Itachi shook his head. "There you go again, comparing everything to Naruto. A battle has nothing to do with how much chakra you have."
"If you could win with chakra alone, why would you bother training in taijutsu or genjutsu?"
Sasuke pouted but reluctantly accepted his brother's point. He then told Itachi everything that had happened afterward.
After hearing Sasuke's account, an idea struck Itachi.
"Sasuke, activate your Sharingan!"
Though confused, Sasuke did as he was told and activated his dōjutsu.
Seeing it, Itachi couldn't help but chuckle. "Not bad. You truly are my little brother, having a two-tomoe Sharingan at such a young age."
Sasuke's heart leaped, and he hurried over to find a mirror.
Seeing the two-tomoe Sharingan reflected in the glass, he was ecstatic. The evolution of the Sharingan was crucial for any Uchiha. If he already had two tomoe, he would be able to catch up to Naruto soon and never let his father get hurt again!
"As expected of my son."
A weak voice drifted over.
Sasuke and Itachi's faces lit up with joy.
"Father!"
Fugaku was smiling, but his eyes remained closed. He had clearly heard Itachi praising Sasuke.
"Sasuke, go and get Qiming and the four elders. As for your mother… let her sleep a little longer."
Looking at his father's closed eyes, Itachi had a guess and deliberately sent Sasuke away.
"You got it!" Seeing his father was awake, Sasuke obediently went to call the others.
"Dad, your eyes?" Itachi asked in a low voice after Sasuke had left.
"Mm," Fugaku grunted, opening his eyes. His irises were already a pale gray.
"He still managed to escape in the end, didn't he?" Fugaku's voice was tinged with regret. While unconscious, he had vaguely sensed Obito getting away.
Meanwhile, within the borders of the Land of Iron.
Kawasaki traveled west until he finally set foot in the Land of Iron. Over the past few days, he had been using his summoning animals to exchange messages with the clan and knew that Fugaku had woken up.
Kawasaki finally breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been a terrible shame if Fugaku had truly died. He had also heard from Itachi that Fugaku's eyes were nearly blind; he could barely see anything clearly now.
However, Fugaku had once been a powerful Mangekyo Sharingan user, so he could still manage his daily life. The problem now was Itachi. His physical condition had just stabilized, and transplanting Fugaku's eyes might be too much for his body to handle.
Moreover, the process of fusing a Mangekyo Sharingan into an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan was incredibly valuable. For Orochimaru, it was an excellent opportunity to directly observe the details of the Sharingan's evolution. Therefore, Orochimaru had to be present. It seemed Fugaku would have to endure his condition for a while longer.
After entering the Land of Iron, Kawasaki found the environment to be extremely harsh. The temperature was unnaturally cold, and snow fell year-round. Although most of the country bordered the sea, the fishing industry was not prosperous due to the low temperatures. Its mineral resources were only slightly abundant. No wonder no other country was interested in this land, allowing it to remain neutral.
The Land of Iron had no shinobi, only samurai. The samurai here wore layers of silver armor and typically carried two weapons on each side of their waists. They could infuse their weapons with an energy called chakra and were quite formidable fighters.
Kawasaki really couldn't figure out why Tsunade would come to a godforsaken place like this. The weather in almost any other country would be better. But that was what the intelligence said.
Kawasaki followed the trail and finally found a clue in a small town in the Land of Iron.
"A new character has shown up on Iwaku Street recently. She's a regular at the casino there but never seems to win. People have started calling her the 'whale'."
"Ah, thanks a lot," Kawasaki said indistinctly, his mouth full of grilled meat.
The shopkeeper was friendly and, seeing Kawasaki enjoying his meal, smiled and walked away.
Although it was still early, the sky had already darkened due to the climate. After finishing his meal, Kawasaki rushed towards Iwaku Street, thinking the casino would be hard to find. To his surprise, he found it immediately—it was the only casino on the entire street.
Unfortunately, Kawasaki had missed her.
"You mean the whale? She lost all her money here the day before yesterday. Didn't see her at all yesterday."
"A few gamblers tried to take advantage of her, but she threw them right into the wall. You couldn't even pry them off."
"If the casino owner hadn't seen how much business she brought in, she would've had to pay for the wall repairs."
The Land of Iron had few outsiders. Tsunade's appearance, figure, and her knack for losing every bet made her memorable to the local gamblers.
It was getting late, and Kawasaki's stomach rumbled again. The cold made him hungry. He decided to find a place to eat and then search the surrounding area tomorrow.
Kawasaki randomly picked an inn and walked in. The ground floor was for dining, the upper floor for lodging. The place seemed quite popular, still bustling with activity late at night.
"Boss, hic, another bottle."
As soon as Kawasaki entered, he spotted a woman with long blonde hair and a large chest demanding more sake. There was no mistaking her; she was the only one bold enough to go around with her shoulders exposed in this freezing weather.
Beside her was a female ninja in black clothes, holding a small piglet. Both the woman and the pig wore worried expressions.
Pfft...!
