Tsunade lay exhausted on the broken wood golem. The construct was now just half a torso, and the surrounding terrain had completely changed. With the wood golem and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path as the center, the area within three to four kilometers had been gouged into a crater, deep at the center and shallow toward the edges.
Whoosh.
Tsunade heard someone arrive via Body Flicker Technique. She opened her eyes weakly and let out a small sigh of relief.
"It's you. I thought they hadn't given up yet. If you hadn't shown up, I'd be dead."
"How could I let my most capable subordinate die?"
Hyuga Mirai had said similar things to Orochimaru, Sasori, Sara, and Ayaka, but every time, he seemed completely sincere.
He placed a hand on Tsunade's forehead and began healing her with Yang Release chakra to restore her strength.
By now, Hyuga Mirai's use of Yang Release chakra had evolved beyond the realm of medical ninjutsu, gradually approaching Yin-Yang Release. At the Sage of Six Paths level, Yin-Yang Release carried the power of creation.
While treating her, he smiled. "Your chakra is nearly depleted, yet your appearance hasn't changed. Looks like the gene optimization really has affected your biological age. That last move was risky—if not for the spiritual chakra I left with you, Konoha would be choosing its Sixth Hokage right now."
"Wasn't it all for your sake anyway?"
Having regained some strength, Tsunade threw a fragment of the Demonic Statue to Hyuga Mirai.
"Even so, I'm not going to be moved enough to return to Konoha, Princess Tsunade."
Hyuga Mirai squinted slightly as he took the fragment. Once he got back, he would study the possibility of cloning the Ten-Tails.
Tsunade rolled her eyes at his words and lay back down, quietly receiving treatment. Two minutes later, under the healing of Yang Release chakra, she had recovered completely—even the Strength of a Hundred Seal on her forehead was fully restored.
After recovering, Tsunade sat up and waved him off. "Alright, enough. Go. If someone sees me with you, it won't look good. Next time you come to Konoha, bring more sake. Don't forget."
"They're four kilometers away. No way they can see us. But I do have things to do. Thanks for today."
With that, Hyuga Mirai turned and left. He was now focused on uncovering the true nature of the Ten-Tails.
After he was gone, Tsunade sealed her chakra back into her forehead mark and lay down again, pretending to be weak.
After all, she'd just fought the Rinnegan—no way she should be looking energetic.
"Damn, I forgot to ask him to reload the seal with another batch of spiritual chakra," Tsunade suddenly thought. That chakra had just saved her life—without it, not only would she have died, but the hundreds of Konoha shinobi still nearby might've died too.
Before long, Kiyo Hyuga, Kurenai Yuhi, and Onoki arrived. Kiyo had spotted Tsunade early and rushed over.
"Tsunade-sama!"
Kiyo Hyuga and the other Konoha shinobi quickly surrounded her protectively, pulling out healing talismans and applying them.
"I'm fine, just out of chakra… can't move for now."
Tsunade acted convincingly weak—if Hyuga Mirai were here, he'd give her a nine out of ten.
Kiyo Hyuga lowered his head slightly, a strange look in his eyes, then vanished with a flicker. "Tsunade-sama, please rest for now," he said softly.
"Slug Princess, where's the enemy?" Onoki asked urgently, inwardly annoyed the Konoha ninja hadn't asked the important question.
Tsunade replied tiredly, "They've left. That summoned beast disappeared, and Nagato was taken away by his partner. By the way, old man Onoki, what took you so long?"
"I didn't know the situation until just now."
Onoki's voice faltered—he rarely sounded so unsure. The shockwaves from that battle had been too strong, even for him. The power clearly surpassed the Five Kage.
"Let's return. The enemy still has plans targeting Konoha. I managed to stop their leader, but just to be safe, our forces must withdraw from the Land of the Rain as soon as possible…"
Tsunade looked like she was forcing herself to stand, though in truth she was fine. As the best medical ninja, she knew exactly how to simulate the right symptoms. Kiyo Hyuga stepped forward to carry her on his back, though his expression again flickered with something odd.
Onoki's eyes widened. "Slug Princess, is Konoha ending the war?"
"We no longer have the strength to continue," Tsunade said from Kiyo's back, her tone firm. "If you still want to fight, that's your business, but Konoha's ready to end this war."
"The wartime alliance was under the Third Hokage…"
"Then go find him. Either way, I'll end this war as the Fifth Hokage."
With that, she patted Kiyo's shoulder to carry her away.
She hadn't needed to be carried, and she felt a bit guilty—deceiving her subordinates as Hokage.
After Tsunade and the Konoha shinobi left, Onoki couldn't hold back his rage and crushed a stone in his hand.
Without Konoha's help, how could Iwagakure avenge its losses? Nearly a thousand shinobi dead, including his son, Kitsuchi.
Onoki had even felt a flicker of killing intent toward Tsunade. With her display of Wood Release—descended from the First Hokage—her strength was starting to resemble his. If she grew even stronger, what would that mean for Iwagakure?
But Konoha's numbers far exceeded Iwa's. Many Konoha shinobi were already on alert. If Onoki showed even a hint of hostility, Iwagakure would be at a disadvantage.
These Konoha shinobi were all elite jonin. Hundreds more were stationed nearby. No matter how bold his thoughts, attacking Tsunade now was out of the question.
"Lord Tsuchikage."
The remaining Iwa shinobi gathered around, awaiting orders.
"Let's go."
Onoki clasped his hands behind his back and flew toward the Konoha encampment. He would gather the Iwa forces and return home. No matter what, he would convince the daimyo to greatly boost their military power.
And if the daimyo refused funding, he'd better not expect Iwagakure to defend the border of the Land of Earth.
In the Phantom Lantern Room, as soon as Pain's image appeared, Kakuzu, Raiga, and the others began complaining.
"Leader, what were you doing? You left us there—where did you go?"
Kakuzu said irritably, "Time is money. If this mission goes on longer, I'll still charge full price."
The Pain projection spoke calmly, "An unexpected situation. The mission is canceled."
"Hey, what do you mean unexpected? Do you know how long we waited?"
Before Raiga could finish his rant, Pain deactivated the projection.
Back in their real bodies, Raiga kept grumbling—"Damn leader" and "I'll give you a thunder funeral someday."
"Hey, Kakuzu, where are you going?"
"To pick up a bounty. The mission's off, so it means things are fine." Kakuzu walked off toward the Land of Rivers without even turning around.
Raiga scratched his head and muttered, "Come on, it just ended—can't we rest a bit? Wait for me, Kakuzu!"
(End of Chapter)