Teizawa closed his eyes.
His sensory perception spread outward in every direction with him at the center.
That faint magnetic marker was to the east.
Roughly twenty kilometers away. Still moving, but not quickly.
Clearly, the target was not traveling at full speed.
That old bastard Danzo.
He had spent his whole life clinging to survival, yet even while fleeing for his life, he still refused to abandon his dignity.
Teizawa opened his eyes, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He gave an order to the Sand shinobi standing guard outside the door.
"Track him twenty kilometers east of Konoha. Don't alert him. Just follow from a distance."
The Sand shinobi outside accepted the order and left.
The footsteps soon disappeared at the end of the corridor.
The last time Teizawa robbed Danzo, he had left a little "something" on that old bastard.
An extremely faint electromagnetic marker.
Silent, invisible, colorless, and odorless.
Even Danzo himself had not noticed it.
Now, finding him was almost laughably easy.
The Sharingan on Danzo's body, along with the Mangekyo that belonged to Shisui Uchiha.
Those were all things Teizawa wanted.
Naturally, he could not afford to lose track of them.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Three light taps.
Careful, tentative.
"Lord Kazekage... are you inside?"
Teizawa's eyes lit up.
It was Shizune's voice, timid and soft.
As if she were afraid someone might hear her.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He walked to the door and pulled it open.
Shizune stood in the corridor, holding Tonton in her arms.
She wore plain casual clothes.
Her hair was not tied up, but fell loose over her shoulders.
Moonlight spilled in through the window and fell over her.
Her delicate face looked especially soft beneath the moonlight.
Her eyes dodged away.
She did not dare look at him, her gaze landing somewhere around his shoulder.
"Come in."
Teizawa stepped aside.
Shizune bit her lip, then walked into the room.
Tonton poked its head out of her arms.
Those black bean-like eyes stared warily at Teizawa.
It gave a low oink.
Teizawa closed the door and looked at Shizune's back.
She stood in the middle of the room, holding Tonton motionlessly.
Her spine was perfectly straight.
Like a stalk of bamboo bent by the wind, then stubbornly straightening again.
"Sit."
Teizawa walked to the table and poured her a cup of tea.
Shizune sat down in the chair.
She placed Tonton on her lap, gently holding it with both hands.
Tonton curled into a ball.
Only its small head remained visible, its eyes still fixed on Teizawa with vigilance.
"You... you said you would tell me what happened between you and Tsunade-sama."
Shizune's voice was very soft, carrying a trace of nervousness.
Teizawa sat across from her, picked up his teacup, and took a slow sip.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything..."
Shizune raised her head and looked straight into his eyes.
"What exactly happened between you and Tsunade-sama?"
"Why has Tsunade-sama been getting stranger and stranger lately? Why does she treat you..."
She paused.
"Differently?"
Teizawa put down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, and looked at her.
"Do you really want to know?"
Shizune nodded hard.
Teizawa was silent for a few seconds.
Then he smiled.
"That's a long story."
He stood and walked to the window, turning his back to her.
"Do you know Tsunade-sama has a certain habit..."
His voice was very light.
"When she gets drunk, she mistakes people for someone else."
Shizune's pupils contracted slightly.
Her fingers tightened on Tonton's back.
Tonton oinked.
"That night, at the izakaya..."
Teizawa turned and looked at her.
"She held onto me and called me by another man's name."
Shizune's expression changed.
Of course she knew who that person was.
Dan Kato, the man Tsunade-sama had loved most in her life, who had died in battle during the Second Shinobi World War.
Every time Tsunade-sama got drunk, she would mention that name.
Every time she woke up, she would act as if nothing had happened.
But this time...
When she called Dan's name, the person sitting across from her had been the Kazekage.
"You..." Shizune's voice turned dry. "You took Dan-sama's place?"
Teizawa did not answer.
He merely looked at her, a faint, unreadable smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.
Shizune's face flushed red.
The blush spread from her cheeks to her ears, then down her neck.
She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting in Tonton's fur.
Her heart pounded like a drum, and her mind was in chaos.
She had imagined many possibilities.
But she had not expected...
She did not dare think any further.
"So..."
Teizawa walked back to the table and poured another cup of tea.
"Now you know why Tsunade-sama has been acting stranger and stranger?"
Shizune bit her lip and did not answer.
She did not know what to say.
Tsunade-sama and the Kazekage...
That was the Hokage and the Kazekage.
Konoha and Sunagakure.
It was...
She did not dare think about it.
"Don't worry."
Teizawa sat down across from her, his tone softening.
