Ch65. Gift for Tsunade

Rei appeared in his dimension and the first sight that greeted him was Tsunade and Konan in their underwear and apron kneeling in the front hall, both showing excitement. This excitement however quickly fell as they noticed his mangled, clearly quite injured form. He watched Tsunade's face morph from happy and teasing one into a worry-stricken horror-filled one as she noticed his expression twisted in pain. She instantly jumped towards him and started to go over his body with her diagnostic jutsu, her eyes teary. It was then that Rei remembered that in anime, she was a very 'unstable' woman due to the death of her clan, brother, and then lover. 'Maybe I should try to avoid being injured...' Rei thought as he felt Tsunade biting her lower lip while intently healing his ribs with her medical Jutsu. His eyes turned to Konan and... he rather turned back to Tsunade. He was too ashamed to face her right now after so many reassurances that it will be alright and he would face no danger...

"You underestimated them." Konan said in an exasperated tone to which Rei could only awkwardly chuckle. "Why did I expect this to go differently." Konan huffed, giving Rei a piercing look. "As of now, I forbid you to charge into danger without me by your side! At least one of us has to be the voice of reason!" Konan exclaimed. "Now, you will eat the food I and Tsunade painstakingly prepared. You will take a bath with us. You will then cuddle with us and you will go to sleep to recuperate your injuries. As much trust as I have in Tsunade's skills, I want you to get proper rest. You are a mess! I don't think I ever saw you quite so injured!" Seeing Rei's mouth open in protest, Konan strongly added, her hands on her hips. "End of discussion."

"Yes, dear." Rei lowered his head, making Konan's eyes soften. He then sighed and continued in a grumbling tone as he crossed his arms. "Never in my wildest dreams would I think that senjutsu would pack quite such a punch. It must have enhanced taijutsu at least by the factor of five! I felt as if a truck hit me." Rei said, making both Tsunade and Konan look at each other, neither knowing what 'truck' was but they both decided it had to be a fearsome monster if Rei thought it hit so hard. Rei then smiled. "But... I've got it." He took a stasis scroll out of his pocket, showing it to Tsunade. "Tsu, this is my gift for you and I am pretty sure it will help you to improve your Creation Rebirth. I really hope this will help you get rid of the need for burning your own life span." He said with a smile to her.

Tsunade didn't take it, her hands still busying themselves with Rei's wounds. For her, he was the priority right now. Whatever that scroll held could wait. Rei just chuckled as he saw the interest in her eyes despite her not taking it. She was a medic first and foremost so anything that could help her improve her craft was greatly intriguing for her. That's why Rei chose to get the Axolotl for her despite the danger. He thought his self-storage seal would be enough as insurance but he was apparently wrong. He was still quite weak when it came to more experienced 'legendary' fighters it seemed. An oversight he would definitely correct at a later date.

After he was healed, he listened to Konan's demands... she was right, he needed to recuperate and fast. They still had a mission to complete.

...

The next day, the trio was in the clearing in front of their house. Tsunade held the still sealed stasis scroll, expectantly looking at it while her expression was akin to a child during Christmas eve. She was almost glowing from curiosity and Rei enjoyed the sight very much. It was far from the bitter old hag in the anime and it brought his heart untold joy that he could transform... 'that' into the happy, excited, and carefree girl in front of him. Tsunade turned to him after she was done eyeing the scroll and while almost bouncing, she asked him. "What is it?"

Rei chuckled. "Why don't you open it and see for yourself?" He said and held back after her lips turned into a small pout. Konan just sat next to Rei on the blanket and was preparing the picnic basket she brought with her. She knew what was in the scroll and knew it would probably be important to Tsunade but since she wasn't very medical savvy, it didn't matter to her.

Tsunade decided to open the scroll and instantly, a huge salamander popped out of it. She looked at it a bit skeptically and then turned to Rei with a deadpan look. "It's a... salamander? Really?" She eyed Rei, not amused at all.

"Don't give me that look." Rei calmly coaxed. "It is a salamander with an even bigger healing factor than you when using Creation Rebirth." He told her and she snapped her head back onto the unconscious beast, her eyes instantly started sparkling while morphing into... something Rei thought he would only see on Jiraya's face when perving on women or Orochimaru's when perving on boys. 'Damn... she is indeed one of the three Sannin!' Rei was inwardly freaking out at the gaze she was giving the beast. He decided to be far, far away when she plays with it. Just to be sure.

Konan chuckled and leaned closer to Rei. "You are hoping Tsunade will be too preoccupied with her new experiments to miss us jumping into that trap, aren't you?" She whispered knowingly, earning herself an admitting gaze from Rei as he shrugged. He had no intention of letting Tsunade butt in into their mission and definitely didn't want her to worry. He leaned even closer to Konan and tenderly claimed her lips. They kissed for a moment and when they separated Rei softly smiled.

"Will you keep that a secret for me?" He asked and Konan dazedly nodded with a bit of a blush on her cheeks as she bashfully turned around, busying herself with preparing the food. After that, they both watched Tsunade testing the healing factor of the beast with sparkling eyes as the blood squirted everywhere. "Damn..." Rei winced. "I am really glad I had the foresight to keep the beast in unconsciousness." He dryly stated, making Konan deadpan at him.

"Yeah... but these seals must have been quite something since even having its head open didn't wake it up." She said.

Before Rei could answer, Tsunade shouted at him. "Thank you!" She quickly approached them and embraced Rei tightly. "With this, I will be able to not only perfect my Creation Rebirth but also my strengthening technique!" She elatedly said. "Now... more tests!" She almost squealed, released Rei, and skipped back towards the salamander without even glancing at the food Konan prepared for her.

That afternoon was one of the most traumatizing experiences both Rei and Konan ever went through. They learned a lot! They learned that with a high regeneration factor, it is hard to die due to blood loss. They learned that regrowth of the salamander's limbs lasts approximately 1.66s when stimulated with nature energy. They learned that opening someone's head is indeed as disgusting as it sounds... To be honest, they decided to never again be present when Tsunade is having her 'fun'.