Anime Girls are Moist

Chapter 1119 1,118: Large Scale Collective Payment

Nawaki was revived.

The news landed on Tsunade like a blunt удар to the crown of her head.

It didn't hurt—she just went blank.

Her brain buzzed, emptied out, nothing but white noise.

Then ecstasy hit like a tsunami, slamming up from the depths.

Her heart nearly leapt out of her throat. She could almost hear her blood roaring in her ears.

Go back. Now. Immediately. This second.

Her feet moved faster than her thoughts—muscle memory already twisting her body to bolt.

At the very last instant, right as her toes turned—

She forced herself to stop.

Like sprinting full-speed into an invisible wall. Every bone in her body jolted.

Wait.

Go back? See Nawaki bouncing around with her own eyes? And then what?

Confirm it, feel relieved… and after that? Turn around and try to back out?

Rip the mask off with this "Rei Ao"—this monster who can bring the dead back?

Tsunade, how old are you? Still dreaming like that?

She flicked a glance sideways. That girl—Haruno Sakura.

Eyes down, mind blank, pretending to be air.

She'd been through it too, and she was still standing here.

A strange fatigue—mixed with a bitter, "to hell with it" resignation—surged up in Tsunade's chest.

Heavy, pressing down until it was hard to breathe.

Fine.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

When she opened them again, the crackling fire that had been burning inside her went out with a soft pfft—nothing left but cold ash.

"No need."

Even she startled at how her voice sounded—dry, scraped raw like sandpaper.

"I'll take your word for it. Come on—take whatever you're going to take. Just get it over with."

She even stepped forward a couple of paces, spread her arms, and adopted a posture that said, Do whatever you want.

Whatever. Bring it on.

Isn't it always the same in the end?

If Sakura could endure it, then me—Tsunade, one of the Sannin—what haven't I seen?

I'll treat it like… like getting bitten by a rabid dog.

Or carrying out some top-secret mission rated "Ultra S-Class Disgusting" but mandatory anyway.

I'm a ninja. The core technique is basically one word: endure.

Fine. I'll endure.

Rei Ao looked at her "I'm ready to die heroically" expression and couldn't hold it in—he laughed.

Not that faint little smile from before.

This was a full grin, teeth bared, eyes glittering with undisguised amusement and nasty mischief.

Like a cat that's caught a mouse but won't eat it yet—just bats it around for fun.

"Alright."

His tone stayed light. Then he raised his voice toward the empty doorway.

"Stop hiding. Come in."

Come in? Who?

Tsunade froze, not understanding what game he was playing.

Click.

The sound of hinges turning—sharp enough to sting.

Not her imagination.

The door really was pushed open from the outside.

One. Two. Three…

Figures filed in, silent, one after another.

Their footsteps were so light they were almost inaudible—yet they carried a crushing weight all the same.

Tsunade's eyes widened, little by little.

The gears in her head felt rusted solid, grinding and stuck.

The first to enter was Uzumaki Kushina.

That unmistakable red hair still looked like living flame, but her face held no expression—lips pressed into a thin line.

She walked in and stood against the wall without a word, gaze lowered to nowhere in particular.

Next came Nohara Rin.

Her head was bowed so low it was practically buried in her chest, fingers twisting hard at the hem of her clothes.

From start to finish, she didn't dare look at anyone in the room.

Hinata Hyuga was brought in half-supported, half-carried.

Her face was frighteningly red, her body too weak to stand on its own—she was held up entirely by the person behind her.

That person was Yamanaka Ino.

Ino's head was lifted, but the eyes that were usually so bright now looked empty—like her soul had been pulled out.

Konan. Kakuzu. Terumi Mei… even a few familiar faces Tsunade could recognize as female jōnin from other villages.

The room wasn't big, but in a blink, more than a dozen people were inside.

All women, ranging from young adults to fully grown women.

And on every face, there was the same kind of thing smeared across them.

The air turned thin—and somehow sticky at the same time.

An intensely uncomfortable pressure spread soundlessly, occupying every inch of space.

Tsunade was completely stunned.

Her gaze swept over the mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces. Her neck moved stiffly as she turned toward Rei Ao, tongue tied in knots.

"W-What is this? What's going on? They…?"

Rei Ao's smile only widened. He opened his arms like a collector showing off his proudest display, his voice light—almost cheerful.

"Still don't get it? Group activity. Our deal has to be completed together."

He deliberately stressed the word "deal."

"So—"

His eyes drifted lazily over every shy, humiliated face, then landed precisely on Tsunade's suddenly bloodless expression.

Slowly, clearly, he said, word by word:

"Welcome to the payment site, Tsunade. Your 'everything' has to be placed together with theirs to carry enough weight—for it to count."

Boom—

Blood surged straight to Tsunade's head, and a high, piercing ringing filled her ears.

The deal she'd imagined was something done behind closed doors—between two people.

…

No matter how degrading, no matter how unbearable, it would stay in the dark.

The same kind of one-on-one darkness Sakura had endured.

But now…

She stared at the room full of silent people.

What kind of "payment" was this?

This wasn't payment at all—

This was a grotesque farce, a public humiliation so absolute it felt like an execution.

A naked, collective offering—an obscene mass sacrifice aimed at all of them.

And she—Tsunade—who had just forced herself into "endure it for Nawaki"—

In an instant fell from a "special" participant in a private transaction to just another offering on this horrifying altar, waiting to be processed with the rest.

That resolve—held together only by her longing for her little brother—

Was smashed to pieces by this unimaginable, absurd scene.

Not even dust remained.

In its place rose a deeper cold, crawling up her spine into the back of her skull.

What kind of contract… had she signed?

What is this thing called Rei Ao?

The room was terrifyingly quiet.

Only suppressed breathing remained—thin, uneven, trembling with something unspeakable.

Rei Ao seemed pleased with the effect.

He clapped his hands. In the silence, the sound was crisp and sharp.

"Relax. Don't be nervous. You all know the process, don't you?"

"Now then—who should go first?"

His gaze drifted again, unhurried, back onto Tsunade's face.

"The esteemed granddaughter of the First Hokage, Tsunade-hime, one of the Sannin… how about you set an example for everyone?"