Uchiha Shisui not only possessed the Will of Fire, but under Uchiha Yoru's guidance, he had also grown remarkably well. In many ways, he had become quite similar to Senju Tobirama.
As long as Shisui was properly nurtured, the Uchiha clan could once again establish a connection to the position of Hokage, creating an opportunity for Konoha and the Uchiha clan to become completely integrated.
Uchiha Yoru refused to believe that Senju Tobirama wouldn't be tempted by such a prospect.
Each of them was occupied with his own thoughts as they silently dashed through the forest.
Meanwhile, the two-tailed tabby cat lounged comfortably on Uchiha Yoru's shoulder.
She happily swayed her two tails back and forth, practicing how to control them while cutting through the wind.
Uchiha Yoru and Senju Tobirama moved at astonishing speed. Overnight, they reached the Land of Hot Water. Beginning with the hot spring district, they searched every likely place before quickly confirming that Tsunade was not in the Land of Hot Water.
They then spent another two days traveling through the Land of Rice Fields, the Land of Iron, the Land of Waterfalls, and the Land of Grass.
Finally, the two of them looked toward the thick crimson clouds hanging ahead and shook their heads simultaneously.
There was no need to visit the Land of Rain.
The war there had become so devastating that there was no longer any room for casinos to survive.
Uchiha Yoru sighed.
"It looks like she's in Tanzaku Town, south of the Land of Rivers."
"That's really far away."
Hearing his complaint, Senju Tobirama said,
"Brat, give this old man another body and I can take you straight back to Konoha."
Uchiha Yoru slowly turned his head.
His eyes widened as he stared at Tobirama in disbelief.
"...You left a Flying Thunder God mark inside my house?"
Senju Tobirama folded his arms, slightly raised his chin, and looked down at the shocked Uchiha Yoru with unmistakable satisfaction.
"That's right."
Uchiha Yoru clutched his head and wailed.
"It's over! We're completely doomed!"
Tobirama frowned.
"I merely carved a Flying Thunder God marker there in secret. Is it really that serious?"
Miwa Masayo chuckled.
"Second Hokage, you should've told him first, meow. His house already has one of his own Flying Thunder God markers, meow. With both of your markers there and separated by such a great distance, they'll interfere with each other, meow."
Tobirama's expression changed.
"Uchiha Yoru knows the Flying Thunder God Technique as well?"
Miwa Masayo nodded calmly.
"That's right, meow."
"You read the Scroll of Seals?"
"No, meow."
"Then how did he learn the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"He developed it himself, meow."
Tobirama was genuinely surprised.
"He recreated it himself? That's incredible."
"It's not that incredible."
Having already calmed down, Uchiha Yoru sighed as he rubbed Miwa Masayo's head.
"Actually, you're the one who deserves the most credit for my redeveloping the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Tobirama looked thoroughly puzzled and couldn't help laughing.
"My contribution was the greatest? How could that be?"
Yoru explained,
"It really was."
"You successfully developed the Flying Thunder God Technique in the first place. Simply proving that such a technique could exist gave me more than half the confidence I needed."
"And you also explained to quite a few people that it had been created by using the Summoning Technique as inspiration and combining it with sealing techniques."
Yoru smiled.
"With clues that obvious, how could I not figure out how to develop it?"
"I have Miwa Masayo for Summoning and Reverse Summoning, and I deliberately studied sealing techniques."
"So naturally, I managed to develop it."
"When it comes to recreating the Flying Thunder God Technique, your contribution is absolutely the greatest."
Tobirama smiled proudly.
"Excellent."
"Very excellent."
Yoru rolled his eyes.
"Stop smiling. We can't return directly to Konoha anymore. We'll have to rely on Miwa Masayo to shuttle us back."
Tobirama blinked.
"Miwa Masayo knows the Flying Thunder God Technique too?"
She closed her eyes and replied,
"I don't, meow. Precisely because I don't, we still have a way to return quickly to Konoha, meow."
Suddenly the tabby cat raised her head.
"I've found a fire source, meow! Yoru, I'll head back first. I'll immediately use Reverse Summoning on you, meow."
Yoru nodded.
He casually flicked out a small flame.
"I'll wait."
Miwa Masayo stretched out a paw and tapped the flame.
Instantly, it expanded into a fireball half a meter across.
She leaped into it—
—and vanished.
Tobirama stared in astonishment.
Throughout the entire process, he hadn't sensed the slightest chakra fluctuation.
Not even the slightest trace of senjutsu chakra.
