"You're lucky, Kushina," Tsunade said to her.
For a powerful shinobi, finding a suitable disciple was something worth celebrating.
That kind of fortune was like the Third Hokage encountering the First and Second Hokage…
like the Three Legendary Sannin under the Third Hokage…
like Minato Namikaze under Jiraiya.
Then Tsunade turned to Hagoromo.
"Kid—don't die on the battlefield."
Hagoromo felt instantly depressed.
That made it sound like someone wanted him dead.
But he still had to respond properly.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
"You were injured yesterday?" Tsunade asked.
"Uh… yes."
"Where? Show me."
Hagoromo extended his injured hand as instructed.
Tsunade didn't make any dramatic gestures. A layer of soft green chakra enveloped her palm, and she closed her hand around his.
Immediately, Hagoromo felt an itching, tingling sensation at the wound—
a clear sign of accelerated healing.
"The initial treatment was done well," Tsunade said as she released his hand.
Hagoromo withdrew his hand and curiously untied the bandages.
The wound that had once been deep enough to expose bone was now nothing more than a faint red line.
Medical ninjutsu really is outrageous…
This level of healing is practically unscientific.
Tsunade ignored Hagoromo after that and turned back to Kushina.
"Since you're already here, stay for a while and help me handle daily matters. The front lines are a complete mess—I'm drowning in trivial nonsense."
"Besides," she added bluntly,
"going back to Konoha is basically returning to a cage for you anyway."
"Really? I can stay?" Kushina asked excitedly.
"Tsunade-sensei?!"
When Tsunade nodded, Kushina nearly jumped on the spot.
"That's great!"
It was like being handed a pillow just as sleepiness set in. Kushina had been racking her brain for excuses to linger on the front lines—only for Tsunade to bring it up herself.
Of course she wasn't going to refuse.
"Lady Tsunade, that's not possible!"
Two ANBU stationed at the tent entrance immediately rushed inside.
"By order of the Hokage, the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki must return to Konoha immediately. That is our mission!"
If they allowed Kushina to remain here, the punishment awaiting them back in the village would be catastrophic.
Tsunade's expression darkened instantly.
She crossed more than ten meters in a blur, appearing right in front of the ANBU. She was just about to teach the man a lesson—
When someone moved even faster.
Lightning exploded.
Wrapped in crackling arcs of Lightning Release, Hagoromo surged forward. His fingers were held together like a blade, and a Lightning Cutter–like strike screamed past the speaking ANBU's face—
Thud!
It pierced straight into a wooden support pillar behind him.
This was the first time Hagoromo had moved without holding anything back.
Faster than last night's battle with the Sand shinobi.
Faster than when he dodged Tsunade's test strike.
Lightning sliced through part of the ANBU's mask and left a bloody gash across his face.
Two inches lower, and Hagoromo would have severed the man's throat.
One inch to the left, and he would have pierced straight through his skull.
The unfortunate ANBU hadn't even imagined being attacked by an ally.
He hadn't had time to react at all.
Everyone froze.
If Hagoromo's aim had been even slightly off, that ANBU would already be dead.
Kushina's disciple… wouldn't really kill someone over this, right?
Tsunade and Kushina, however, immediately understood what had happened—and relaxed.
Hagoromo had only intimidated him.
He'd cut the mask and scratched the face—nothing more.
"I'll remember you," Hagoromo said coldly.
"ANBU squad leader. Codename: Sanxiao."
He hadn't seriously injured the man—but the threat in his voice was far more terrifying than physical pain.
ANBU weren't just ruthless toward enemies.
Once given orders, they wouldn't hesitate to act against their own village's shinobi. That was precisely why they hid their identities.
If an ANBU's true identity was exposed, they didn't just face enemy pursuit—
they might be targeted by their own comrades as well.
When not on missions, ANBU still needed public identities.
Once exposed, there were only two endings:
Live forever in the shadows—
or die.
So why were Tsunade and Hagoromo truly furious?
It wasn't because the ANBU had barged into the tent.
It was because that idiot had used the term "Nine-Tails' jinchūriki."
Whether or not it carried contempt was beside the point.
The real question was—where were they right now?
This was the Konoha front line.
Tsunade's tent could very well be under enemy surveillance.
There could have been spies outside at that very moment.
If that single sentence had been overheard, the information that the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was on the front lines could already be spreading.
And what would that mean?
Anyone with a functioning brain could understand.
The enemy would immediately mobilize at any cost.
No matter how many shinobi died—
if they could eliminate a jinchūriki, it would be worth it.
Tailed beasts were a cornerstone of balance between villages.
No village could afford to lose one—especially not in the middle of a Shinobi World War.
Losing a tailed beast and its host could trigger a chain collapse, potentially altering the entire course of the war.
By now, Hagoromo had withdrawn his hand.
Under the ANBU's broken mask, cold sweat poured down—not from fear of Hagoromo, but from realizing exactly what he had said, and what consequences it could bring.
A mistake that basic—loose lips.
No matter what happened next, once this mission ended, his ANBU career was finished.
Tsunade's expression remained pitch black.
She stepped close to the ANBU and spoke slowly, grinding each word through clenched teeth.
"So this is how loose ANBU mouths have become?"
"If there were enemy spies near my tent… if Kushina's identity were leaked…"
"Do you understand what would happen then?"
"If something like that truly occurred—every single ANBU involved in this mission…"
"…don't even think about surviving."
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