After Ren emerged from the Hokage's office, he began to walk toward his house, the afternoon sun warm on his back. As he stepped through the front door, the distinct sounds of a familiar squabble drifted from within.
"Don't you dare drink that secretly! This is the tea I made for my Onii-chan. If you drink it, you'll finish it!" Tenten's hands were planted firmly on her hips, a protective stance as she guarded the teapot behind her.
"What does it matter? Ren hasn't even touched it yet, what's the big deal if I have a little?" Tsunade's face held a careless air of disapproval as she addressed Tenten. "Besides, little girl, I'm still your teacher, understand? Don't you know the meaning of 'respect for teachers'? So if you have something good, shouldn't you offer it to me first?"
"Don't!" Tenten remained utterly unmoved. "You don't even know how to properly taste tea! It's a complete waste to give you tea that I've pan-fried for hours!"
"Cut, if it weren't for the fact that the tea you fried actually tasted pretty good, I wouldn't bother with this bland leaf water!" Tsunade rolled her eyes, a playful complaint. "If it wasn't for your brother, that guy, threatening to kick me out if I got drunk again, I'd already be at the pub. Why would I stare at your sencha?" When the topic of alcohol arose, Tsunade's tongue instinctively darted out to lick her lips, an action that held a surprising, almost sensual edge. I haven't had a drink in days. I'm truly parched.
"It smells so good~" Sniff!
Tsunade's nose twitched a few times. Then, her eyes closed, she seemed utterly enraptured, her entire body swaying as if spellbound. All her senses focused solely on the intoxicating aroma as she drifted in the direction from which it came.
Boom!
Tsunade felt a sudden squeeze against her chest. Did I just run into something?
Her eyes snapped open, revealing Ren's handsome face mere inches from her own. A momentary silence hung in the air, lasting a few awkward seconds. Then, Tsunade took a hesitant half-step back, two faint blushes coloring their faces. Tenten, standing not far behind, witnessed the scene and gritted her teeth in a silent rage. Master Tsunade, that old witch, she must have done that on purpose! She definitely has designs on my Onii-chan! Hmph, she really wants the old cow to eat the tender grass!
"You walk without opening your eyes?" It was Ren who broke the uneasy silence first, his tone tinged with a peculiar amusement. "If you walk like that again, I'll just lie on the ground and demand medical bills."
Tsunade, a woman who had truly seen the world, quickly regained her composure. She straightened the ample curves of her chest, a hint of arrogance in her raised eyebrows. "A big man like you? Can he really be hurt by me? It's a blessing to be bumped by me! Hmph, you didn't suffer anyway!"
Ren's brows twitched. "Does it make any sense to cause injury with your chest?"
"Cough cough..." Tsunade couldn't help but blush at this point. She quickly changed the subject. "I was a little obsessed just now because I smelled the aroma of wine. Say, did you, kid, come back from buying wine?!"
"Um." Ren raised a hand, two bottles of good shochu clinking softly within his grasp.
"Hee hee, you're a good boy! You guessed I wanted a drink, didn't you?! I haven't been out for a drink recently, and I'm so thirsty! Come on, come inside and have a few drinks with me!" Tsunade wrapped an arm around Ren, drawing him close as the two seemed poised to enter the house with an air of camaraderie.
"Onii-chan!" Tenten's voice, brimming with dissatisfaction, cut through the moment from the side. She had spent hours frying that sencha with her own hands, and her Brother hadn't even touched it. How could he just go and drink with Tsunade instead?
Ren glanced at Tenten, and the girl, who was originally bristling with discontent, immediately calmed down. Without absolute trust and obedience, it's impossible to achieve such a quick shift in demeanor.
Ren walked over to Tenten with a smile, set the two bottles of shochu aside, then picked up a cup of sencha and tasted it carefully. Tasty.It truly is the result of Tenten's hard work. The taste of tea boiled with mountain spring water was different, carrying a unique sweetness.
At this moment, Ren smiled faintly towards Tsunade. "Tsunade, don't worry. Now isn't the time to drink."
"Huh?" Tsunade's head tilted in confusion, and she blurted out, "How long will it take to drink?"
"Of course," Ren smiled, "When you're in different moods, your drinking experience is different."
Tsunade nodded. She quite agreed with Ren's point of view. It was precisely because Ren had some unique insights into wine that Tsunade genuinely enjoyed drinking with him.
These days, she had been living in Ren's house, and also serving as Tenten's master. After getting along for a while, she had grown quite familiar with the siblings, Tenten and Ren. The more familiar she became, the more she found herself truly liking this pair. Ren, of course, was undeniably a handsome young man of considerable strength. Although still very young, he was always thoughtful and mature like an adult. And his sister, Tenten, despite her occasional outbursts, was, in fact, almost like an ordinary little girl.
However, Tsunade had agreed to accept Tenten as a disciple not solely because of Ren's influence. Through their time together, she felt that this young girl, Tenten, was very much to her taste: serious, hardworking, frank, sincere, and someone who liked to speak her mind.
Tenten and Tsunade, who constantly bickered and quarreled with each other every day, had paradoxically formed a strange yet functional master-disciple relationship. Although Tenten was often quite rude to Tsunade, in the context of ninjutsu learning, she was remarkably serious and held Tsunade in deep respect.
"Then, when will you be able to drink?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, curiosity flickering in her eyes as she asked Ren.
"Of course, when you're happy!" A bright smile illuminated Ren's face. "Tonight, something very interesting is going to happen. If you have nothing else to do, come and help me. I promise, this scene will be very interesting!"
Tsunade's face settled into a thoughtful expression. After a few seconds, she tentatively guessed: "Is it about the Nine-Tails kid?"
Although Tsunade hasn't been in Konoha for many years, her political sensitivity remains remarkably high. She is, after all, the granddaughter of the First Hokage. Anything that would involve Ren, the Anbu Captain, so directly, if it wasn't an invasion by enemy ninjas, then it almost certainly concerned something as crucial as the Nine-Tails. This line of reasoning was not difficult for Tsunade to follow.
Ren nodded, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. "However, it's not as simple as the Nine-Tails~"
"By the way, I'll tell you the specific things later. Didn't I promise you before that I'd give you a gift? Let's see if the weapon I made for you is suitable."
In Ren's hand, a white light shimmered, then vanished, leaving a delicate, small box resting in his palm.
"Box... box?" Tsunade's tone was filled with an unstoppable surprise. Although she had witnessed many of Ren's peculiar ninja tools before, she was still a little taken aback when he actually presented a box. "This thing can also be used as a weapon? Do you want me to throw it out and smash the enemy to death in battle?"
"..."
Can't you see... this is not just a box?
I thought it was a gift, after all, and to make it look more solemn, I just found an exquisite small box to put the real gift in. I never expected Tsunade to misunderstand that the box itself was the gift?
Never mind.
Next time, I'll skip the packaging entirely! Exquisite gifts or anything like that... they clearly don't exist in her world!