After a moment's hesitation, he asked,
"Is that... senjutsu?"
Yoru thought for a moment before nodding.
"It is, but it's different from ordinary senjutsu."
"It feels more like Sage Miwa Masayo's instinctive sage art."
"I'm not sure whether it's because she uses it entirely by instinct and consumes only natural energy, but it doesn't produce any chakra fluctuations at all."
Tobirama sighed.
"What a miraculous sage art."
He had witnessed Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode before.
The enormous True Several Thousand Hands it produced was majestic enough to resemble a divine miracle.
Miwa Masayo's sage art, on the other hand, was completely silent, yet no less mysterious or awe-inspiring.
Not long afterward, Uchiha Yoru dissolved into a puff of white smoke as Miwa Masayo's Reverse Summoning transported him back to Konoha.
After waiting nearly fifteen minutes, he finally returned, looking dusty and disheveled.
"You really outdid yourself," he complained. "You actually carved the marker into one of the ceiling beams. It took me forever to find it."
"...Sigh. It's my own fault, too. I should've asked where you'd placed it before we left. Otherwise, I could've scraped it off in a few minutes."
Once back in Konoha, neither Uchiha Yoru nor Senju Tobirama wasted any time.
If they delayed any longer, they might miss Tsunade altogether.
Miwa Masayo, however, declared that she wasn't going.
"You two have done nothing but run nonstop," she yawned. "It's boring, meow. I'd rather stay home."
Yoru sighed helplessly and could only continue the journey alone with Tobirama.
After circling almost half the ninja world, Tobirama's Edo Tensei body had expended most of its chakra.
Most of the time, Uchiha Yoru simply carried him on his back while traveling.
Fortunately, after completing his Foundation Establishment, Yoru had never stopped training his body.
His physical strength had already surpassed the limits of ordinary humans—even ordinary shinobi.
Carrying Tobirama placed virtually no burden on him.
In fact, Tobirama's Edo Tensei body weighed less than any of the weighted training blocks Yoru normally carried.
His running speed remained as astonishing as ever.
After racing nonstop for another day and night, they finally caught sight of the signboard of Tanzaku Town at dawn.
Taking advantage of the final hours before the casinos closed for the night, Uchiha Yoru quickly gathered information about the infamous "Big Fat Sheep."
Unfortunately, he was also mercilessly mocked by several casino guards.
"Hahaha! Idiot!"
"You're too late!"
"The Big Fat Sheep lost every last coin she had in the middle of the night!"
Yoru's expression darkened.
He shot the tattooed thugs a cold glare.
In an instant, he cast them into a nightmare of endless examinations, forcing them to experience an eternity of studying and taking tests.
Although only an hour would pass in reality...
If they couldn't genuinely learn the material and pass the exams, they would endure as much as thirty years of miserable student life inside the illusion.
Of course, anyone capable of studying well wouldn't be working as a casino doorman in the first place.
At the very least, they'd already be inside working as dealers.
The moment the illusion began, the gangsters collapsed onto the ground.
Their bodies curled into balls as they trembled violently.
Painful moans escaped their lips.
"Enough..."
"No more..."
"I can't take it..."
"Help..."
"I quit..."
"Please..."
"This is impossible..."
Unfortunately, their fragmented cries sounded horribly suggestive to anyone who overheard them.
Even Senju Tobirama looked at Uchiha Yoru with a rather strange expression.
Still, curiosity got the better of him.
"What exactly did you make them experience?"
After learning that the nightmare consisted of mathematics classes beginning with simple addition and subtraction before progressing all the way to solid geometry and linear algebra—where they could escape only after passing every examination—
Tobirama instinctively drew in a sharp breath.
He himself was undoubtedly a genius.
Unfortunately...
He had also raised six hopelessly dense disciples.
Back when he'd personally taught them mathematics, he had experienced firsthand the agony mathematics inflicted upon his students—
—and, equally painfully, the torment inflicted upon the teacher when absolutely none of them could understand.
Every lesson had left all seven of them wanting to die.
Remembering those miserable days, Tobirama sighed in admiration.
"The illusion technique you developed is truly perfect."
"It serves as punishment, yet at the same time forces its victims to learn genuinely useful knowledge."
"Most importantly..."
"It allows the instructor to avoid suffering alongside the students."
Yoru blinked in surprise.
"Second Hokage... weren't your disciples all considered outstanding?"
"They also caused you... that much pain during lessons?"
Tobirama merely sneered.
