Chapter 156: Ouch, Take It Easy

After leaving the headquarters of the Root organization, Kato Yufeng looked up at the darkening sky and slightly frowned. Attending an unplanned mask-awarding ceremony had indeed consumed a bit too much extra time.

He debated internally whether to first look for Tsunade to grab dinner together or go check on his "little black mouse, Uchiha Yashiro," before finally glancing down at the white rabbit-face mask in his hand, which naturally brought to mind Tsunade's two magnificent white rabbits.

Of all the things under the heavens, the two magnificent white rabbits belonging to his wife Tsunade were paramount; tending to the physical and spiritual needs of his girlfriend's precious white rabbits took absolute precedence.

Without a moment of hesitation, Kato Yufeng ruthlessly banished the thought of the "little black mouse, Uchiha Yashiro" to the back of his mind. He cast a Light Wind Technique upon himself to apply a speed-boosting buff, followed instantly by a Body Flicker Technique as he dashed toward the direction of the Konoha Hospital.

With a single flash of his figure, Kato Yufeng reappeared atop a rooftop dozens of meters away. The sheer distance covered in that instant was vastly faster than the speed at which he had arrived...

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By this time, the evening rush hour had already passed, and the hour was growing late.

The main entrance of the Konoha Hospital was brightly lit, with pedestrians still bustling to and fro. The stream of incoming and outgoing patients and their families, alongside nurses and medical-nin from the hospital, was no less than during the daytime working hours.

Kato Yufeng had already been waiting outside the gates of the Konoha Hospital for quite a while. Lazily leaning against a large tree, he watched the endless flow of people entering and exiting the hospital while waiting for his girlfriend, Tsunade, to finish her shift.

Tsunade was working overtime today. As for the reason behind this overtime? It was not because the Konoha Hospital had suddenly received critically ill patients requiring Tsunade's urgent medical expertise, but rather because of Kato Yufeng's reckless and mischievous behavior in her office that afternoon.

That afternoon, guided by Kato Yufeng, Tsunade had been forced to row the boat with all her might, which had exhausted her thoroughly.

After Kato Yufeng left, Tsunade had fallen asleep on the office sofa for a long rest. By the time she woke up and her muscles no longer felt sore and weak, it was already nearing the end of the afternoon shift.

Because Kato Yufeng had acted so inappropriately in the office regardless of the time and place, a portion of Tsunade's legitimate work for the day had been delayed, leaving her with no choice but to work overtime to catch up.

On his way over from the Root headquarters, Kato Yufeng had used the long-distance communication feature of the Spirit Cultivation Technique to place a soul-linked phone call to Tsunade.

Originally, Kato Yufeng had intended to go straight to Tsunade's office in the hospital to wait for her, and incidentally see if he could continue comforting her two magnificent white rabbits. However, Tsunade instantly saw through his petty schemes and strictly ordered him to wait right outside the main gates of the Konoha Hospital.

Speaking of the soul-linked phone, this was merely a casual name Kato Yufeng had coined for his own convenience of understanding. It was the ability to utilize the Spirit Cultivation Technique to establish a soul link with a specific person or target, thereby exchanging intelligence in real time.

This ability could be considered a strategic-grade capability of the Spirit Cultivation Technique, or perhaps the Spiritual Transformation Technique. Ordinary communication methods between shinobi could simply not match the convenience Kato Yufeng enjoyed.

In the current ninja world, the majority of short-distance communication relied on human couriers, verbal reports, and confidential letters, while long-distance communication depended on carrier pigeons and ninja beasts. Slightly more advanced methods involved summoning techniques combined with sealing scrolls, and the highest tier consisted of secret arts capable of long-distance communication.

The vast majority of shinobi relied on the first two methods, while the final category represented high-end, rare technologies whose numbers were practically negligible.

Having roamed the ninja world for so many years, Kato Yufeng had only ever witnessed a handful of secret arts capable of real-time long-distance communication, and his own Spirit Cultivation Technique could arguably be said to possess the most superior effects.

As for the newly emerged radio communication technology in the ninja world, it proved entirely unreliable, likely influenced by the ubiquitous chakra permeating the world. Not to mention the short communication distance, the signals were also unstable, meaning even the slightest fluctuation in chakra would disrupt the communication quality.

After hanging up the soul call with his girlfriend Tsunade, Kato Yufeng grew somewhat bored from staring for so long at the bustling crowd coming and going through the hospital gates. He suddenly remembered that he had acquired a new tool-person earlier that day.

Without further ado, Kato Yufeng mobilized the chakra and soul energy within his body, deliberately diverting a fraction of his focus to check in on his newly recruited tool-person subordinate—Ken, the supervisor of the surgical laboratory at the Spring Base.

Regardless of anything else, Ken was an important mid-level leader in the Spring Base, responsible for all surgical experiments. He was a tool-person subordinate Kato Yufeng had secured at the cost of expending an entire soul clone.

After a period of time, once Kato Yufeng's main body left Konoha, he would need to rely on Ken to collect those special green soul fragments. Ken's importance among his pool of tool-person subordinates even surpassed Kang, the supervisor of the cell culture room.

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When Tsunade emerged from the Konoha Hospital, her gaze immediately landed on her boyfriend, Kato Yufeng, who was leaning against a tree outside the gates. Fearing that he had been waiting impatiently, she broke into a quick jog toward him.

As she drew closer, she noticed that Kato Yufeng was staring blankly at the flow of people entering and exiting the hospital. "Hey, what are you spacing out for again?"

After Tsunade called out to him and received no response, she observed his lazy, vacant expression. Remembering how late she had been forced to work overtime because of his misbehavior that afternoon, Tsunade felt a surge of irritation rise within her. She immediately reached out with a small hand to pinch Kato Yufeng's ear.

"Ouch, go easy! Where's your ladylike demeanor? You must always maintain a princess's ladylike composure!"

With his ear pinched, Kato Yufeng snapped back to reality in an instant. Inhaling the unique herbal fragrance radiating from his girlfriend, how could he not realize that Tsunade had finished her overtime, emerged from the Konoha Hospital, and was currently twisting his ear?

While letting out an exaggerated howl of pain, Kato Yufeng's shifty eyes rolled around lively as he observed his girlfriend's expression. During their previous soul call, Tsunade certainly hadn't spoken to him with a pleasant tone or countenance.

After howling a few times, Kato Yufeng saw no intention on Tsunade's part to let go, which told him she was still holding a grudge.

*(Oh please, you were clearly the one who actively demanded it at the very end this afternoon, and now you're laying all the blame on me. You were the one who said... it felt wonderful.)*

Though Kato Yufeng mentally complained about Tsunade, his words and actions remained thoroughly honest. Bending his waist and lowering his head to make it easier for Tsunade to pinch his ear, he continued to pour on the sweet talk to beg for mercy:

"Your Royal Highness the Princess, ouch, go easy, go easy! When we get home, when we get home you can pinch it however you want."

Tsunade glanced at how obediently Kato Yufeng was cooperating with her ear-pinching, then looked toward the hospital entrance at the pedestrians whose attention had been drawn by his exaggerated cries. Ultimately, she decided to spare him a bit of face and released his ear.

Once his ear was free, Tsunade turned and marched huffily toward their home.

Kato Yufeng rubbed his ear as he hurried after her. "Tsunade, wait for me!"

"Where are we eating tonight?" Tsunade asked with lingering annoyance.