The dinner ended in a comfortable silence. The bowls were polished clean, leaving only a few streaks of sauce.
Tsunade set her chopsticks down and let out a long, satisfied breath, leaning back in her chair.
Her lush, mature curves stretched against the fabric under the light as she felt a fraction of her fatigue melt away.
Saiki was still finishing the leftovers, acting as the designated "clean-plate" enforcer.
With his massive appetite and the women's picky eating habits, there were always choice morsels left for him.
When Saiki finally finished, Tsunade gave him a mock-haughty look of disapproval.
The boy had eaten more than the three women combined.
Still, since Saiki had been hunting and providing for his own meals for years, Tsunade didn't have to worry about the grocery bill.
She turned her attention to Shizune. "Go ahead and clear the table. Then, take Kushina up to the guest room and show her around. Get some clothes ready. We're all going to the backyard hot spring to soak and relax."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" Shizune chirped, reaching for the dishes.
"I've got it, Shizune. You go on," Saiki said, standing up.
Knowing Tsunade's "lazy princess" personality at home, Shizune simply nodded. "Sister Kushina, follow me!"
"Thanks, Shizune!" Kushina smiled gratefully and followed the younger girl toward the stairs.
Once they were gone, Tsunade picked up her cooling tea and blew on the surface. Her sharp eyes remained locked on Saiki.
Saiki felt the weight of her appraisal. He looked up, meeting her gaze. "Something on my face?"
"Are you feeling sick?" Tsunade asked bluntly, her brow furrowed.
Saiki paused for a microsecond before returning to the dishes. "No. Just tired."
Saiki was usually a fountain of energy. Hearing him admit to being tired was a rare event.
But seeing he wasn't in the mood to talk, Tsunade didn't push. She just watched him in a heavy silence.
When Saiki carried the last of the bowls into the kitchen, Tsunade stood up and let out another massive, lazy yawn.
Her joints popped audibly. Her voluptuous chest and heavy breasts strained against her shirt as she stretched under the light.
"Ugh... I'm beat..." She rubbed her stiff neck and headed toward the stairs. "I'm going to grab my change of clothes."
After finishing the dishes, Saiki brewed a pot of tea and sat down, waiting for the women to finish their bath so he could have a turn.
In this world without the internet, night life was non-existent unless you were "making people."
Sitting alone, Saiki couldn't help but let out a long, weary yawn.
He was bored, yes, but he was also genuinely exhausted.
Given his current internal depletion, he desperately wanted to find Nono'u or Tsume for a session of Dual Cultivation.
However, without them in front of him, he could control his primal urges.
He loved those women; he didn't want to view them as mere tools for energy recovery.
At least, not while he was still sober and thinking straight.
The fact that he was struggling alone when help was available was a testament to his "pitiful" sense of morality.
In the backyard hot spring, the women didn't share Saiki's existential dread.
Dense, white steam filled the air, turning the courtyard into a hazy, warm paradise.
With the hot water reaching her chest, Tsunade leaned back against the smooth stone wall, her arms draped lazily over the edge.
Watching her massive, gravity-defying breasts bob and float on the surface of the water, Shizune and Kushina both felt their faces turn a shade of pink.
Their eyes were filled with a mix of awe, insecurity, and blatant jealousy.
Despite having towels wrapped around their chests, the two younger girls tried to sink deeper into the water, as if trying to hide their own "poverty" from the Sannin's abundance.
Noticing their reactions, the mischievous Tsunade let a smug, superior smirk touch her lips.
Of course, she remembered being as "impoverished" as Shizune once, but that didn't stop her from enjoying her current confidence.
She pulled her blonde hair up, exposing her long, elegant neck. Droplets of water sizzled and rolled down her pale, flawless skin.
Wrapped in the heat, Tsunade felt the stress of the day finally begin to bleed out of her muscles. She let out a long, satisfied sigh.
She glanced at Shizune playing with the water and Kushina who had her eyes closed in meditation.
"You two stay in as long as you want," Tsunade said, standing up. The sound of cascading water echoed in the quiet air.
"I'm heading out first."
Her voluptuous, dripping body was a masterpiece of lethal curves as she emerged from the steam. Water snaked down the smooth contours of her skin.
"Huh? Lady Tsunade, leaving already?" Shizune asked, stopping her splashing.
"Mm. I have a few things to ask Saiki." Tsunade's tone was casual.
She stepped out of the pool, grabbed a fresh towel to wrap around her body, and left a trail of wet footprints along the corridor leading back to the house.
Kushina and Shizune were left staring at each other through the mist.
Tsunade slid the door open, carrying a cloud of damp heat with her.
In the living room, Saiki was sitting alone at the low table. A single cup of tea sat before him, the steam rising in lazy curls.
But his eyes were half-lidded and glazed; he looked utterly spent.
If he hadn't been avoiding a bath since the battlefield, he would have gone to sleep hours ago.
Of course, Saiki wasn't actually "dirty"; his cultivation method essentially purified his body from the inside out. He was physically immaculate.
Wrapped in a heavy daze, Saiki didn't even notice her until her footsteps were inches away.
Seeing Tsunade in her bathrobe, her hair still damp and sticking to her neck, Saiki blinked slowly.
He shook his head, trying to clear the fog. "Sister Tsunade? Finished already?"
"Mm." Tsunade grunted, sitting down directly across from him.
Saiki's brain was heavy. He was in such a rare state of mental blur that he didn't even register how loose her bathrobe was.
Her massive, snowy breasts were clearly visible through the open collar, and given the drape of the fabric, she was almost certainly completely naked underneath.
The white-hot light of the modern age was absent here; Konoha relied on dim, yellowish incandescent bulbs.
The lighting was poor, making the world look like an old, sepia-toned film.
To the exhausted, "drunk-on-fatigue" Saiki, Tsunade looked like a beautiful, golden blur.
Tsunade had never seen him like this. A flash of genuine shock crossed her eyes.
In her memory, this brat was a fountain of hyper-activity and bottomless energy.
His eyes were usually filled with a sharp, annoying cleverness or a mocking smirk.
Now, his eyelids were like lead. His gaze was scattered, struggling just to focus on her face.
She had intended to demand answers about his afternoon—to ask what forbidden jutsu he'd used to overdraw his life force so severely.
But seeing him struggle just to sit upright, the harsh lecture died in her throat.
"...Hey, brat," Tsunade's voice dropped, carrying a tension she didn't realize was there. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Saiki shook his head again, trying to resolve the double-vision.
He raised a hand and rubbed the space between his brows. His voice was raspy, heavy with an ancient weariness. "Nothing... just... a bit sleepy."
He forced a weak, ghost of a smile, trying to lighten the mood. "A good night's sleep will fix it."
"A good night's sleep?!" Tsunade's voice spiked. Her worry instantly ignited into a familiar, protective rage.
She lunged forward, slamming her palms onto the low table with a heavy THUD.
The tea in his cup splashed onto the wood, but Saiki didn't even flinch.
The movement caused her bathrobe to gape even wider, exposing a breathtaking expanse of pale skin and the deep, dark valley of her cleavage, but she was beyond caring about modesty.
"You call this 'a bit sleepy'?! You look like you're about to drop dead! I'm a doctor, you idiot! TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO YOURSELF!"