That afternoon, Tsunade had just finished her training. After bidding farewell to her grandmother's shadow clone, she hurried off to her aunt's house.
Ever since Arima went to the Shikkotsu Forest. for his sage training, she'd been counting the days. According to their original agreement, his training was almost over.
So lately, aside from eating, sleeping, and training, her daily routine had come to include one more important task, checking in at Arima's house.
Watching the girl disappear into the distance with such longing in her eyes, Mito gently shook her head.
It was late autumn. The wind was cold and biting, and the sky loomed gray and heavy.
Due to the ongoing war, the streets were nearly empty. This oppressive atmosphere made young Tsunade deeply uncomfortable.
She much preferred summer, the season when she could lazily lie on the corridor, listen to the cicadas droning away, enjoy the breeze sweeping through the house, and sip on refreshing summer tea.
Most importantly, those leisurely days had always included her beloved Arima-nii.
Tsunade still remembered the last time she and Arima had dominated the gambling house together.
Thinking back to how she had sat in his lap the entire time made her heart flutter with embarrassment.
Lost in the swirl of her thoughts, she eventually arrived at Arima's house.
As always, she opened the door with practiced familiarity, crossed the quiet courtyard, and approached Arima's bedroom, her heart full of anticipation.
She gently opened the door, only to find everything exactly the same as when she'd last left it. Nothing had changed.
The excitement that had built up inside her instantly deflated. She'd had a feeling this might be the case, but it still left her feeling gloomy.
She walked into the room and collapsed straight onto the futon, lying there without moving.
As she pressed her face into the bedding, she could barely detect the fading scent that remained.
Memories of the laughter and joy she once shared with Arima came flooding back, making her miss him even more.
Suddenly, Tsunade jolted upright. She turned her head and spotted the charred corner of a burnt letter on the desk. She immediately jumped to her feet and rushed out of the room.
In just a few steps, she arrived at her Aunt Naomi's room.
She hadn't even crossed the hallway when she called out, her voice filled with urgency.
"Auntie, did Arima-nii come back?."
Naomi knew Tsunade had been missing Arima dearly.
Normally, if Tsunade asked like this, Naomi would've had to prepare to comfort her again.
But today was different. Arima had returned not long ago, though he only stayed at the house for a brief moment before hurrying off again.
With a gentle smile, Naomi said, "Arima was here earlier. He only stayed a moment before heading out again. I thought he might've gone looking for you."
Hearing this, Tsunade's heart instantly soared with joy... only for her expression to fall again just as quickly. She'd come all this way and still hadn't seen him.
She muttered to herself, 'Arima-nii, that big jerk. He came back and didn't even let me know.'
Then another thought popped into her head.
'I'm going to find him myself. I'll show up out of nowhere and give him a scare.... Let's see if he dares sneak off again without saying a word.'
With her spirits lifted, she said a quick goodbye to Naomi and dashed out the door.
Earlier that day, when Arima had returned to his room and discovered the sealed intel his granduncle had left behind using a special Fuinjutsu, he immediately realized how dire the village's situation had become.
The intel detailed the special forces led by the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers.
Arima hadn't expected the two of them to have achieved a state resembling tailed-beast transformation, mimicking the Nine-Tails, no less.
Their chakra levels were abnormal, and they had even mastered the Second Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode, making them tanks on the battlefield.
This unit had put tremendous pressure on the front lines, steadily forcing Konoha's forces into retreat.
Based on the distance between the battlefield and the village, it would take Arima over a week of nonstop travel to reach the front.
However, if he laid down Flying Thunder God markers along the route, he could use the Sage Mode's vast chakra reserves to make the round trip in just half a day.
Realizing the urgency, he didn't waste a moment and headed straight to the Hokage's office.
Mito, who was managing village affairs during the war, was buried under paperwork, easily dozens of times more than usual.
Even someone of her caliber, a Jinchuriki, felt the mental strain.
The moment Arima entered the village, Mito, a powerful sensory-type, immediately detected the vibrant and immense chakra surging in his body.
The Uzumaki clan's Kagura's Mind Eye was truly a remarkable skill.
She sensed his presence before he could even knock, and just as he arrived outside the office door, she called out.
"Come in, Arima."
Arima pushed open the door and saw his grandmother weary from overwork, her face tired.
Mito gave him a rare smile and said, "You came back at just the right time, Arima.
Right now, you're the only one in the village suited to go head to head with the Kinkaku-Ginkaku unit. They gave your granduncle quite a hard time."
