Tsunade held him, crying hysterically. Naruto's consciousness was fading, and his eyelids were growing heavier. With the Nine-Tails' life-saving chakra, he wasn't worried about dying.
He couldn't speak now, but inside, he was extremely anxious!
Pull the sword!!! Damn it!!!
Naruto passed out from the pain, and when he woke up again, it was already evening.
[Tailed Beast Seal successfully released.]
His chest ached faintly, the ceiling looked unfamiliar—it wasn't a hospital or Konoha. Fully opening his eyes, he saw that Shizune was asleep at his bedside. He was still in a hotel room.
He silently sat up, turned his head left and right, and then touched his chest, but he couldn't find the Grass Cutter Sword anywhere.
Shizune woke up from the noise, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. When she saw Naruto awake, his face looked ashen, like someone who had lost their wife.
"Naruto, you're awake?" Shizune walked over and placed her cool hand on his forehead. "Please don't move around. Your wound still needs time to heal."
"Shizune-san, where's the sword?" Naruto asked with a dejected tone.
"The sword?"
"The big sword!" Naruto gestured over his chest. "The big sword that was stuck in my chest."
Shizune, the ageless woman in black stockings, immediately understood. A gentle, professional smile appeared on her face as she spoke.
"Sorry, Tsunade-sama put it away."
"What!!! How could she?!" Naruto started to speak, but then stopped, saying, "That's such a joke."
"Shizune-san, Tsunade-sama must be joking, right? She'll definitely give the sword back to me, won't she?"
"Well..." Shizune's face showed an awkward smile.
Seeing that, Naruto's face immediately drooped.
...
"Where's the sword?" Naruto caught Tsunade in a small tavern.
"What sword?" Tsunade was drunk, pouting with her clothes partially open. "What are you talking about, brat?"
"The sword! The one in my chest!"
Naruto became desperate, practically pressing his face against Tsunade's. He didn't even want to look at Naoko anymore.
"Wake up, old woman!"
In an instant, the air around them dropped to freezing point. Tsunade's face darkened, her eyes glowing red.
"What did you call me?"
"Lord Hokage." Naruto awkwardly adjusted his position, but quickly couldn't hold it back. "Where's the sword? My big sword?"
"That thing... it's too dangerous." Tsunade drunkenly said, "How could I give it to an unreliable brat like you."
"Huh? What?" Naruto couldn't understand as he sat across from Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, who took the sword for you?"
"Well..."
"Don't dodge the question, damn it!"
"Let's just say it was you." Tsunade frowned, biting her finger, looking extremely unwilling.
"What do you mean 'let's just say'? It was me!" Naruto said with resentment, "I blocked the sword for you at that time. It pierced my chest, right in this spot."
Naruto rambled on, recounting the situation at the time, showing that he really wanted the Grass Cutter Sword.
"See, I was like this back then..." Naruto started to stretch his hand towards his chest but quickly pulled it back, muttering, "Anyway, you have to give it to me. If the sword went into my body, it's mine now."
"It's not that... I can't give it to you..." Tsunade took another drink, her face flushed, "Let's see how you behave from now on."
Naruto looked defeated. He was convinced by Tsunade's lowered moral standards. Neither of them were good people, with a thousand tricks between them.
But now he couldn't do anything about Tsunade. In a sense, Tsunade was now the Fifth Hokage and his direct superior.
And he was just an ordinary Jinchuriki, who would still need Tsunade's support in the upcoming high-level meetings. In other words, from now on, Naruto would have to listen to this bad woman.
Although he was unhappy about it, he had no choice but to let Tsunade continue to act arrogantly, his body trembling with anger. When would the Jinchuriki finally stand up?
Once the Nine-Tails chakra was fully extracted, he would activate the release seal.
At that point, he'd let this old woman come to him with the Grass Cutter Sword, begging him to bring back the Nine-Tails. But—only a fool would care about who took the Nine-Tails.
"Here."
Suddenly, Tsunade shoved a warm object into Naruto's hand and then drank another cup of wine.
"What's this?" Naruto scratched his head, confused.
He opened his palm and found a metal pendant necklace, the original owner being the First Hokage, and it was one of Tsunade's most cherished possessions.
"Why does it smell like milk?" Naruto sniffed, about to smell it more, but Tsunade angrily slammed her fist on the table.
"Do you want to die, brat?!"
"Ow, ow, ow! It hurts! My wound's opening up!" Naruto screamed in pain, only for Tsunade to immediately cover his mouth and then pull him into her chest.
"Why are you yelling?" Tsunade, slightly annoyed, lowered her voice. "Do you believe I'll tear your wound open and heal it again?"
Naruto didn't dare speak. He knew this woman was capable of doing something like that. In fact, older, single women who were strong were terrifying.
But Tsunade had also drunk too much, looking at the many wine bottles on the table. Naruto didn't doubt that Tsunade had been drinking all day.
"Come on! You... have a drink too." Tsunade, drunkenly, shoved a cup of wine toward Naruto's face.
"I'm not drinking. The Ninja's Three Principles, I'm a..." muffled "Cough, cough!!"
"It doesn't matter, a little won't hurt." Tsunade drunkenly poured the wine into Naruto's mouth. "Don't be so stiff, the wine is really good."
"I'll do it myself, I'll do it myself!!"
Naruto quickly begged for mercy. Tsunade was a complete alcoholic, and if he was forced to drink, he might choke to death.
"Ha, how much can you drink, little brat." Tsunade laughed drunkenly and pushed Naruto into her embrace, trying to force more alcohol on him.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh! I..."
Naruto started to protest, but was smothered, almost passing out. The mixed scents of perfume and alcohol surrounded him.
In the end, it all turned into the smell of vomit.
"Ugh!!!" Naruto squatted outside the tavern, vomiting uncontrollably. It was already dark outside.
The streets were crowded with people, the lights flowing like a small river. Tsunade stood beside him, smiling brightly as she patted Naruto's back and said,
"You're so weak, brat."
"Ugh!!!" Naruto hadn't even drunk, but Tsunade had made him puke. He looked up with a pale face, suddenly grabbing Tsunade's wrist.
Being messed with by the Fifth Hokage, in all of Konoha, this might just be unique to Naruto.
Holding Tsunade's wrist, Naruto asked, unwilling to give up.
"Where's the sword?"
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