Li Shang was sitting on the sofa next to Tsunade, who was already on her third consecutive glass of sake. The liquid went down her throat with an ease that spoke of years of practice, but there was a tension in her shoulders that the alcohol wasn't dissolving.
"Were you jealous?"
Li Shang asked casually, his eyes shining with thinly veiled amusement.
"WHAT?"
Tsunade practically screamed, turning to face him with wide eyes. Her face turned red, and it wasn't just from the sake.
"That's ridiculous! At my age, would I be jealous of a boy?"
She filled another glass with more force than necessary, spilling some on the table.
"You're delirious! Clearly, you've spent too much time with that Ino and lost some brain cells!"
"Technically, I'm older than you."
Li Shang replied with a teasing smile. Before Tsunade could protest, he continued:
"In cultivation, the higher your realm, the less noticeable age is. People a thousand years old could appear to be only twenty. Physical appearance stops aging when you reach certain power milestones."
Tsunade paused with the glass halfway to her lips, processing this information. Then she snorted.
"So you're saying you could be an old pervert in a young body?"
"Exactly."
Li Shang laughed.
"But I'm not. Yet."
Tsunade took another sip, her irritation slightly diminishing as she considered the implications. Taking advantage of the cultivation topic, she spoke:
"Since we're talking about it... I've been cultivating following your instructions and using the liquid Yuan Qi you gave me, but the improvements don't seem as great as I expected."
There was genuine frustration in her voice. She was used to progressing quickly, to mastering techniques with natural ease.
Li Shang looked at her thoughtfully.
'By resisting the tribulation with me, she advanced to the peak of the Physical Temperament Realm. It's obvious that to break through that limit and enter the Core Realm without a technique like the Heavenly Devourer, even with liquid Yuan Qi, it would take months.'
"Your progress is actually impressive."
He said aloud.
"The problem is that you've hit a bottleneck. The Core Realm isn't something you simply achieve. It requires understanding, fundamental transformation, and energy accumulation."
Tsunade frowned.
"And how long will that take?"
"Months, perhaps. Without the right technique."
Li Shang paused, considering.
"But there are ways to speed that up."
Li Shang smiled, but didn't explain. Instead, he simply began to drink and fill Tsunade's glass with fluid movements.
"And the method to speed it up?"
Tsunade asked, her voice carrying curiosity and impatience.
"Drink first, talk later."
Li Shang joked, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
"I want to enjoy the company."
'It's better if she's slightly tipsy, hehehe.'
He thought as he poured more sake. Not to take advantage, but because Tsunade needed to be relaxed enough to consider what he was about to propose.
Two bottles later, Tsunade was ranting about Danzo, the damn old man and his endless conspiracies. About the burden of being Hokage, the impossible expectations, the loneliness of power.
"And then he had the audacity..."
Tsunade gestured widely, almost knocking over her glass.
"To think he could control me! CONTROL ME!"
Li Shang listened patiently, occasionally agreeing or making appropriate comments. Then, when she finally paused to breathe, he asked:
"Do you really want to speed up your cultivation?"
Tsunade, flushed from the drink and also from Li Shang's sudden proximity, as he had leaned closer, said:
"Yes."
She looked away, drinking another glass of sake to give herself courage. Her heart was beating faster than it should, and she knew it wasn't just the alcohol.
"All right."
Li Shang said softly. He raised his finger, Yuan Qi concentrating at the tip, creating a blue-silver glow.
Then he placed it on Tsunade's forehead.
She blinked, surprised. The blush on her face grew much larger, spreading from her face to her neck. The sensation was... intimate. More intimate than any touch should be. She could feel his energy flowing through that single point of contact, gently exploring her meridians and adding information to her mind.
"This... this..."
She stammered, embarrassed by her own body's reaction. Heat spread through her, and it definitely wasn't just from the drink.
Li Shang looked directly at her, his blue eyes shining with an intensity that made her swallow hard.
"This is called dual cultivation."
He said, his voice low and laden with meaning.
"Two cultivators sharing energy, strengthening each other through a deep connection. It's the fastest method of progression, but it requires absolute trust. Complete harmony."
He paused, letting the weight of his next words sink in.
"Do you agree to be my cultivation partner, Tsunade?"
The silence that followed was dense with unspoken possibilities.
Tsunade, embarrassed, tried to increase the distance, retreating on the sofa.
"This wasn't... this wasn't what I was expecting."
Her voice trembled slightly, the alcohol making it harder to keep her usual defenses up.
Li Shang gently held her wrist, preventing her escape without using force.
"We've already given ourselves to each other, remember?"
His voice was soft, but loaded with shared memory. The tribulation. The moment their energies completely intertwined, more intimate than any physical touch could be.
Embarrassed, she turned her face away, unable to look at him.
"I don't know what happened to me. Maybe being between life and death, I don't know... that whole situation affected my mind and I couldn't think straight."
"Tsunade."
Li Shang said softly. His voice was deep, resonating with something that made her heart race.
She looked at him in silence, her amber eyes meeting his bright blue Tenseigan. There were so many unspoken things in that gaze. Fear, desire, confusion, acceptance.
He calmly approached and sealed her lips.
The kiss began like a warm breeze. Slow, soft, almost reverent. Tsunade's lips touched Li Shang's with a certain hesitation at first, as if there was still a faint doubt hanging over the reality of that moment. But it only took a second, a slide of warmth, for control to slip away like sand through her fingers.
The taste of sake still in her mouth intensified everything. The sweet and fiery taste mixed with his breath, like a flame spreading too quickly. Tsunade's tongue sought more, invading Li Shang's mouth with an almost desperate eagerness, hungry for something she herself didn't fully comprehend. Every movement was like a spark turning into a fire.
'Why does this feel so good...? Why can't I stop...?'
The heat in her body increased in growing waves, as if her chakra reacted to the touch, to the kiss, to what he was. Her hands, previously tense and firm, now trembled slightly as they found their way inside Li Shang's clothes. Her fingers explored the warm skin of his chest, moving up his ribs, feeling every living beat of a heart that seemed to pulsate with hers.
Li Shang didn't stand still.
He reciprocated every touch, every caress with precision and intensity. His hands slid down Tsunade's back, pressing, pulling her closer, as if their bodies wanted to merge. His lips responded to hers with controlled desire — but firm, present, determined.
Between sighs and gasps, the world around them ceased to exist. There was nothing, no sky, no responsibility. Only the warmth between two bodies that recognized each other in silence.
And at that instant, in the space between a deep kiss and the next breath, there was no difference in age, duty, or logic.
There was only the moment. And it burned.