Soon after they finalized the initial outline of their plan, Orochimaru and Fugaku rose from their seats.
Fugaku gave a short nod toward Ryusei and Tsunade, then left the chamber with a disciplined stride, his cloak brushing against the stone floor as he moved down the long corridor toward his waiting clan forces.
Orochimaru lingered for a moment longer.
His pale, young vessel paused at the doorway and turned back.
Golden, slit-pupiled eyes slid from Ryusei to Tsunade… then back to Ryusei… then once more to Tsunade.
Slow. Deliberate.
A silent, pointed look.
As if he were silently saying, I see what's going on here.
Tsunade's eyebrow twitched the moment she caught it.
Orochimaru smiled faintly, almost smug, then stepped out with that slow, serpentine gait of his, cloak swaying behind him as he went to rejoin his troops.
The doors shut.
Silence followed.
Tsunade exhaled slowly, her jaw tightening in irritation.
"That 'brat'…" she muttered, crossing her arms. "I swear, he's getting more and more insufferable. Even in a fourteen-year-old body, he has the nerve to give me that look…"
Ryusei watched the fading footsteps for a moment, then turned to her.
"Come with me," he said simply. "Let's take a walk."
She blinked, her irritation fading a little. "Now?"
"Now," Ryusei said.
His larger frame stepped past her, opening the wooden door to the outer path that led along the cliffs.
The warm mist of the hot springs drifted in, carrying the scent of minerals and damp earth.
Tsunade hesitated only a second before following him out, the room falling silent behind them as the two of them disappeared into the dim corridor that led toward the open air.
They walked along the narrow cliff path in silence for a while.
Steam curled from the hot springs below, drifting around them in soft waves.
Only when they reached a quiet ledge did Ryusei finally stop.
He stood with his hands behind his back, staring into the distance.
His voice, when he spoke, was steady, low, and far more careful than usual.
"Tsunade," he said, "are you really sure you can move against Konoha?"
She looked at him, surprised by the seriousness in his tone.
He continued, gaze still on the far horizon.
"I know how much you hate your teacher now… but what about the others? The ordinary shinobi. The civilians who have nothing to do with any of this." He paused, then added quietly, "And what about Jiraiya?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he finally turned to meet her gaze.
"When the fighting starts, you won't have time to think. You won't have time to hesitate. And I don't want something unexpected to happen to you because you hold back."
He took a step closer.
"To me," he said plainly, "you're the most important person in this world."
Tsunade's breath caught for a moment.
Ryusei continued, his tone deeper.
"Without you, I would've definitely died that day." He looked at the ground briefly, remembering. "If you hadn't answered my pulse across that whole forest… if you hadn't taken me in… if you hadn't taught me everything you did… none of this would exist."
He lifted a hand slightly, as if gesturing toward the entire world.
"All the progress since then. All the power. Every step I've climbed. It all started with you." His voice softened even further. "Without your techniques and your help, I'd still be a piece of cannon fodder being hunted like an animal. Or dead."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"So I need you to know this. If you don't want to go… the plan can continue without you."
He didn't smile.
He didn't tease.
It was the rarest version of Ryusei she knew.
Unmasked care.
Pure, direct sincerity.
Tsunade's chest tightened. Warmth spread slowly through her, not the kind born from desire or pride, but something deeper. Something rare for her.
Something she almost never allowed herself to feel.
For a moment, she hesitated.
Then she stepped closer to him, meeting his gaze with a steady one of her own.
"You don't have to worry," she said quietly. "I already made my choice. A long time ago."
She exhaled once, and her voice grew firmer.
"You're my only family left in this world. The only person whose future I care about." Her eyes hardened with a familiar Senju resolve. "If anything stands in your way or mine… I'll destroy it. Even if it's Konoha. Even if it's Jiraiya."
She paused at that name, and her thoughts drifted for a heartbeat.
Jiraiya…Always lingering near her. Always trying to make her laugh.
Always following her around like an idiot, even after Nawaki died, even after Dan, even after she left the village.
He had been closer to her than Orochimaru ever was. A friend. A constant presence.
Someone who had cared, even when she tried her hardest to push everyone away.
She knew he had feelings for her, quietly buried beneath jokes and awkward smiles.
But now?
None of that mattered.
Not compared to this.
Not compared to Ryusei.