"You think Hiruzen and the others were model students?"
"They may barely qualify as geniuses in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and combat."
"But when it came to studying..."
"...Sigh."
That long, heartfelt sigh allowed Yoru to vividly imagine Tobirama's suffering.
"When we get back," Yoru said with a smile, "I'll teach you this illusion."
"You don't possess the Sharingan, but with your ability, modifying it into an ordinary genjutsu shouldn't pose any difficulty."
Tobirama nodded without hesitation.
"Very well."
"I'll owe you one ninjutsu."
As they talked, the two arrived outside an inn.
It was the very place where the casino owner had arranged accommodations for the "Big Fat Sheep" after she had gambled away every last bit of money she possessed.
To be fair...
The casino owner was actually a rather decent fellow.
However, asking around a little further revealed that such generosity had been purchased with blood, sweat, and countless tears.
According to the information Yoru gathered, Tsunade had an extraordinarily violent temper.
Whenever she disagreed with a creditor, she simply beat them senseless.
After breaking every bone in their bodies...
She would heal them—
—and then beat them all over again.
During the past year alone, after losing all her money multiple times and being unable to afford lodging, she had repeatedly rampaged through casinos.
She hadn't merely beaten casino owners until they were crawling on the ground.
She had even demolished their buildings.
This Tsunade was completely different from the woman seen years later.
By then, she merely cheated at gambling, ate without paying, skipped out on debts, and disguised herself as younger to evade creditors.
She no longer beat casino owners nearly to death.
Perhaps age and experience had mellowed her.
Or perhaps traveling with Shizune had forced her to restrain herself.
Whatever the reason...
The current Tsunade was absolutely terrifying.
Her infamous streak of never winning a gamble had earned her the title of the "Big Fat Sheep."
No matter how dangerous she was, no casino would ever refuse to welcome her.
After all...
Money moved people's hearts.
Making money off the Big Fat Sheep was simply too easy.
For that opportunity, countless people willingly risked their lives.
Hearing all of this, Senju Tobirama silently covered his face.
The Senju clan's reputation had been completely ruined.
But could anyone really blame Tsunade?
Obviously not.
The true root of this terrible combination of awful gambling skills and uncontrollable gambling addiction...
Without question...
Was the First Hokage himself—
Hashirama Senju.
Inside the inn, a stunning young woman with an alluring figure sat alone.
Her long golden hair cascaded freely down her back, shimmering brilliantly beneath the lamplight.
She sat neatly on the tatami with her legs together, leaning lazily against a table covered with empty dishes and scattered sake bottles.
Her right elbow rested on the tabletop while her palm supported her flushed, wine-colored cheeks.
In her left hand, she casually held a white porcelain bottle of sake.
Her delicate face possessed flawless features.
Graceful willow-like eyebrows carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
Her misty emerald eyes, blurred by intoxication, resembled a lake veiled in morning fog, overflowing with irresistible charm.
Her lips were as red and inviting as blooming rose petals.
She raised the sake bottle and tilted back her graceful swan-like neck.
Half the bottle disappeared in one long swallow.
The elegant movement of her slender arm and graceful neck only made the magnificent curves of her chest appear even more breathtaking by contrast.
In one corner of the room lay a pair of discarded black high heels.
Beside them rested a green haori with the large character "Gamble" emblazoned across its back.
This peerlessly beautiful woman was none other than the greatest medical ninja in the shinobi world—
One of Konoha's Legendary Sannin—
Tsunade.
She had no intention of sleeping.
She was still enjoying the final stretch of an all-night drinking session.
Suddenly—
A terrifying killing intent locked onto her.
It was as cold as eternal winter.
It pierced straight through her bones and into her very soul.
For an instant, Tsunade felt as though she had been cast into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Hell itself seemed to open beneath her feet.
Every pore on her body instantly opened.
The alcohol she'd consumed throughout the night was forced out as sweat almost instantly.
Cold sweat soaked her entire body.
The room filled with the pungent smell of liquor.
Her drunkenness vanished in an instant.
Tsunade's eyes widened in horror.
She couldn't imagine how many people this opponent had killed to possess such overwhelming murderous intent.
But she knew one thing immediately—
She absolutely could not fight inside the inn.
Nor could she fight within Tanzaku Town.
Without hesitation, she abandoned her wine cups and sake bottle.
Using the Body Flicker Technique, she burst through the room and sprinted across the rooftops toward the wilderness beyond the town.
Under the pale light of dawn, Tsunade repeatedly glanced behind her.
