Tsunade walked toward the refrigerated cabinet that held Nawaki.
She opened the glass door, reached inside, and carefully lifted her little brother out.
Nawaki's head lolled against her shoulder.
Holding him, Tsunade stepped out, one slow step at a time.
No one stopped her.
The Anbu automatically parted to make a path, heads lowered, not daring to look at her face.
Jiraiya followed behind. When he passed Hiruzen Sarutobi, he paused for a moment.
"Old man," he said under his breath.
"This time… you really screwed up."
Hiruzen didn't argue.
He only watched Tsunade's retreating back—watched the student who had once been the most vibrant now walking as if every step was on a blade's edge.
When they vanished at the end of the corridor, he finally turned to Danzō.
"All experiments…" Hiruzen's voice was cold as ice.
"Stop them immediately. And all Senju remains… are to be properly laid to rest."
"Hiruzen!" Danzō struggled, trying to get to his feet.
"Those studies are already—"
"This is an order."
Hiruzen cut him off, his gaze so sharp that Danzō swallowed the rest of his words.
The old Hokage turned and left.
The sound of his cane striking the floor echoed through the empty hallway—once, then again—like a countdown clock.
…
Meanwhile.
The door to Rei Ao's bedroom opened.
He wandered out with a yawn, Kushina trailing behind him.
The girl had changed clothes—plain white T-shirt and jeans, her red hair tied up in a high ponytail. She looked fresh, like a morning right after rain.
But her vibe had changed.
If three days ago she'd been a panicked little deer, now she was… well. A flower that had been carefully watered.
Bloomed. Vivid.
There was an indescribable sweetness at the corners of her eyes and brows.
"Oh? Done already?"
Mai Sakurajima in the living room lifted her head from her magazine, raising an eyebrow.
"Three days and no sign of you—thought you two were going into seclusion to cultivate immortality."
Futaba was curled up on the other end of the couch, typing away at her laptop without looking up.
"According to light novel tropes, the basic setting for 'cohabiting across worlds' is: you don't get out of bed for three days."
"That's enough, you two."
Rei Ao rolled his eyes, but his mouth was curled in a smile.
Kushina's face went red—from the tips of her ears all the way down her neck.
She lowered her head and fidgeted with her fingers. It made Rei Ao think of the rabbit he'd kept as a kid—
startle it a little, and it'd shrink into a fluffy ball.
"Um…"
She spoke softly.
"Can I… go back now?"
Rei Ao turned to look at her.
"Miss home?"
Kushina nodded, then shook her head, then got tangled up in what she was even trying to say.
The last three days had been too surreal—like a long, long dream.
In that dream, Rei Ao taught her a lot. A lot of things that made her heart race and her cheeks burn.
But dreams had to end.
"Come on."
Rei Ao held out his hand.
"I'll take you back."
Kushina stared at his open palm, hesitated for a second, then placed her hand in his.
The instant their fingertips touched, something inside her settled softly into place.
Rei Ao clasped her hand, and with his other hand, drew a line through the air.
Space tore open like a curtain, splitting into a rip—behind it flowed a colorful, shifting void.
He pulled Kushina in with him. Their figures disappeared into the light, and the裂 seam closed behind them.
The living room fell quiet again.
Mai Sakurajima set down her magazine and propped her chin on her hand.
"You think that girl's going to miss him after she goes back?"
"An 83.6% probability."
Futaba finally looked up from her laptop.
"Based on an analysis of the romantic comedy database, cross-world relationships get a 'distance makes the heart grow fonder' bonus, so the lovesickness incidence rate is higher than ordinary relationships by—"
"Stop, stop. Say it like a human."
"She'll miss him," Futaba said simply. "And she'll miss him a lot."
…
When Rei Ao appeared at Konoha's front gate with Kushina's hand in his, the setting sun had painted the Hokage Rock a bright tangerine.
"Come on. I'll show you something fun."
He grinned like a fox that had just found catnip.
Kushina blinked those vivid blue eyes she'd inherited from the Uzumaki line.
"What kind of fun? New ramen special?"
She didn't even finish the sentence.
The next second, space twisted like crumpled paper.
By the time Kushina processed what was happening, the two of them were already standing inside the Hokage Tower's conference room.
Underfoot was Konoha's signature spiral-pattern carpet.
"Oh, come on—!"
Kushina nearly bit her tongue.
"Can you warn a person before using space-time ninjutsu?! I'm gonna throw up my breakfast!"
Rei Ao didn't bother responding.
He was busy watching the show.
What was happening in front of him was way more addictive than any cheesy soap opera.
"BANG!!"
Tsunade slammed her fist into the conference table.
The solid wood surface instantly spiderwebbed with cracks, the fractures racing all the way to the corners.
"Say it again."
Her voice was as cold as winter rain in the Land of Rain.
"What did you do… to my little brother's body, to my clan's dead?"
The air in the room froze.
At the head seat, Hiruzen Sarutobi gripped his pipe. Smoke curled up, hiding whatever expression he wore.
Beside him, Shimura Danzō's face looked like someone owed him eight million ryō and he'd never forgiven it.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane—two advisors—shrank into their seats, eyes darting away.
Jiraiya stood by the window, unusually silent.
"Tsunade, calm down."
Hiruzen finally spoke, his voice carrying that infuriatingly steady "old leader" composure.
"All of it was for Konoha."
"For Konoha?"
Tsunade laughed.
A laugh uglier than crying.
"Hollowing out my brother's corpse and stuffing it full of forbidden technique talismans—that's 'for Konoha'?"
With each sentence, she took one step forward.
Her shoes clicked against the floor—tap, tap, tap—like a countdown.
"Sensei."
Tsunade stopped three meters from Hiruzen—close enough that she could snap his neck in a second.
"I want an explanation. A real explanation."
Koharu couldn't help cutting in. "Tsunade! Watch your attitude! Whatever decisions the Hokage makes, he naturally has his—"
"Shut up."
Tsunade didn't even look at her.
"I'm speaking to my teacher.
"To the teacher who once taught me how to throw shuriken, who bandaged my scraped knees, who patted my head at my grandmother's funeral and told me, 'I'm still here.'"
Hiruzen's hand trembled—just slightly.
Ash fell from his pipe onto the table.