"Sigh... with a mouth like that, you’re going to get yourself killed one day," Ebizo began, but he let the thought trail off. ’Forget it. I’m leaving.’
He had been about to say abit more, but on second thought, the damned animal was impossibly strong and had the Flying Thunder God. Unless he was actively looking for death, very few people in the world could actually kill him. Besides, pinning his hopes on some future retribution just made any harsh words feel hollow. It was just inviting more humiliation.
He sighed. He had come to the Land of Fire in disgrace, and now he was leaving the same way. Worse, he knew he probably wouldn’t be given any real authority when he returned to the village. No one would listen to a word he had to say.
Even so, he had to go back. How could he know for sure if he didn’t even try? Hiding in a Konoha camp to protect what little reputation he had left, that would be the greatest disgrace of all. At this point, he felt he had nothing left to lose.
Takeshi watched him go. Tsunade walked a few steps with Ebizo before stopping, seeing him off from a distance. Her feud was with Chiyo, and it ran deep. While she and Ebizo had their conflicts, she had to admit she admired the man. He and Danzo did similar work for their villages, but their choices and methods couldn’t have been more different. If she had to choose, Tsunade much preferred Ebizo’s way of doing things.
"Meow... we’re just letting him go?"
"He’s not going to have an easy time when he gets back," Tsunade said, a smirk on her lips. "Let’s just sit back and enjoy the show."
The grudges between Suna and Konoha were too numerous to count, and Ebizo had been a key player in many of them. The more miserable his return, the happier she and Orochimaru would be. Ebizo was clever, but he was a defeated general who had been captured and released. Rasa, on the other hand, was a newly ascended, ambitious Kazekage. Their opinions were bound to clash, and in the end, it would be Ebizo who had to yield.
’Besides,’ Tsunade thought, ’against absolute power, all the schemes in the world are useless.’ A Flying Thunder God duo like Takeshi and Minato Namikaze was simply too dominant. Suna had no way to counter them. Even if they brought out a tailed beast, Minato was a master of sealing jutsu. And if that wasn’t enough... did they really think Orochimaru didn’t know his way around fuinjutsu? He had a pile of trump cards. Even without Takeshi and Minato, he had fought Suna to a standstill while secretly undermining Onoki. The power gap was just too large.
Tsunade wasn’t holding a cat today, and she clenched her empty hands, feeling like something was missing. Her eyes scanned the area, finally landing on Takeshi. Remembering the night before, she asked, "By the way, have you made any headway with that Sage Art: Gate of the Great God?"
Takeshi meowed, then swiped his paw. In an instant, several strange torii gates materialized in the air and came crashing down on Tsunade’s head.
With a series of heavy impacts, she was pinned beneath the gates. The topmost one had the words "Tsunade’s Tomb" carved into it, giving the whole scene a rather grim, funereal look.
’It’s a fake,’ she thought, shifting slightly under the weight. With a grunt of disdain, she flared her chakra. A loud *BOOM* echoed as the force of her strength shattered the gates into dust. A Gate of the Great God without a sealing effect was just a pile of wood.
Takeshi hadn’t made the attempt too fake, of course. Infused with senjutsu, the gates were surprisingly sturdy, they just couldn’t stand up to Tsunade’s monstrous strength. This gave her the impression that he was making gradual progress, which was perfect.
’I’m a genius for coming up with this, this is one of the best idea I’ve had’ he thought, pleased with himself.
Tsunade didn’t suspect a thing. The black cat had learned her strength and the Flying Thunder God with ease, so it was obvious he had a sharp mind. It was just that he usually channeled that intelligence in less-than-productive directions. Now, it seemed he was finally applying himself.
"Keep it up," she said, a pleased smile on her face. "I hope one day you can truly develop your own version of the technique." With his talent, she felt that day wasn’t too far off.
Hearing her gentle, encouraging words, Takeshi felt a sudden pang of guilt. ’Maybe I shouldn’t have written "Tsunade’s Tomb" on that one...’
