The starlight in the night sky was faint, and accompanied by a soft, oppressive hum, the spring beneath the moonlight slowly settled into silence.
Tsunade leaned limply against Kain's chest, completely drained of strength. She didn't even resist as he teased her—if it had been earlier, she would've punched him without hesitation. But now, all she could do was close her eyes and try to recover.
"Tsunade, Yoko is almost three now. It's time to go back," Kain said, his face buried against her softness. "It's not convenient for you to keep living outside alone, and Yoko needs proper care."
Though he'd experienced many women, it was Tsunade, Kushina, and Baby-5 who lingered most vividly in his heart—especially Tsunade, with her constant tug-of-war between resistance and surrender. That mix drove him crazy.
It was the first time he'd seen his daughter, and he'd spent the entire afternoon coaxing her with all sorts of rare treasures from different worlds.
She was about a year younger than Naruto, but already seemed far smarter. Though she hadn't seen Kain in two years, she'd easily played the "daughter" card and extracted a pile of gifts from him.
Such a clever girl... Kain thought with a smirk. In a few years, she'll probably be able to wrap Tsunade around her finger.
Besides, Tsunade had already been away for two years. If Nono had been regularly reporting back to Konoha, Nawaki might have already sent someone out to search for her.
Tsunade, having regained a bit of her strength, lightly slapped the side of Kain's head and grumbled, "So... are you going to confess to Kushina?"
"Of course. I can't let you and Yoko keep hiding just because of my selfishness," Kain said, his tone firm. "I've seen Yoko's potential. She's nearly on par with Naruto—she must be raised properly."
Tsunade noticed that his gaze had softened as he spoke. Although their entanglement had begun with her drunken eavesdropping, Kain had taken full responsibility since then.
"Tomorrow, I'll strengthen your body," Kain continued. "You worked hard when you gave birth to Yoko."
He could be ruthless to others, but never to his family. Yoko had inherited many of his traits, and even during Tsunade's pregnancy, it had been evident.
She had needed to consume enormous amounts of food just to support the nutritional needs of the fetus.
Kain's mutated genes—restructured and stabilized by the Extremis virus—had merged into a chemically repairable state. In contrast, the genes of Yoko and Naruto had slowly fused in the womb to form their own unique talents.
Frankly, Tsunade had been incredibly lucky to carry the child to term. A gene structure as intense as Kain's demanded strong compatibility from both the mother and the fetus.
Now that his genetic enhancements had advanced further, it was practically impossible for Tsunade to conceive again.
But there was still much he could do to strengthen her.
With a proper enhancement plan, Tsunade could rise to the very peak of the ninja world. Even Hashirama Senju at his prime might not be her match.
Tsunade looked at him curiously and asked, "Is it the Extremis virus?"
"That's only part of it," Kain replied. "You'll have an enhanced constitution, Wood Style, and control over natural energy. Once you master Sage Art, you'll be a true goddess of the shinobi world."
He paused, thinking. With Tsunade, Kushina, Nawaki, and Orochimaru all in the Land of Fire, even the four great ninja villages working together would struggle against them.
That said, directly seizing the Tailed Beasts by force would still spark outrage—it would be smarter to push that task onto Obito.
But once Obito collected all the beasts, he'd outlive his usefulness.
It's time to take his other Kamui eye and trigger the ninja world's trial.
Tsunade, though satisfied by Kain's words and actions, still gave a light huff. "Coming back after two years… this is the least you could do to make up for it."
"Absolutely, Lady Tsunade. What happened just now only covers one day of that absence. I'll make up for every lost moment—personally."
Kain smiled as he enjoyed the warmth of the moment, and his energy—like his resolve—surged once more.
Tsunade also realized something was off. Her expression changed slightly—she had only just begun to rest, so when she tried to push Kain away, her strength hadn't fully returned. Her resistance came with a hint of urgency.
"That's not what I meant by compensation, you jerk—you completely misinterpreted me!"
"It's all the same, Lady Tsunade. Compensation must be... comprehensive," Kain replied with a grin.
And so, the night's passion returned. Tsunade's muffled groans, which began filled with resistance, gradually turned to pleasure.
After returning to the ninja world, Kain had come to see Tsunade first. Compared to Kushina, Tsunade had little protection around her, making her location more secretive—but still not entirely secure.
The next day, after she'd rested, Kain began her enhancement process: combining the Extremis Virus, the T-virus, Hashirama cells, and the Sensen Ability Serum.
Injecting so many gene-modified serums one after another was undeniably painful, especially for Tsunade, whose body had never undergone prior enhancements.
Fortunately, Kain had already tested the process beforehand to ensure it was safe—though the experience still left Tsunade suffering during the procedure.
Once the strengthening was complete, Tsunade devoured hundreds of kilograms of barbecued Sea Kings to recover. Kain also administered three doses of special nutritional injections before her energy returned to normal.
Her physique had improved drastically. And now, with the potential to awaken the Sensen Fruit ability, she could naturally control trees.
If Tsunade focused primarily on Wood Style ninjutsu, the Sensen Fruit would greatly amplify its power—doubling the strength compared to what Sage Mode alone could offer. Her defenses had also become far sturdier.
