Chapter 40: Relent

After recovering from his brief haze, Wu narrowed his eyes in amusement and replied, “I mean…I wouldn’t be opposed…”

Though she would have preferred a more ‘direct’ answer, Tayuya became even more serious as she proposed, “Fine. Then let’s make a deal. If you can kill the Otokage, I don’t care what you do with me. Make me your pet, your wife, or whatever. I just want that bastard dead.”

With one arm crossed over his body and the other caressing his chin, Wu gave the impression he was seriously considering Tayuya’s proposal. If he were being honest, he would rather ‘spare’ someone like the Otokage as they showed a clear desire to improve. He didn’t fear the repercussions of sparing his enemies, as, even if they targeted those close to him, it would be their fault for being caught unawares. Thus, while he was interested in Tayuya, he wasn’t sure he wanted to sacrifice a potential adversary just to have her.

Seeing Wu hesitate, Tayuya clenched her teeth before reaching up to the zipper of her parka. She had already revealed her traitorous intentions, so even though it was putting the cart before the horse, she was prepared to ‘convince’ Wu to help her. However, the moment her shaky hand began its southern journey, Wu reached out to stop her, his shimmering golden eyes narrowing into a piercing gaze as he asserted, “I have a counter-proposal. Want to hear it…?”

Recovering from her momentary stupor, Tayuya’s expression regained its severity as she nodded in affirmation. In response, Wu released her wrist and explained, “Anyone who is fated to be my partner, regardless of their status, must be strong. I don’t need a woman to sit at home, cook dinner, and care for our children. I need a woman who works tirelessly to improve and achieve their goals. You want me to kill the Otokage for you? Sure, no problem. In exchange, I don’t want ‘this’ version of you. I want the ‘best’ version of you…the person you can become with adequate resources and proper support. Promise me that, and I’ll hand the Otokage’s head to you on a platter. However, if you betray me…”

Furrowing her brows into the most serious expression she could manage, Tayuya proclaimed, “If you really can kill that snake bastard, I promise to become the best fucking version of me you can imagine…”

Adopting a smile, Wu caused Tayuya’s body to tense as he caressed her chin and mused, “You’re certainly headed in the right direction…”

Though she would ordinarily resist, swat his hand away, or avert her gaze, Tayuya stared directly into Wu’s eyes as she raised her head slightly and questioned, “What do you need me to do?”

Retracting his hand, Wu’s expression became fiery as he answered, “We just discussed it. I need you to be the best version of yourself, and that means training…lots and lots of training…”

Instead of asking what the training might entail, Tayuya gave a resolute nod and asked, “Then what are we waiting for?” in a firm tone.

Feeling strangely ‘gratified,’ the smile on Wu’s face morphed into a toothy grin as he exhaled a chuckle and playfully mused, “That’s my girl…”

…

..

.

Upon receiving reports that Darui, C, and even Yugito had been defeated, the Raikage sat at his new desk in silence, fingers linked and elbows propped up on the table as he stared daggers at the white-haired woman smiling nervously across from him. He didn’t actually blame Mabui for the outcome, but the reality of the situation compelled him to direct his anger at ‘someone.’

Suppressing his rage as much as he could, A’s rough tone was evocative of distant thunder as he asked, “How soon will they recover? They didn’t suffer any crippling injuries, did they?”

Despite the terrifying aura exuding from the A’s body, Mabui exhaled a faintly relieved sigh before revealing, “Darui suffered severe injuries to his dominant arm, but his opponent, this Saiko Dadi, seemed to have treated the worst of them on sight. C needed to be placed in a medically induced coma to relieve the pain from his internal injuries, but the Doctors said he would recover fully. As for Lady Yugito…”

Furrowing her brows, Mabui softly appended, “According to the Two-Tails, Matatabi-sama, Yugito suffered catastrophic injuries that could have led to her death. However, it didn’t seem that her opponent had the intention to kill…it was more like he just wanted to force her to transform…”

Closing his eyes, A leaned forward and rested his forehead against his knuckles. Saiko Dadki’s actions suggested he wasn’t a ‘real’ enemy, but the amount of damage he had inflicted upon them in a single day had set them back months. Darui and C were his personal bodyguards, and Yugito was a Perfect Jinchurki. The three were among the most powerful Shinobi in Kumo, yet they had been soundly defeated…by a child…

Voicing his thoughts aloud, A softly groaned, “I’m getting too old for this shit…”

Though he was only 44 and widely regarded as the fastest Shinobi in the world, the day’s events left A feeling mentally and physically drained. He wanted nothing more than to rush out the gates and personally confront this ‘Saiko Dadi,’ but he couldn’t leave Kumo even more unprotected than it already was. He wanted to believe he could pulverize the whelp causing trouble near his village, but the one-sided beatdown suffered by three of his most skilled Shinobi mandated caution. After all, Darui was the man he was seriously considering as a successor…

Shaking his head, A surprised Mabui by saying, “Forget it…until Darui and the rest have made a full recovery, no one is to go near that little monster. I’m issuing a Flee on Sight order, effective immediately. If any of our away teams encounter Saiko Dadi on a mission, they are to return to the village immediately. No exceptions.”