Tsunade turned to head back into the camp, but after a few steps, she noticed the young man at the gate staring at her with a odd look. "Hm? What are you looking at?"
The way she said it, combined with her glare, made it sound like she was about to start a fight. The Chunin guard swallowed nervously and took a half-step back.
’Oh no,’ Takeshi had a bad feeling. ’This guy is going to sell me out! Time to go.’ Before Tsunade could press the guard further, he used the Flying Thunder God and vanished.
A few seconds later, a furious roar echoed across the entire camp.
"TAKESHI! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Hiding in a corner, Takeshi suddenly had a crystal-clear understanding of the ’lion’s roar.’ This was it. This was the roar of the lion. ’My paws just had to get me into trouble.’
But when he checked his internal system and saw the thousand-plus points he had just earned, he felt a spark of delight. Tsunade must have awarded him points for the prank. Totally worth it.
His only worry was being found. Tsunade couldn’t find him on her own, but there were Hyuga in the camp, and they were experts at tracking. Once their Byakugan was active, there was nowhere to hide. Given Tsunade’s tyrannical reputation in the village, the Hyuga wouldn’t dare refuse her.
He waited. Soon, he heard footsteps approaching and immediately used the Flying Thunder God to flee again, which only made Tsunade angrier.
With a furious shout, she threw a punch that completely obliterated Takeshi’s tent. After the thunderous crash, nothing was left but shredded fabric.
Nearby, a young Hyuga trembled. ’So this is the legendary Princess Tsunade... she’s beautiful, but terrifyingly violent. I wouldn’t survive a single punch.’ He gulped. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ NovᴇlFir(e).nᴇt
"I don’t need you anymore," Tsunade said, trying to calm herself. Her anger was with Takeshi, not this kid. "Thanks for your help."
"N-No problem," the Hyuga stammered. "I didn’t really do anything." He bowed repeatedly and, once dismissed, turned and fled.
From a safe distance, Takeshi felt the ground tremble. He activated Sage Mode to survey the damage and realized his tent was now a crater.
’Such a short temper,’ the black cat mused. ’I should make a note: no more tombstones for allies. Next time, I’ll switch to something more festive. A pile of bright, celebratory gates would look much more auspicious.’ He had to admit, a cemetery plaque was probably going too far.
’I should go back and apologize.’ It wasn’t that he was afraid of her, but if he didn’t go back, he wouldn’t have a place to sleep tonight. Sleeping on the streets just wasn’t his style.
He reappeared in the camp, ready to turn himself in, but he had barely taken a few steps when Tsunade charged out from the side, her fist aimed right at him.
Takeshi reacted instantly, swiping his paw.
The next second, a festive, bright red torii gate, complete with a hanging lantern, fell from the air and slammed down on Tsunade’s hand, pinning it to the ground. This time, it was a real Sage Art: Gate of the Great God, though he only used about thirty percent of its power. The force wasn’t overwhelming, but it carried a faint sealing effect, and Tsunade’s monstrous strength was instantly nullified.
Tsunade’s fury vanished, replaced by shock. ’This is... Sage Art: Gate of the Great God!’
Its power was a fraction of the original, but it had a genuine sealing effect. ’How did this damn cat do it? This is amazing!’ Though she could have shattered the small gate with brute force, she held back, carefully testing the limits of the seal. After a moment, her chakra surged and broke through it.
"The effect is not bad."
"Meow," Takeshi said, putting on a thoughtful expression. "It seems I succeeded because I was in a rush. I need to think about how I just did that."
He adopted a look that said ’don’t bother me, I’m concentrating.’ Tsunade found she couldn’t bring herself to punch him. Instead, she actually stood to the side, waiting patiently for him to figure it out, gradually forgetting she had wanted to hit him in the first place.
The black cat pondered for a long time, occasionally making a serious-looking attempt while Tsunade enthusiastically served as his test subject. As expected, the sealing power was unstable, sometimes working and sometimes not.
’It seems he really did stumble upon it by accident,’ she thought, a little disappointed but also happy for him. Being able to produce the effect at all proved he was on the right track.
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