Chakra and the Sensen Fruit's abilities complemented each other perfectly. For a shinobi, chakra was the manifestation of life energy—an ideal match for the powers of a Logia-type Devil Fruit.
At present, Tsunade's next step was mastering Sage Art. With her enhanced physique, she could now begin training in the techniques of the Shikkotsu Forest. After arranging things for Yoko, Tsunade planned to travel there for further study.
Before that, though, she had already made a decision: she was going to take a serious gamble. For Yoko's sake, she hadn't even touched alcohol in the past two years. Now that Kain had returned, she finally felt at ease—not just relieved of her burdens, but willing to lean on him again.
After spending a few days with Tsunade, Kain returned to the Daimyo's residence.
As soon as Kushina saw him, she leapt into his arms with a bright smile, letting him enjoy the full sensation of her embrace.
Then came her familiar complaints—just like Tsunade's.
Though Kushina had matured a lot since becoming a mother, she was still the same girl in front of Kain.
"If you stayed away any longer, Naruto would've had to start school without you!"
"This time, I'm staying for a while," Kain promised sincerely.
He then began to share everything he'd accomplished recently, just like he always did when Kushina joined him for dessert. She sat at the round table, listening intently as she sipped her tea.
Now, there was one more person at the table—Naruto. But his attention was completely captured by the snacks in front of him. Licking his lips, he snatched treat after treat, eyes scanning the table like a hawk hunting its next prey.
By the time Kain finished his story, Naruto lay sprawled out, stomach bulging with satisfaction. It had been a good day. Just before he drifted off to sleep, he had one final thought: "I probably won't be able to eat Mom's home-cooked dinner tonight..."
After hearing about the upcoming enhancements, Kushina's eyes widened slightly in excitement.
"Shock Fruit ability... does it really let you use vibrations as a power? That kind of ability exists?" she asked curiously.
Kain smiled. "Of course. I managed to get my hands on that fruit. With your strength combined with its shockwaves, one punch from you would be even more devastating than a Tailed Beast Bomb."
However, the Nine-Tails within Kushina immediately growled in protest.
"Hey, Kushina! You haven't even shown him my real power yet, and he's already talking like I'm second-rate! Don't let him keep disrespecting me like that!"
Kushina no longer had a seal inside her body, but the Nine Tails had no intention of leaving. In its eyes, human lifespans were short compared to those of tailed beasts—so staying a few decades more didn't matter.
When Kushina's consciousness entered the sealed space, she laughed, patted Kurama's large paw, and waved her hand.
"Kurama, why do you even care about that? Of course I know you're the strongest!"
Hearing this, the Nine Tails gave a proud yet slightly pouty response.
"Hmph. The old man hasn't even gone all out. I bet no one even realizes how strong I really am."
"Don't worry, don't worry. There's no one in the ninja world who could even push you that far."
After soothing Kurama with a couple of lines, Kushina's consciousness returned to reality.
"By the way," she said to Kain, remembering something important, "Nawaki came by a few times recently with some major updates. Good thing you're back—if you hadn't returned, I wouldn't have known what to do."
Kushina's tone grew more serious as she continued, "The relocation of Konoha is almost complete. Orochimaru handed over the matter to Nawaki. They want to move the village here as soon as possible, but there are still details to be worked out with the Daimyo's office... The costs are massive."
That's why Kushina hadn't dared to make a final decision. Building a new town and compensating Konoha required a huge amount of funding. The first phase alone demanded four billion ryo, with two more batches of compensation expected later.
When she first saw that number, Kushina had counted it three times—terrified she'd made a mistake.
If Nawaki used his Wood Style to construct homes, it would certainly save money—but Kain disliked the feel of wooden houses. Besides, with so many civilians moving into the Land of Fire, they'd need real infrastructure and jobs.
Kain glanced at the document and noticed the Red Queen's approval stamp on it. Confident in the decision, he tossed it aside and said,
"The amount is fine. I'll speak to Nawaki about the details myself. Anything else? If not, I'll begin your enhancement now. Just one more moment, and I'll inject you with the Shock Power serum."
Kushina hesitated for a second.
"There's something else I've been worried about..." she admitted.
"Nawaki said he hasn't been able to contact Lady Tsunade in two years. Even Katsuyu in the Shikkotsu Forest hasn't heard anything. He sent several Anbu units to search, but none of them found anything. So he asked me to help look into her whereabouts."
Kushina looked genuinely troubled. Despite Tsunade's teasing over the years, she was one of the few people in Konoha who truly cared about her.
"Nothing bad happened to her, right? I mean, it's Tsunade... she's insanely strong. But it's just strange—two years without a single word?"
"Maybe she's just delayed or laying low. Leave it to me. I'll send someone to investigate," Kain replied calmly.
Then he suddenly turned his head and looked at Naruto, who was sound asleep. Without warning, he scooped the boy up and said sternly:
"Naruto! You're my son—how can you be this lazy? Starting tomorrow, you're training with me!"
Naruto blinked, dazed and half-asleep.
"???"
…
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