40 The weight of guilt

Shizune didn't understand the situation. An hour ago, her teacher was proclaiming to go gamble with the money they had just earned from treating a noble's daughter who had a pimple on her face when suddenly she looked in a certain direction and walked away before Shizune could react.

Initially, she was worried that debt collectors had found them or that they were being spied on by an enemy. However, she didn't expect her teacher to return later with a cold expression... accompanied by a tall man who was naked!

"No, wait, he's actually wearing pants," Shizune noticed belatedly once she managed to avert her eyes from his abs and let out an unconscious sigh of relief.

Her teacher had caused a lot of trouble when she was drunk and had been a headache, but ending the night with a man was never one of them. But, this only made everything stranger. Teacher Tsunade never liked perverts, she made that very clear every time Jiraiya came up in conversation, and it usually ended with nearby furniture destruction. But now, she didn't seem the least bit bothered by the shirtless tall man.

Had spring come again for her teacher? Shizune might have considered that possibility, but the expression she saw made it clear that this didn't seem to be the case. So, what had happened?

The next few minutes of conversation made her heart almost stop. She knew it, her teacher knew what her uncle Dan had done, and a great panic filled her heart.

She had learned it belatedly after his death through a scroll she found in a secret compartment. Her uncle had undertaken the mission to interact with Tsunade, just as many others had tried and failed, but he somehow succeeded where no one else could and made her feel positive feelings for him.

But Dan didn't love Tsunade; she was just another mission for him. They didn't even get beyond holding hands and exchanging some sweet words. After all, her uncle had no interest in women and struggled to think about going further. His mission was to secure a higher status in the village, gain access to the Senju's great fortune, influence his partner's decisions, and, above all, permanently root Tsunade in the village.

Moreover, he even had to "suffer an accident" later on in their relationship to make sure there was no possibility of Tsunade having offspring.

But Shizune never revealed the truth to her teacher despite it all. She was mentally devastated enough when she left the village with her following. If she had revealed the truth, not only would she terrify herself with what her teacher might do in despair, but she also feared that her loyalty would be doubted.

She was genuinely loyal to her teacher, above Konoha and its Hokage. But would her teacher believe her after revealing the truth?

After her uncle's death, her clan lacked the cohesion to defend themselves against external conspirators and ended up disappearing. She had no family left but her teacher. That's why, no matter how she behaved or the trouble she caused, she was willing to endure it if it meant being by her side.

She felt overwhelming guilt weighing her chest like a mountain. It was too much for her. She started crying hard. She didn't want to be alone in this world.

Tsunade looked shocked at her student, and to both of their surprises, Enel actually intervened and spoke in favor of Shizune in such a logical way that prevented the revelation from turning Tsunade's feelings toward Shizune into anger. Instead, she recalled all the time they had spent together and what she had to endure while accompanying her. She realized that Shizune's loyalty was actually much heavier than she had assumed.

It wasn't just about sleeping outdoors from time to time, sometimes with their bets, they didn't even have money to eat, and on many occasions, she spent what little they had on alcohol. But Shizune never complained, never gave her a dirty look, and only tried to advise her for her own good.

Who in their right mind would still be with her at this point after all she had done?

She couldn't blame Shizune for hiding this information; clearly, she was thinking of her well-being rather than worrying about her reputation.

Tsunade ended up hugging Shizune gently, conveying her forgiveness and affection through a simple yet meaningful gesture, allowing Shizune's warm tears to flow down her chest, which also muffled her cries due to its breadth.

She didn't know how long they stayed like that until Shizune lost consciousness after letting go of everything she had been repressing.

(Or maybe she ran out of oxygen, who knows...)

Leaving her on a futon to rest more comfortably, Tsunade met with Enel in the adjacent room, where the air smelled of alcohol.

She really had to try to get some bottles for herself later.

"Thank you," Tsunade lowered her head with genuine gratitude. Although she barely knew Enel and had many questions about how he had obtained such sensitive information, just the fact that he had absolved Shizune of the guilt that had been eating her up inside, which could have turned into an emotional time bomb, was something she would never forget.

She wasn't alone after the death of her family; she had Shizune with her, and that was more than enough.

Now she had to return to Konoha and confront her teacher and the village's high-ranking officials, demanding answers once she finished reviewing the documents stealthily to avoid scaring the snakes.

She raised her head to look at Enel, but she was left speechless when she saw the tall, shirtless man with well-defined muscles and ridiculously long earlobes sleeping, leaning against the wall with an expression of inner peace, as if he had also let go of a great burden from his heart.

"I guess we all have our demons," Tsunade rubbed her forehead amusedly and lowered her hand to hold her necklace as she continued to look at him.

If what Enel had revealed to her was really true... Tsunade sighed with a heavy heart as she gathered her determination. Her grandfather would surely approve of what she intended to do.