The casino in the Land of Iron.
Tsunade watched the dealer sweep away her last chips. The corner of her mouth twitched.
Her luck was absolute garbage, but at least she kept her dignity. When she heard someone mutter "big fat sheep," she didn't even flinch. She just stood up and walked away from the table without looking back, ignoring the dealer's offer of a loan.
Taiichi, standing behind her, felt a cold sweat. That dealer had no idea how close he'd come to getting wrecked. If Tsunade had actually borrowed money, she probably wouldn't have paid it back the nice way.
Tsunade turned around and froze. She rubbed her eyes like she was seeing things.
Taiichi didn't disappear.
"Tsunade-sensei, you can stop rubbing. Your eyes are fine. You're not imagining me."
Tsunade's hand went straight to her weapon pouch. She knew exactly how he had gotten here. "You little shit. I told you not to come find me. And how old are you anyway? This is no place for a kid. Come on, we're leaving."
She turned and marched toward the exit without waiting. Taiichi watched her back and almost laughed. She looked like she was running away.
He shook his head and followed her out.
On the way back, Tsunade stayed quiet and kept speeding up whenever he tried to walk beside her. After the third time, Taiichi got the message. She was embarrassed about losing in front of her student and needed space.
He stopped trying to catch up and just trailed behind. After three laps around the same block, she finally led him to a small inn.
The second they stepped inside, Shizune's cheerful voice called out from the back room.
"Tsunade-sama, you're back! Your luck was pretty good today. You lasted way longer than usual before going broke."
A cute little girl walked out—Shizune. The moment she saw Taiichi standing there, she let out a happy shriek.
"Taiichi! It's really you! How did you find us?!"
She ran straight over and grabbed both his hands, shaking them excitedly. She completely ignored the way Tsunade's face had gone dark again.
Taiichi smiled. "Long time no see, Shizune. I used Flying Thunder God straight from the village. It cost a ton of chakra though. Almost half of what I had."
Shizune's eyes sparkled. "Whoa… the White Death of the battlefield. The one they call the other half of Konoha's Twin Demons with the Yellow Flash. I've heard the rumors!"
Taiichi rubbed the back of his neck, awkward. "Twin Demons? That's new. I didn't even know people were calling us that."
"Alright, enough standing in the doorway," Tsunade cut in, flicking both of them on the forehead. "If you two want to catch up, do it inside."
Once they were seated, Tsunade got straight to the point. She really didn't want these two kids bringing up her gambling losses again.
"So? What are you doing here? I told you not to waste chakra coming to see me for no reason. Medical-nin chakra is precious. You know that."
"Yes, sensei. You're right," Taiichi said obediently.
Shizune made a face behind Tsunade's back but stayed quiet.
Seeing how well-behaved he was, Tsunade's scolding lost steam. This kid had become famous enough that even people in the Land of Iron knew his name, yet here he was listening to her lecture without complaint.
Eventually the conversation turned normal. Taiichi spent most of it telling them about the war—what he had seen, what he had done.
Tsunade listened carefully. Even though she had left the village, Konoha was still the place her grandfather had built. She couldn't help asking questions, even if she tried to make them sound casual.
By the time the moon was high, Taiichi's chakra had recovered enough for him to say goodbye. He used Flying Thunder God and vanished straight back to his house in Konoha.
Shizune stared at the empty space where he had been. Her eyes filled with tears and she started crying quietly, shoulders shaking.
Tsunade gently patted her head. After a long silence she said, "Don't worry. That brat will come back again."
Shizune nodded, but after a while she whispered, "Tsunade-sama… I miss everyone. Not just Taiichi. I miss Kurenai, Rin, Kakashi… I want to go home."
Tsunade's hand paused for a second on Shizune's hair before she kept stroking it.
Back in Konoha, Taiichi felt pretty good. From the way Tsunade had asked about the village, he could tell she still cared. That was enough for now.
He washed up and went straight to bed. Long-distance Flying Thunder God really took it out of him. His chakra reserves were still too small. He needed way more—enough to rival a tailed beast, maybe even surpass one.
A few days later, news spread across the ninja world.
Kumogakure had officially declared war on Konoha.
It wasn't a total surprise. Orochimaru's forces in the north had already been clashing with Cloud in small fights for a while. This just meant things were about to get bigger.
Then, less than half a day later, real bad news arrived.
The Cloud strike force that had been raiding inside the Land of Wind for over two months didn't retreat after hitting their last target. Instead they went north, cut through the Land of Rivers, and launched a surprise attack straight on the Konoha camp.
A Tailed Beast Bomb opened the way. Fifty elite Cloud shinobi tore through the camp. If Minato and Yohei hadn't returned when they did, the entire base might have collapsed.
The attack had been too sudden. The real Eight-Tails had hit harder than anyone expected. The camp was completely overwhelmed at first.
People finally understood how lucky they had been during the big fight against Sunagakure. Shukaku's destruction had been stopped by Taiichi. This time the tailed beast had been allowed to rampage.
The Eight-Tails was massive. Every step shook the ground. Its eight tails swept through everything they touched. The moment Leaf forces tried to surround it, the beast smashed the formation apart with one swing.
Jiraiya got tied down fighting A. Just when it looked like the camp was going to fall, Yohei had summoned Susanoo. The giant skeletal warrior bought enough time for Minato to return and turn the tide.
Taiichi didn't know the exact casualties yet, but he knew they were bad. What really worried him was that Yohei's Mangekyō Sharingan had been exposed in front of everyone.
Once word got out that far, there was no hiding it anymore.
Taiichi couldn't sit still. He left a shadow clone behind, locked onto Yohei's marker, and disappeared with Flying Thunder God.
Inside Yohei's squad tent at the forward camp, Obito was still talking a mile a minute.
"Cousin, that giant thing you summoned was insane! How did you do that?!"
Yohei sat on his cot, gently pressing his temples. The headache had been constant since the fight two days ago. Jiraiya had pulled him into high-level meetings right after the battle. There was no time to rest.
Obito, Kakashi, and Rin were all staring at him, waiting for answers. Even Saori looked serious.
Yohei finally looked up. His eyes shifted from black to red. Three tomoe spun, then merged into the Mangekyō pattern—triangular pinwheels surrounded by two black rings.
"That's the Mangekyō Sharingan," he said quietly. "It's what happens when the three-tomoe evolves."
Obito's mouth fell open. "There's another level after three tomoe? When do I get that?!"
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "You've been rubbing your head nonstop since the fight. There's a downside, isn't there?"
Yohei gave him a small nod. "Using it too much damages the eyes. Eventually you go blind. There are other problems too, but those aren't something I can talk about right now."
Before anyone could ask more, the air in the tent shimmered.
Taiichi appeared in the middle of them.
Saori's face lit up. "Taiichi!"
Obito blinked. "Wait, you're here already?"
Yohei and Kakashi both relaxed at the same time. Taiichi showing up right now was exactly what they needed.
Taiichi didn't say a word. He walked straight behind Yohei, placed glowing green hands on either side of his head, and started pouring medical chakra into his eyes.
The tension in Yohei's face eased almost immediately.
Kakashi and the others watched in silence. They finally understood just how bad the side effects really were. Taiichi had gone straight to healing Yohei's eyes the second he arrived. That told them everything they needed to know.