Naruto: Paws and Whiskers

"But, what is the price?" Takeshi hesitated, his feline instincts tingling with wariness, aware of Tsunade's general lack of altruism.

Tsunade, without a word, reached into her cleavage and pulled out two dice and a small cup. Takeshi blinked, completely bewildered. 'Where did that come from? I didn't feel anything like that when I was snuggled in there! Does she have a storage seal… there?' He pondered, trying to understand whether it was worth having a storage seal branded on skin, 'It wouldn't be benefitial to me, as I have system storage.'

Tsunade brought back Takeshi's attention by slamming the cup on the table, making Takeshi understand what Tsunade wanted, "So we are going to bet on this?"

Tsunade threw the dice into the cup, began shaking it vigorously, and said, "Yeah, let's make a bet! Highest number wins."

Takeshi's tail swished with anticipation. In truth, he didn't have much choice but to follow Tsunade's whims for now, but the points she would contribute upon losing… that would be delicious. He could feel his lips curving into a wide grin. "Hehehe!" A low, villainous chuckle escaped him.

Tsunade frowned, her head tilting slightly. "What's with that laugh, kitty? You don't think I'm going to win?!"

"Meow! Of course, you can win, Tsunade-sama!" Takeshi replied instantly, his tone saccharine sweet. 'Though, the chance of that is about the same as us being hit by a meteor in the next second,' he added mentally.

Tsunade's real motivation was to test her luck against a ninja beast. 'There's no money involved, so I should be able to win, right?' She thought, giving the cup a few more shakes. She stopped, peeked into the cup and saw a 2 and 4. "Huh. 6. It's your turn." A smirk played on her lips as she pushed the cup over.

"Alright, time to duel! Though, this is my first time playing this," Takeshi nodded.

Tsunade was curious on how this cat would use to shake the dice cup. With his paws? Transformation? Or his fur manipulation ability? Under her watchful gaze, Takeshi leaped onto the table, stretched his tail and wrapped it around the cup. With a quick flick of his tail he began to shake the cup. The dice rattled, tumbling, but remained safely contained within.

"..." This method was a bit unexpected. 'It seems this cat is still lying to me, like hell he hasn't played this before! After I discipline him, he won't dare try lying to me again!' Tsunade's eyes slowly narrowed as she gained a vicious glint in her eyes.

After shaking the cup for a few more seconds, Takeshi placed it on the table, mouth down.

"Meow~ I'm going to show it!"

"Do it!" Tsunade leaned down with her hands on the table, and her mountains almost on verge of spilling out of her top.

Takeshi tried his best to be a gentleman and not look at them. Quickly he lifted the dice cup with his tail.

6, 6… twelve points. The highest roll possible.

"I got lucky, meow!"

"..." 'I can't even beat a cat?' Tsunade sat there is dull look in her eyes, and then said expressionlessly, "Initially, I wanted to teach you a very powerful ninjutsu, but now I have changed my mind," she said, her voice flat and devoid of emotion. "Damn cat, take me to the training ground, I want to teach you a lesson."

'What? Why? What the hell! This is so unfair, you were the one who wanted to gamble!'Takeshi was on the verge of tears, but he knew there was no escape.

Takeshi led Tsunade back to the forest where he had fought Nekomata before using the Flying Thunder God.

"Couldn't you have chosen a better place to leave your mark?" she grumbled, noticing the remnants of their previous battle.

"Meow~ I'm just a cat, the tree trunk is big enough," Takeshi couldn't help but retort, he knew he would be suffering soon enough.

"Hehe, I won't bully you. I'll only use two fingers. If you make me use one more, I lose." Tsunade beckoned the cat with her hand.

"Meow~ Can I use Flying Thunder God?"

"You can use it, no problem, let's start." Tsunade's getting impatient.

'The Flying Thunder God's utility varies depending on the user,' Tsunade thought to herself. 'It took my grand uncle years to use it effectively in combat, and I've heard the same was true for that brat Minato. This cat likely only learned it recently, there's no way he can use it properly.'She also wanted to see how he'd use it. Her guess was that he'd probably use it for evasion, and perhaps to launch a surprise attack.

"Since you aren't making the first move, I will!" As soon as she finished speaking, she attacked Takeshi with two fingers. Takeshi barely registered her speed.

He instinctively jumped backward, but this wasn't a simple Taijutsu thrust. Her chakra surged ahead of her fingers, creating a blast of force.