Not compared to the truth of what had been done to her clan, her brother, her entire bloodline.
Tsunade looked back at Ryusei, her expression steady and absolute.
"For what my brother deserves," she said, "for what they did to my clan… and for our future… I won't hesitate. Not for anyone."
Ryusei watched her silently, understanding perfectly.
And for the first time since they left the meeting room, the tension between them eased, replaced by a quiet, unspoken certainty.
They were in this together.
Completely.
Hearing her answer, Ryusei felt something loosen in his chest.
Relief. Warmth.
A quiet, heavy joy he rarely allowed himself to feel.
He didn't say anything at first. He didn't need to.
Instead, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest with a firmness that made her breath hitch.
Her face immediately flushed.
"W-What are you doing," she muttered, hands pressing lightly against him but not pushing away.
Ryusei's towering frame engulfed her so easily now that she barely came up to his collarbone.
His warmth sank through her clothes, and no matter how many times it happened, Tsunade's body reacted the same way every time.
For a woman who had spent years alone, untouched…
Being held like this hit too deep.
Ryusei's tone slipped back into its familiar teasing shape.
"I haven't seen you for weeks again. I missed you."
She clicked her tongue softly, looking anywhere except directly at him.
"You didn't look very lonely with those three girls constantly around you," she muttered. "Always stuck to you like vines."
Ryusei blinked once.
And then she added, her voice just a hint tighter:
"Kiyomi and Kanae are your age, fine. But that Sunagakure woman… Pakura… I don't like that one at all. Something about her irritates me."
Ryusei almost smiled.
There it was again.
Tsunade. The Senju princess.
The embodiment of pride and strength.
Jealous.
He loosened the embrace just enough to look down at her face.
"You don't need to worry about any of them," he said quietly. "You're number one in my heart. Not even close."
She snorted softly, turning her head away, cheeks still burning.
"Hmph. You say that… but you still let them hang around you."
Ryusei tilted his head a little.
"If I didn't constantly coax you, would you even visit?" he asked. "You haven't been here since last month unless I reverse-summoned you. And half the time you drag me into the Shikkotsu Forest instead because you don't want to deal with them."
Tsunade's eye twitched.
"That's because—" She cut herself off, then muttered, "I don't like this hideout. They're always here. And I'm not sharing a room with three women who look at you that way…"
Her pride flared just enough to show itself. The old Tsunade. The one who couldn't stand losing even once.
Sharing one man was already stretching her limits. The fact that Ryusei even made it work was a miracle.
He knew it too.
His hand settled on her lower back, warm and steady, coaxing instead of teasing, and he pressed a gentle kiss into her smooth blonde hair.
"Then I'll coax you more next time," he said, voice softening a fraction. "If I have to drag you here myself, I will."
She didn't answer, but she leaned into his chest a little more.
Ryusei lowered his voice.
"Let this be the last hug before we enter Konoha," he said. "Just in case something happens."
Tsunade froze for a moment.
Then she sighed, her hands curling into his cloak.
"…Fine. Just this once."
But even as she said it, she didn't pull away.
She held on tighter.
But, in truth, after nearly three years of knowing Tsunade, three years of fighting beside her, arguing with her, and stealing moments like this, making "progress", it would've been strange if Ryusei felt satisfied with just a hug.
This was Tsunade.
A walking disaster for any man's self-control.
A woman who never seemed to age, whose beauty was almost unfair, whose figure could topple half the shinobi world if she ever weaponized it properly.
The kind of woman whose presence alone made lesser men lose their dignity.
And Ryusei was very aware of all of that.
But he also understood something most didn't.
As much as women were the greatest pleasure for men… they were also the greatest poison to a clear mind.
So he had steeled himself long ago.
No matter how close they grew.
No matter how tempting she became, especially now that he towered over her and her pride softened whenever she leaned against him…
He would not "eat" any of them until everything was finished.
Not Tsunade, not the other three circling around him.
Not until he truly stood at the top.
Then, and only then, he could finally allow himself to enjoy the "rewards" he had earned.
Especially the one currently resting in his arms.
Ryusei gave a quiet internal chuckle as Tsunade continued muttering under her breath about "that Sunagakure woman."
"Patience," he thought dryly. "Once the world is mine soon, then I'll indulge. Until then… focus."
A hug was enough.
For now.