The rich blood smell nearly dyed the humid forest air red, making Tsunade even gave the illusion that what clung to her nose wasn't moisture but thick blood.
Even though she thought herself accustomed to the cruelty of battlefields, witnessing such tragedy still left her uncontrollably trembling.
Among the scattered flesh pieces, over a dozen heads with familiar faces were piled together.
The faces of Katō Dan's guard squad.
And the figure with those heads was utterly mutilated only the bloodstained silver-gray hair and the pendant hanging from his neck allowed her to recognize this as the man who once promised to change Konoha's medical system with her.
But she wished she hadn't recognized anything at all.
The familiarity mixed with the disorienting blood that blurred her senses, coalescing into intense shock that nearly made Tsunade sick to the point of unable to breathe.
"Dan..."
Tsunade Barely aware of how she had approached Katō Dan—or rather, this mass of flesh that had once been Katō Dan.
Her trembling voice no longer held its usual clarity and vigor, but was rough and hoarse, fragmented like sandpaper. Kneeling in the muddy sewage, she remained oblivious, forgetting her mission to deal with Chiyo's poison, forgetting possible enemies nearby, even forgetting speech itself.
Even without circulating chakra, her body's instincts conjured a shallow hallucination before her eyes—not this miserable flesh, but the spirited man who had discussed war and future with her.
She raised her hand, yet dared not reach forward even slightly, fearing even this illusion would shatter. Her bloodless, pale lips trembled incessantly, mouth opening and closing without a sound.
"Dan... Dan... I can... I can heal you! I'll heal you!"
In her daze, Tsunade suddenly felt Katō Dan's heart still faintly beating.
Even if illusion, even if only a million-to-one chance, she couldn't let go now.
In this war that began with her granduncle's death, she had already lost her younger brother. If she lost her lover—the one who supported her—her spirit might truly plummet into the abyss of emptiness.
"Haah—haah—"
And it wasn't illusion!
As if reacting to Tsunade's presence, Katō Dan—his entire jaw missing—forced out fierce gasps filled with bloody foam from his throat.
Clutching at this like a lifeline, she touched his chest, repeatedly confirming the faint pulsations beneath her fingertips, and desperately casting medical ninjutsu.
Yet she seemed to have misjudged the meaning of her lover's agonized breathing.
Shink—
A dozen-odd gears, pins, and other components suddenly tore through Katō Dan's flesh, striking Tsunade's abdomen like scorpion stingers.
Though her body instinctively conjured chakra for protection, the force carried by these metal pieces still bearing body warmth far exceeded her expectations. Despite protection, the components pierced her vest and clothing, leaving inconspicuous but genuine wounds on her skin.
Wounds sufficient to deliver poison into her body.
"Ugh!"
Tsunade grunted, a faint tingling in her abdomen. But the pain quickly faded, replaced by spreading intense numbness and dizziness.
Her body stiffened, staggering back a few steps.
As one of the foremost experts in medical ninjutsu, Tsunade's body—even before her dazed mind—instinctively activated detoxification medical techniques.
Yet even as faint green light emerged from her abdomen, the numbness showed no signs of relief—instead intensifying.
"Because my 'Cursed Killing Poison' is less a toxin and more solidified curse. Medical ninjutsu that only affects the body naturally has no effect... Rather, the solidified curse spreads faster due to chakra circulation."
A calm voice came from directly ahead. Hii Kōri emerged from the shadows cast by trees, stepped past the truncated Katō Dan, and stood silently before Tsunade.
Ninja combat is intelligence warfare. Considering Gundam pilots wouldn't appear frequently for some time, this was truly famous.
"Too out of proportion, princess of the Senju. Well, perhaps it's inappropriate for me to say such things."
Recalling his own near loss of control months ago upon hearing of Mataza's death, Hii Kōri felt his criticism somewhat lacked stance, and shook his head ruefully.
Her hearing already blurred from the poison's erosion, Tsunade could barely make out what the abruptly appeared figure before she was saying.
Yet still, she clenched her teeth and raised her head, staring at the slightly doubled image, grinding out through gritted teeth: "Was it you?! Who turned Dan into this?!"
"No one else, obviously."
Hii Kōri shrugged, raised his hand, and used Magnet Release to retrieve the fallen components.
Such components mattered little—with Magnet Release combined with Scorch Release, he was already far ahead in the field of handcrafting workpieces.
But the 'Cursed Killing Poison' coating them was a refined product he himself had limited stock of. No reason to waste such premium goods—potent, producing no additional effects, and allowing different effects through secondary blending.
"Now then..."
Not intending to waste words on Tsunade, Hii Kōri swept his foot in a low kick that connected with her chin.
Thud—a dull impact. Brief periods of low blood flow to the brain made it hard for Tsunade to see. The kunōichi was already feeling dizzy from the Cursed Killing Poison, and she collapsed heavily, sinking into unconsciousness.
The last image before her eyes closed was Katō Dan, bloody tears streaming from hollow sockets, spraying bloody foam from his throat as if roaring and weeping.
"Dan..."
Hii Kōri prodded Tsunade's cheek with his toe, confirming unconsciousness, then flipped her over, tore open the clothing at her abdomen, and carved the Five Elements Seal.
As the most effective human-target chakra sealing technique he currently possesses, its usage frequency had been absurdly high lately.
"Even called one of the Sanin, her feminine sensibility is quite pronounced."
