Chapter 295: The Three Holy Places
The streets of Konoha lay quiet beneath the weight of the late hour. The night market had packed up its stalls. The last revelers had stumbled home. The lanterns that had blazed so brightly hours before had dwindled to scattered embers, their light casting long, lonely shadows across the cobblestones. The village that never truly slept was, for this brief moment, at rest.
Ragnar and Tsunade walked side by side through the empty streets. Their footsteps echoed softly in the silence. If not for the casino's debt collection—that unexpected, chaotic intervention—their paths might not have crossed at all tonight. But fate, as always, had a peculiar sense of timing.
Tsunade had her arm looped through Ragnar's, her body pressed against his side with the casual intimacy of a woman who had never met a boundary she respected. She was warm. She was fragrant. She was, Ragnar had long since realized, utterly incapable of taking a hint.
"Little Ragnar," she said, her voice carrying the affectionate teasing of an older sister who knew exactly how annoying she was being, "why didn't you tell your big sister when you got back? I had to find out by accident."
"Should I have informed you at the casino?"
Tsunade had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. "The situation in the Land of Rain—is it all settled?"
"It's finished. Nagato and the other two have grown enough to stand on their own. I'm not worried about them anymore. So I came home."
"Those three kids." Tsunade's voice softened. "They've got real talent. I saw it myself. Sooner or later, they'll make their names known across the entire shinobi world."
Ragnar glanced at her with an expression that was difficult to read.
If only you knew, he thought. In another life, Nagato would have destroyed Konoha with his own hands. Made you feel pain. Killed your mentor. Leveled the village you love.
The irony was almost too sharp to bear. Tsunade praised the very child who, in the original timeline, had become Pain—the god of destruction whose name had echoed through dimensions, whose iconic speech about peace and suffering had won him more admirers than most heroes ever received.
But that was another world. Another story. This Nagato had walked a different path. This Nagato had been shaped by different hands.
"They're my students," Ragnar said quietly. "Of course they have talent."
Tsunade glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She breathed in the scent of him—the faint trace of sake, the clean smell of night air, the indefinable presence that was uniquely his. The little boy she remembered had grown. He had become an eagle, soaring above a world that had tried to break him. His name was spoken with awe in every corner of the Five Great Nations.
Watching him rise, step by impossible step, she felt something that surprised her. Pride. Not the possessive pride of a mentor—she had taught him nothing. Not the pride of family—they shared no blood. Just... pride. Simple. Pure. The pride of someone who had believed in him from the beginning and watched him prove that faith justified.
Of course, she also knew that Ragnar had never once looked at her the way she sometimes—very occasionally—imagined. He saw her as a sister. A troublesome, gambling-addicted, perpetually broke sister. That was all.
Perhaps that was for the best. It kept things simple. It kept the bond between them clean and uncomplicated.
"You reek of alcohol," she said, changing the subject with deliberate abruptness. "Where did you go drinking? Who corrupted my innocent little brother?"
"Is that really your business?"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. She straightened to her full height—which, given her proportions, was considerable. "Of course it's my business! You went drinking without me. Don't you know that besides gambling, your big sister's favorite pastime is sake?"
Ragnar said nothing. The Sannin, he reflected, were truly a collection of eccentrics. Jiraiya with his peeping. Orochimaru with his experiments. Tsunade with her twin obsessions of cards and cups. The greatest shinobi of their generation, and every single one of them was, in their own unique way, completely unhinged.
"It wasn't a girl, if that's what you're implying," he said. "It was Maito Dai. I ran into him today. He invited me to his home."
"Maito Dai?" Tsunade's face cycled through recognition, amusement, and disbelief. "The taijutsu specialist? The one who wears that green jumpsuit and screams about youth? The Eternal Genin?"
"That's him."
Tsunade burst out laughing. The sound bounced off the empty buildings and echoed down the silent street. "The rare beast of Konoha! That man is absolutely ridiculous. The eyebrows. The bowl cut. The way he cries about the flames of youth every time he stubs his toe."
Ragnar stopped walking.
"He is not easy," he said, his voice carrying an edge that cut through Tsunade's laughter. "Compared to most of Konoha's shinobi, he has already pulled far ahead. The Eight Inner Gates—when he opens them, he surpasses the Kage. He has trained his body to a level that most ninja cannot even imagine. And he did it alone. No bloodline. No clan backing. No genius talent. Just work. Every day. For decades."
Tsunade's laughter faded. She studied Ragnar's face—the seriousness in his eyes, the faint downward curve of his mouth.
"You really respect him."
"Yes."
