiosity and apprehension.
Almost everyone left the premises. The room that had previously buzzed with dozens of voices was now almost empty. The two old advisors, Homura and Koharu, approached with hesitant steps.
"What will happen to Danzou?"
Koharu asked, apprehensive. The previous hostility had given way to caution. Her voice no longer had that accusatory tone, but rather a genuine concern mixed with something that seemed like regret.
"Neji?"
Tsunade also asked, her tone indicating that she also wanted to know the answer. Her amber eyes studied Li Shang with renewed intensity.
"I sealed him because of his body's condition. Probably when he recovers some energy, his condition may improve and I will release him so we can get answers."
Li Shang explained calmly, as if discussing the weather and not the fate of one of Konoha's most powerful shinobi.
"Alright."
Koharu nodded, clearly relieved that Danzou had not been summarily executed. Homura also seemed to relax slightly upon hearing this.
"Let's go."
Tsunade didn't wait for more questions. She took Li Shang's hand, pulling him out of the hall with an urgency that made some of the remaining ANBUs raise their eyebrows from behind their masks.
She quickly led him to her house, traversing the corridors of the Hokage Tower and then leaping across Konoha's rooftops. When they arrived, Tsunade activated an isolation seal with practical movements of her hands. Invisible barriers appeared around the residence, ensuring total privacy.
Inside the room, she sat on the sofa and pointed for him to do the same in front of her.
But Li Shang smiled and sat beside her.
Tsunade felt her heart quicken for a moment, but controlled the embarrassment that threatened to flush her face. Instead, she maintained her composure and took out a jar of sake.
"Do you drink?"
"Of course."
Li Shang accepted, smiling. There was something comfortable in that smile, something that made the day's tension begin to dissipate.
Tsunade poured a glass for each and drank hers in one go, tilting her head back.
"Haaaaaaa!"
She sighed, the alcohol burning pleasantly down her throat. It was a familiar, comforting sensation. For a moment, she wasn't the Hokage. She was just Tsunade.
"How can you be so strong? Is it because of cultivation?"
Her curiosity had reached its peak. Knowing about another world and cultivation had disturbed her a little, but the strength the young man beside her showed surprised her greatly.
'But considering how he trains, it's reasonable.' She contemplated, remembering the moment he saved her life in the forest, that insane training she had witnessed.
"Yes, actually, compared to my world, I am very weak. But the power of these eyes also plays a big role in my strength."
Li Shang spoke after downing his glass in a single gulp. His expression was serious, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Your eyes, the Byakugan?"
Tsunade asked, surprised. She had always known the Byakugan was powerful, but she never imagined it could rival what she saw today.
"Tenseigan."
Li Shang spoke, staring directly at her.
'Tenseigan? Those eyes...'
Tsunade was mesmerized for a moment by the beauty of the deep blue eyes. They were not the pale eyes characteristic of the Byakugan. They were something more, something that seemed to contain entire galaxies within them. Subtle patterns of light moved in the blue depths, like distant stars.
Li Shang smiled, noticing her reaction, and began to explain.
He told her what he knew about the Hyuuga lineage, about ancient origins that traced back to the Ōtsutsuki Clan. Just as the Sharingan could evolve into the Mangekyō and eventually the Rinnegan, the Byakugan could also evolve. But it was much more difficult, almost impossible. Entire generations of the Hyuuga clan lived and died without even knowing that such an evolution was possible.
"Does the Hyuuga clan know about this?"
Tsunade asked, worried. Such power frightened more than it reassured.
'If other eyes like these appear...' She remembered the Uchiha clan, how the Sharingan had been both a blessing and a curse. It had been the covetousness for the Sharingan that partially led to the massacre. And now to discover that the Byakugan had similar or greater potential...
"My uncle knows, he explained everything I know, but about the powers, they are also in the dark..."
Li Shang reassured Tsunade with his answer, his voice calm and comforting. Then he completed:
"I haven't told them anything I've discovered."
Tsunade, a little more relieved, drank another glass as she asked:
"Discovered?"
"Getsuryū Ten'in!"
Li Shang activated his attraction power. The sake jar floated smoothly from where it was on the table to his hand, as if pulled by invisible threads. He filled both their glasses, smiling.
"Something like that."
Tsunade watched the demonstration with wide eyes. There were no hand seals, no preparation. It was as if reality simply obeyed his will.
"That is..."
"Attraction." Li Shang said.
He took another sip before continuing.
"The Tenseigan gives me control over gravitational and repulsive forces. I can attract or repel objects, manipulate energy at levels that normal shinobi would consider impossible. And this is just the beginning."
"Just the beginning?"
Tsunade repeated, her voice slightly faltering. If this was just the beginning, then what else could he do?
Li Shang nodded. "With time and more cultivation, I will be able to do much more. Manipulate the very structure of reality, perhaps even..." [I am taking into account Toneri creating a cage out of nowhere for Hinata.]
He stopped, not wanting to scare her with the true extent of his potential.
Tsunade served herself again, her mind processing all this information. "And why are you telling me all this? You could keep these secrets."
Li Shang stared at her, his Tenseigan eyes glowing softly in the dim light of the room.
"Because I trust you, Tsunade."
The use of her name, without titles or formalities, did something strange to Tsunade's heart. She felt warmth rise up her neck, and this time she couldn't completely hide the blush.
"You... you shouldn't trust people so easily." She murmured, looking away.
"It's not easy trust." Li Shang replied softly. "It's earned trust. You proved you were trustworthy when you saved my life."
He paused, and then continued with a mischievous smile:
"When you almost killed me with pleasure during that whole day of love!"
"You... that!" Tsunade couldn't speak properly with embarrassment.
"And I don't regret it." Li Shang said smiling.
The silence that followed was not uncomfortable. It was laden with something unsaid, something neither of them was ready to name yet. Tsunade served more sake, and they drank in comfortable silence as night fell over Konoha.