Tsunade guessed that this mysterious power was the power of the Devil Fruit.
Whenever a Devil Fruit user activated their ability, the fruit's power drew energy from the user's cells, which in turn triggered the ability.
That was also why using Devil Fruit powers consumed stamina.
Because the energy in their cells was being drained by the fruit's power, their physical strength was depleted as a result.
What made it interesting, though, was that this draining didn't cause the cells to die. Once the user ate a large amount of food, the energy inside the cells would be replenished.
That was what made it so fascinating.
Tsunade wanted to seriously study the power of Devil Fruits, but she quickly realized that with her own abilities alone, there was no way she could produce useful results in a short amount of time.
She might need someone's help.
After making up her mind, Tsunade quietly destroyed the records from Robin's examination, along with all the test results. Once she confirmed that no one would be able to spot anything suspicious, she left the hospital with Rowan and Nico Robin.
Not long after, the three of them arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.
"Tsunade-sama."
The moment Rowan stepped into the shop, he heard a familiar voice.
He turned and saw a few familiar faces sitting at one of the tables.
One of them was Tsunade's attendant, Shizune.
Besides Shizune, there were also Kakashi, Kurenai Yuhi, and Anko Mitarashi.
The one who had just called out was Shizune.
When Kakashi and the others saw Tsunade, they quickly greeted her respectfully as well.
After all, the group were all Tsunade's juniors. Anko especially—before Orochimaru defected—would have had to address Tsunade as her aunt.
As for Kakashi, his seniority was even lower.
At least Anko was Orochimaru's student, while Kakashi was the student of Jiraiya's student.
"So it's you lot."
Fortunately, Tsunade didn't care about that sort of thing. She swept her gaze over them and said, "I didn't expect to run into you here. Shizune, I need you to do something for me."
Shizune immediately said, "Please go ahead, Tsunade-sama."
"After you finish eating, go find a ninja named Kabuto Yakushi and tell him I want to see him. I need his help with something."
"Kabuto Yakushi?"
Shizune was stunned. As Tsunade's attendant, she had naturally read Naruto as well, so she knew Kabuto was a spy Orochimaru had planted inside Konoha.
Which meant Tsunade probably wasn't really looking for Kabuto—she was looking for the man behind him.
Orochimaru.
"Is there a problem?" Tsunade asked.
"N-no, none at all. I'll go find him after I finish eating… no, I'll go right now," Shizune said hurriedly.
Tsunade waved her hand. "No need. Finish your meal first. Go after that. There's no rush."
After calming Shizune down, Tsunade, Rowan, and Nico Robin found a place to sit.
"Teuchi, three bowls of tonkotsu ramen."
"Right away, Tsunade-sama. Please wait a moment—three bowls of tonkotsu ramen!" the ramen shop owner called out. Then he moved with practiced speed—kneading dough, pulling noodles, dropping them into the pot, scooping them out, pouring in broth, and adding toppings in one smooth flow.
"Tsunade-sama, your three bowls of tonkotsu ramen. Enjoy."
Robin was curious too. Ichiraku Ramen had shown up repeatedly after Naruto ended, so she wanted to know what it actually tasted like. With that curiosity in mind, she took a bite.
"It tastes really good."
Teuchi laughed heartily and thanked her for the compliment before going back to work.
Not long after, Shizune and the others finished eating and stood up to say goodbye to Tsunade.
"You can go," Tsunade said with a wave.
Once they stepped outside Ichiraku, Kurenai let out a sigh of relief and said, "Tsunade-sama has such a strong presence. I don't even dare speak loudly in front of her."
Anko nodded beside her.
Shizune quickly said, "Tsunade-sama is actually very easygoing. Once you spend enough time around her, you'll realize she's really easy to talk to."
Kakashi rolled his eyes. Shizune thought Tsunade was easy to talk to because she was Tsunade's attendant and student.
None of the rest of them felt that way.
"That aside," Anko said, her eyes flickering, "who were the two people with Tsunade-sama? I don't think I've ever seen them in Konoha before."
Shizune's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly replied, "The man is Rowan. He's a friend Tsunade-sama met outside the village, someone she gets along with. We came back to Konoha together."
"As for that woman…" Shizune paused.
She had already recognized the woman just now as Nico Robin from the world of One Piece.
Robin's appearance meant Rowan had already connected to the One Piece world.
No wonder Tsunade-sama wanted to contact Orochimaru.
A Devil Fruit really was worth researching properly.
But without Tsunade's permission, there was no way Shizune could tell anyone about any of this, so she simply said, "I don't know who that woman is either, but she's probably a friend of Rowan's."
"Anyway, I still have something Tsunade-sama asked me to do, so I'm leaving first."
"We'll get together another time."
With that, Shizune hurried off, leaving the others exchanging baffled looks.
Meanwhile, after finishing their ramen, Rowan, Tsunade, and Nico Robin returned to the Senju compound.
"You already know the results of the examination," Tsunade said once they had all sat down. "Nico Robin—or rather, people from the One Piece world—far exceed ordinary humans in both cell count and cellular energy. They are fully qualified to extract chakra."
She looked at Robin and continued, "As long as I inject my cells into your body, you'll be able to refine chakra. With your cell count and energy levels, surpassing me is only a matter of time."
Even Tsunade sounded a little envious when she said that.
She had always thought the Senju clan had been uniquely blessed, but now it seemed that people from the One Piece world were the real cheats.
They were practically perfect for chakra.
"But to make sure the process goes smoothly, I'll need Orochimaru's help."
Rowan said, "So you're planning to bring Orochimaru in?"
Tsunade nodded. "When it comes to medical ninjutsu, Orochimaru isn't as good as I am. But when it comes to human experimentation, his experience far exceeds mine."
"More importantly, Orochimaru is obsessed with immortality. As long as you're willing to give him a shot at eternal life, he'll be more than happy to work for you."
On that point, Rowan knew Tsunade wasn't lying.
Orochimaru had never been the type to think, A great man should stand between heaven and earth—how could he live forever beneath another man's command?
That kind of ambition—mandate of heaven, eternal glory, one man below heaven and above all others—was the romance fantasy story.
Orochimaru wasn't that kind of person.
His desires were simple.
Immortality.
Immortality.
And still immortality.
~~~
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