118. Tsunade's Hemophobia and Shiroken's Intervention

Shiroken aborted leaving and relaxed back in his seat, "Hmm... that's a problem. I can't have a Hokage who's scared of harming someone due to fear of blood. Tell me about it if you're comfortable with it."

Tsunade hesitantly replied, "I... do you see this? You will probably hate it, this is First Hokage's Necklace. I got it in inheritance. The people who know about it think it is cursed. Do you know why?"

Shiroken guessed it wouldn't be anything nice. "Why?"

"When I was young, I had a little brother. He wanted to become the Hokage one day, like his grandfather." She said, receiving a scoff from Shiroken. She continued, "So, I gave this necklace to him in the hopes that it would help him fulfil his dreams. But, shortly after, he died. After a while, I met a boy, the same age as mine. He also lost his sister. We felt we understood each other. In time, it turned into love. Dan... just like my brother, he also dreamt of becoming the Hokage someday and bring a medical revolution. For his good luck, I gave him this necklace.

"Then the Second Shinobi war started. I and Dan fought in it side by side on a few missions. But on one of the missions when I was away from him, he was fatally wounded. By the time I reached him, he had lost a lot of blood. Still... I was able to heal his wounds, however, he still died from the loss of blood. Once again, this necklace was returned to me.

"Perhaps... this necklace isn't cursed. It's me. Whomever I'm close to... shall die." She looked down at her necklace with a saddened face. But shockingly, a few teardrops fell down from her eyes.

He was taken aback, ~It's raining in Konoha. Yesterday it was Gaara and today it's Tsunade.~

But he understood this, if her grief, even after so many years, was enough to make her cry, then perhaps, the problem wasn't her past, but her present mind. He politely snatched the necklace and stared at it. "Oh... this necklace is truly a treasure. No wonder Hashirama kept it. It has an immense level of natural energy stuck in it. But, it isn't cursed."

"Then it's m..." She was about to finish her sentence but Shiroken interrupted her.

"No, neither are you. Tsunade, I can understand your feelings. Your sense of loss. I may not have a blood-related family, but I did have a fair share of my most loved ones being taken away from me." He said.

"What do you mean? You don't have a mother or father? Are you from an orphanage?" Tsunade asked suddenly.

Shiroken didn't put much thought into it, "No, I... the tailed beasts found me in a jungle. They said I fell from the sky. Anyway, what I'm saying is, your sense of fear is not because you weren't able to save Dan, it's because you entirely blame yourself for his death."

As her eyes widened, Shiroken knew he was on the right track. "You think he died because of you, that you could have saved him if you were faster? Tell me, do you know how many children died in the Second Shinobi war?"

She had confusion in her watery eyes, so he didn't wait, "12,776 children died as a direct result of the second shinobi war. 23,765 died due to the famine brought as an aftermath. Could you have saved them all?

"The truth is, ever since Dan's death, you kept on blaming yourself and tried to run away as far as possible from the village because it reminded you of Konoha and your responsibilities. You kept on running away because you couldn't accept the fact that Dan died not because of you... but rather because of the BLOODY WAR. Countless Dans died in the same war actually, you just didn't know their real names.

"Do you want to know something more shocking? Since there was no pause between the second and third shinobi wars, the nations continued to fight. The already weakened villages had no people to fight, and hence, they started sending children, fresh out of the academy.

"40,870 children died as a direct result of the war. 256,876 people died from the famine after that, out of which, nearly 50,000 were children and nearly 100,000 were women. Obito Uchiha was one of those little kids, but somehow he survived and now hates this village so much that he's ready to destroy this whole damn planet.

"Tsunade, if you were in Konoha back then, you could have at least stopped these children from dying. But... this isn't about blaming you. This is about Dan,"

Tsunade, who was on the verge of a mental breakdown from all those numbers, snapped out of it when she heard Dan's name again. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you say, Dan lost his sister and from then on dreamt of becoming the Hokage one day and save people like his sister. Wouldn't he be disappointed in you with what you have become? Why are you adamant about letting his death be in vain? You should have gone around and brought a medical revolution. To honour the memory of Dan. Yet, you decided to squander your life on wine and gambling. You should ask the question to yourself, Tsunade. Do you want Dan to be disappointed in you... or proud of you?" He asked her.

