Sunlight flooded the room. Tsunade opened her eyes with her usual morning lethargy, only to see Kushina's sleeping face inches from her own. She realized she was resting her head on a thin, youthful arm.
The memories hit her like a tidal wave. She froze, holding her breath, terrified of making a sound.
The "emergency" mindset was gone, replaced by a crushing sense of reality.
She accepted the facts, but she was furious that Saiki had left her completely naked and had the nerve to sleep between her and Kushina under the same blanket.
The priority was to escape before anyone woke up.
She tried to sit up, but the bedframe let out a loud, agonizing CREAK.
Tsunade's heart nearly stopped. She whipped her head toward Kushina. She was ready to kill Saiki.
Her prayers were ignored. Kushina's eyes flickered open.
Kushina first saw Saiki's lean chest. Her gaze traveled up to see a slender, yet voluptuous waist. Then, she saw those massive white breasts that were the envy and hatred of every woman in the world.
Kushina snapped awake. Their eyes met. Seeing Tsunade staring at her in shock, Kushina froze.
Realizing the situation, Kushina's brain short-circuited. She instinctively squeezed her eyes shut again in a panic.
Tsunade let out a silent sigh of "Good grief." She gave up on caution. Amidst the creaking of the bed, she moved with clinical efficiency.
She saw her clothes neatly folded on the nightstand—pants, shirt, panties, and bra, in that order.
Kushina's clothes were similarly arranged on the other side.
The realization made Tsunade's blood boil. That little bastard had knocked them out, could have dressed them and put them in different beds, but chose to fold their clothes and spend the night holding them both while they were naked.
His intentions were blatant. Looking at Saiki's sleeping face, Tsunade wanted to slap him into the next week. He had turned into a total demon.
But with Kushina awake, a scene would only make it worse. She swallowed her rage, grabbed her clothes, and dressed herself.
She hurried out of the ICU.
In the hallway, she found a Shadow Clone of Saiki dozing on a chair. Seeing the clone's head bobbing like a chicken, Tsunade snapped. She delivered a world-class slap to its head.
The blow nearly dispelled the clone. It tumbled to the floor, howling in pain. Before it could see its attacker, Tsunade's voice boomed: "Stop making noise! Tell Saiki to get his ass to my office the second he's dressed!"
The clone lacked the original's Qi and durability. It was helpless.
Before it could even say, "It wasn't me!", Tsunade delivered a kick that sent it back to the spirit world in a puff of smoke.
Inside the room, Kushina shyly opened her eyes and prepared to get up.
Saiki, who had been "sleeping," had actually been awake longer than both of them.
He felt the memory return from the dispelled clone. He winced. Tsunade was beyond furious.
But for the sake of his future harem, he had to keep pushing.
Sensing Kushina moving, Saiki "woke up," stretching and opening his eyes slowly.
Kushina froze. "Saiki... you're awake!"
Saiki looked at her panicked, beautiful face and smiled. "Morning, Kushina."
"Morning!" she replied instinctively. Then she realized her chest was completely bare.
She scrambled to pull the blanket up, her face turning neon-red. "Saiki! T-turn around!"
Seeing her so flustered, Saiki's predatory instincts flared. If she were acting like Tsunade, he'd obey. But the "Red Hot Habanero" was currently just a shy, helpless little lamb. He wasn't afraid of her.
He didn't turn around. He sat up, propping himself on his elbows. "Kushina, how do you feel? Better?"
Kushina was too panicked to notice he'd dropped the "Sensei" suffix.
The change was deliberate. "Sensei" implied a barrier. "Kushina" implied they were equals—a man and his woman.
He called Tsunade "Sister" for the same reason—it implied intimacy and family, not a professional distance.
Distracted by his question, she whispered, "Mm... I'm better."
"Is that so?" Saiki reached out a hand.
Kushina gripped the blanket tighter. "What are you doing?!"
"I need to check the soul-anchor. Based on last night's progress, it should take several more sessions to fully stabilize. There's no way you're cured already." He was lying through his teeth, but his face was a mask of medical concern.
"S-several more times?!" Kushina's eyes went wide.
"Mm. That's right." The shameless Saiki reached out and took her hand, pretending to pulse his chakra through her.
Finding her completely healthy, Saiki let out a mental cheer. But outwardly, he remained grave. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. We just need to consolidate the treatment a few more times."
Looking at his serious face and thinking about doing that again, her cheeks turned a soft pink. She looked down, unable to meet his eyes.
Saiki wanted to devour her right there, but he knew better. Kushina wasn't Tsunade; she needed to be coaxed and handled with care.
His "sessions" weren't entirely selfish. She had absorbed a massive amount of his life-force. Engaging in Dual Cultivation would help her assimilate that energy, pushing her strength toward the Super Kage level. She was tethered to him now, in body and soul.