Thus sighing, Hii Kōri suddenly felt that applying 'curse' to Chiyo before departing was indeed optimal handling.
"Don't you think?"
Turning to Katō Dan behind him, he received only Hoarse, desperate gasps.
He clicked his tongue, then unfolded Rashōmon, slowly sinking into shadow.
"Mmph..."
When Tsunade gradually regained consciousness, the awkward posture left her quite uncomfortable, unconsciously letting out annoyed groans.
Instinctively twisting to adjust position, she found herself firmly restrained, unable to move.
This abnormal state instantly wakes her up.
Opening her eyes, everything was pitch-black, distance impossible to gauge. She lay on some angled bed or seat, completely unable to move.
With no neck support, her tilted-back head allowed her to see how she was bound.
Wrists wrapped with seals, additionally cuffed to a horizontal bar. Fingers specially treated—each individually cuffed with some soft cord. Legs raised high, ankles similarly sealed and cuffed to the same bar as her wrists.
Without a mirror, Tsunade could imagine how obscene her posture was.
She instinctively mobilized chakra—and felt nothing. Looking down, her torn clothing revealed traces of sealing formula.
"You bastard! Let me go!"
Recalling everything before unconsciousness, how could Tsunade not realize her situation?
Red-eyed, she struggled fiercely, cursing hoarsely even as her cracked lips grew parched.
"Impressive—inheriting both Senju and Uzumaki physiques. I thought you'd take longer to wake."
Accompanied by this remark—whether teasing or sighing—the darkness before Tsunade gradually dissolves, revealing wider space beyond.
Standing before the suspended Katō Dan, adjusting some device, Hii Kōri glanced at Tsunade, then manipulated shadow to form a gag while comforting flatly: "Don't rush. In a moment. The next scene would be meaningless if Katō-kun can't see clearly."
After Hii Kōri, manipulated this living puppet, had methodically torn his teammates apart alive piece by piece, the redundant prosthetic armaments—chosen to maximize suffering, placing enormous burden on nerves—were removed to preserve Katō Dan's life.
Katō Dan's eyes had ruptured from excessive congestion during the 'hand' slaughter of every familiar teammate, overwhelmed by grief and rage.
Thus his appearance before Tsunade.
But as Hii Kōri said, what happens next is meaningless without Katō Dan witnessing.
In human immune systems, eyes exist in a relatively independent state.
This is because normal individuals receive over 70% of sensory information visually; visual impairment essentially renders one disabled.
Immune reactions causing tissue edema, cell aggregation, etc., severely affect retinal and optic nerve impulse formation and transmission. Frequent intraocular immune responses would mean frequent visual offline.
To avoid this, eyes possess immune privilege.
This property makes dojutsu kekkei genkai easier to transplant than other physical-type bloodlines, and body modification simpler.
"Alright... can you see?"
After connecting two cameras in Katō Dan's eye sockets, Hii Kōri waved his hand before 'his eyes' like debugging machinery, then stepped aside, revealing the bound Tsunade behind him.
"Hah—"
Seeing this, dirty blood streaked from Katō Dan's cable-inserted sockets. He shook his head violently, emitting hoarse gasps as if cursing Hii Kōri.
"Don't get so excited. Ultimately, isn't all this your own doing?"
Speaking seemingly calmly, Hii Kōri turned and slammed a fist cursed energy into Katō Dan's face.
"Reduced to this state? Your fault."
"Your comrades dying so miserably? Also your fault."
"And now, your lover suffering what's next? Still your fault."
His calm tone carried shrill chill. Hii Kōri sneered, flicking blood from his fist, then turned toward Tsunade.
Taking the riding crop formed from rising shadow, he teasingly slid it along Tsunade's thigh, then—
Crack!
A sharp whip crack echoed. Tsunade's tensed abdomen flushed with a red stripe.
"Mngh!"
With chakra sealed, riddled with toxins and curses, Tsunade's tolerance naturally diminished. Yet stung by this sudden lash, she sharply inhaled, only muffled groan through the gag.
Hii Kōri's expression unchanged. He circled Tsunade, teasing her tense body with the crop.
The shadow recliner suddenly dissolved into the bracket supporting the bars binding her limbs. Tsunade, formerly reclining, swung backward like a pendulum.
Three nearly overlapping whip cracks, accompanied by tearing cloth. The fabric, protective gear removed, offered no defense, shredding into tatters.
Three more marks on her pale, upright back. Tsunade, prepared, bit down on the gag, revealing not a sound.
Continuous lashes fell on her back—the body's most durable region. With preparation, how could this battle-hardened kunōichi be forced into pathetic cries?
Red marks gradually overlapped on her pale back, even swelling from simple blood marks. Still Tsunade made no sound, though sweat grew noticeable.
"Side!"
Then the crop suddenly struck her waist.
This sudden blow made Tsunade shudder violently. She instinctively twisted away—the next strike landed on her other side, as if she actively offered herself to Hii Kōri's abuse.
"Speaking of which, you might misunderstand something."
"From my personal perspective, I have no appeal against the Senju princess. Whether captured by ambush, or so ingloriously tortured and humiliated—it's only because Katō-kun is too stubborn, needing someone more significant to him to break his spirit."
After these two lashes, Hii Kōri scraped the crop along Tsunade's swollen welts, leaning down to her shoulder, listening to her increasingly heavy breathing, calmly explaining.
"So... anything to say to Katō-kun?"
***
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