Hikari looked at Tsunade with an expression of utter disbelief—he was completely stunned.
[I've never seen anyone this shameless!]
[Do you think you're DLC Hokage or something?!]
[Still asking for more money?!]
Of course, Tsunade had no idea what DLC Hokage meant, but that didn't stop her from continuing.
"What? You should have plenty of money! Think about my status—I'm the Fifth Hokage of Konoha! Spending money on me is a deal you won't regret. Who knows, if I'm in a good mood one day, I might even throw in a buy-one-get-one-free deal and send Shizune your way!"
Hikari: (-_-)
[Do you really think I'd fall for your nonsense?!]
Seeing Tsunade completely throw her dignity away, Kamizuki Hikari stood up without hesitation and turned to leave.
"Don't go! I don't have money to pay the bill!"
Tsunade had many flaws, and she was even known to dodge debts, but when it came to paying for food, she still had some principles.
Right now, the restaurant owner was glaring at her, clearly worried she'd make a run for it.
With Tsunade's strength, even if this were the heavily guarded Kumogakure instead of the Land of Fire's capital, she could easily escape without paying.
But doing something like that would be truly shameless.
Even Tsunade had some standards.
Hikari turned back, took out 100,000 ryō from his pocket, and placed it on the table. "Make sure to pay. I don't want to see the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village washing dishes to clear a debt."
"Heh heh!"
Happily grabbing the money, Tsunade went to settle the bill and returned with a bottle of sake, drinking straight from it.
"Let's go!"
Hikari was once again amazed by Tsunade's ability to shatter his worldview. "You're not eating?"
Tsunade shook the bottle in her hand. "In this life, all I need is alcohol!"
Fine.
Hikari couldn't be bothered to argue further and turned to leave. Tsunade quickly caught up, looping her arm through his while still holding the sake bottle.
"Hey, Hikari, want a sip? I just drank from it~!"
"It's indirect kiss—charging you 100,000 ryō for it isn't too much, right?"
Hikari gave her a look of pure disdain. "For 100,000 ryō, I could go to Takamagahara and have a proper time. Why would I waste it on you?"
"What's wrong with me? Tell me, I'll change!" Tsunade wasn't the least bit offended by Hikari's contempt. As far as she was concerned, as long as he kept giving her money, he could insult her all he wanted.
At most, she'd just curse him behind his back later.
Looking at Kamizuki Hikari's face—so reminiscent of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama—Tsunade felt an inexplicable sense of kinship. And knowing that Hikari was absurdly wealthy only strengthened that feeling.
"I just want you to stay away from me!"
[You're a grown woman—have some self-awareness! You're the Fifth Hokage of Konoha! Aren't you embarrassed, making a scene like this?]
Tsunade grinned at him.
"Oh, you're worried about me exposing my identity, aren't you?"
"I knew you cared about me!"
Hikari: ???
[Is this woman insane?]
[When did I ever show concern for her? And how did she even figure out I was annoyed about her exposing her identity?]
Hearing Hikari's inner thoughts, Tsunade's mood brightened even more.
'Kid, you're still too green to outmatch me!'
'I can hear your thoughts—what can you do about it?'
'But I won't tell you. Heh, I'm just messing with you. Whatcha gonna do?'
For once, she had the upper hand in her exchanges with Hikari, and she was thoroughly enjoying it.
"Relax. In any other place, the title of Hokage might draw attention, but here, the Daimyō's word is law. No matter which shinobi village you're from, if you come here, you'd better behave. If you give me another 100,000 ryō, I can explain more~"
Hikari tried to pull his arm free but failed.
The main problem was that Tsunade's... ample assets... were pressed against him, making it hard to exert force.
"No need. I'm not curious."
"Oh, you're not interested in that? Then let's change the topic—what do you think about Shizune?" Tsunade's attitude towards her benefactor remained impeccable.
Right now, she was doing everything she could to get money out of Kamizuki Hikari, so of course, she had to keep the conversation flowing.
"Shizune is great. She's presentable, battle-ready, and can even handle paperwork in the office." At this point, Hikari shot Tsunade a glance. "Honestly, I don't know why she sticks with you."
"If you feel so bad for her, why not marry her yourself?"
"No way!"
[Shizune's too flat. I don't want to sleep hugging a board. Compared to that, I'd rather hug this old woman—those melons are huge. I wonder how they'd feel...]
Tsunade's face flushed slightly, but Hikari wasn't looking at her, making it clear he was outright ignoring her.
Hikari, you brat—acting all aloof on the outside but secretly appreciating my irresistible charm!
Tsunade felt quite pleased with herself.
"Since you're not interested in Shizune, how about letting her marry your brother instead? What do you think?"
Kamizuki Izumo was a special jōnin, —a solid elite shinobi in Konoha, with a spotless background. And with a wealthy younger brother like Hikari, just imagine how much betrothal money he'd cough up!
As Shizune's only guardian, wouldn't all that money end up in Tsunade's hands?
Just thinking about it made her happy.
[Shizune is pretty popular. If she married my brother Izumo, it wouldn't be a bad match. But...]
[It might be too much of a reach. A girl with such assets would be too much for Izumo to handle. And with Shizune being so strong, if they ever fought, wouldn't Izumo get completely dominated?]
Thinking of this, Hikari once again rejected Tsunade's offer.
"No thanks. I'll find my brother a normal girl."
Compared to Jōnin, Izumo was just average, but among Genin or even the regular civilians he was quite the catch.
A Special Jōnin was, after all, the highest rank in Konoha below full Jōnin.
Sure, a Special Jōnin might not always beat an elite Chūnin, but the title itself represented the Hokage's high expectations.
In other places, the Hokage's word might not carry much weight.
But in Konoha, the Hokage's authority was absolute.
Well, as long as they didn't make any outrageously terrible decisions, nobody would dare oppose them.
To Konoha's clans, Tsunade—and later, the Sixth Hokage, Hatake Kakashi—were the ideal candidates.
Firstly, both were powerful and famous across the Five Great Nations.
Second, neither had complicated family ties or factions dragging them down. That meant their leadership would be relatively fair—an environment the clans preferred.
"Alright, then. What do you think about Mikan?"
"She's from my clan. Years ago, when the Senju integrated into Konoha, Mikan refused to marry in order to preserve the purity of the Senju bloodline. You two get along well—how about it?"
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