Naruto: Wooing Tsunade from Day One!-Chapter 453: Research Value

After breakfast, Kawakaze accompanied Tsunade to the Hokage Building.

As soon as they stepped inside, they saw Shōta already hard at work. He really was the ultimate worker.

"Morning!"

Kawakaze greeted him warmly, while Tsunade walked straight to her desk and sat down.

"Lord Kawakaze, you're back."

Shōta tried to sound surprised, but his expression was anything but genuine.

Ever since Kawakaze had been away, Tsunade had actually been working properly, making Shōta's job much easier. Now that he was back, it didn't take a genius to realize that his workload was about to increase again.

"Yeah, just arrived this morning."

Kawakaze knew exactly what was going through Shōta's mind, but he simply pretended not to notice.

After all, you can't expect someone to work hard and keep quiet about it at the same time.

"Was the trip smooth?"

"It went fine."

...

Their conversation felt like a turn-based exchange—bland and perfunctory.

"Ahem."

Tsunade cleared her throat, interrupting their pointless back-and-forth after finishing some important paperwork.

"We've got some business with Orochimaru."

"We'll catch up later."

Catching Tsunade's cue, Kawakaze promptly made his exit.

"Understood."

Shōta glanced at Tsunade, realizing that for once, Kawakaze wasn't making up some ridiculous excuse.

He couldn't interfere with whatever they were up to, but at least knowing the truth made it easier to accept.

Kawakaze's past excuses had been painfully bad—he had even used "taking Tsunade to the doctor" as a reason once.

But this time, there was an actual destination involved, and given that Kawakaze had just returned from outside the village, it was at least somewhat believable.

Even so, Shōta couldn't help feeling bitter.

In the end, he just sighed and resigned himself to carrying the burden alone.

"You've worked hard," Tsunade said politely as she stood up.

And with that, the shameless couple strolled off, disappearing from Shōta's sight.

"What terrible karma did I have in my past life?"

Shōta muttered under his breath, but his pen never stopped moving.

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"So, what rare materials did you bring back this time?"

"And why do I have to come with you?"

Tsunade held onto Kawakaze's arm as they walked leisurely down the street, looking like an ordinary couple.

"You'll find out when we get there. I promise, you'll be shocked."

Kawakaze smirked, deliberately keeping her in suspense.

"Playing mysterious now, are we?"

Tsunade clung to him tighter, leaning nearly half her body weight on him in a playful display of affection.

Their nonstop public display of affection along the way made every single person who witnessed it seethe with envy.

...

When they arrived at the lab and pushed the door open, Orochimaru was in the middle of some unknown experiment, assisted by Misaki.

"I told you—don't come wandering in here unless it's important."

Orochimaru didn't even look up, his tone as blunt as ever.

"Sis, brother-in-law," Misaki greeted them sweetly before wisely looking away, pretending to focus on her task.

Smart girl.

"What do you mean 'yours'? This place is mine."

"I let you use it, and now you think you own it?"

Kawakaze strolled over to Orochimaru and peeked at what they were working on.

He had no clue what they were slicing up, but it definitely looked complex and important.

"Just name your price. I'll buy this whole lab."

Hearing Orochimaru's familiar catchphrase, Tsunade rolled her eyes.

She had heard these two bicker like children so many times that she could predict their lines by heart.

She even knew exactly what Kawakaze was about to say next.

"You think I need your measly pocket change?"

In perfect sync, both Kawakaze and Orochimaru delivered the same retort at the same time.

That finally broke Misaki's composure—she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Orochimaru shot her a look, hesitating to scold her.

Once again, his dignity as a sensei had taken a hit.

And as always, it was Kawakaze's fault.

Somehow, he always managed to drag Orochimaru down to his level.

At least, for now, Kawakaze hadn't managed to outwit him with sheer shamelessness.

"How old are you two? Still acting like children."

"Hurry up and take out whatever it is you brought back. Stop wasting everyone's time."

Tsunade shook her head helplessly, looking at them as if they were a pair of idiots.

"Understood."

"Misaki, go prepare an autopsy room."

Kawakaze had no hesitation in ordering Misaki around.

"Got it."

After finishing up her current task, Misaki turned and headed inside.

"You brought back part of a Tailed Beast's body?"

Orochimaru couldn't think of anything else that would require an autopsy room.

"No, no, no."

"A chunk of a Tailed Beast? That's nothing special."

Kawakaze wagged his index finger, his grin growing even more smug.

"Now you've got my attention."

Orochimaru immediately discarded his unfinished work, even tossing his scalpel onto the table with a sharp clatter.

Without another word, he strode toward the autopsy room. Clearly, whatever he had been working on wasn't that important.

"He's really impatient."

"Let's go."

Kawakaze took Tsunade's hand, and the two of them followed closely behind Orochimaru.

"All set."

The autopsy room had already been in order, but Misaki had done a final check just in case.

"Alright, show me."

Orochimaru put on a pair of specialized gloves, his piercing snake-like eyes locking onto Kawakaze.

If whatever Kawakaze brought out failed to impress, he wouldn't mind settling things with a fight.

"Watch closely—don't blink."

Kawakaze pulled out a weapon scroll, seemingly testing Orochimaru's knowledge.

"Are you messing with me?"

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, irritation flickering across his face. As if he wouldn't recognize a basic weapon scroll.

Weapons? In an autopsy room? What, did Kawakaze think he was a blacksmith?

"Relax."

"This has something to do with a corpse."

Breaking the seal, Kawakaze released the contents of the scroll. With a puff of smoke, two weapons appeared in the room.

"...What?"

Tsunade's pupils shrank the moment she saw them.

This set of weapons—weren't they lost long ago?

How did Kawakaze get his hands on them?

"You recognize them?"

Seeing Tsunade's reaction, Orochimaru became serious.

A scythe and a gunbai.

Orochimaru searched his memory, and after a moment, the answer surfaced.

These were the weapons passed down through generations of the Uchiha Clan.

But hadn't they disappeared along with Madara Uchiha?

A bold thought took root in Orochimaru's mind. His gaze toward Kawakaze shifted, suspicion flashing through his eyes.

"That's right. These belonged to Madara Uchiha."

"I plan to make Fugaku pay up big for them."

Kawakaze had already decided—these weapons were going back to their rightful owners.

The Uchiha Clan wasn't his enemy, and Fugaku wasn't just a clan leader—he was also a friend, practically a younger brother.

"Then... back then, he didn't die?"

Orochimaru caught on immediately, while Tsunade was momentarily stunned.

Maybe she simply didn't want to believe it.

After all, Hashirama had been dead for so many years.

And now, she was being told that her grandfather's greatest rival had likely been alive all along.

"Congratulations, you guessed it."

Kawakaze snapped his fingers, snapping Tsunade out of her daze.

She looked at the weapons again, unable to put her emotions into words.

"Here."

Kawakaze pulled out another scroll and tossed it to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru caught it, momentarily losing interest in the weapons altogether.

Even without knowing that Madara had fused with Hashirama's cells and awakened the Rinnegan, just having access to Madara's Sharingan was already enough to make this discovery priceless.

Unfortunately for him, that expectation would go unfulfilled.

Because Madara's eyes weren't in Kawakaze's possession at all.