"This really isn't appropriate!"
"It's fine! I'm very familiar with this place."
"But this is Hikari's residence. Isn't it wrong to just barge in like this?"
"Can you act like a man? What's the point of all this whining!"
Looking at Shikaku standing in front of Kamizuki Hikari's door, chattering endlessly and refusing to enter, Tsunade was so furious she could have ground her teeth to dust.
Right now, she wanted nothing more than to throw him straight into the house.
All she asked was for him to visit Hikari early in the morning to borrow some money!
Why was he being such a coward?
Faced with Tsunade's anger, Shikaku instinctively stepped back, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.
This matter really had little to do with him.
He hadn't expected that after all her years away, Tsunade had racked up such a massive debt: four hundred million.
Not four hundred thousand. Not even forty million, but a full four hundred million.
That amount wasn't even enough to pay back the principal, which showed just how "carefree" her life had been all those years.
Being chased around by creditors from place to place must not have been easy.
"Whatever. Talking to you is a waste of time. I'll do it myself!"
Tsunade shot Shikaku a look of pure disdain before reaching for the door... only to find it locked.
But that was hardly a problem. If the door wouldn't do, there was always the window.
Climbing lightly up to the second floor, Tsunade pushed open a window and slipped quietly inside.
---
"Hmm?"
Half-asleep, Kamizuki Hikari suddenly felt an itch on his face, like tiny bugs crawling across his skin. At the same time, his pillow seemed to be shifting slightly.
Opening his eyes, he saw golden strands of hair brushing back and forth across his face.
Of course, hair wouldn't just appear out of nowhere. Golden hair, combined with those "majestic mountains", made the intruder's identity obvious.
"What are you doing?"
Yawning, Hikari looked toward Tsunade.
The moment she heard his voice, Tsunade froze in place. She had spent quite a while searching his bedroom without finding his bankbook. Just as she suspected it might be hidden under his pillow, her movements had woken him up.
Now this was awkward.
Still, the Hokage always had a way out.
"Actually, you're dreaming. Everything happening right now... it's all a dream!" Tsunade declared with confidence.
[Dreaming?]
Still groggy from sleep, Hikari's brain wasn't working at full capacity. Hearing her words, he instinctively thought of a scene from the Tsukuyomi world.
[So it's a continuation of that unfinished wonderful dream from last time!]
Hearing Hikari's inner voice, Tsunade was still pondering the meaning when she suddenly felt a pair of strong hands wrap around her.
"The sense of touch in this dream feels so real!"
*Slap!*
A loud smack landed on Hikari's body.
[Whoa, this isn't a dream. Tsunade is really in my arms!]
[Judging from how she's lingering... continuing things from here shouldn't be a problem, right?]
Lingering? Lingering your sister!
Hearing his inner thoughts, Tsunade's patience snapped.
*Boom!*
Hikari was sent flying. But he was fully awake now, and with a swift flip in midair, he landed steadily on the floor.
"What the hell, woman, are you crazy?!" Hikari rubbed his shoulder, staring at her in disbelief.
"You're the crazy one!"
Tsunade glared at him coldly. "Do you want me to spell out exactly what you just did?"
"No, no need to be so formal!" Once Tsunade mentioned it, Hikari recalled his actions and couldn't help but raise his hand to his nose, giving it a light sniff.
"Get lost—I'm not being formal with you!" Tsunade's fists cracked menacingly as her eyes burned with fury. "Just tell me—how do you want to die?"
Weakly raising his hand, Hikari asked, "Can I choose to die of old age?"
Tsunade snorted disdainfully. "Heh, do you think that's possible?"
Hikari nodded seriously. "I think it's possible."
"Beat it!"
But then...
Hikari glanced at himself, then at Tsunade, and suddenly realized something off. "Wait, why are you in my house? And why did you come in without knocking, rummaging around by my bedside?"
With his question, the flame of Tsunade's anger abruptly fizzled.
'This is bad... what do I do if my shady act gets exposed?'
Knowing Hikari would never let this go if he gained the upper hand, Tsunade decided to strike first.
"Ahem, as Hokage, I'm conducting a routine inspection of my subordinate. After all, you're always by my side and could overhear Konoha's secrets at any time. To ensure the village's safety, I had to check if you're secretly colluding with other villages. No problem with that, right? Perfectly reasonable!"
Reasonable?
Reasonable my ass.
Only if his brain had been kicked by a donkey would Hikari believe such a flimsy excuse.
"Enough. If you won't say, then just leave. I'll act like this never happened. But if you bring up anything else later, don't blame me if I don't play nice!"
Hikari's serious and firm tone left Tsunade momentarily at a loss.
"Um, how about we both pretend nothing happened just now? You go back to sleep, and once you're at work, we can talk about other stuff. Alright?"
Normally, Tsunade's pride would never allow her to act like this.
But thinking of those hundreds of millions in debt made her bend her back for the sake of survival.
If this money were owed to outsiders, she naturally wouldn't think twice about it—just let the debt be. After all, the borrower is king.
But the critical problem was that her outside debts were already cleared. What remained was money owed to Konoha's own shinobi—their mission rewards.
The truth was, shinobi risked their lives for two reasons: the so-called Will of Fire, and, just as importantly, to put food on the table and live a decent life.
Debts to outsiders could slide, but if Tsunade dared to shortchange her own shinobi, there would be a strike by morning.
-----
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