Reacting quickly, Takeshi kicked the ground, propelling himself out of the path of the attack, only to find that she was already right in front of him.

'So fast! I can't fight her in a prolonged battle. Her Uzumaki and Senju lineage have given her far greater chakra capacity. I need to end this quickly.'He calculated.

He threw out the auto-returning iron ball directly, using the Flying Thunder God to teleport away. Instantly, he opened the Gate of Opening!

*Whoosh!*

Tsunade reacted immediately, turning and launching her fingers forward, creating a strong blast of air pressure.

Takeshi used the Needle Jizo to protect himself. At the same time, his tail grew larger, his fur became sharper, turning his tail into a makeshift warhammer. As his tail struck, he redirected the auto-returning iron ball and teleported away again.

*Thud!* Tsunade caught up with him. Takeshi smacked her fingers away with his tail, but the force of her attack still sent him skidding across the ground, nearly colliding with a tree.

However, Tsunade's mind was fixated on something else, as her eyes stared at her fingers. Three tiny pricks leaked small drops of blood.

'Blood!'

Dan's voice echoed in her head, "It is because we are living in the shinobi world, where death is always following us, that I… want to put my life on the line to subdue this war-ridden world. I dearly love both the village and my comrades… That is why I want to protect them. For the sake of everyone's safety... Being Hokage is my dream..." 

'Dan! No, please don't go!'

Soon Nawaki's voice joined in, "Hey! I want to be like grandpa someday… I will be honoured with the name Hokage because being Hokage is my dream." 

'Nawaki, please don't leave me! I am begging you, don't leave me!?' Her body was shaking uncontrollably. She zoned out, before covering the blood with her other hand.

Takeshi, who had just managed to avoid crashing into a tree, was about to counter-attack when he saw Tsunade trembling. He immediately realized it was likely her Hemophobia...

He approached slowly, realizing that it was likely his hair that had pricked her skin, causing her panic attack. He was troubled, searching for a way to resolve this issue.

After a few moments of deliberation, he used water release to wash the blood away, then gently used his paw to cover her hand so she wouldn't see the wound directly. Though still trembling, Tsunade gradually recovered, and used her medical ninjutsu to heal the small wounds.

After letting Takeshi wash it again, she finally stopped shaking. She looked exhausted and deflated, sitting there silently.

After a few moments, she sighed, "Kitty, do you know why I left Konoha in the first place?"

"Meow~ Fear of blood?" Takeshi tried to act clueless, after all, he is just a cat and he should not understand what the phobias are.

"It's called hemophobia. It means I'm afraid of seeing blood. As a medical ninja, I can't stand on the operating table with this illness. And I am from Konoha…alas." Tsunade sighed.

She was revered by medical ninjas throughout Konoha, considered to be at the pinnacle of her field. Many regarded her as the healing goddess of Konoha.

But this 'goddess' was afraid of blood. The irony was not lost on her.

Takeshi pondered her words for a moment before finally speaking, "Meow~ But everyone is so excited when you come back. They look so happy."

"That's because they thought I would return to support Konoha, but in fact, I already…" Tsunade's mood was low.

She was shaken by her panic attack, especially given how small Takeshi's attack was. Before, this type of injury wouldn't have been worth her notice.

But now, such a minor wound was enough to leave her helpless.

"How about you close your eyes before hitting meow?"

"Uh..."

"Meow~ As for medical treatment, you can heal them remotely. I heard that you have a ninjutsu that can treat the whole village. I doubt you're in contact with everyone in the village at the same time. Or you could teach students." Takeshi suggested ideas, some silly, but some were plausible.

Tsunade was stunned, then shook her head, "I can't just give away the slug summoning contract. And as for treating injuries without seeing them… And for teaching students…"

Tsunade thought about her future, while she can't go on an operating table, and she can't teach by example. At most, she could only teach verbally.

'But what kind of sensei would that make me? That's no different from having no sensei at all.' She shook her head, dismissing the idea.

The core issue would still remain. She still hears the voices of her lost loved ones. She still sees their bodies when she closes her eyes. Those issues couldn't be resolved by merely closing her eyes or blocking her hearing.

"At worst, being a mascot is also good."

"Mascot...ha, forget it," She said dismissively. "I'll teach you a jutsu. Let's see if you can learn it. This is my Senju clan's secret jutsu. If you learn it from me, you can't teach it to anyone else without my permission." She paused, then sighed, "Of course, if I die someday, it's up to you."

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