There wasn't a single pursuer in sight.
Yet that icy killing intent clung to her like maggots on rotting flesh.
Not only did it fail to weaken—
It grew even heavier.
An opponent at Kage level...
She couldn't help but speculate.
Was this an assassin sent by another hidden village?
Were they afraid I'd return to Konoha and strengthen its military power?
The more she thought about it...
The less it made sense.
She had abandoned Konoha before the previous war had even ended.
What kind of idiot would try to assassinate her now?
Wouldn't that simply force her to seek refuge in Konoha?
Her thoughts drifted toward her hemophobia.
A heavy feeling settled over her heart.
For the first time, she seriously considered fleeing straight back to Konoha.
The Third Hokage would undoubtedly lecture her endlessly.
The current Konoha also made her deeply uncomfortable.
But...
At least she'd be alive.
Just as Tsunade hesitated over her next move—
A figure suddenly appeared directly in front of her.
The horrifying killing intent exploded outward.
Like chains of ice, it completely locked onto her.
Tsunade instantly halted.
Chakra surged violently throughout her body.
It concentrated into both arms...
Both legs...
And especially into her fists.
She raised both hands.
The ground beneath her feet cracked as she prepared to charge.
At that exact moment—
The mysterious ninja lifted his head.
Their eyes met.
A pair of three-tomoe Sharingan instantly filled Tsunade's entire field of vision.
"The Sharingan!"
"Damn it... Genjutsu!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Tsunade made no attempt to dispel the illusion immediately.
Instead...
She gathered every ounce of strength into her fist and slammed it into the ground.
Ninja Body Technique—Monster Strength!
Her fair, delicate-looking fist struck the earth.
BOOM!
The ground instantly collapsed into a bowl-shaped crater.
Then—
The surrounding earth shattered apart.
Crack after crack spread outward like an enormous spiderweb.
The destruction extended for hundreds of meters in every direction.
Caught in the violent tremors, Uchiha Yoru had no choice but to leap high into the air to avoid the collapsing ground beneath him.
While airborne, he looked down at the spectacular devastation.
The corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably.
If that punch had landed directly on me...
Would it have killed me?
No...
I'd survive.
But I'd definitely suffer severe injuries.
My bones would probably be shattered into countless pieces.
Even with my regeneration, recovering from something like that wouldn't be quick.
That would put me in an extremely dangerous position.
Looks like after my next breakthrough...
I really should start strengthening my bones and internal organs.
Yoru casually performed a midair flip before landing lightly roughly twenty meters to Tsunade's left.
Relaxing completely, he turned toward Senju Tobirama.
"Second Hokage..."
"She's all yours."
Tobirama frowned deeply.
His eyes remained fixed upon Tsunade.
"...What's wrong with her?"
The Tsunade before him no longer possessed the heroic aura of the woman who had shattered the earth with a single punch.
Instead...
She had collapsed onto the ground.
Her arms tightly wrapped around herself.
Curled into a tiny ball, she trembled uncontrollably.
Her eyes had completely lost focus.
She seemed utterly oblivious to everything happening around her.
Small...
Pitiful...
And utterly helpless.
It was almost as though someone else had created that enormous crater solely to threaten her.
Tobirama turned sharply toward Yoru.
"Uchiha brat..."
"What exactly did you do to her?"
Yoru raised an eyebrow before answering quietly,
"According to the information I've gathered, Lady Tsunade suffers from severe hemophobia."
"She developed it after witnessing Kato Dan's death."
"I simply used Sharingan Genjutsu..."
"...to make her see the ground covered in blood."
He paused before adding helplessly,
"But honestly..."
"I never imagined her hemophobia would be this severe."
Tobirama walked over and carefully examined his granddaughter.
After a long moment...
He realized he had absolutely no idea what to do.
Turning back toward Yoru, he asked,
"I'm not proficient in medical ninjutsu."
"I can heal physical injuries..."
"But I know almost nothing about illnesses of the mind."
"Do you have any solution?"
Only then did Yoru walk over.
"Our Uchiha clan does possess certain methods involving the spiritual realm."
"But those techniques only work on mental injuries caused by outside attacks."
"As for psychological illnesses created by one's own heart..."
"We have no way of curing them."
"In the end..."
"She can only rely on herself."
"Only if she comes to terms with it... and finds the courage to overcome her fear..."
"...can this illness truly disappear."
"After all..."
"The most terrifying enemy..."
"...is the fear that one creates within oneself."
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