chsdbacks Chapter 58 Farewell
Chapter 58 Farewell
"This is the summoning scroll of Shikkotsu Forest. Open it first," Tsunade instructed Taichi.
Taiyi opened the huge scroll as instructed. The scroll was densely covered with many names from front to back, but these names had all faded and lost their luster, until the last one, which was Tsunade's name.
"Write your name in your blood, and then press your handprint on it." With that, Tsunade turned her back and looked towards Konoha in the distance.
Taiichi gathered chakra at the tip of his left finger and used a chakra scalpel to make a cut on his right index finger. Using the flowing blood, he wrote his name, Matsushita Taiichi, in the last column of the scroll, and then pressed his handprint on it.
Having done all this, Taichi rolled up the scroll and said to Tsunade, "Master, I've finished."
Upon hearing this, Tsunade turned around again and saw that Taichi had finished packing everything. She gave a self-deprecating smile.
"Taiyi, remember this: the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu are: Hai-Xu-You-Shen-Wei. Don't get it wrong. Now, give it a try." Tsunade stepped back, leaving more space for Taiyi to perform the technique.
Taiichi was somewhat excited; this was a summoning beast from one of the three great sacred lands. Only the Legendary Sannin of Konoha possessed one in the entire ninja world. Now he was one of them.
He calmed himself down and, using the bloodstains on his hands, gathered about one-tenth of his chakra to form hand seals: 亥-戌-酉-申-未, then slammed his hand on the ground with the "Summoning Technique".
With a "bang," black runes flashed, and after a puff of smoke, a giant slug over 3 meters tall appeared on the spot.
Tsunade looked at Taiichi with surprise; this kid had quite a bit of chakra.
The slug had two long tentacles protruding from its head, and it moved back and forth between Tsunade and Taichi, clearly watching the two of them.
"Lady Tsunade, is there something you need from me?" The slug's tentacles finally locked onto Tsunade and asked.
"Slug, let me introduce you. This is my disciple, Matsushita Taichi, who is also a contractor of Shikkotsu Forest," Tsunade introduced to Slug.
"Slug-sama, hello, I am Matsushita Taichi. Please take care of me from now on." Taichi greeted politely.
Slug turned its eyes to Taiichi, scanning him up and down as if trying to memorize all his features. "Okay, Taiichi, but you don't need to call me 'Master,' just call me Slug. I like that."
"Okay, slug." Taiyi readily agreed.
"Alright, that's enough introductions. Slug, you can go back now. Thank you for your help." Tsunade interrupted the greeting between the human and the beast.
"Okay," the slug replied, then turned its antennae toward Taiyi: "Taiyi, you can communicate with me through spirit mediums if you need anything in the future."
Before Taiyi could reply, he vanished with a "bang".
After the slug left, Tsunade continued to instruct Taichi: "There's only one slug in the entire Shikkotsu Forest, and that's the Slug Sage. Every time we summon a slug, it's actually a clone of the Slug Sage. The more chakra you use, the bigger the slug you summon will be. You can figure this out slowly later. There are a few other things I need to tell you, which I've written down on a scroll. You can refer to it later."
After explaining everything that needed to be explained, Tsunade said to Taichi, "That's all. You don't need to see me off. I'll take Shizune with me and leave on my own." With that, she waved and slowly walked down the Hokage Rock.
A faint joy had just begun to rise when it was quickly overshadowed by the sorrow of parting, as he watched Tsunade's figure recede into the distance. As if possessed, Taiichi shouted loudly, "Teacher, come to my house tonight! I'll personally cook you a farewell feast!"
Tsunade paused, and Taiko wasn't sure if he'd misjudged her, but he saw her swallow hard, and then a distant "Okay!" drifted from her.
Because he needed to prepare for the farewell banquet, Taiyi canceled all his afternoon training sessions and rushed to the market to buy the necessary ingredients.
Taiichi hurried towards the market, carrying shopping bags. Glossy eggplants, bright red tomatoes, plump saury… he carefully selected each ingredient. As his fingertips brushed against the verdant leaves, he vaguely recalled the first time he cooked for Tsunade. Back then, she slammed her hand on the table and shouted, “Another bowl!” oblivious to the oil stains on her clothes.
An enticing aroma soon filled the kitchen. The cutting board was piled high with finely shredded radishes, and the flames from the wok made Tai Yi's cheeks burn. He precisely controlled the heat; golden tempura sizzled in the oil, and miso soup bubbled and steamed. Just as the last dish of teriyaki eel was plated, the doorbell rang.
Tsunade leaned against the doorframe, her wide robe loosely tied, the ends of her hair still smelling of sake from the izakaya. "This kid's got quite the entourage," she muttered, but her eyes were fixed on the table laden with delicacies. Eight-treasure rice balls were shaped like playful frogs, tri-colored rice balls strung on bamboo skewers like a rainbow, and even the most ordinary pickled radish was cut with flower petal patterns.
The two sat cross-legged before a low table, moonlight filtering through the window and weaving a silvery veil across the tatami mat. Tsunade grabbed the sake bottle and tilted her head back to gulp it down, the clear liquid trickling down her neck and into her collar. "Back then, Nawaki always said my rice balls were like rocks..." she suddenly chuckled, her fingertips tracing the black bean-like eyes of the frog rice ball. "With your skills, you could open a restaurant and make a fortune."
"I don't know when I'll be able to eat this again," Tsunade said with some reluctance.
"Why don't we just stay here?" Taiyi said casually.
Tsunade didn't reply, she just quietly ate her food.
Taiichi silently added a piece of eel to her bowl. The fish, coated in an amber sauce, gleamed like honey in the candlelight. Tsunade chewed, her eyelashes casting trembling shadows on her cheeks. The sake bottle emptied and refilled, and the table full of delicacies gradually became a mess of cups and plates.
As the moonlight began to set, Tsunade finally fell into a deep sleep, her head resting on the low table. Taichi tiptoed over and covered her with a light blanket. He then went to the kitchen to clear away the dishes.
Before dawn the next day, Tsunade got up, looked at the tidy house, and quietly left Taichi's house.
The moment Tsunade left home, Taichi opened his eyes. In fact, Taichi had been awake for a while. He usually got up even earlier for training, but he had been lying in bed because he didn't want to disturb Tsunade's sleep.
After getting up and tidying up briefly, Taiyi headed straight for the main gate of Konoha. However, he was still a step too late, as Tsunade had already left Konoha with Shizune.
Standing on the walls of Konoha, they could see two figures, one large and one small, gradually disappearing into the morning light. Perhaps it was Tai's intense gaze, but Tsunade and Shizune turned around simultaneously and saw Tai standing on the walls in the distance.
An excited Shizune waved her arms enthusiastically, and then took out the medical scroll that Taiichi had given her from her ninja tool bag and waved it vigorously, as if to say that she would definitely study hard.
Tsunade, on the other hand, looked at Taichi in the distance, smiled slightly, waved, and then turned around and pulled Shizune to continue walking.
Taiyi watched their movements from afar, a tear involuntarily glistening in the corner of his eye. As they disappeared into the dawn light, he jumped down from the wall, preparing for the next training session.
After a night of silence, Konoha seemed to awaken from its slumber like a giant beast. The once quiet streets gradually became bustling with people, but few knew that Konoha's princess had left the village that gave her birth and nurtured her, and which also hurt her the most.