By using her worst memory, which was Dan, he just turned everything around. He hoped that this would do at least something to her mind since her problem was psychological.

Tsunade was a bit shaken by this. Everything Shiroken said was true. If Dan was here, he'd be utterly disappointed in her. Unknowingly she started muttering, "I... I became the Hokage... just as Dan dreamed of, yet, I'm wasting this opportunity."

Shiroken nodded. Sensing his work was done, he stood up to leave. *SLASH* However he turned back after hearing a sound. To his surprise, Tsunade had cut her palm with a kunai. She was dumbly staring at her own blood.

~SUCCSESS!~ Shiroken cheered inside. But, when he noticed she wasn't moving even after five minutes, he went close to her. Putting his own hand on her bleeding one, he quickly healed it in no time.

*TAP TAP* He patted her head, "Knock Knock, anybody in there?"

Tsunade shook a little and looked left and right in shock. She was in a trance-like state. But she found Shiroken standing so close to her. She all of a sudden, from her seat, hugged his waist and sobbed.

Shiroken awkwardly patted her head, ~I don't get paid enough for this... WAIT!... I don't get paid for anything. I should start a business, providing mental counselling to powerful broken people.~

He patted her head and talked, "Calm down, don't try to overcome it in one day. All you need to do is be honest with yourself and continue to change. Do not let the past repeat itself and try to strive for greatness. As long as you do this, you've got nothing to fear. You got me standing behind your back too, so who dares to mess with this village and the Fire Country anymore?"

Shiroken now owned everything, the Fire Country was his, but to that extent, Konoha was also his. And since these Shinobi villages were strongholds in each nation, they were important for the economy. Letting these be harmed anymore would be counterproductive for Shiroken's goals. And having a strong, intelligent medical expert like Tsunade would boom the medical science by years. But for now, fixing her issues was the most important task.

Tsunade nodded. She had literally nobody to rely on in the world. Her clan was dead, Shizune was supposed to rely on her. What was left were her teammates, Orochimaru was a heartless bastard who was now as good as dead. That left Jiraiya, but his thoughts about her started from her one breast and ended on the other. But, now there was a god-like being standing behind her.

Just like Gaara, she felt confident in herself. That, maybe yes, she can do it. This was actually how strong leaders lead other people. Shiroken was at the top of the food chain, people who rely on him have the confidence that he is unbeatable. This makes them drop down any concern and strive for greatness.

*BANG*

The door suddenly opened and Shizune entered. But, she stopped as if she just saw a ghost. Certainly, tearful Tsunade hugging Shiroken's waist and Shiroken patting her head was a sight not to be seen every day. When both Shiroken and Tsunade turned their heads to look at her, they jolted back.

However, Shizune had already developed her theory in the head. Blushing, she bowed and ran out, "I'M SORRY, LADY TSUNADE, LORD DAMA, I WILL COME LATER..."

Shiroken and Tsunade glanced at each other's faces. She blushed and he sighed. ~I must catch her before she spouts nonsense to people.~

But, thankfully Shiroken was able to help Tsunade's mental state. She looked normal now, just with a bit fluffy eyes due to the crying. Her makeup was also smudged.

He started to walk out, "I will see you later, Tsunade."

Tsunade didn't sit silently though, she said what was on her mind, "You're a mystery, Lord Dama. It's clear that nobody in the world can beat you at this point. You stand at the peak of civilization... and I hope, the peaceful world you told me about once... you're able to create."

Shiroken nodded and replied as he opened the door, "You clap with two hands. As long as the people cooperate, anything is achievable."

He shut the door close and walked down the hallway. Soon he found Shizune standing with her back at the wall. She blushed as soon as she saw him. He didn't ignore her and instead went straight to her.

She like a little kid shrank her neck, she even looked like a kid as her height was less than Tsunade, who herself was shorter than the tall Shiroken.

Fiddling in his pocket, he took out a small candy. He extended his hand towards her with a smile. Dumbly she took the candy and kept staring at his face.

"I hope you can keep everything a secret. We can't have rumours flying around now can we?" He said and patted her head before walking away.

She just stared at his leaving figure and the candy in her hand, wondering if he sees her as a child.

[A/N: Imagine a scene similar to Hulk giving a taco to Ant-man.]

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