Chapter 130 : Trying To Convince Tsunade
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya and said, "I didn’t say that."
Then, without another word, she turned and grabbed Riku by the hand, dragging him outside.
"Come with me. I want to test the results of your training from last night."
Riku had been lounging on a chair, basking in the sunlight, when Tsunade suddenly pulled him away.
On the way, Riku muttered with an exasperated sigh, "Lady Tsunade, I know I might’ve said something rude yesterday, but this is a bit much, don’t you think? Are you really retaliating for that?"
He genuinely thought Tsunade was dragging him out to get back at him for what he’d said the day before. Not that he feared her revenge—he just didn’t see the point, especially since he hadn’t said anything that disrespectful.
Tsunade remained silent the entire way, hauling Riku up the mountain trail behind the business district. Deep in the forest, she suddenly punched a large bear unconscious with one strike, then used chakra to afflict it with several different complex medical conditions.
Turning to Riku, she said simply, "Go cure it."
Riku glanced at the bear, then at Tsunade, and asked dryly, "Seriously? That’s why you dragged me all the way out here?"
Tsunade glared at him. "Do you think I’m that petty?"
Arms crossed and head raised, she stared him down.
Riku gave her a sheepish smile. "No, of course not."
It wasn’t that Riku couldn’t go against Tsunade—he just didn’t see the need. There was no benefit in getting into a fight with her.
While Tsunade stood off to the side watching, Riku knelt beside the massive bear and began examining it with Healing Jutsu. It didn’t take long to detect several intricate and difficult-to-diagnose illnesses—ones Tsunade had clearly planted on purpose.
A day ago, this would’ve been far beyond his ability. But after her training last night, Riku found the situation manageable.
Within ten minutes, he had cured every affliction. His healing was precise, efficient, and textbook-perfect—most of the techniques were ones Tsunade had personally demonstrated the night before.
From the sidelines, Tsunade watched with rising astonishment.
"This kid..." she murmured to herself. "I only taught him medical ninjutsu yesterday, and he’s already mastered it to this degree? That kind of talent is terrifying."
It was clear to her now—Riku’s aptitude for medical ninjutsu far exceeded her own. He lacked formal instruction, true, but if he had a proper teacher from the beginning, she had no doubt he would have already surpassed her.
With her guidance now, it would only be a matter of time before he became the greatest medical-nin in the shinobi world.
Whether either of them said it aloud or not, the student–teacher bond had already been silently established.
After finishing the treatment, Riku walked up to Tsunade and asked, "So? What do you think, Lady Tsunade?"
She folded her arms and stood facing him. Being shorter, her figure was clearly visible from Riku’s eye level.
He blushed slightly, remembering the feeling of carrying her on his back the night before.
It had felt... nice. Better than carrying Yugao, to be honest. Not even comparable.
He frowned slightly at the thought. What’s wrong with me lately?
But then again, his body was thirteen years old now. His thoughts were naturally beginning to shift with age.
Still, the realization made him feel a little helpless.
Tsunade didn’t seem to notice—or perhaps she just didn’t mind his gaze. She smiled and said, "Not bad. I only taught you yesterday, and you’re already applying it so well. Maybe Jiraiya wasn’t exaggerating after all when he said you managed to learn the Rasengan just by watching."
Then she turned and walked toward the river.
The bear, now fully healed, had already bolted—completely unwilling to mess with these two humans again.
Riku remained in place, watching Tsunade stride off toward the water. He wasn’t sure if he should follow.
She removed her sandals, sat down on a large river stone, and dipped her feet into the shallow, crystal-clear stream. The water barely reached calf-height and was so transparent that tiny fish could be seen darting beneath the smooth pebbles.
It really was a peaceful place to relax.
Still, Riku stayed a good distance away, unsure what this was all leading to.
After several minutes, Tsunade looked back and called out, "What are you standing there for?"
Riku hesitated, then walked over. He didn’t take off his shoes, but instead used chakra to stand on the surface of the river beside her.
"Lady Tsunade," he asked, "was this all just to test what I learned last night?"
Tsunade nodded. Hugging her knees, she gazed out calmly across the water.
"Riku... if there were two people in your life—very important to you—and someone gave you the chance to bring them back from the dead in exchange for doing something that would cause great chaos in the world... would you do it?"
Riku knew immediately what she was referring to.
He remained silent for a long time.
Eventually, Tsunade turned to look at him.
Still standing beside her, Riku finally replied with a sigh, "I don’t know. I’ve never gone through something like that."
He truly hadn’t.
Tsunade frowned, clearly unsatisfied. "Think about it seriously."
Riku exhaled slowly, resigned. After a pause, he gave her his answer.
"I wouldn’t. Not just because it might cause a disaster—but because I think resurrection itself can be... wrong. Regret is a part of life. Without it, it’s not really life at all."
"If someone I cared about died... I wouldn’t bring them back. Because it wouldn’t mean anything. It wouldn’t be real."
Tsunade stared at him in stunned silence.
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
Riku chuckled. "Exactly. It is nonsense—because I’ve never felt that kind of pain. So all I can do is give you my answer based on how I feel right now."
"But I do believe this: only a life filled with regrets is worth remembering. That’s what gives memories meaning. If everything went perfectly... what would even be the point?"
The truth was, Riku didn’t really believe most of what he was saying. But his real intention was clear—he wanted Tsunade to not help Orochimaru.
Riku wasn’t afraid of Orochimaru. He could beat him easily. But the guy was always a problem, always stirring up trouble. His experiments, his techniques—they were vile. And although Riku had ways to deal with him, like his Spirit-Inducing Technique or the Extinguishing Technique, using them consumed massive amounts of chakra.
Why bother, if you could prevent the issue at the source?
Tsunade fell silent, deep in thought.
Maybe she had already made her decision a long time ago but just couldn’t bring herself to face it.
After a long pause, she stood up without a word and began walking away.
Riku blinked in confusion. "Wait... you’re just leaving like that?"
She didn’t answer.
Watching her walk away, Riku stayed rooted in place, finally calling out after several dozen meters:
"Then what the hell did you bring me here for?"
Tsunade turned and looked back at him from a distance.
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