Kawasaki couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't because he had found Tsunade—the town was small, so he would have found her eventually. It was the pig's expression that was so amusing. It looked like a worried old father, its anxieties written all over its face.
Amid the din, neither Tsunade nor Shizune noticed Kawasaki. He decided to observe the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju from a distance, but the place was too crowded to find a good vantage point.
Kawasaki had no choice but to take a seat at the table next to theirs, separated only by a screen. He could hear them but not see them. He casually ordered some food and listened as Shizune tried to reason with Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade, you can't drink anymore. If you do, we won't have enough money for a room."
Tsunade grumbled, "What are you talking about? Just bad luck. I'll definitely win it all back next time." Her speech was slurred and disjointed; she was clearly drunk.
"Lady Tsunade..."
Tsunade hummed drunkenly. "Didn't we just earn a big sum? How is it all gone again?"
Shizune replied helplessly, "You gambled away the princess's treatment fee the day before yesterday. The sake you're drinking now is on my money."
"Ugh… hic, it's fine. I'll pay you back next time I earn something."
"Next time we go to… the Daimyo's mansion… hic… I'll pay you back…"
"Where to next…"
"Wherever someone needs a doctor… hic…"
Kawasaki could only catch bits and pieces, as Tsunade was barely coherent. He had wondered how she managed to survive while wandering the world and gambling. It turned out she still had to work. It made sense; it would be a waste not to use such incredible medical skills to earn money.
After listening for a while, Kawasaki learned that whenever Tsunade and Shizune arrived in a new country, they would check for official requests for medical treatment to cure diseases or solve difficult cases. If there were any, Shizune would negotiate the price, and Tsunade would simply treat the patient and collect the fee.
He had to admit, the title of the First Hokage's granddaughter carried a lot of weight. And with Tsunade's level of medical ninjutsu, treating the illnesses of ordinary people was child's play. The money came in fast, which was why Tsunade could afford to travel the world, going wherever there was a need.
However, as fast as she earned money, she spent it even faster. Soon after getting paid, she would gamble it all away. Tsunade loved to gamble but had terrible luck. Except for when her life was on the line, she almost never won. No amount of money was enough for her to lose.
It wasn't entirely her fault. She had lost two of her loved ones and developed hemophobia. She could only use gambling and alcohol to numb herself. Living in a drunken stupor—that was probably the best way to describe Tsunade's current state.
Kawasaki was curious. With her fear of blood, how did she treat patients? Did she avoid looking? Or did she only take cases that didn't involve bleeding? From their conversation, it seemed Tsunade had turned down many patients because of her hemophobia. Or perhaps there were very few illnesses that didn't involve blood. No wonder she wandered the globe. Kawasaki also wondered if she had started borrowing from loan sharks yet. He remembered a time when she transformed into a little girl to trick a loan shark, claiming she had found a gold mine and conning him out of even more money.
Having learned enough, Kawasaki called a server over.
"A bowl of hangover soup for the table next to me, and a few side dishes. Put it on my tab."
The server glanced at the voluptuous Tsunade and the quiet Shizune at the next table with a puzzled look. With two beautiful women like that, shouldn't he be buying them drinks?
...
Inside Kamui's Dimension.
Obito had been unconscious for three full days. Zetsu hadn't bothered him; Obito's body was still fusing with Hashirama's cells. The plant-like half of his body could provide energy, so as long as he wasn't dead, he would eventually recover.
Obito grunted and slowly opened his eye. He found himself in Kamui's Dimension, and a sense of calm washed over him. This place… was the safest of all. It was his sanctuary.
Obito stared blankly for a moment with his single eye before pushing himself up. He saw Zetsu nearby, gazing up at the sky, seemingly having been in a daze for even longer than Obito had.
"How long was I out?" Obito asked, his voice hoarse. His eye still throbbed with a dull ache, and his mind felt muddled. It was the first time he had suffered such a major defeat. Fugaku had been too well-prepared. If Zetsu hadn't been there, he would have truly fallen in the Uchiha compound.
"Three days."
"If you hadn't woken up, I would have starved to death in here," a flippant voice chimed in.
Obito ignored him. Even if he starved for ten days, Zetsu wouldn't die. White Zetsu didn't need to eat, drink, or relieve himself, so the idea of starving was absurd.
"What are your plans now?" Black Zetsu asked in a low voice. He knew that someone like Obito wouldn't let such a humiliating defeat go unanswered.
Obito clutched his aching right eye. "First, I'll recover. Then I'll go back to the compound for a look. Fugaku is either dead or crippled after this."
"An Uchiha without a Mangekyo… What can they do to stop me!" Obito's eye was bloodshot with rage.
Black Zetsu's eyes held a complex emotion, but he said nothing.
...
In the Uchiha compound.
News of Fugaku's recovery soon spread throughout the clan. Sasuke led the four elders and Qiming to his room.
Itachi nodded to two of the elders at the door, then stopped Sasuke, who was eager to go inside.
"Sasuke, Dad is fine now. They need to discuss important matters, so don't go in just yet."