Arima had been planning to request permission to head to the front anyway, so he nodded and replied, "I'll visit Tsunade for a moment, then head out right after."
Mito gave him a sly look and raised an amused brow.
Arima felt a little awkward and tried to hide it by pretending to study the scattered documents on the floor, as if they were suddenly the most fascinating thing in the world.
The room fell into a temporary silence, broken only by the rustle of turning pages.
Then Mito looked up and said, "That girl's been searching the whole village for you. You'd better go see her."
Arima left the office like a guilty child who'd just been caught doing something wrong. The emotion bubbling inside him felt strange, unfamiliar.
He quickly locked onto Tsunade's chakra. She was at the top of the Hokage Rock, gazing out over the village.
Arima immediately leapt into action, heading in her direction. But he'd barely made it halfway when sharp-eyed Tsunade spotted him.
With a cry of "Ninja Art... Tsunade's Shuriken Technique." she jumped straight down from the Hokage Rock toward him.
Arima panicked at the sight of her wild leap and instantly teleported to the nearest Flying Thunder God marker near her landing point.
He launched upward just in time to catch her in his arms, and the two of them dangled midair from the cliffside.
Perhaps it was because they were hanging upside down, but both their faces flushed bright red.
Tsunade turned her head and said coolly, "Arima Senju, do you know what you did wrong?"
Arima blinked in confusion, momentarily speechless.
'What's gotten into this girl?' he wondered. 'Why's she talking like that?'
When she first saw Arima, Tsunade had been overwhelmed with joy, but then she remembered how he came back without telling her and made her hunt him down.
Her frustration flared again, and she deliberately put on a pout, calling him by his full name to make him reflect on what he did wrong.
But now it seemed like he hadn't picked up on her little plan at all.
So Tsunade puffed out her chest and declared loudly, "I'm in a bad mood today. I only have four sentences to say, and this is already the third one. I'm done talking."
Only then did Arima finally realize, she wasn't angry over anything major.
She was upset that he hadn't thought to keep her in his heart, that he'd come back and made her feel forgotten.
Arima gave a helpless sigh and said gently, "Alright, Tsunade-chan, please forgive your Arima-nii just this once."
It was the first time Tsunade had heard him call her that in such a soft, doting tone.
Though her face stayed serious, her heart bloomed with joy. That nickname hit her right where she was happiest.
With an exaggerated huff, she said smugly, "Fine, I'll forgive you this time. But next time, remember to call me that again. No more 'little Tsunade'."
Then she let out a tiny hmph, but the lightness in her voice betrayed her delight.
Arima didn't dare test her mood again and simply agreed to whatever she said.
The two of them quickly warmed back up to each other. The earlier tension vanished, as though it had never been there.
But... even a fleeting moment can leave a lasting mark. Who could say when this tiny spark might grow into something more?
That night, Tsunade helped Arima pack his things, just like she had three months ago before he'd left for his Sage training.
But this time, he was heading to the frontlines, to a place where human lives were treated like nothing.
Tsunade was only six or seven years old, but she was incredibly mature, and partings hit her hard.
She couldn't stop herself from imagining Arima lying in a pool of blood on the battlefield.
Those horrifying thoughts refused to leave her alone.
Seeing this, Arima stopped packing and turned to comfort her patiently.
It was late into the night. Though the bags were packed, neither of them had much time or energy left for heartfelt conversation.
Tsunade clung to Arima tightly, terrified that the next time she opened her eyes, he'd be gone.
Arima said nothing, simply let her hold him close. There was nothing more he could do, he could only stay with her, spoil her for a little while longer.
They fell asleep like that, still in their clothes. By the second half of the night, Tsunade finally drifted into a peaceful sleep, and only then did Arima's heart ease slightly.
He didn't fear the battlefield, nor did he fear sacrificing himself to protect his family. His only worry was that Tsunade might never smile again if he weren't around.
The next morning, Tsunade woke up early. She was afraid Arima would sneak away again like before. But seeing him still asleep by her side allowed her heart to relax a little.
Looking at the boy so familiar to her that she felt it in her heart, Tsunade felt something stir inside her.
Maybe, just maybe... this was what her grandmother meant by liking someone.
Before, she'd never spent any time apart from Arima-nii. She'd never understood what it meant to miss someone.
But after that three-month separation, and now, with another one looming because of the war, she finally understood why Grandma always shook her head whenever she mentioned Arima.
So this... this was the pain of deep feelings that never lasted.
Now, she finally understood what her grandmother meant.
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