Naruto Card King

Haruto Saito was startled, instinctively leaning back in the bath barrel. Then, realizing something was off, he quickly glanced down at himself before immediately sinking back into the water. Snatching the towel from the chair beside the bath, he hastily covered his chest.

"Brat, what did you do to me?" Tsunade asked coldly, her voice carrying an eerie chill.

"Uh... Could you step out first? Let me put on some clothes..." Haruto swallowed nervously, his voice hesitant and shaky.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and cast a glance at the water beneath him. Then, a smirk of utter disdain crossed her lips as she suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Haruto by the shoulder and hoisting him out of the water. She stared directly into his eyes.

"Brat! Answer me! What did you do to me?!" Tsunade's voice was sharp and commanding.

"Uh… well…" Haruto hesitated, sensing the tension in her grip. He realized that if he said the wrong thing, he might get beaten up. He paused for a moment, then abruptly raised his hand and snapped his fingers. "Look here!"

Snap!

Tsunade's expression didn't even flinch. She remained locked onto Haruto's gaze, a sneer forming at the corner of her lips. "Brat, if you don't want me to break your fingers, I suggest you put that hand down."

Haruto obediently lowered his hand.

As expected, it didn't work!

Hypnotizing someone required very specific conditions. First and foremost, the subject needed to be either relaxed and at ease or in a state of extreme tension. The first condition made it easier for them to enter a trance-like state, while the second made them highly susceptible to auditory cues like snapping fingers. These two conditions significantly increased the likelihood of successful hypnosis.

When Haruto had hypnotized Tsunade earlier, she had been in a casual and relaxed state, with no wariness toward him. That was why she had fallen into his hypnosis so easily.

But now, she was completely on guard!

"If you let me get dressed, maybe we can have a proper conversation," Haruto suggested.

Tsunade stared at him for a moment before releasing her grip.

SPLASH!

Haruto plummeted back into the bathwater.

"You have three minutes. I'll be waiting outside. Don't try anything funny!" Tsunade said as she turned and walked out of the bathroom.

"Stupid woman," Haruto muttered under his breath. He let out a long sigh, dunked his head under the water for a moment, then climbed out and quickly got dressed.

As he was getting dressed, he heard some strange noises coming from outside. Clearly, Tsunade was up to something, but he had no idea what.

Feeling refreshed after putting on his clothes, Haruto stepped out of the bathroom and looked toward the grassy area outside his cabin. His expression turned odd.

Tsunade had dug a massive pit right in front of the cabin. It was at least three meters wide and two meters deep. She stood at the edge of the pit, tossed the shovel aside, and looked back at Haruto.

"Why did you dig a hole?" Haruto asked as he approached the pit, peering inside.

"Get in!" Tsunade suddenly grabbed Haruto by the shoulders and flung him into the pit. Then, she kicked some loose dirt over him, covering his face and clothes with soil.

Haruto froze.

Great. He needed another bath.

He realized that his obsessive cleanliness was practically being cured by Tsunade at this point.

"Hey, what's the meaning of this?" Haruto asked, looking up at her expressionlessly, though he was already cursing her entire ancestry in his mind. At the same time, a bad feeling crept over him.

"Considering that you're a lying brat who spouts nonsense, I have no choice but to take some precautions."

"What precautions?"

"I'm going to ask you some questions. You will answer. If you lie, I'll bury you alive."

"You're not serious, right?"

"I'm very serious. You can also choose to stay silent. I promise I'll bury you right away."

Haruto believed her. A quick glance at her status in his system confirmed it—her relationship meter had shifted from 'neutral' to 'furious.' If he pissed her off any further, there was no telling what she might do.

"Damn woman! May you live a lonely life with no suitors, get hit by a cart the moment you step out, and have your limbs rot off..." Haruto internally cursed Tsunade with every fiber of his being, but outwardly, he forced a smile. "Alright, ask away!"

"That's better, brat!" Tsunade crouched by the edge of the pit, a sly grin on her face as she arched an eyebrow. "Now, tell me. What exactly did you do to me?"

"Hypnosis!" Haruto snapped his fingers. "To put it simply, it's a form of mental guidance using continuous auditory cues to influence a person's thoughts and put them in a state of sleep or semi-consciousness."

"Hypnosis?" Tsunade frowned. "Is that some kind of ninjutsu?"

"No, it has nothing to do with chakra. Even an ordinary person can practice this technique. It's purely a mental guidance skill."

Toss!

Tsunade threw another handful of dirt into the pit, covering Haruto in soil again.

"Hey! What the hell is wrong with you, crazy woman?!" Haruto exploded, jumping up and pointing at her furiously.

"You're lying!" Tsunade said coolly. She stood up, stomped on the ground, and caught the shovel that bounced back into her hand. Resting the shovel on her shoulder, she glared at Haruto. "I told you, if you lie to me, I'll bury you!"

"How am I lying?! I told you the truth!"

"Bullshit! How can you hypnotize someone without chakra? This is obviously genjutsu!"

"You don't believe the truth, so what do you want from me?!"

"Heh, I'll give you one more—"

Tsunade abruptly stopped talking and turned toward the entrance of the nearby forest. Haruto followed her gaze and saw Uchiha Mikoto approaching, accompanied by two Uchiha Jonin. They immediately spotted Tsunade holding a shovel.

"Oh? So Lady Tsunade was here all along," Mikoto blinked in surprise. Then, her expression turned slightly nervous as she quickly jogged over and bowed. "I sincerely apologize for disturbing you earlier, Lady Tsunade."

"Hm." Tsunade responded with a casual grunt.

Mikoto sighed in relief. It seemed Tsunade wasn't going to hold it against her.

The two Uchiha Jonin stepped up beside her.

Haruto, seeing Mikoto and her group, brightened up and immediately shouted, "Help! Help! This woman is insane! She's trying to bury me alive!"

Mikoto and the Jonin looked down into the pit and finally noticed Haruto.

"Lady Tsunade, what's going on here…?" Mikoto cautiously asked.

"Burying him," Tsunade said flatly.

"Oh! Oh! Then we won't disturb you, Lady Tsunade. Carry on!" Mikoto quickly took several steps back, waving her hands nervously before turning and bolting away.

Haruto was speechless.

Even the police force was scared of her?! Was she the village's demon overlord or something?

Tsunade grinned. "Scream all you want. No one's going to save you."

Haruto sighed in defeat. "Fine, I can prove it. I can prove I can hypnotize someone without chakra."

"Oh?" Tsunade stopped. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"You scared? Afraid to be my test subject?" Haruto challenged.

"Scared?" Tsunade dropped the shovel and leaped into the pit, grabbing his wrist. "Go ahead, try it."