Sasuke pouted. "I'm not a kid anymore."
Itachi smiled gently and ruffled his hair. "Get ready and wait for me at the training grounds. I'll be there soon. I want to see how much you've improved these past few years."
"If you do well, I might let you handle something big."
Sasuke's eyes lit up. His family always treated him like a child, which was his biggest frustration. They hid everything from him—Itachi's departure, the clan's relocation, and even this enemy invasion. Sasuke desperately wanted to contribute to the clan. Now that he had a chance, he was overjoyed and eagerly ran off to prepare his ninja tool pouch.
Yaoyue tried to enter, but Qiming blocked his way.
"Brother, the clan head summoned us first, so there must be something important. Please wait a moment."
Yaoyue scratched his head. "Heh heh, alright then." He stood outside like a door guard.
Qiming was at a loss with his simple-minded brother. He sighed and entered the room with the four elders. Itachi glanced at Yaoyue's statue-like pose but said nothing and went inside.
Fugaku was already sitting up, leaning against a cushion behind him. His expression was calm, having suppressed the regret from Obito's escape.
"Clan Head…"
"Clan Head…"
"Dad…"
Fugaku didn't open his eyes but turned his head toward the sounds. He was too familiar with their voices to be mistaken.
"Please, sit."
After everyone was seated, Fugaku first addressed Yangping. "Fourth Elder, what are the clan's casualties?" Regardless of the outcome, Fugaku had assigned the Fourth Elder to manage the aftermath, so he would know the situation best.
The Fourth Elder noticed Fugaku's eyes remained closed and suspected something was wrong, but he didn't ask. "Clan Head, the fourteen you took with you were all the clan's top warriors."
"The enemy's Wood Style was fast, but everyone managed to avoid fatal blows. Thanks to the medicine we prepared in advance, there were no deaths. However, seven are seriously injured and will need at least half a year to recover."
"However…" The Fourth Elder hesitated. "Lu Ren and Dapu's injuries are severe, with damage to their nervous systems. I'm afraid… they'll have to be retired from the combat roster."
Fugaku fell silent for a moment. No deaths was the best possible outcome, but having members forced to retire due to severe injuries was still a great loss for the Uchiha. He remembered Lu Ren and Dapu; they were members of Yangshu's squad, both skilled with the three-tomoe Sharingan. They had contributed much to the clan over the years. Now, because of his decision, they had to be removed from active duty.
"Retired from the combat roster" was a nice way of putting it. In reality, it meant they were crippled. Everyone knew this and remained silent. Qiming's mood soured. If he had awakened his Mangekyo sooner, could he have protected his clansmen?
Fugaku sighed. "Has this been reported to Kawasaki?"
"We've already informed him," the Fourth Elder replied. "He said he will find Tsunade and see if she has a solution."
Fugaku nodded. If it was Tsunade, there might indeed be a way.
"Qiming." Fugaku reached out his hands, fumbling slightly, clearly searching for Qiming.
Qiming quickly stepped forward to Fugaku's side.
Fugaku gripped his hand tightly. "I owe my life to your Mangekyo. You've been through a lot."
Qiming seemed flustered. "You're too kind, Clan Head. It was my duty."
A faint smile touched Fugaku's lips. Qiming had grown up in the clan; his character and abilities were both outstanding. Now, he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, making him a rare talent indeed.
"You've only just awakened your Mangekyo, so you may not understand yet, but using it comes with risks," Fugaku warned. "The power of the Mangekyo is finite. Using it will cause your vision to deteriorate, eventually leading to blindness. You must treasure this power. The future of the clan will rest on the shoulders of your generation."
Qiming nodded firmly. "Don't worry, Clan Head. We will protect the clan!"
Fugaku offered a few more words of encouragement before sending Qiming on his way. Qiming was now in charge of managing the sealing barriers for the internal investigation.
...
Inside the room, Fugaku asked, "Did Kawasaki say when he'll be back?"
The Fourth Elder nodded, then realized the Clan Head couldn't see him. He quickly spoke. "Lord Kawasaki said that since Itachi has returned, he won't be coming back for now. He will return immediately once he reaches an agreement with Tsunade."
Fugaku nodded. Two of their clansmen were severely injured and difficult to treat. Kawasaki had already planned to contact Tsunade to form a medical team. A medical unit trained by Tsunade would be on a completely different level from an ordinary one. If the Uchiha had such a team now, the recovery of all their members would be greatly accelerated. But would Tsunade really be willing to come?
"Itachi, how is your body? Can you use your Mangekyo?" Fugaku was concerned about Itachi's condition, as he had been recalled urgently.
"Don't worry, Father. Lord Orochimaru has already prepared medicine for me. It's no longer a major issue."
Fugaku nodded lightly.
...
Land of Iron.
Tsunade was already dizzy from drinking. Just then, a server brought over a bowl of hangover soup.
Shizune, looking drowsy, asked groggily, "Did I order this?"
Prompted by the server, Shizune finally noticed the approaching Kawasaki.