The casino quietened almost instantly when they heard Tsunade threaten violence.
The dealer frowned and spoke boldly, "Are you sure about that?"
Haruto leaned forwards, "What are you going to do? Call the Hokage? Ban me from the casino? I dare you to… then the only games we'll play will be the game of your face kissing my fist."
The dealer shivered as did everyone else in the room.
Shizune collected all the money and quickly stored them away in a sealing scroll before Haruto stood up and walked out of the casino in style with Tsunade's haori waving behind him.
As soon as they stepped out of the casino however, Haruto deflated, "By the way… where's your house?"
Shizune sweat dropped while Tsunade immediately shouted, "GIVE ME BACK MY BODY!"
"Fine… take it! I'll just follow you guys to your house." Haruto said calmly before slipping out of Tsunade's body while she sank into it.
"Why don't you ever show yourself to us?" Tsunade grumbled, "Then I could beat you up whenever I wanted."
"Exactly." Haruto nodded, although no one heard him since he didn't make himself visible.
Tsunade frowned but she and Shizune followed their way to the Senju compound where she'd begun staying since this morning, after all there was no more Danzo so she could roam around freely now.
They arrived at the Senju compound in a few minutes, giving Haruto his first view inside it.
"Have you hidden your legacy here? Mito? Hashirama? Tobirama?" Haruto asked out loud but obviously didn't get any response. "Or did you donate it all to the village to help it grow?"
"Alright, you can possess me now." Tsunade said with an unwilling expression on her face, and Haruto eagerly dove forwards.
Only, this time he chose Shizune's body instead.
"Eehhhhh!!!!" Shizune expelled from her body squealed in fright while Tsunade clicked her tongue in disappointment, "So you realised."
"I'm not stupid." Haruto said while in Shizune's body as the girl herself floated towards Tsunade for comfort.
Tsunade gave Shizune a wry smile, understanding for the first time what it meant to see someone wearing the skin of your closest.
"So? What did you want to say? Do you want a reward for helping out with Danzo or something?"
Haruto shook his head, "Nah… that was an easy task for me." and easily admitted, instead he spoke quickly, "I'm here for something much more serious."
Tsunade's brows furrowed as she contemplated what Haruto was about to say, "Is this about Madara?"
Haruto shook his head, "No. I'm here for the victims of Danzo's Hashirama cell experiments. There's a way to save the people who were experimented on by the researchers."
Tsunade frowned. "I've looked at them already. They're as good as dead."
Haruto frowned, "Why do you think so? Isn't one of your rules that unless the patient doesn't die the medic must keep trying?"
Tsunade sighed and held her head while massaging its sides.
"It's not that simple this time. The only way I know how to heal the patients is by curbing their potential as shinobi. At that point the second they gain even a semblance of their consciousness, they'll choose to do something drastic."
Haruto frowned. He hadn't thought of that.
'Can't I just plant a suggestion in their minds, not to do something like that in that case?'
'Can I do that? But isn't that just me robbing them of their free will? But if I'm saving their lives by doing so… should I do it?'
Haruto's expression turned ugly.
Tsunade chuckled all of a sudden. "Wondering if you should manipulate them like you did Danzo? It's a little too late for that isn't it? You've already crossed the line once, what's to stop you from doing it again?" Tsunade smirked, her words trying to tempt Haruto.
Haruto frowned and spoke in a firm tone, "No. We can explain the results to their family and have them stay by their side for the rest of the time."
"That won't be enough. They'll simply choose to 'escape' once their families are away."
Haruto frowned and closed his eyes for a second, before he smirked and opened them calmly.
"Hope is the most powerful thing Tsunade. We can give them hope that we'll research a way for them to regain control over their chakra, to show them that as long as they're alive there's still hope for them."
"And who'll do the research?" Tsunade asked.
"Why you of course." Haruto said instantly, "I'll provide you with a direction, and you'll figure out everything else."
"I… can't do that, you should know why." Tsunade said with a frown as he hands trembled at the mere thought of coming in contact with blood.
Haruto smiled, "In this case, there's no trouble if I mess with your mind a little, is there?"
Tsunade's eyes widened slightly.
Mess with her mind?
Could she let a stranger do that? What if he used her in some way? What if he used her to do something against the village?
Tsunade shook her head, "I'm sorry, I don't trust you enough to do that."
"That's not a problem." Haruto shook his head, "You can do it after you ask your family that you'll summon with Impure World Reincarnation if I'm trustworthy. I suspect that they know me quite well."
"Ho…" Tsunade's mouth hung slightly loose.
'They know him? If they know him, why doesn't he contact them directly? Why go through me instead?'
Tsunade couldn't come up with an answer immediately so she put the question on hold for now. Instead she asked a different question.
"What will you do to my mind?"
"Nothing much, I won't change your personality, I'll simply flip a switch in you. Instead of guilt and fear, each time you see blood you'll feel anger instead. Just like that day you punched Danzo even though he was covered in blood after he angered you."
Tsunade's eyes widened again but then she quickly frowned again and shook her head.
"But that'll leave me vulnerable in combat. People will be able to take advantage of me."
"That is all I can do without being intrusive… otherwise I can change what you felt during the moment you began to fear blood."
"No! Those are my personal experiences! I can't let you overwrite parts of me that are that valuable."
Haruto nodded, "While that is true, I also know how frustrating it is to live with parts of you you hate but have no way to change or overcome."
Tsunade's expression became unwilling after that before she decisively shook her head, "I'll see if I can choose the first option after talking to my grandfather, that is more than enough. I'll handle the anger somehow."
"Fine…" Haruto nodded, "Give me a scroll and a brush, I'll write down the method for healing the experimental subjects in the Hashirama cell experiments while leaving a way to reverse the situation once we figure out how to give them back access to their chakra."
Tsunade nodded and turned to Shizune for help, only when she realised that Shizune was a ghost did she move herself and picked up a thick scroll from a table full of them before presenting it to Haruto.
Haruto took the scroll and the brush that Shizune had helped find, before scribbling down the entire method to heal the experimental subjects.
Tsunade peered over his shoulder while he was writing while nodding sometimes and frowning at others before Haruto finished and handed the entire scroll to her.
"Alright then, Shizune, you are free to take over your body. I'm leaving."
Haruto quietly slipped out of Shizune's body while she quickly occupied it before fleeing the scene since he realised he didn't trust the seals Mito and Tobirama had written into place to protect the Senju compound.
'They probably didn't attack because Tsunade currently doesn't see me as a threat.'
Haruto sank into his body once again before whispering into the night, "Then tomorrow is the rebellion…"
***
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