vncnus Chapter 117 The Third Hokage's Headache, Tsunade's Fierce Spirit!
Chapter 117 The Third Hokage's Headache, Tsunade's Fierce Spirit!
Chapter 117 The Third Hokage's Headache, Tsunade's Fierce Spirit!
After breakfast, Tsunade again postponed the matter of examining Kakashi's body, citing that "the time was not right."
Kakashi had no choice but to book another room at the inn and stay there temporarily.
In the room, he spread out the scroll, picked up his pen and began writing coded messages, while Parker squatted beside him, quietly watching his every move.
The pen scratched across the paper as Kakashi wrote down everything that had happened in the past few days.
Lady Tsunade has been located; she is currently in a border city near the Land of Rivers.
Lady Tsunade seems to be investigating Izumi Taketori's whereabouts on her own, postponing her physical examination and asking him to accompany her, requesting the Third Hokage to make the decision.
After he finished writing, he put down his pen, carefully rolled up the scroll, and tucked it into the small bag on Parker's back.
"Send this information back to Konoha and let the Third Hokage decide what to do." Kakashi looked down at Pakkun, his voice low. "Lady Tsunade probably has other purposes and plans for keeping me by her side."
As for whether or not to stop Lady Tsunade, that was not a decision he should make, nor was it something he could do.
How could he possibly stop those three ninjas by himself?
The Land of Rivers is where Izumi Taketori settled after defecting from Kirigakure. It's even quite possible that the man is still hiding somewhere in this country.
Kakashi was aware of this, and that made him even more worried.
What would happen if Lady Tsunade really found the other person? He dared not think about it.
"I understand." Parker nodded without asking any further questions.
Kakashi formed hand seals and dispelled the summoning jutsu. A puff of white smoke rose, and Pakkun's figure, along with the scroll, disappeared from the room.
When the smoke cleared, only Kakashi remained in the room.
He walked to the window, his gaze passing through the glass as he looked at the unfamiliar street scene in the distance.
"I hope Lady Tsunade is just investigating—" he muttered to himself, "and not actually going after that person."
Memories of that day resurfaced.
The land of snow, where snow falls heavily.
The man swooped down from the sky, his body wreathed in the light of lightning chakra, and a pair of terrifying bone wings unfurled from his back.
He didn't even see the other person's movements before his left eye went empty.
The Sharingan that Obito left him was taken away just like that. In its place was the other person's eye, which held unknown methods.
He still can't forget that feeling of powerlessness, that oppressive feeling of not even having time to resist.
Kakashi subconsciously raised his hand and touched his left eye, which was covered by his headband.
The sealing technique remains in place, but its effect is limited to preventing external forces from activating the methods left inside; it cannot stop the effects that have already been generated.
He lowered his hand, took a deep breath, and suppressed the surging emotions.
It was still early outside the window, and the streets were bustling with people, lively yet unfamiliar.
Kakashi withdrew his gaze. He had been chasing for a day and a night, and now that he had found Lady Tsunade, he could finally relax a bit.
Since she intended to keep him, she didn't need to worry about him leaving without saying goodbye. So she turned around, walked to the bedside, lay down, and closed her eyes.
For now, I can only follow Lady Tsunade.
Hopefully, everything will go well.
Inside Tsunade's room, Shizune sat on the edge of the bed, holding a pillow in her arms, her face showing a mixture of confusion and hesitation.
She stole a glance at Tsunade, who was leaning against the window, and finally couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Lady Tsunade, why did you leave Kakashi with us?"
Tsunade yawned lazily, stretched, and didn't care about her image at all. Her collar slipped down a bit, and her hair was all messy.
She glanced at Shizune sideways and retorted irritably, "Didn't you already know what I wanted to do?"
Shizune gave an awkward laugh, lowered her head, and unconsciously gripped the edge of the pillowcase, muttering under her breath, "But don't you know what you're doing? This... this is just suicide!"
Before she could finish speaking, a cushion flew through the air and hit her right in the face.
"What are you saying about me behind my back!" Tsunade clapped her hands, her tone tinged with anger, but her eyes didn't show any real anger.
Jingyin rubbed her nose, pulled the pillow off her face, and hugged it to her chest, looking somewhat aggrieved.
Tsunade leaned against the window frame, arms crossed, her expression gradually becoming serious.
"I kept Kakashi around, of course, because he's in the same situation as us." Her voice turned somber. "I don't even need to do any further medical examination; I can already guess—"
"It's highly likely that he left Kakashi with a similar method to the one used to control us."
"Moreover, his current left eye is the other person's eye."
"I'm afraid Kakashi was one of those guys' experimental subjects from the very beginning."
She paused, her gaze falling on the distant horizon outside the window, as if staring at something unseen.