"I won't tell anyone about this."
"Tsunade-sama's reputation is more important than anything."
He paused.
"I know where the line is."
Shizune raised her head and looked at him.
That young face looked especially serious in the candlelight.
There was no mockery in those deep eyes. No frivolity.
Only a certainty that made people feel at ease.
Her heart slowly settled.
"You..." Her voice was still a little dry. "You really won't tell anyone?"
Teizawa nodded.
"I swear it in the name of the Kazekage."
Shizune remained silent for a long time.
She lowered her head and looked at Tonton on her lap.
Tonton looked back at her.
She took a deep breath, then lifted her head.
"I believe you."
Teizawa smiled.
"Thank you."
Shizune stood with Tonton in her arms and bowed to him.
"Then... I'll leave first."
"Wait."
Teizawa called her to a stop.
Shizune paused and turned back to look at him.
Teizawa leaned against the back of his chair, his gaze resting on her face.
"Since I've already sworn an oath, and even promised you I won't tell anyone about this..."
He paused.
"May I ask you for one small thing?"
Shizune looked at him in confusion.
"What?"
Teizawa pointed to the chair across from him.
"Sit."
Shizune frowned slightly, but still sat down.
Tonton jumped down from her arms.
It curled up under the chair, leaving only its small head visible.
Its black bean-like eyes stared warily at Teizawa.
"What do you want to say?"
There was a trace of caution in Shizune's voice, along with a little curiosity.
Teizawa's expression softened.
Like a spring breeze brushing over a lake, even those eyes that always seemed to carry a smile became a little gentler.
"Shizune, you should smile more." His voice was very soft. "You look prettier when you smile."
Shizune's face instantly flushed red.
She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting together over her knees.
"Lord Kazekage, what are you saying?"
"How is that nonsense?"
Teizawa leaned forward slightly and looked straight at her.
"I really do like you, Shizune."
Shizune froze completely.
Her mind went blank.
Her heart pounded so hard it seemed ready to leap out of her chest.
What was this supposed to be?
A confession?
A Kazekage was confessing to her?
She raised her head and looked at Teizawa's serious face.
Her lips moved.
But she could not say a thing.
"Y-you... don't say things like that... How could you..."
Her voice came out broken, like a tape recorder catching and stuttering.
Teizawa sighed and leaned back in his chair.
His gaze moved away from her face and landed on the deep night outside the window.
"I know. You're in Konoha, and I'm in Sunagakure."
His voice lowered, carrying a trace of helplessness.
"And I'm about to leave. Once I do, we may never have another chance to meet."
Shizune's heart clenched fiercely.
She could not describe the feeling.
She only felt as though something had lodged in her chest, heavy and stifling.
"Shizune..."
Teizawa turned back to look at her, his gaze so gentle it seemed almost liquid.
"Before I leave, I wanted to say what was in my heart."
He paused.
"Have one drink with me."
He picked up the sake bottle.
Then he poured her a cup of sake and pushed it in front of her.
Shizune looked at that cup of wine, then at Teizawa.
Her reason told her she should refuse. She should stand and leave. She should...
But she could not move.
Those eyes were too gentle.
So gentle they reminded her of many years ago, when she was still a young girl.
Back then, there had also been someone who looked at her with eyes like that.
It had been a very, very long time since anyone had looked at her that way.
She picked up the cup and took a small sip.
The flavor of the sake spread across the tip of her tongue.
It was not strong, carrying a faint hint of sweetness.
Teizawa also picked up his own cup and lightly touched it against hers.
"Thank you."
His voice was soft.
Shizune lowered her head and looked at the liquor swaying inside her cup.
Her cheeks were still red, and her heartbeat was still unsteady.
But that nervousness had slowly begun to fade.
"You..."
She raised her head.
"Do you really think I look good when I smile?"
Teizawa nodded.
"Very good."
Shizune bit her lip and said nothing.
But the corner of her mouth still lifted slightly beyond her control.
That smile was very faint, faint as the first trace of new green in spring.
But Teizawa saw it clearly.
"See?"
He smiled.
"You look so much prettier when you smile."
Shizune's face turned even redder.
She lowered her head, hiding that smile inside her cup.
Teizawa did not say anything else.
He only drank quietly.
From time to time, his gaze swept over her face.
Moonlight spilled in from outside the window and fell across the two of them.
Shizune's shadow stretched long.
It fell across the wall like a quiet painting.
But as she kept drinking, Shizune began to feel her body growing hotter and hotter.
(End of Chapter)
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