Bowing her head low, Mabui replied, “As you will, Raikage-sama.” before turning around to carry out his orders. She half-expected the Raikage to lose his temper and immediately rush out of the village to confront Saiko Dadi. She believed A would return victoriously, but Saiko Dadi wasn’t a simple opponent. Even if A and Kill Bee could defeat him, there was no guarantee they would return unscathed. If Kumogakure lost even more of its war potential right now, Dadi wouldn’t be the only threat they needed to concern themselves with…

…

..

.

Staring down at the red-headed Kunoichi panting heavily beneath him, her back arched and body dripping with sweat, Wu’s eyes glimmered with amusement as he questioned, “Is this your limit, Tayuya? And to think, I actually had high hopes for you…”

Feeling frustrated by Wu’s words, Tayuya grit her teeth and arched her back even further, almost like she was trying to buck the boy off of her. Unfortunately, Wu was sticking to her abdomen using the same method he had taught Kaia, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and several others. All Tayuya accomplished by trying to buck him off was straining her back and the muscles of her abdomen.

While sitting cross-legged atop the arched beauty’s lower abdomen, Wu mused, “Just two more minutes and you can stop. This is a tried and true method of improving the strength of your core muscles. Just be thankful I’m only using a few hundred kilos instead of a few thousand.”

Though she continued to hold the embarrassing pose, Tayuya groaned, “You’re a demon…” It had been nine days since she started training with Wu, and the only times he allowed her to rest was when she passed out. She was improving quickly, sure, but this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind when he asked if she wanted to get ‘physical’…

With a little more than three minutes passing, Wu gave Tayuya a gentle smack on the side of her ass as he teased, “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it? Good girl.”

Disregarding the fact Wu was still sitting on top of her, Tayuya allowed the tensions in her body to relax, dropping to the ground and panting as if she had just finished running a hundred marathons. The cave was so cold that the sweat pooling beneath her had frozen, but she didn’t pay it any mind as she stared listlessly at the ceiling, her forearm resting on her forehead as she struggled to remain conscious.

After observing the slightly older girl for a few moments, Wu scootched back a bit, straddling her thighs as he used the Mystical Monkey Palm to provide relief to her severely strained abdominal muscles. At this point, he could even grope her breasts without her offering any resistance, but that wasn’t any fun. He preferred it when she was more reactive, so whenever her mind was ‘elsewhere,’ he just focused on the task of healing her.

By the time Wu had finished his treatment, Tayuya’s breath had steadied, her pale-red eyes staring into him as he ran his hands along her sides one final time. She was currently wearing little more than her sleeveless black crop top and spats, so there were only a few thin layers of fabric keeping her from being fully nude…

Noticing the slight ‘hunger’ in Tayuya’s eyes, something he had only seen in Kaia, Ino, and, most recently, Tenten, Wu narrowed his own and asked, “What are you thinking about, I wonder…?”

Turning her face to the side, Tayuya muttered, “First defeat Orochimaru, and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know…”

Narrowing his eyes further, Wu leaned forward slightly, tracing his right index and middle fingers along and beneath the band of Tayuya’s top as he said, “Maybe I don’t need to know…”

As this was far from the first time Wu had teased her, Tayuya kept her face turned to the side as she retorted, “Then just do it…you coward…”

Instead of responding verbally, Wu raised the band of Tayuya’s top until her modest but present breasts ‘popped’ out. They were barely large enough to fill the palms of his hands, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. At the very least, she didn’t have to worry about them getting in the way during training and combat…

Though she kept her head turned to the side, Tayuya stared at Wu from the corner of her eyes, closely observing his face and actions. She knew better than to expect they would ‘finally’ cross the line, but her heart still beat madly within her chest.

Seeing the ‘expectation’ in Tayuya’s gaze, the only thing preventing Wu from taking her was his promise to Tenten. There weren’t many things he cared about, but keeping his word was one of them. He despised when other people reneged on their promises, so he would be a pretty massive hypocrite if he carelessly recanted his own.

Voicing his ‘sincere’ thoughts on the matter, Wu’s tone deepened as he said, “I’m half-tempted to rush over to Otogakure and teach that snake a lesson right this instant. It’s…disheartening that we already have a prior engagement…”

As Wu had already confided in her his identity, albeit after modifying her Cursed Seal of Heaven to cover much of her back and shoulders, Tayuya knew he was referring to the fact he wanted to kill Orochimaru during the Chunin Exams. He had also detailed to her his reasons for doing so, so all she could do was exhale a hot sigh, muttering, “Whatever…” in an audibly agitated tone. She had never been particularly fond of sex, but the notion she couldn’t have it even when she actually wanted to was…frustrating…

Narrowing his eyes in amusement, Wu moved back even further before surprising Tayuya as he suddenly lifted her legs into an M-shape. It made her seem especially vulnerable, exciting something deep within him as he asserted, “There is more to sex than simply fucking. Let’s see if you have more talent for this than more ‘conventional’ training methods…”

Realizing what Wu intended, a rare moment of panic overtook Tayuya as she shouted, “Wait! At least let me take a bath first…!” Unfortunately, her reaction served to stoke the ‘flame’ within Wu’s chest, compelling him to exacerbate his teasing until she could no longer even beg him to stop…

…

..

.