"Girl, you're really young, huh? No breasts at all." Tsunade remarked, eyeing Tengen's flat frame.
Tengen let out a silent sigh of relief. Good, she hadn't noticed. But he needed to grab the yukata from her hands. Standing up from the water without it would reveal his secret that he was a boy.
"Check out your onee-san's breasts. Pretty impressive, right?" Tsunade proudly flaunted her ample curves sending ripples across the water.
Tengen felt a nosebleed coming on. Mentally, he was a full-grown adult, after all.
"Tsunade, do you have to do this?" He screamed internally, but his face could only show shy embarrassment. Staying any longer, he was sure he'd be doomed.
The more carefree Tsunade acted, the worse it would be if she discovered he was a boy. Tengen couldn't even imagine the consequences.
Would she tear him apart?
"Tsunade-sama, she seems anxious. Maybe let her go?" Shizune suggested from the side.
Tengen's heart leapt. He wanted to cheer for Shizune for the save! Now it was up to Tsunade.
"Alright, Girl, go find your parents." Tsunade nodded. A kid alone here might worry her family if they noticed her missing.
"Y-Yes." Tengen nodded eagerly. "Um, my yukata…"
"I'll help you put it on." Tsunade smiled, ignoring Tengen's resistance. She moved to dress him, but Tengen panicked; her helping could easily expose him.
"No!" Tengen's foot slipped, and he toppled backward. Tsunade, startled, caught him, but her eyes landed on something she shouldn't have seen.
Shizune blinked, blushing.
"A boy?" Shizune gasped.
"So, Girl… or Boy?" Tsunade's smile was forced, radiating a chilling menace that sent shivers down Tengen.
"Uh, I thought this bathhouse was unisex!" Tengen blurted, grasping for any excuse to avoid death.
"Oh, kid, where are your parents?" Tsunade's fake smile persisted.
"I'm… on my own now." Tengen said, his tone somber. It was true, in this Naruto world, he was alone.
"I see. I feel for you, but punishment is still due." Tsunade, now draped in her yukata, stepped closer.
And so began an utterly merciless thrashing.
"For sneaking into the women's bathhouse!"
"For not saying anything sooner!"
"Kids need to learn their lesson early!"
Moments later, a bruised and battered boy stumbled out of the bathhouse, gazing at the faintly yellow sky.
"I'm alive. That's a miracle." Tengen sighed. Tsunade had gone easy because he was a kid; otherwise, it wouldn't have been just a beating.
"You're a real man of culture! A true comrade!" A voice called out. Jiraiya, blood still dripping from his nose and looking disheveled, stared at Tengen with gleaming eyes. "Why didn't I think of posing as a girl to get in?"
"Jiraiya-sama, no offense, but you'd never pull it off." Tengen said dryly.
Tengen could pass as a kid with his youthful looks. Jiraiya, an old man trying to play a woman? That'd be a nightmare.
"Yeah, you're right." Jiraiya nodded. "How about you be my lil bro!"
"No way." Tengen shook his head. "I don't want to end up like you."
"Hold on! I'm one of the Sannin! Kid, people beg to be my apprentice!" Jiraiya protested.
"Uh, Jiraiya-sama..." Tengen interrupted.
"What?" Jiraiya asked, puzzled.
"Can we hold off on the lil bro talk? Could you… take me to the hospital?" With that, Tengen collapsed backward, Tsunade's punishment proving too much to bear.
"This kid..." Jiraiya muttered, catching him and heading to Konoha Hospital.
...
Inside the bathhouse.
"Tsunade-sama, that boy was taken by Jiraiya-sama." Shizune reported.
Now dressed, Tsunade knew her blows, though superficial, were tough on a child's body.
She'd planned to take Tengen herself, but Jiraiya had beaten her to it.
"Let's go to Hospital." Tsunade said. "Oh, and Shizune, look into this kid."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Shizune replied.
…
Konoha Hospital.
"Tsunade, did you have to hit him so hard? He's just a kid, only eight!" Jiraiya said.
"What, you're blaming me? You're just as bad, you old perv. Want another punch?" Tsunade shot back.
"Whoa, hold on! He's my lil bro, so I'm just sticking up for him!" Jiraiya said quickly, wary of Tsunade's monstrous strength.
He'd felt close to death under her fists more than once.
"Lil bro? He didn't agree to that." Tsunade scoffed.
"I'm claiming him as my lil bro." Jiraiya declared.
"Because he's like you, huh?" Tsunade said. "Lost his parents young, but he's cheerful, thick-skinned, not very talented, yet works hard and hates seeing the weak bullied."
"Heh, don't spell it out. I just liked Tengen from the start, even before I knew his story." Jiraiya grinned.
"Speaking of which, you've got disciples already. You've got Minato." Tsunade pointed out.
"It's different! Tengen's not a disciple, he's a lil bro, got it?" Jiraiya said loudly. "But, Tsunade, when's Tengen waking up?"
"Soon. I've treated him. He can leave whenever he wants." Tsunade said.
"Let him stay till tomorrow then." Jiraiya suggested.
"Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama, Tengen's awake." Shizune announced, stepping out.
"Let's go see this kid."
***
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