Caught by Tsunade, Tengen didn't hesitate.
The video signal was close, so he pressed forward, stopping near the hot spring where Tsunade and Shizune bathed.
As he paused, the signal began downloading.
"Well, well, it's you, Tengen." Tsunade wrapped in a towel, a teasing smile on her lips. "Learning bad habits from Jiraiya, huh?"
Somewhere, Jiraiya sneezed innocently.
He'd tried to drag Tengen along for his "research," but time never aligned.
Jiraiya was truly an innocent bystander this time.
"At your age, picking up Jiraiya's nonsense instead of something useful." Tsunade's approaching him. "Spending time with Orochimaru hasn't made you gloomy like him, at least."
"Just kidding, Tsunade-sama." Tengen said awkwardly, needing a moment to finish the download.
But Tsunade, unaware, wasn't giving him that moment.
"Get going, then." She said, chakra gathering in her fist, her signature monstrous strength.
The erupting force ruffled Tengen's hair.
Tsunade hadn't gone all out, calibrating her strike for Tengen's presumed durability.
With his enhanced body, Tengen could match her blow.
But he didn't.
"Tsunade-sama, hold on!" Tengen's small arm shot out, grabbing the towel at her waist. Her strength launched him skyward, but the towel's counterforce brought him back to the ground.
The signal wasn't done downloading, so he couldn't let her blast him away.
Now complete, but trouble loomed.
Tengen stared at the towel in his hand. In the struggle, he'd yanked it off, exposing Tsunade's glistening figure, her ample curves shimmering with water droplets.
"Beautiful." Tengen murmured, snapping Tsunade out of her shock.
Her punch had felt off, as if something blocked it. Seeing Tengen still standing, his murmur jolted her awake.
A chilly breeze made her shiver.
"Tengen!" Tsunade's face flushed, her eyes blazing with embarrassed fury.
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune with a towel clutched to her body gaped at Tsunade's exposed form, then at Tengen. "Tengen, watch out!"
Shizune sensed Tsunade teetering on the edge of reason.
"Uh, Tsunade-sama, let me help you put it back on." Tengen's coughing and holding the towel.
"You pervert!" Tsunade's face burned. Though Tengen was a child, ninja matured fast, and being seen like this fueled her with shame and anger.
His offer ignited her rage further.
Boom!
Her chakra surged, a terrifying force aimed at Tengen.
"Fuck!" Tengen saw the strike. Tsunade must've sensed his unusual strength.
"I'm not dying like this!" Tengen's hand darted out, grazing Tsunade's breasts, just as her fist connected.
Boom!
The explosion sent Tengen rocketing skyward, shrinking to a black dot before vanishing.
"Damn Tengen." Tsunade clutching the towel Tengen left behind.
"And…" She glanced at her chest, feeling his fleeting touch. "This's all Jiraiya's fault. Tengen's a little creep too now."
"Tsunade-sama." Shizune approached, "Is Tengen okay?"
Shizune had felt Tsunade's full force; could it have killed him?
"He'll be fine." Tsunade draping the towel around herself. "That kid's quite strong. He's stronger than during his graduation exam, stronger than you, Shizune."
Her monstrous strength had met resistance, hinting at Tengen's power.
"Really?" Shizune asked, puzzled.
"Absolutely. Tengen's a monster, maybe surpassing Kakashi." Tsunade grumbled. "No idea how he trains. Pairing him with Orochimaru makes sense, both prodigies."
"Oh." Shizune nodded.
"The Chunin Exams are coming. Tengen could help you." Tsunade said, thinking of the upcoming event.
Deep down, she planned to leave Konoha after Shizune's exam.
Past traumas weighed her heavily. Without Shizune, she'd have wandered long ago.
"Let's pack up and head back." Tsunade said.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Shizune replied.
"Tengen, Orochimaru." Tsunade's eyes flickered. "Orochimaru's grown darker these years. Tengen, don't follow his path."
In another part of the forest, a white-haired man stealthily watched a figure streak across the sky.
"No way, that's Tengen." Jiraiya's rubbing his eyes.
"Only Tsunade could launch him like that." He recalled past misadventures, his face paling. "He's outdone me, finding her spot before I could."
"And that distance, how hard did Tsunade hit? Is he dead?" Jiraiya wondered.
"Better check. Can't lose my lil bro."
***
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