It was rare to hear Ragnar speak of anyone this way. Tsunade filed the information away. Maito Dai. The Eternal Genin. The joke of Konoha. Perhaps she had misjudged the man. First impressions, for a woman, were powerful things—and the first impression Dai gave was undeniably absurd. But if Ragnar saw something in him, there was something there to see.
"You've changed," Tsunade said quietly.
Ragnar glanced at her.
"You're more... I don't know. Mature? Relaxed? Three years ago, you wouldn't have said something like that. You wouldn't have had dinner at someone's house. You wouldn't have gotten drunk with a friend." She smiled, and it was gentler than her usual teasing grins. "It suits you."
They walked in silence for a while. The moon drifted overhead, fat and silver. Tsunade's arm remained looped through his. Neither of them pulled away.
Dong. Dong. Dong.
Tsunade's heart suddenly picked up speed. Her cheeks flushed with a warmth that had nothing to do with the sake. Strange thoughts flickered through her mind—unbidden, unwelcome, completely inappropriate. She shook her head sharply, banishing them before they could take root.
Get a grip. He's your little brother. Metaphorically. Sort of. Don't make this weird.
Ragnar's Observation Haki stirred. For just a moment—a fraction of a second—he caught something. A whisper of emotion. A flicker of intent. It was there and gone before he could grasp it, like a fish swimming through the edge of his perception net. He was still limited to sensing the emotions of those weaker than himself, and Tsunade's will was strong, her mind guarded by a lifetime of discipline. The flash he had caught might have been nothing at all. A trick of the Haki. A false echo.
He dismissed it.
"Tsunade," he said, shifting topics, "how much do you know about the Shikkotsu Forest?"
Tsunade's eyebrows rose. "The Shikkotsu Forest? How do you know that name?"
"Katsuyu mentioned it once. In passing."
"Ah." Tsunade nodded, satisfied with the explanation. The Shikkotsu Forest was not exactly a secret—anyone familiar with the summoning contracts would have heard of it. "The Shikkotsu Forest is one of the Three Holy Places of the summoning world. Mount Myōboku. Ryūchi Cave. And Shikkotsu. The three great sage regions."
She paused, considering. "By the way, do you have a summoning contract yet? If not, I could ask Katsuyu to form one with you. The slugs of Shikkotsu Forest are the Senju family's contracted partners—they've been with us since my grandfather's time. But I can authorize an extension. For you, it wouldn't be a problem."
Ragnar looked at her. "You would do that?"
"Others? No. But you? You're the little brother I chose. You saved my life. You're Konoha's hero." She shrugged as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Of course I would."
"I'll think about it. Tell me about the Shikkotsu Forest first."
"You'd turn down a summoning contract with one of the Three Holy Places, and you need to think about it?" Tsunade shook her head in exasperated affection. "So willful. But fine. You're my little brother. I'll indulge you."
She gathered her thoughts, her expression becoming more serious.
"The Three Holy Places. Mount Myōboku is the domain of the toads. Jiraiya trained there—that's where he learned Sage Mode. The toads are... strange. Old. They've been around for thousands of years. Their Great Toad Sage can supposedly see the future."
"Ryūchi Cave is the land of the snakes. Orochimaru's summons come from there. But to my knowledge, Orochimaru has never actually found the Cave itself. The snakes are secretive. Dangerous. They don't share their secrets easily."
"And the Shikkotsu Forest is the home of the slugs. Katsuyu is the Great Slug Sage's... well, she's a fragment of the Sage, actually. All the slugs of Shikkotsu are connected. They're one being in many bodies. It's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
She paused, her expression growing slightly sheepish.
"To be honest, I don't know much more than that. I've never actually been there myself. The Senju contract allows us to summon Katsuyu, but I've never set foot in the Forest. Gambling takes up most of my time. Research was never my strong suit." She shot Ragnar a sidelong glance. "Jiraiya spent years at Mount Myōboku. He'd probably know more about the sage regions than I do."
"By the way, little brother, why are you suddenly so interested in the Shikkotsu Forest? What are you planning?"
"I'm researching a new type of chakra cultivation," Ragnar said. "I want to find a method. I was hoping the Shikkotsu Forest might have answers. Can you take me there?"
Tsunade stared at him for a long moment.
"You're already this strong," she said, her voice carrying something between admiration and exasperation. "You're the Demon of the Battlefield. You ended a world war. And you're still trying to get stronger? How am I supposed to feel adequate as your big sister when you're like this?"
"Can you help me or not?"
"Of course I'll help." Tsunade's expression shifted. The warmth remained, but beneath it, something sharper emerged. A calculating glint. A smile that promised mischief. "But everything has a price, little brother."
Ragnar looked at her.
"What do you want?"
(End of Chapter)
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