"Since he used us as experiments, it means that we have some value in his eyes."
"No matter what its value is, I don't intend to let him have his way." Tsunade snorted lightly, her lips slightly downturned. "Furthermore, I don't want Konoha to be controlled by others because of me."
Jingyin hugged her pillow, her little mouth slightly pouting, and couldn't help but mutter again, "But—we can't beat that guy. What can we do even if we find him? We might get controlled again and lose our freedom."
This time, she was smarter. As soon as she finished speaking, she raised the pillow in her arms and covered her face.
Sure enough, the second cushion flew over right after, which she caught steadily and hugged to her chest along with the first one.
Shizune buried her face in the pile of pillows, peeking out her eyes as she cautiously looked at Tsunade.
"Hmph!" Tsunade glared at her, but didn't throw anything more. "Do you think you can pretend nothing happened just by not dealing with it?"
"Those hidden dangers that have been suppressed will eventually erupt at a critical moment, and the resulting losses will be unbearable for anyone."
Her tone gradually became serious, even carrying a hint of admonition.
"The changes within my body, Kakashi's left eye—what that guy is plotting must be related to Konoha."
"If we don't figure it out soon and instead let it fester, who knows what the consequences will be?"
"Konoha is now internally hollow; there are no true pillars among the younger generation."
Silently, she rested her chin on the pillow and did not refute.
Tsunade's voice softened slightly, as if she were explaining, or perhaps convincing herself: "I kept Kakashi around, firstly because he, like us, was that guy's 'creation,' a victim."
"Secondly, his left eye might be able to help us find that person's whereabouts."
"Besides, Kakashi is quite strong; at least he won't be a burden, and he can lend a hand in crucial moments. How could I possibly let him go?"
As she said this, she raised her hand and pointed to the sealing scroll on the table that she had taken from Kakashi.
"Moreover, the scroll that Kakashi sent contains a lot of research results from the Sealing Team."
"At least it prevents us from being directly controlled by the other side, giving us the ability to fight back."
Tsunade paused for a moment. She turned around to face Shizune, her expression becoming unusually serious.
In those eyes, there was no hesitation, no retreat, only a heavy resolve.
"I'm prepared to use my life to solve this problem."
Shizune's heart skipped a beat, and she unconsciously clenched the pillow she was holding until her knuckles turned white.
"Lady Tsunade—" Her voice trembled slightly.
Tsunade raised her hand, signaling for silence, decisively interrupting her from what she was about to say.
She turned away, no longer looking at Jingyin, leaving her apprentice with only her tall, straight back.
Her voice returned to its usual nonchalant casualness, as if she were talking about something trivial.
"For a ninja, sacrifice is the most normal thing."
"No one says I can't die. Even my two grandfathers sacrificed themselves for Konoha in the end, didn't they?"
Silent eyes reddened slightly, her lips moved, but she couldn't say anything.
She knew that Lady Tsunade had long been prepared to die, and that those she cared about most—Nawaki and Dan—were already gone.
Now that she has a "legitimate" reason, it may actually be a kind of relief for her.
The room quieted down, with only the faint sounds of street noise coming from outside the window and the laughter of some child in the distance.
Shizune hugged two pillows, gazing at Tsunade's back as she leaned against the window. After a long, long time, she finally buried her face in the pillows, preventing that sigh from escaping.
Konoha Village, Hokage Building.
After being sent back by Kakashi, Pakkun moved swiftly on his four short legs, heading straight for the Hokage's office.
The Anbu recognized it as Kakashi's summoning dog and did not stop it. They simply notified the Third Hokage and then allowed it to enter the Hokage's office.
The third generation put down his pipe, took out a cipher scroll from the small bag on Parker's back, and began to read it carefully.
As his gaze swept over the densely packed, tiny characters, his brows furrowed, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen.
After reading the last line, he remained silent for a moment, then looked up at Parker, asked about a few details, and confirmed some things.
After listening, the third generation sighed deeply, placed the scroll of cryptic text on the table, tapped it lightly with his fingers, and revealed a helpless expression.
Unexpectedly, Tsunade remained as tough as ever.
-
He had a premonition that his disciple would not let go of that matter so easily.
Given her personality, how could she possibly swallow such humiliation as being kidnapped, controlled, and having her memories sealed?
Therefore, he deliberately did not let Jiraiya reveal the information that the other party might be in the Land of Rivers, nor did he mention it at all in the mission given to Kakashi.
They thought this would make Tsunade back down, or at least slow her down so she could find a solution.
But what was the result? Tsunade still managed to find that direction by herself, little by little, and even stepped into the border of the Land of Rivers.
The third generation picked up the pipe again, lit it, and took a deep drag.
White smoke slowly billowed from his mouth and nose, blurring his furrowed brows.
This is getting a bit troublesome.