svetikya Chapters 55-56: Dreams, Confessions
Chapters 55-56: Dreams, Confessions
After dinner, Tsunade left Kushina and Shizune behind and took Hoshino Senju to a tower with a spiral staircase.
The two climbed the spiral steps, pushed open the wooden door at the top, and arrived at a spacious rooftop.
A bright crescent moon hung in the night sky, its clear light casting a wide glow that clearly outlined the rooftop and the distant Fire Shadow Rock.
The moonlight cast interplay of light and shadow on the rock statues, adding a touch of solemnity to the three Hokage.
Xingyuan Qianshuo did not come empty-handed.
He was carrying a half-finished bottle of sake, two sake cups, and a small plate of persimmon rice cakes.
Tsunade walked confidently to the table and chairs, urging him, "Hurry up and pour the wine."
After finishing the glass, she let out a satisfied sigh.
He was quite restrained at dinner, but now he's drinking heartily over a small dish of vegetables.
Xingyuan Qianshuo couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
He shook his head as he handed the cup to Gang.
"How is it? The night view here is nice, isn't it? Drinking here at night is quite an experience." Tsunade struck a pose like an old drunkard.
"Yes, the scenery is indeed fantastic." He nodded in agreement.
Such a view can probably only be found in the tower of the Senju residence or on the rooftop of the Hokage Building—but the latter is obviously not suitable for drinking together.
He took a sip of wine with Tsunade and picked up a peanut.
Under the soft moonlight and twinkling stars, the rooftop under the night sky is the perfect setting for discussing dreams.
"Tsunade, what are your dreams?" Hoshino Sensaku asked.
"Dream?" Tsunade paused slightly, feeling that the word had become distant and blurred.
She looked up at the silent Fire Shadow Rock in the night.
She herself never thought of becoming Hokage, but the rock reminded her of the two most important people in her life—both of whom had aimed to become Hokage and vowed to protect Konoha with their lives, but left early.
She used to drown her sorrows in alcohol late at night, and the thought of them would break her heart and bring her to tears.
Now, however, I can face it calmly.
She didn't know if this was growth or if time had healed her wounds.
She gently dispersed her thoughts, searching deep within her memory.
"When I was on missions with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, we talked about our dreams."
Tsunade picked up her glass, took a sip, and reminisced with a smile, "My dream is to travel to every corner of the world and win at every casino in the world!"
This dream is very much in Tsunade's style—the first half might be achievable, but the second half is as difficult as making Star Source Chisaku defeat Otsutsuki Kaguya right now.
"What about your dream?" She turned to look at Qian Shuo.
"My dreams can be divided into three categories: long-term, medium-term, and short-term," Xingyuan Qianshuo said, organizing his thoughts.
"Oh?" Tsunade immediately became interested.
"My long-term dream is to travel to every corner of the world."
Seeing the knowing smile in Tsunade's eyes, he changed the subject:
"However, the 'corner' I'm referring to may be further away and more difficult to reach."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm filled with curiosity about the secrets behind this world. Those natural relics and historical sites with strange powers, other worlds and dimensions, even the distant past... Does this world possess a higher level of power?"
His voice sounded distant in the night.
Xingyuan Qianshuo was indeed curious about these things, but what he wanted to know even more was whether the Naruto world was real or an illusion, what the essence of time travel was, whether the world of his previous life was more original, and whether he would travel to other worlds in the future...
But these are things that he could never tell Tsunade.
"Your dream is too 'long-term,' a bit unrealistic," Tsunade commented, without any sarcasm in her tone, but Chisaku's ideas were beyond her comprehension.
"Isn't it more unrealistic than winning every casino in the world?" Xingyuan Qianshuo joked.
"You brat, you want a beating, don't you?" Tsunade raised her fist as if to strike.
"My bad, my bad! You'll definitely win at every casino!" he quickly and obediently admitted his mistake.
"Hmph, that's more like it." Tsunade deliberately snorted, letting him off the hook.
"Then let me give you a visible example," Xingyuan Qianshuo continued, "Look up at the sky."
"The sky?" Tsunade gazed at the star-studded night sky, puzzled. "The moon?"
"Yes. I'm curious whether there are people living on the moon, and whether they are observing our world right now."
Of course he knew that the descendants of Hamura Otsutsuki lived on the moon, but he couldn't say it out loud, because Tsunade wouldn't believe him anyway.
"That's wishful thinking! How could there be people on the moon?"
"Don't believe me? Let's make a bet—I bet there really are people on the moon."
