With Seiryū present, Sasuke no longer had the nerve to declare that he intended to eliminate the Five Kage. After all, Tsunade was the Hokage, and saying something like that in front of Seiryū would have been asking for trouble.
Instead, Sasuke only spoke about becoming Hokage, reforming the shinobi system, and similar ambitions.
After that, events naturally continued toward their inevitable conclusion.
The battle between Naruto and Sasuke at the Valley of the End still took place. The two friends, forever caught between rivalry and friendship, chose to settle their conflicting ideals through battle. Whoever won would have the final say.
If Sasuke lost, he would marry Sakura. If he won, he would become Hokage!
'Boom, boom, boom!'
At the Valley of the End, the battle had already begun. Two shinobi who could now be considered among the strongest in the entire shinobi world were locked in a fierce confrontation.
Perfect Susanoo against the complete Nine-Tails.
The battle between them was extraordinarily intense.
Standing some distance away and watching the fight, Tsunade asked Seiryū, "Who do you think will win?"
"Naruto," Seiryū replied. "Sasuke may possess a tomoe Rinnegan, but he still can't bring out its full power, and he's also at a disadvantage when it comes to Chakra reserves."
This battle differed from the one in the original timeline. Sasuke had not captured the nine Tailed Beasts or absorbed their Chakra, which meant he could not fully exploit the power of his tomoe Rinnegan.
Against Naruto, who possessed the complete Nine-Tails, fragments of Chakra from the other eight Tailed Beasts, and Six Paths Sage Mode, Sasuke was clearly at a disadvantage in raw power.
"I see." Tsunade nodded. "Hopefully that brat will finally come to his senses after this battle."
"If he loses, he marries Sakura. If he wins, he becomes Hokage. That brat is just a stubborn tsundere. Once this fight is over, he'll straighten himself out."
Tsunade stared at Seiryū speechlessly. By now, she had reached a firm conclusion.
The way this brat thought was definitely different from normal people.
He was extremely unreliable and occasionally said things that made her wonder whether something was wrong with his head.
Tsunade exhaled. "So Naruto and Sakura don't end up together?"
"Why would you think those two would get together? They don't suit each other. Even if Naruto somehow ended up being both Sasuke's and Sakura's first kiss, Sasuke and Sakura are the real pair."
Seiryū laughed. "One is a stubborn tsundere who refuses to admit what he feels, while the other has stubbornly loved the same person for years. They'll end up together eventually."
"As for Naruto, he has someone better suited to him. In another timeline, he married Hinata and they had a son and a daughter."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How do you know so much? Don't tell me someone from another timeline told you all of this."
"I am the Soul King, omniscient and omnipotent, capable of seeing the future. Knowing things like this is easy."
Seiryū shamelessly continued spouting nonsense. "In another timeline, Naruto and Sasuke already have children. That alone proves I'm right."
Tsunade fell silent.
What exactly was a Soul King?
She did not understand.
She did not understand at all!
The version of herself from Seiryū's timeline must have suffered endless headaches dealing with this unreliable brat every day.
"After their battle ends, do you want to come back to Konoha with me?" Tsunade asked. "You've helped us a great deal. Even if I'm not the Tsunade you know, I'm still grateful."
"Forget it. I won't go." Seiryū shook his head. "Different timelines shouldn't interfere with each other too much. It's better for everyone to continue living their own lives."
"Hmm."
Tsunade could understand that.
From the little Seiryū had already told her, she knew his existence alone had caused enormous differences between their histories.
Perhaps the only reason he could speak to her so casually now was because this version of Tsunade was still single.
"By the way, I've been wondering about something."
Tsunade suddenly looked at him with curiosity.
"Exactly how many partners do you have?"
Seiryū glanced at her. "Why do you want to know?"
"Curiosity."
"You, Kurenai, Rin, Hina, Sāra, the Queen of Rōran, and one who's still uncertain, Kaguya. That's all."
Tsunade's mouth twitched.
"I actually agreed to that?"
She stared at him in disbelief.
"Did you put me under Genjutsu or something?"
"Sincerity wins sincerity. I've literally torn out my heart several times to prove myself to you. After seeing how sincere I was, you were deeply moved!"
A question mark practically appeared above Tsunade's head.
"Torn out your heart?"
Did he mean that literally?
"Does the version of me in your timeline not suffer from hemophobia?"
"I cured it."
"By tearing out your heart?!"
"Uh, more or less. Anyway, I risked my life. If you hadn't overcome your fear of blood, I would've died right in front of you."
Seiryū looked extremely proud of himself.
"And that's how I cured your hemophobia!"
Tsunade stared at him in a daze.
After two seconds, she slowly exhaled.
"I think I finally understand why the other me puts up with you so much."
He had gambled his own life on whether she could overcome her fear of blood.
That was even more extreme than what Naruto had once done.
Just imagining it was enough to move her.
People were emotional creatures.
Now, Tsunade could somewhat understand the version of herself from Seiryū's timeline. If someone had done something like that for her, she would probably have been furious at first, but that person's presence would have been carved permanently into her heart.
Seiryū raised his chin proudly.
"What do you mean, puts up with me? She can't beat me anyway. In this lifetime, she can only be mine. Even if she objects, it won't change anything!"
Tsunade stared at him.
"You said earlier that the other me swindled money from you under the excuse of treating your illness. Have you ever considered the possibility that you really were sick?"
"Huh? You're the one who's sick! You're exactly like her!"
"That's one more reason she probably indulges you. I'm usually very tolerant with patients."
Seiryū fell silent.
Even across different timelines, she was still a troublesome woman!
'Rumble!'
A powerful disturbance erupted not far away.
Naruto and Sasuke's final clash signaled the end of the battle at the Valley of the End.
The winner was Naruto.
Neither of them lost an arm this time. The fight ended with one knocked unconscious and the other nearly drained of Chakra.
"It's over. I should leave too."
Seiryū glanced toward the battlefield, then turned back and smiled at Tsunade.
"Although Isshiki in this timeline is already dead, other members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan may still arrive in the future. The shinobi world hasn't truly entered an age of permanent peace."
"You'll have to handle those problems yourselves. Train those two properly. Don't let temporary peace make them lose their drive."
Seiryū smiled.
"Then goodbye, troublesome woman. It was nice meeting you."
With that, he turned his right hand over.
A pink turtle appeared in his palm.
Karasuki had already been fully recharged. By following the same route it had taken before, it could return Seiryū to his original space-time.
After this, the two timelines would no longer intersect.
'Hum!'
A flash of light enveloped Seiryū.
Before Tsunade's eyes, his figure disappeared completely.
"What a decisive brat."
Tsunade exhaled and gently touched the Yin Seal on her forehead.
Then she murmured softly to herself.
"I'm a little jealous of you, other me. Having someone who loves you that much by your side."
(To be continued.)
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◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)