Chapter 284: Lie Down Here

The moment Kitahara Kaede left the Hokage Building, he headed directly for Konoha Hospital.

After crossing two streets, the logic of what had happened finally became clear to him.

What had Tsunade called Mei?

Representative.

Tsunade was one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin. In a sense, her conduct represented the dignity of the entire village.

Mei had come to supervise the protection of a Tailed Beast—an issue of enormous importance.

At such a sensitive moment, no matter how explosive Tsunade's temper was, she couldn't possibly start a conflict with a senior official from another village in the middle of the street because of him.

She would never do something like that.

So she had endured it.

She had suppressed every trace of anger and replaced it with a purely official expression.

Her question—"When are you coming to see me?"—had sounded light at the time.

Now that Kaede carefully reconsidered it, the words were clearly a final ultimatum.

A summons whose outcome had already been decided.

His pace unconsciously quickened.

She had revealed none of her emotions before an outsider.

Once the door closed behind them, however, that would be when the true reckoning began.

What awaited him?

Would she overturn a table?

Or punch a hole straight through the floor?

The hospital entrance appeared ahead.

Kaede entered without hesitation.

As he climbed the stairs, he invented an excuse on every floor, only to discard it before reaching the next.

How should he explain himself?

Should he say it happened to be on his way?

That he had no choice?

He rounded the staircase on the third floor and stopped.

Tsunade stood in the corridor beside a young nurse.

She held a ward-round record and appeared to be giving the nurse several instructions.

The young woman nodded repeatedly before hugging the record to her chest and hurrying away.

As soon as she left, Tsunade's gaze met Kaede's at the stairwell.

He saw a flash of surprise in her eyes.

It lasted less than an instant before she concealed it perfectly.

Tsunade truly was surprised.

How long had she been back at the hospital?

She came upstairs, encountered the nurse on duty, and explained several matters.

Altogether, not even fifteen minutes had passed.

Yet he had already appeared.

What did that mean?

It meant that after escorting Mei to the Hokage Building, he had come straight to her.

The final traces of resentment in Tsunade's heart disappeared.

Outwardly, however, she revealed nothing.

Kaede approached her and studied the face that showed no emotional movement.

He opened his mouth, intending to probe the situation first.

"Why are you standing in the corridor?"

Before the words could leave him, Tsunade spoke.

"We'll talk in my office."

She dropped the sentence, turned, and headed away.

Kaede hurried after her.

He pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Tsunade immediately closed it behind him.

His gaze rapidly swept over the room.

The desk. The stone inkstone. A heavy-bottomed ceramic cup filled with brushes.

Any one of those objects would hurt if she threw it at him.

He was already prepared to tilt his head and dodge at any moment.

Nothing happened.

Tsunade walked directly to the sofa and sat down, naturally crossing her legs.

Then she lifted her chin slightly and gestured toward the seat opposite her.

Kaede sat.

Only a wooden tea table separated them.

Silence filled the office. Tsunade didn't continue speaking.

Kaede couldn't simply wait.

He decided to attack first.

"About what happened this morning," he began. "Mei found my house on her own."

Tsunade looked at him without interrupting.

"I had just finished washing up and was about to make myself a bowl of noodles."

"Then someone knocked. I assumed it was an ANBU delivering urgent documents."

He spoke slightly faster than usual.

"When I opened the door, she was standing outside."

"She said she didn't know Konoha and asked me to accompany her to the Hokage Building to discuss the joint defense arrangement."

"I needed to deliver documents there anyway, so we went together."

He finished his entire explanation.

Tsunade still didn't speak.

Kaede watched her face, trying to find the smallest crack in her composure.

There was none.

Tsunade merely nodded once.

"Mm. I understand."

Kaede's mind went blank for a second.

That was it?

It was already over?

He had expected at least several follow-up questions or for her to seize upon one of the details.

Instead, "I understand" ended the entire matter.

Sitting on the sofa, Kaede somehow became even more uncomfortable.

He could no longer understand her methods at all.

Across from him, Tsunade rested one hand casually on her knee.

Her gaze settled on the tea table.

She appeared as steady as a mountain while thoughts raced endlessly through her mind.

Terumi Mei.

That woman's behavior.

Her shoulder had almost pressed against Kaede's arm.

She had walked down an entire street beneath everyone's eyes, smiling as though nothing were unusual.

When Kaede shifted half a step away, she shamelessly squeezed half an inch closer.

Tsunade could never behave so sweetly or cling so persistently.

But if she continued maintaining her pride and waiting for him to take the initiative, what would happen in the end?

Most likely, that woman would gradually occupy every corner of Kaede's life like a leech.

Tsunade couldn't simply hand him over.

But she needed a proper reason to act first.

A justification she could state with complete confidence—one that had absolutely nothing to do with romance.

Her gaze moved from the table back to Kaede's face.

"You've been handling documents in the Hokage Building every day lately, haven't you? Working without rest?"

Her tone sounded casual.

"When you walked over just now, your brows were practically tied together."

Kaede froze.

Where had this turn come from?

Was Tsunade indirectly complaining that he hadn't visited her over the last few days?

"It hasn't been too bad," he quickly replied. "Most of the work is already handled."

Tsunade looked away and casually picked up a medical record from the table.

"A nurse mentioned a patient to me earlier."

She flipped a page.

"A female ninja with damaged cranial nerves."

"Conventional treatment hasn't worked well, so we'll need to combine it with a specialized acupoint massage."

She raised her eyes toward him.

"I haven't used the technique in a long time. If I misjudge the pressure, it could cause complications."

Kaede nodded and listened seriously, sensing nothing unusual.

"Since you're free now," Tsunade continued naturally, "stay here and let me practice on you first."

"I need to recover the proper feel for the pressure points."

The breath Kaede had been holding finally escaped.

He even felt a trace of relief.

This was a ready-made bridge out of the awkward situation.

Once he helped her practice, the matter of being seen on the street should officially be over.

"Sure. No problem."

He agreed immediately.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Sit here and close my eyes?"

Tsunade looked at how cooperative he was.

Then she imagined what would happen next, and heat immediately rose behind her ears.

She didn't stand.

Instead, she raised a hand and lightly patted her thigh twice.

Pat. Pat.

The crisp sounds echoed through the office.

Today, she wore shorts that ended at the top of her thighs.

A wide expanse of pale skin remained exposed to the air.

When her palm struck, her full thigh rippled faintly.

Like water disturbed by a breeze, it trembled twice with remarkable elasticity before settling again.

"How am I supposed to massage you while you're sitting?"

Tsunade's voice rose slightly.

"Lie down here."

Kaede seemed nailed to the sofa.

He lowered his head.

His gaze uncontrollably fell upon Tsunade's long, pale legs.

Then he looked up again.

She was forcing herself to appear calm, but a faint blush had already spread across her cheeks.