"Fine, let's bet! But how are you going to prove who wins or loses?" Tsunade was always enthusiastic about betting.
"There are ways. Special space-time ninjutsu might be able to reach the moon, or we could build a large astronomical telescope to observe continuously. If there are people living on or inside the moon, they will eventually leave traces over time..." Hoshino Chisaku thought to himself.
"Let's make a bet of twenty years. If I can prove there are people on the moon within twenty years, I win; otherwise, I lose."
"Another ten million taels? Last time it was ten million. If you bet that amount again, it will probably take you twenty years without eating or drinking to pay it back."
Tsunade never refuses to gamble, as long as it's an opportunity.
It's interesting to think about betting twenty years on an answer.
"Don't curse me, my salary will increase."
Xingyuan Qianshuo doesn't value money and wouldn't mind gambling another ten million taels.
But he needs to think carefully about what stakes he should ask Tsunade for, since it's a game he's guaranteed to win.
"Ten million taels in exchange for a promise from you." He smirked and held up one finger.
"You little brat...you're not thinking about anything lewd, are you?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Does something lewd have to wait twenty years?" he asked rhetorically.
"Hmph, so you were thinking about lewd things!" she retorted, trying to justify herself.
"A promise worth no more than ten million taels of silver, the exact value of which is up to you to determine. If you lose and do not wish to fulfill it, you can also use money to settle the debt," Xingyuan Qianshuo explained.
This bet gives Tsunade options, making it more interesting than simply gambling with money.
She pondered for a moment, then decided it wasn't a bad deal. She slammed her hand on the table and declared boldly, "I'll take the bet!"
"Hmph, brat, you'd better start saving money. Don't let gambling debts accumulate; they'll ruin your gambling luck!"
In her gambling frenzy, Tsunade uttered harsh words that bordered on curses.
Xingyuan Qianshuo was speechless for a moment—he didn't know who in the original work became the legendary "big fat sheep" who was chased for debts every day and still owed a mountain of debts even after becoming Hokage.
The two of them had another drink with the side dishes.
Tsunade, unable to contain her curiosity, asked, "And then? What are your mid-term dreams?"
"Our mid-term dream is the medical school we made a bet on last time."
Xingyuan Qianshuo spoke solemnly:
"Three steps:"
First, train more medical ninjas to strengthen Konoha's medical team;
Second, establish branches of Konoha Hospital in major cities of the Land of Fire;
Third, if all goes well, a professional medical school should be established in due course to train medical personnel on a large scale.
"Nowadays, Konoha Hospital mainly serves ninjas, focusing on treating combat injuries."
"We can shift our focus to treating common illnesses, aiming to alleviate pain and prolong lifespan, expanding our services, charging reasonable fees, and supporting the operation of the entire healthcare system."
"The requirements for emergency medical ninjas are extremely high. However, if the focus is on ordinary patients, the threshold can be lowered, and by subdividing the departments, the medical ninjas can be strengthened to cultivate their expertise in the professional field."
"Those with exceptional talent will continue to receive focused training and will be responsible for solving difficult and complex diseases, conducting scientific research, and driving continuous innovation in medicine and medical technology—they are the cutting-edge force in the medical field."
Tsunade gazed intently at Hoshino Senju.
This wasn't the first time she'd heard Qian Shuo talk about his medical ideas.
As a medical ninja, she naturally hopes that the medical profession will continue to grow stronger.
She had proposed strengthening the training of medical ninjas, but her initial intention was to improve the ninja squads' survivability in missions; the essence of her work was still to serve the war effort.
Chishuo's goal is to guide medicine toward peace.
She found that when she first heard Qian Shuo talk about "medicine and peace," her heartstrings were quietly touched—that medicine should no longer serve war, but promote peace.
Whether or not it can be realized, the idea itself is enough to excite her.
For Xingyuan Qianshuo, starting with medical treatment and exploring the path of peaceful use of chakra by ninjas is indeed the "open" approach.
Achieving peace in the ninja world certainly cannot rely solely on medical treatment.
However, since the system is related to medicine, promoting the development of the medical industry can quickly enhance its strength.
With great strength comes the confidence to achieve peace.
Moreover, the value of chakra in the biomedical field has not yet been fully explored.
In this regard, we can refer to the research results of Orochimaru and Amado in the original work, and even go further.
If human modification is a way to overcome the limitations of bloodlines, then extensive and in-depth biomedical research is the only visible way to achieve an overall leap forward in the ninja world and to fight against the "space raiders" Otsutsuki clan in the long term.
Without a system, this might be the path Xingyuan Qianshuo would have taken.
