32 Don't die

Tsunade just said goodbye and left afterward, leaving her grandfather's necklace with Yujin.

He placed the necklace around his neck and decided to always wear it.

The next day, he got out of bed and did his daily exercises. He then went to the bookstore to buy more books, had a meal at a nearby restaurant, and went to visit Uzumaki Mito.

In the past few days, he would occasionally visit her to see if he could help in any way, and the two would always exchange ideas for a while. Today, he decided to visit her because he felt time was running out, and he wanted to know the progress.

When he found her, although he didn't sense a vital weakness in the elderly woman, he could feel her fatigue.

"Have you not been sleeping well?"

Yujin has a good friendship with Mito. He could enter her house without any interruption, and the housekeeper always let him in directly. Unless she had a guest or was resting, he could go straight in to see her.

"Hoho, there's no way I can sleep in this situation. It's been years since I've been involved in jutsu research, so it gives me the energy to stay up all night."

Yujin smiled at her youthful smile, feeling that despite being tired, she seemed spirited and happy.

"How are things going? Were you able to create the jutsu?"

Mito had been busy in recent days creating a fuinjutsu to separate the nine-tailed fox. Her goal was to split the fox and give half to Kushina. This way, the burden on Mito's body would decrease, and she could live longer.

The elderly woman remained silent in response to the question and thought for a while. Finally, she sighed and said.

"Yes, I succeeded, but I'm not sure yet. I tested it with small amounts of the fox's chakra and got the desired result, but I don't know what will happen when I try to split the entire fox. Theoretically, it's possible, but practice always surpasses theory. I am now preparing for inconvenient possibilities. I don't want to make a mistake like releasing the fox from the seal during the process. I also have to worry about external attacks. I don't know how, but Kumo seems to have received information about my situation; Hiruzen discovered ninjas near the village, monitoring our movements. I don't know how they got the information."

There was a cold gleam in Mito's eyes as she spoke about Kumo's actions. Yujin was aware of Kumo, one of the hidden ninja villages, Kumogakure, the Hidden Cloud Village.

Yujin had been striving to absorb knowledge about the place he lived, so he knew about the ongoing war and that Kumo was at war with Konoha, the Leaf Village. In fact, there were several other villages involved, but Konoha and Kumo were among the main actors.

"Have you set a date for the ritual?"

"Yes, it will be in three days. I just need to finish my preparations."

The elderly woman then looked at Yujin and approached, placing her hand on top of his hand, something she did whenever she wanted to ask for something or convey something important.

"I am preparing as much as I can, but there is a chance I may die. I leave Tsunade in your hands."

Yujin nodded with determination. She then turned her body back and smiled.

"But what happened between you two? You two seem more distant. Did you do something?"

Yujin smiled awkwardly at hearing this, feeling uncomfortable with the question. In a way, the confession he made to Tsunade was ill-timed, and Mito might take it negatively, but he couldn't evade the question.

"I told her my feelings."

Mito wasn't surprised to hear this. Yujin noticed this, but didn't say anything.

"It wasn't the best timing. It couldn't have gone well because of that. Why did you do it?"

She knew Yujin was a very intelligent and sensible young man. There was no way he didn't know he would be rejected. Above all, this was a difficult time for Tsunade, and she needed all the support she could get. Yujin once again didn't evade the question and answered honestly.

"Since I arrived in the village, I have been watched by some people. I assume they are subordinates of the Hokage. Days ago, one of the Hokage's trusted men, Orochimaru, came to see me on the day I met you for the first time."

There was a mysterious gleam in Yujin's eyes when he spoke of Orochimaru. There was a kind of hidden hostility that confused Mito.

"Orochimaru saw me from a distance once, I noticed him, and he is a man close to the Hokage. I think that day he came to see what kind of person I was under the Hokage's order. When I realized his intentions, I understood how the Hokage saw me, and I became cautious."

Mito narrowed her eyes upon hearing this, understanding the crux of the matter immediately. She knew Hiruzen and how cautious he was. She didn't disagree with his actions, but immediately understood how Yujin perceived them.

"I realized then that the Hokage saw me as a potential threat due to my strange relationship with Tsunade. I also started getting closer to you, and to Kushina, key figures in the village, so I realized he wanted to understand my intentions."

Although she had realized it before, Yujin's explanation still surprised her. She knew the Hokage and could understand his actions. But how did Yujin understand someone he had never met before?

"This made me realize that my actions, from some people's point of view, may seem like I'm taking advantage of Tsunade and trying to get close to key figures in the village for political/financial gain. And the worst part is that it's hard for me to deny that."

The elderly woman sighed upon hearing this, understanding Yujin's perception even better. As someone possibly from the past, he was in practically another world. It was normal for him to want to make friends quickly to gain a better understanding of the place, as well as financial assistance. That was his intention from the beginning, something he had confessed to her before. However, the Hokage was unaware of his situation.

"I think I managed to make a good impression on Orochimaru, but my instincts are warning me that he is a dangerous man, so I can't be at ease."

Mito narrowed her eyes again, intrigued. She knew how important instincts were.

"After days of thinking, I realized how dependent Tsunade was becoming on me, and fearing that this would become detrimental to our relationship, I decided to distance myself from her. But I couldn't do it normally without hurting her feelings. Our relationship was in a strange situation where we knew something was developing, but pretended not to see given the circumstances, so I decided to break that by telling her my feelings. This way, she won't feel comfortable being dependent on me without accepting my feelings, and since I know she's not ready to accept my feelings, with the rejection, we will distance ourselves and be able to think better about our feelings."

Mito finally understood what happened and sighed. She knew Yujin was intelligent, but this was the first time she felt admiration for the mature and intelligent way he handled it. She also understood his concerns.

At the same time, although she knew he made the right decision, she also knew it wasn't an easy one. He clearly had deep feelings for Tsunade, but was willing to distance himself from her to avoid losing her in the future. This way, she would have time to process her feelings. If their relationship continued, one day she might wake up and think he manipulated her into liking him, something that would completely destroy their relationship.

Mito then looked at the necklace around Yujin's neck and finally understood why it was with him and not Tsunade.

"Did you talk to her afterward?"

Seeing the elderly woman's gaze on the necklace, Yujin picked it up and explained.

"Yes. When I confessed, she was so surprised that she simply ran away away after rejecting me. Yesterday, she explained why she rejected me and handed me the necklace. I think she didn't want to leave the necklace with me, but after I reaffirmed my feelings, she just left, leaving it with me."

The elderly woman nodded slowly and spoke firmly.

"Then don't die, Yujin. Tsunade gave this necklace to two people she loved before, and both died shortly after receiving it. If even you die, she will never recover."

He nodded resolutely, understanding the gravity of the situation.