"Haha, Little Tsuna, you certainly have a sharp eye!"
Ikki rubbed his chin, a smug, self-satisfied grin spreading across his face. "But you can't go setting the bar that high all at once. After all, a man like me... well, you could search every corner of the shinobi world and never find a second one."
"Then I'll just stay single," Tsunade replied with an indifferent shrug. "If I can't find someone like you, Uncle Ikki, I'd rather not marry at all."
"If Hashirama heard you say that, he'd probably manifest the Great Buddha just to hunt me down—not that he could actually beat me," Ikki muttered, feeling a bit dumbfounded by her resolve.
"It's all your fault anyway, Uncle," Tsunade said, her eyes twinkling with a mischievous smile.
"My fault? How is your single status my problem?" Ikki asked, taken aback.
"Of course it's your fault! You're the one who lifted a mountain in front of me when I was a toddler. I've spent my whole life trying to be as strong as you. Now that I'm grown, how am I supposed to feel anything for 'delicate' types like Kato Dan or absolute slobs like Jiraiya?"
As Tsunade recalled the childhood image of Ikki uprooting the earth itself, her expression shifted into a look of pure, unadulterated admiration and yearning.
"Little Tsuna... I really think it's better if you just call me 'Grandpa,'" Ikki said, noticing the "starry-eyed" look she was giving him. He felt a surge of pride, but also a growing sense of unease. Xiao Gang, there is something very wrong with the way you're looking at me right now!
"You look like you're in your early thirties! I am not calling you Grandpa," Tsunade snapped, her voice full of sudden, inexplicable conflict.
"Fine... whatever makes you happy," Ikki replied with a wry smile. He decided to drop the subject of marriage and suitors entirely. If he pursued this train of thought much further, he suspected the coffin lids of Hashirama and Tobirama wouldn't be enough to keep the Senju brothers in the Pure Land.
"As expected of Lord Ikki," Danzo interjected, his voice dripping with forced admiration. "Neither your strength nor your youthful vigor have strayed from their peak."
Danzo was clearly overthinking things, assuming Tsunade's admiration was merely the standard respect the strong afforded the strongest in the shinobi world. He was desperate to salvage his image in Ikki's eyes.
"And have you ever even seen my peak?" Ikki asked coldly, shutting Danzo down with a single look.
Danzo opened his mouth to reply, but the words died in his throat. He felt a wave of profound depression. They said the legendary hero was humorous and easy-going! Why is he only 'easy-going' with everyone else, but nothing but 'stern' with me?
"Let's move. There's nothing left for me here," Ikki announced, ignoring Danzo entirely. He turned to Nara Shikaku and the others. "You clean up the rest of this mess yourselves. I'm done."
As Ikki turned to leave, a certain blonde pair of twin-tails followed immediately at his heels. He felt a slight headache coming on.
"Lord Ikki, are you heading toward the Land of Wind?" Shikaku Nara asked, his eyes sharp and observant.
Ikki paused. Seeing that it was the Nara representative speaking rather than Danzo, his tone softened immediately. Since the Sengoku era, he had always held the Nara clan in high regard. They were a family of thinkers—wise, clever, and possessed of a rare, grounded tradition.
He thought briefly of the future Nara—Shikamaru—who would be the only one to stand by Naruto when the rest of the village turned their backs. Compared to the "disciples" of the Fourth Hokage who would eventually vanish when things got difficult, the Nara were a clan of true integrity.
"The Land of Wind is vast, and it's a long journey from here," Shikaku continued. "You saved us today, Lord Ikki. We wish to do what we can to assist you—not as a repayment for our lives, but simply to do our part."
"Smart boy," Ikki said, grinning at the Nara strategist.
"This is Inoichi of the Yamanaka family, and Choza of the Akamichi," Shikaku introduced his teammates with a respectful bow. "Together, we are the Ino-Shika-Cho of this generation."
"Lord Ikki!" Inoichi and Choza stepped forward, greeting him with deep bows.
"Fine. I'll let you boys lead the way," Ikki said, patting their shoulders with an easy-going tolerance that made Danzo burn with jealousy.
"Understood!"
Inoichi immediately took the lead, pushing his sensory range to the limit to scout the perimeter.
"Choza, move up to the front with Inoichi," Shikaku commanded. As Choza prepared to take the rearguard, Shikaku subtly nudged him forward, intentionally leaving a wide space at the back for Ikki and Tsunade.
The Nara strategist had not only deduced Ikki's destination but had also picked up on the "strange" vibe Tsunade was projecting. He knew when to provide a legend with a little privacy.