Uchiha Ran paid no attention to Tsunade's reaction. Tilting his head, he continued with a bitter smile:
"I was in Konoha's hospital. And ANBU—ANBU are still shinobi of Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi had to consider the consequences—so they wouldn't lay a hand on me openly. They were waiting. Waiting for me to leave the hospital. Waiting for a moment to stage an 'accident' on my way home."
"And that's when it hit me—why Hiruzen suddenly decided to get rid of me without any warning. Because my death would benefit the village."
"Each ANBU is elite. Assigning four elite ANBU to monitor a single civilian—it's an enormous waste of resources. Completely unjustified. After all, it had been two years since I was cast out of the Uchiha clan. If I suddenly died now, no one would care. No one would even remember."
"I couldn't just sit and wait, so I made my decision. I brought out a poison once used in Sunagakure, and over the next four hours—pushing myself to the limit—I developed an antidote. Then I happily shared the results with everyone around me."
"I knew they were watching. I knew they'd report it immediately. But for once, I wanted them to. I wanted the higher-ups to know. As quickly as possible. Because I had no idea when the ANBU's blade might come down."
"That evening, I didn't go home—I stayed overnight at the hospital. I waited. Waited for a turning point. And I prayed that someone in Konoha's leadership would see even a scrap of value in me—and delay my execution."
"The next morning, I was summoned to the pharmaceutical division. Koharu was waiting. She handed me a new poison. And the first thing she said was: 'Vile Uchiha brat, if you don't make the best possible antidote in the next four hours—you die.'"
"I did it. So, as you can see, I'm still alive. Back then, I naively believed: if I kept proving my usefulness, they'd let me live."
"And then you showed up—challenging me to a duel out of nowhere. The moment I saw your terrifying genius, I panicked. Because it felt like looking into my own future. I realized: if you ever defeated me, I'd stop being irreplaceable."
"These people already wanted me dead. If I became expendable, I wouldn't stand a chance. That's why I spent night after night studying medicine, studying medical ninjutsu, pushing myself to the edge—just so you wouldn't surpass me. Just so I could survive."
"But what I never understood—why were you so fixated on me? I never did anything to you. So why were you so determined to destroy me?"
Ran's voice was growing sharper with emotion, his gaze burning as it locked onto Tsunade.
"I…" Tsunade faltered. Her thoughts scattered, and her heart clenched.
But Ran didn't give her even a moment to collect herself. He pressed on:
"After our first duels, I started defeating you every time. But you wouldn't stop. You kept coming back, challenging me with everything you had."
"So I changed tactics. I thought—maybe if I start acting crueler, insulting you, mocking you, hurting you—maybe then you'd leave me alone."
"At the same time, I threw myself into healing as many patients as I could. I needed to boost my reputation. Add another layer of protection. But still, you kept coming. Kept challenging me. Swearing that one day you'd beat me."
"I really don't get it, Tsunade. What did I ever do to you? Why do you keep cornering me like this? Why are you trying to finish me off? I only ever fought to stay alive. Is that really so wrong?"
"For all these years, I studied medical ninjutsu relentlessly, fought to keep you from overtaking me—did you really think I was doing it just to win some contest?"
"I have neither the time nor the desire. Those duels—maybe to you, Tsunade, they were nothing but a game. But to me, to Uchiha Ran, every single one was life or death. If I lost, I was dead. Do you even get that?"
He shouted the last words.
Tsunade couldn't respond. All the sharp words she'd been ready to fling just moments before had crumbled to dust.
She really hadn't known. She'd just… she'd just wanted to compete with Uchiha Ran. Just wanted to win.
If she had known his defeat meant his death—would she still have pushed him into fight after fight over all these years?
Starting three years ago, Ran had been trying to avoid battles. He tried all kinds of things.
Sometimes, he even forfeited before the match began. There'd been such sorrow in his voice… such helplessness.
And every single time, it was her—Tsunade—who schemed and plotted to force him back into the ring.
The cruelest moment had been when he'd hidden at home, curled up under a blanket to avoid her.
And what had she done? She'd broken into his house, dragged him out of bed, and hauled him straight to the hospital—for a duel.
"Tsunade, Tsunade… You're the noble princess of Konoha. How could you possibly understand my pain?" Ran saw her expression shift and pressed on, even more bitterly.
"You've always been above us all. And me? I'm only alive in this village because I've been useful. But the brighter you shone, the more brilliant your talent became… the more useless I was."
"When I couldn't train chakra anymore, and you started catching up to me in medical ninjutsu… At our forty-eighth duel, you won. For the first time, you proved I wasn't irreplaceable. Then you joined the hospital staff. Became a renowned medic—equal to me. A second time, you proved I wasn't irreplaceable."
"And now, without even consulting me, you take over the pharmaceutical division, develop a new drug—and for the third time, you show the world I'm not irreplaceable."
"Utatane Koharu has hated me for years, and she's tried to get rid of me more than once. If she could, she wouldn't let me live another day."
"And now you, Tsunade—you stand before everyone and declare that I, Uchiha Ran, no longer have value. That my existence is just a waste of resources."
"So tell me, Tsunade, tell me: do I even have a chance to survive?" His voice cracked, tears gleaming in his eyes. "The cruelest part is—you went to Koharu yourself. Handed her the knife. Begged her… to kill me."
"And I… these past four months… I actually believed we'd become friends. Every time we explored medical ninjutsu together—I felt joy. A joy I'd never known before."
"I started accepting you. I started respecting you. But you… why did you do this to me? Why did you decide to destroy me? Anyone could betray me… but why you, Tsunade? Do you really hate me that much? Will you not stop until I'm dead?"
"Say something! Why are you silent?" Ran shouted like a madman, unable to stop. "I'm asking you—why won't you answer? Is it so hard? Just say something! I'm not a ninja. I'm just a regular person. I want to repay my adoptive parents. I have a younger brother to take care of. I just want to live. Is that such a crime?"
But Tsunade couldn't say a word. Tears had long since started streaming down her cheeks.
Her body felt numb. Inside, it was like a pile of stones blocked her chest. Everything she felt seemed sealed away, with no outlet.
She thought it was Uchiha Ran who had gone mad.
But in truth… she was the one who had lost her mind. It was her—step by step—who had driven him to the edge.