Chapter 129 : The Necklace
Riku looked into Tsunade’s eyes, a little embarrassed.
"Lady Tsunade, you’re still awake? Hehe..."
He stood awkwardly by the bed. Getting caught badmouthing someone right after doing it was undeniably uncomfortable.
Tsunade stretched a little and stood up, her cheeks visibly flushed—she was clearly drunk.
Still, her tolerance was impressive. Even after drinking so much, she hadn’t passed out.
She didn’t say a word, just stood in front of Riku, staring at him quietly.
Feeling the pressure, Riku scratched the back of his head, looking for an exit.
"Lady Tsunade, please get some rest. Thank you for teaching me so much medical ninjutsu today. I’ll be going now."
With that, Riku quickly turned and left.
Tsunade didn’t stop him. After he exited the room, she leaned against the balcony, gazing into the night. Despite the alcohol in her system, she remained lucid—her physical constitution really was exceptional.
The alcohol tasted good, too.
As she watched the night for a while, Tsunade chuckled softly, remembering how Riku had carried her from the izakaya all the way back to the hotel.
It reminded her of when she was a child and Hashirama Senju used to carry her on his back. Strangely enough, she—a woman in her fifties—had felt a similar warmth from a ten-year-old boy.
When Tsunade was young, she’d spent the most time with Hashirama. Her parents had died early in the wars.
The people who gave her the most love in those days were Hashirama, Tobirama, and Mito Uzumaki.
As she grew older, no one carried her on their back anymore—not that she ever needed it.
But now, in the midst of one of the hardest decisions of her life, she found herself haunted by old memories in the form of casinos and distractions.
Today, however, Riku had given her a very unusual feeling. It was hard to describe—like a mix between a grandchild and an elder.
The contradiction made her laugh to herself. Junior or senior? It was strange, but in that moment on his back, she’d genuinely let everything go. She simply wanted to lean against someone.
If Riku knew what Tsunade was thinking, he’d probably find it totally absurd.
The generational gap between a grandson and an elder was massive.
But in terms of ninja hierarchy, Riku was the student of Kakashi Hatake—who, in turn, was a disciple of the Fourth Hokage, who had been trained by Jiraiya. And Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were teammates.
So technically, Tsunade could indeed be considered Riku’s elder—an incredibly senior one, in fact.
With the breeze lifting her long blond hair, Tsunade leaned against the railing and smiled.
"That kid’s pretty interesting. I hope he learned a lot of medical ninjutsu today. I wonder if my explanations helped him improve any."
She answered herself:
"Definitely. You could tell from the way he listened—he’s got it down."
Until recently, Tsunade had only thought of Riku as a talented ninja.
A powerful young shinobi.
But after spending a full day together, her view of him had shifted. She now felt a sense of closeness and affection—not romantic, but warm and familial.
Her thoughts drifted to the promise she’d made with Orochimaru. Her brow furrowed.
"Nawaki... Dan... you two probably wouldn’t want me to go through with it. But I really do want to see you again."
For Tsunade, Nawaki and Dan were her deepest regrets. Their deaths had defined her pain and her distance from the shinobi world.
She, a world-renowned medical ninja, had developed hemophobia after their deaths. It had all but ended her career in healing.
As she thought of them, her hand moved instinctively to the necklace around her neck—the one her grandfather, Hashirama, had given her. She’d worn it for years, but also passed it on—to Nawaki first. He died. Then to Dan. He died too.
It was hard not to believe the necklace was cursed.
"This was the most precious gift my grandfather gave me..."
She stared at the distant lights, her hand tightening around the pendant.
"...Maybe it could be yours."
The image of Riku flashed through her mind. For some reason, she saw him smiling.
He was nothing like Dan or Nawaki. He didn’t want to become Hokage. His personality, ideals, and way of thinking were different.
Yet, as she imagined the two standing beside him, Riku somehow fit among them.
Clutching the necklace tightly, she looked out across the village.
"This kid is nothing like the other two... but he has some kind of strange magic."
She kept thinking about how it had felt to lean on Riku’s back.
It had given her a kind of warmth she hadn’t felt in years. Not even with Dan or Nawaki.
She’d loved Dan because he supported her after Nawaki’s death. It had been a relationship built on shared grief.
But Riku—he was different.
Entirely different from both Dan and Nawaki.
Even so, the warmth he gave her—the comfort—was something neither of them had managed to give.
Of course, it was a familial warmth. Tsunade was in her fifties; it wasn’t like she had some ridiculous romantic feelings for a thirteen-year-old boy.
She wasn’t insane.
It was just that Riku made her feel warm and safe. She accepted him—just like she had accepted Nawaki as family.
Her bond with Dan had been something else altogether.
Even so, spending a single day with Riku had made Tsunade acknowledge him in her heart. It was a rare kind of warmth.
She even considered giving him the necklace.
But if Riku ever found out about that, he’d be horrified.
That thing was seriously cursed.
Tsunade had given it to three people: Nawaki, who died. Dan, who died. And Naruto—who narrowly avoided disaster when it broke.
After Naruto got it, he faced death over and over again.
Riku wouldn’t dare take it. There was no way he could suppress its ominous fate.
Even Naruto, the literal child of destiny, barely survived it.
How could Riku possibly manage?
The next day, as Riku sat on the balcony soaking in the morning sun, Tsunade suddenly appeared beside him.
He didn’t even bother opening his eyes. He could sense her chakra clearly.
"Lady Tsunade, is there something else you’d like to teach me today?"
He didn’t bring up what happened last night—not a word. And he definitely wasn’t going to bring it up himself.
If it could be forgotten, let it be forgotten.
Inside the room, Jiraiya—who was busy scribbling notes for his next novel—looked up and blinked in surprise when he saw Tsunade.
"Tsunade? Have you made up your mind?"
He thought she’d finally decided to return to the village... and accept the title of Hokage.
---------------------
Join my Patreon and get access to 50+ early Chapters before anyone else! 🔥
https://www.patreon.com/UK21
Your Support is Truly Appreciated
--------