But since we have the system, this path is merely a means to complete the task.
A myriad of thoughts flashed through his mind.
He raised his wine glass and gestured to the dazed Tsunade, and the two drank together.
Tsunade concealed her moved expression and took a sip of her drink: "Your dream is so grand; in comparison, mine seems rather mediocre."
"I don't think I'm mediocre. It's a good thing for people to have hobbies, and ninjas shouldn't just be tools for killing," Hoshino Senju said gently. "Besides, the dream of winning every casino in the world can be taken a step further."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"Build a gambling city—with gambling as its core, complemented by large casinos, luxury hotels, and abundant entertainment and dining options, creating a paradise for eating, drinking, and having fun, attracting wealthy tourists from all over the ninja world to come and spend their holidays."
Xingyuan Qianshuo used the famous gambling city in his memory as a blueprint to depict a gambler's paradise for Tsunade.
Tsunade's eyes lit up, a surge of confidence rising within her: "Really? Can you really do it?"
"You must believe in the allure of gambling. The First Hokage was able to establish Konoha, and you too can establish the number one gambling city in the ninja world and become the queen of the entertainment capital." He spoke with certainty.
"Yes! Yes!" Tsunade nodded repeatedly, her face beaming with joy.
Gambling has its drawbacks, and gambling cities inevitably attract shadows and sins.
However, Hoshino knew that the ninja world was far from meeting the conditions to move towards an "ideal society," and forcibly pushing it forward might backfire.
It would be better to go with the flow, centralize management, and make it easier to monitor.
Unlike Chisaku, Tsunade was completely absorbed in the grand vision of the casino.
She secretly made up her mind: her dream for the future is to build the largest gambling city in the ninja world with her own hands and become the true gambling city queen!
"I'm going to be the Queen of Las Vegas!" Tsunade shouted in her heart.
She gazed at the young man before her with sparkling eyes, growing more and more pleased with him.
To come up with the idea of "building a city through gambling" is even more impressive than developing the Rasengan!
She happily drank the wine in her glass, and Xingyuan Qianshuo refilled it for her.
Once she calmed down a bit, Tsunade remembered that Chisaku had another recent dream: "Chisaku, what's your recent dream?"
Xingyuan Qianshuo did not answer, but instead reached into his robes and took out a white jade bracelet.
The soft moonlight cast a gentle glow on the jade bracelet.
He gently lifted Tsunade's left wrist and, to her astonishment, put the wristband on her wrist.
This is an ordinary white jade bracelet, but it has extraordinary significance—it is a keepsake from his mother in this life.
After receiving the invitation in the afternoon, he thought it over and over again, and taking advantage of Tsunade's unpreparedness, he secretly sent a shadow clone home to retrieve it.
Tsunade sensed something and gazed at Chishuo with eyes as still as water.
Under the moonlight, his features were clear and well-defined, and the moonlight added to his charm.
Xingyuan Qianshuo said softly, "This is a bracelet that my grandmother passed down to my mother. Tsunade, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"
"Yes!" Tsunade nodded vigorously, her tone trembling slightly but firm.
"This is my recent dream—and tonight, you made it come true for me." He gazed at Tsunade's delicate face, his voice gentle.
"Chisaku..." Tsunade called softly, her eyes filled with affection, as she gently leaned into his arms.
The two embraced quietly, enjoying the tranquility under the moonlight.
He felt a deep sense of satisfaction; this warmth filled the void he had felt since his transmigration and dispelled the loneliness of being a stranger in a foreign land.
"Chisaku," Tsunade whispered, leaning against him.
"Um?"
"I also have a gift for you." Tsunade reluctantly left Chisaku's embrace and took out a crystal pendant from her collar.
"This is a necklace that my grandfather left me... I want to give it to you." Her voice trembled slightly.
This was her most precious possession, carrying too many bitter memories.
Sending it away signifies saying goodbye to the past and, more importantly, a determination to move towards a new beginning.
"Has it finally come?" Xingyuan Qianshuo thought to himself.
The legendary "Death Necklace"... He didn't want to believe in fate, but he couldn't completely ignore it—after all, he was a transmigrator, and this was the Naruto world.
But he believed more in himself and in the ability of people to control their destiny.
As long as you do your best, you can face everything with equanimity.
Without hesitation, he lowered his head and let Tsunade put it on him.
This is a weighty trust, and he believes he can shoulder it.
As Tsunade gave away the necklace, it was as if she were entrusting her whole heart to it, and she nestled into Chisaku's arms once again.