It's almost 4 p.m. and Tsunade wakes up in her hotel room with a massive hangover, the result of her previous night of drinking herself to the point of near unconsciousness. She's tired, and the stress of having to wait again for the organization to contact her has practically forced her to distract herself somehow.
Two weeks have passed since the first encounter with Shizuki, the demented Uchiha woman, and Tsunade has remained in Maruki City awaiting the impending meeting. Her expectations aren't very positive, given the organization's aggressiveness thus far, but the fact that there have been no deaths on the part of Konoha ninja at least promises a possible hope of reaching some sort of understanding.
The woman, still dressed in her clothes from the night before, proceeds to change into clean ones, then performs a strange jutsu that directly affects her body and appears to detoxify her, eliminating the aftereffects of her hangover. She then briefly visits the bathroom and eventually heads toward the kitchen, but it's only when her gaze passes through the living room that she realizes she has an unexpected guest.
"Did you sleep well?" asks the recognizable figure of Shizuki, sitting comfortably and reading a newspaper.
Tsunade's surprise is short-lived, as her face changes to serious, albeit slightly annoyed. "How long have you been here?"
"A couple of hours," Shizuki replies casually, placing her newspaper on a table and standing up from her chair. "Are you ready for the meeting? I take it you're willing to help my boss?"
"Only if it is something I can do and if it does not come into conflict with the village… Is it necessary for it to be at this moment?", clarifies the Sannin and then asks.
"Of course it's necessary. I've been waiting for hours, and you should be thankful I let you sleep until now."
More annoyance spread across Tsunade's face, but she quickly controls her temper, sighs, and nods, "Okay, where are we going?"
Shizuki approaches Tsunade and extends her hand, "You don't have to worry about that, just take my hand."
Tsunade doesn't quite understand what Shizuki is planning as she extends her hand, sarcastically commenting, "Are you planning on holding my hand all the way?"
Shizuki stays in position, staring at Tsunade and with her hand raised, "Stop fucking around and take my hand."
With apprehensions, Tsunade proceeds to take Shizuki's hand, and soon, the hotel room disappears and both of them now find themselves inside a hall, a kind of underground place, due to the absence of windows, but very warm and lit.
Shizuki seems to emanate a good amount of steam through her cloak, letting a few drops of water fall down her hand. Tsunade, on the other hand, stands with her mouth open, looking around in surprise.
"Was it some kind of Hiraishin or reverse summoning?" the Sannin asks.
"Something like that," Shizuki comments, pointing to where Tsunade should be going. A huge table at the end of the room, where two people are sitting.
Tsunade saves further comment and approaches the table in question, where apparently a man, dressed in a huge black full-body cloak and a demon mask, motions for her to sit across from him. Next to the man is another individual, likely a woman, dressed in the same manner as the man, except she's wearing a flat black mask with no visible holes. The outfits leave much to the imagination, but Tsunade can notice that beneath the cloaks they're both wearing sizable armor.
"I know I should greet you formally, but I don't know your name," Tsunade begins once she sits down.
"Call me Akira," the man says.
"Lord Akira," the woman next to the man corrects, her tone serious, her gaze directed toward the sannin.
Tsunade's disbelief is evident, but to avoid trouble, she decides to compromise, "I greet you, Lord Akira. I come on behalf of Konoha to engage in dialogue with your organization."
"I also greet you Lady Tsunade, on behalf of my organization I am willing to engage in dialogue with you. But first I must turn to Tsunade, the medical ninja, to help me with a problem that I wish to solve," says the man, with a formal and diplomatic tone.
"It will depend on what is requested if I can and want to help," Tsunade says.
"My request is somewhat problematic and may make you uncomfortable, but I assure you it doesn't threaten any of your or your village's interests. But before that, I want to discuss what I'm willing to pay you for this favor."
"The way you put it in the first place sounds strange."
"I know, but it's necessary. First, I'd like to ask you a question."
"Go ahead," skepticism flashed across the Sannin's face.
"Why are you hiding your true appearance?"
Tsunade is slightly surprised by the question and responds, a little offended, "That's none of your business."
The man doesn't seem bothered by the woman's attitude. "No, it isn't, but it could be… You see, I have information from my sources that you have mastered a rather powerful healing technique, but with the terrible consequence that it uses your vitality to operate at its maximum potential. Something that has undoubtedly affected you over the years, especially during the war."
This time Tsunade's face remains serious, emotionless. "You have some pretty good sources, but I'm telling you again, it's none of your business."
Then Akira drops the bombshell, "But what if I told you I could restore that vitality you've lost? What if I told you I could even restore your youth?"
Tsunade remains silent for a moment, her posture and attitude unchanged, staring at the man in front of her, before saying, "I have the urge to tell you to your face that you're crazy, but let's assume what you're saying is true. Then prove it."
"It's the least I could do," the man pulls an object from his clothes, a square-shaped artifact the size of a palm, which he proceeds to activate somehow and ends up sliding it across the table until it reaches Tsunade. The artifact in question seems to be covered in strange symbols and emits a pink aura, "Place your hand over the artifact and you should notice changes in less than half an hour."
Tsunade remains skeptical, but her curiosity compels her to analyze the artifact in detail, coming to the conclusion that it is not dangerous, sensing that the nature of the aura seems beneficial. The woman then decides to follow Akira's instructions, revealing the true appearance of one of her hands and then placing it on the artifact.
Tsunade's hand doesn't look much different than usual, though it shows much drier skin and some wrinkles, especially in the palm area.
Time passes and silence falls over the room, with Tsunade staring at her hand. At first, nothing seems to change, but the woman's face begins to change after five minutes, showing mild surprise. After 10 minutes, the skin on her hand slowly begins to change, closing cracks and becoming more hydrated, while Tsunade's emotions seem uncontrollable.
It's when the half hour passes that the device shuts off, leaving a clearly rejuvenated hand and a Tsunade too shocked to even speak properly, "Like... B-But... This... This doesn't make sense... What the hell is going on?"
"That, my dear Tsunade, is just a display of my power," Akira declares.
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