"Naruto-sama, this is absolutely hilarious. The proud princess of the Senju clan, the greatest medical-nin… and she has hemophobia!?"

Uchiha Izumi laughed uncontrollably.

"No wonder she's been avoiding Konoha. So that's the real reason!"

Seeing her long-time enemy reduced to this pathetic state brought immense satisfaction to Izumi. She had already come up with dozens of ways to "educate" Tsunade properly.

Naruto lightly flicked her on the forehead.

"You're laughing so much. Shouldn't you reward me somehow?"

Izumi's cheeks flushed. She murmured shyly,

"I understand. Tonight… I'll serve Naruto-sama with everything I've got."

Naruto grinned, then turned and walked toward Tsunade.

Izumi followed with excitement shimmering in her eyes.

At this point, Tsunade had started to recover. Her body was still trembling, but she was desperately trying to escape with Shizune.

Yet she'd only taken two steps before her legs gave out once more, collapsing under her own fear.

Naruto walked up and casually flicked the blood still on his hand—

The crimson droplets splashed onto Tsunade's face, draining what little color remained from it.

"Y-You… How did you know about my hemophobia!?"

Tsunade gritted her teeth and glared at the blond youth.

"Who told you? The Fourth Raikage? Orochimaru? A Konoha shinobi?"

Her condition was a closely guarded secret—known only to a select few.

Naruto, now clearly enjoying himself, squatted down and stroked her face.

"None of them," he said playfully.

"It was Jiraiya."

Tsunade's eyes went wide. Her hand, which had been about to slap his away, froze in midair.

"Jiraiya!? No way! He'd never tell you something like that!"

She shouted in disbelief.

"Why not?" Naruto smirked. "He's in love with you. But since you never returned his feelings… love turned into hate."

He leaned in and whispered,

"When he told us, he even told us to take good care of you."

Tsunade's chest heaved as she breathed heavily, glaring daggers at Naruto—but deep inside, her heart wavered.

Logically, she knew Jiraiya would never betray her.

But emotionally… she couldn't help but wonder. She had always been painfully aware of his feelings for her.

Seeing the two cornering her beloved Tsunade-sama, Shizune finally stood up and shouted:

"You two stop it! If you want to hurt Tsunade-sama, you'll have to go through me first! I'm a strong shinobi too!"

Her hand trembled as she pulled out a scalpel.

Izumi merely gave her a cold glance—

And in an instant, Shizune's willpower crumbled. Her eyes glazed over.

"Chain her up," Izumi said coolly, tossing down the seastone chains.

"And since you're a medical-nin too, make sure she can't resist. I believe you know some jutsu for that."

Shizune, eyes blank, nodded slowly.

She picked up the chains and walked toward Tsunade.

"Shizune, snap out of it…!"

Tsunade called out anxiously.

She gritted her teeth and was just about to activate Yin Seal: Release—

But Naruto stepped in, raising five glowing fingers, each imbued with chakra nature.

"Gogyō Fūin!" (Five Elements Seal)

A burst of force struck Tsunade's abdomen.

Immediately, her chakra spiraled out of control and was sealed off. She couldn't muster even a sliver.

"You…"

Tsunade glared at him, her fury unmistakable.

But helpless without chakra, she was soon bound in the seastone chains by Shizune.

Shizune then raised her hand, where a green Chakra Scalpel flickered to life.

In a dull voice, she said,

"This scalpel can sever muscles, tendons, or even nerves…"

"If we sever her chakra pathways, she won't be able to resist at all."

"If that's not enough, I can cut her arm and leg tendons too. That way, she won't even be able to lift a finger…"

Hearing her own apprentice speak these words, Tsunade's face twisted with horror.

"No! Shizune, don't—AHHH!!"

Tsunade's scream echoed as her body went limp, all strength drained from her.

She collapsed, unable to move a muscle.

"Just the chakra network is enough," Naruto said calmly.

"We still have use for her."

"Yes."

Shizune nodded lifelessly.

Izumi, however, misunderstood Naruto's intent.

She grabbed Tsunade's limp form and said,

"Don't worry, Naruto-sama. During interrogation, I'll make sure not to damage her face. I'll only need a few hours."

Naruto didn't bother to correct her. He simply nodded.

"Make it quick."

Soon, Izumi dragged Tsunade into a nearby casino, cleared out the people inside, and began her interrogation.

(Scene skip — 10,000 words omitted)

"I got it, Naruto-sama! This is the scroll for Kaijūken!"

Izumi emerged from the room, cheeks flushed as she handed him a scroll.

Naruto opened it and scanned its contents.

"So it's like an advanced version of the water-walking technique, huh? Chakra control over the fists..."

Of course, it wasn't that simple.

The flow of chakra and precise timing were crucial.

After just a few moments of study, Naruto tried it out—

Channeling all his chakra into his fist and punching forward—

BOOM!!!

The entire casino exploded.

A crater seven to eight meters deep was left behind.

Izumi's mouth hung open in shock.

"Naruto-sama… you already mastered it!?"

"Just barely scratched the surface."

Naruto flexed his arm.

"It's harder than I thought. I'll need a few days to really get it down."

"Let's head to Kumogakure."

He looked toward the horizon—toward a mountain peak crowned with lightning.

That was the Village Hidden in the Clouds, nestled atop a lightning-struck summit in the Land of Lightning.

Izumi nodded eagerly. Then, glancing at the wrecked casino—

"Naruto-sama… what about the cow?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, amused.

"You want to keep her?"

Izumi blushed under his gaze and nodded.

"She's one of my enemies… I want to train her properly."

"Then I'll toss her into the pirate world first."

Naruto grabbed the disheveled Tsunade and the hypnotized Shizune.

In a flash, he vanished and reappeared again—alone.

Tsunade and Shizune were gone.

"Let's go."

The two turned and began their journey toward Kumogakure.

Meanwhile, news of the battle spread rapidly.

In the Land of Fire, Orochimaru was the first to hear of it.

Licking his lips, his eyes narrowed and voice rasped:

"So… that Menma has set his eyes on Tsunade?"

After a moment of thought, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He turned to his subordinates and said:

"Go inform Jiraiya."

(End of Chapter)

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