Chapter 44

*Yuichi's clone POV*

"Sakumo-sama! We are in trouble!" a Jōnin with a panicked face said as he entered inside the main tent where a meeting was happening

"What happened." Sakumo calmly asked as he looked toward the entrance

"It's Sunagakure! They sent Chiyo back on the frontline and this time the antidotes are not working!" the Jōnin explained as everyone inside the tent was surprised

"So we are losing ground again." Sakumo said as Chiyo was capable of facing many shinobi alone thanks to her outstanding puppetry skills and deadly poisons

"Did you at least came back with a sample of the poison she started using?" Tsunade asked as she was part of the meeting and was the one who made the previous antidotes

"N-no I didn't bring anything back with me." the Jōnin replied embarrassed

"Useless." Orochimaru said, before shifting his gaze toward Sakumo and adding "Sakumo-san, can you send me to the frontline? I could get my hands on the poison as long as we find a dead body from our side."

"This can be dangerous... But also the fastest way to get an antidote." Sakumo said before shifting his gaze on Tsunade "You don't mind going with him? The sooner the antidote is ready for the front lines, the better it will be for us."

"I will go." Tsunade replied before adding "I already have different kinds of plants that grow in the Land of Wind and Rain with me. If she developed a new poison, she made an antidote, and everything should be gatherable not far from them."

"Great. I will prepare a skilled team of Jōnin that will be tasked to hold Chiyo back." he announced as he looked at certain people that were present who nodded

"This shouldn't affect our original plan. I will lead the ambush team and we will sabotage their supplies, as well as assassinate their medical-nin." he added before looking at a Nara Clan member and said "You will be in charge while I am not here."

"Yes." he said before scratching the back of his head "What a pain..."

*Days later*

"Look like they knew we would seek the body of someone poisoned." Tsunade said as not a single corpse was left on the previous battlefield

Orochimaru simply nodded but was disappointed to not find a single body, be it from Suna or Konoha.

However, he suddenly stopped being depressive, frowned, and said "We are getting ambushed Tsunade-san."

As he said that, multiple Kunai were sent toward them with visible explosive tags on them.

Tsunade didn't waste any time and punched the ground below her, sending debris around her while Orochimaru already knew what she would do and leaped up as he took two kunai from his pouch.

While most kunai blew up on the debris, two of them didn't get stopped, so Orochimaru precisely sent each of his Kunai at them, effectively interfering with the trajectory making them blew up before it could reach Tsunade.

After that, ten shinobi from Sunagakure revealed themselves, and one of them started talking "Well well well, what do we have here? Two rats who tried to find some evidence, Ebizō-sama was right."

The ten shinobi were surrounding both Tsunade and Orochimaru giving them no chance to leave, and when their leader started to open his mouth to talk again, he got backstabbed by a clone of Orochimaru that was using 'Hiding in Surface Technique'.

The other Jōnin's were outraged by the sneak attack as one of them said "Attacking him when he was talking! How shameless!" only to give a smile to Orochimaru who licked the now bloodied Kunai

Some of them started doing hand signs and Tsunade dashed toward one of the puppeteers who didn't have any time to react as he got punched in the stomach.

The blow was so deadly focused that you could see the scenery behind the Jōnin from his lower body, which was now an empty hole.

Multiple Wind Release techniques were sent toward Orochimaru while puppets hustled toward Tsunade.

Orochimaru used 'Fire Release: Fire Wall' and repelled the Wind Slashes that were targeting him.

From the wall of fire that grew in size with the wind, many red needle-like projectiles surged from Orochimaru and pierced or grazed some of his assailants.

*Boom*

On the other side, Tsunade knocked out two puppets that tried to send a powerful stream of water from their arms as well as their puppeteer, before covering her feet with chakra, allowing her to leap toward another shinobi to her right without being hindered by her earlier momentum.

The man tried to intercept her charge by making an earth wall but in vain as Tsunade's strength was already far superior to mere dirt.

But when Tsunade's fist reached her target, it got pierced by a hidden blade which was the last chance her target had.

*Splash*

Behind her, multiple explosions were heard and blood splattered everywhere as everyone who got injured by Orochimaru's last attack suddenly detonated.

Orochimaru was able to manipulate blood, like the Ketsuryūgan allowed the Chinoike Clan, but without even involving the Dōjutsu.

While Tsunade was healing her arm at a fast pace, the last Jōnin alive prepared an ultimate technique that would make his puppet blow itself and the whole surrounding with it according to the insane amount of explosive tag inside of it.

Orochimaru and Tsunade tried to prevent this but were not able to stop the puppet, and the moment the puppeteer started moving his hands, two earth spikes impaled him and the puppet from behind.

It was none other than Jiraiya who saved them from the explosion.

"I was right to go and find both of you! Thankfully, my leader agreed to this decision!" Jiraiya shouted as he appeared with a scroll in his hand

"Yeah, thank you Jiraiya." Tsunade said before looking at the scroll and ask "What's in this?"

He approached them and said "I was part of the team that was facing Chiyo but I had a bad feeling induced by their low number, so I made a clone and extracted that." he then showed them the content of the scroll which contained a sample of the poison she was using

"I did not expect you to do something smart like that Jiraiya-san." Orochimaru said before adding "I sensed more of them coming, it seems that multiple ambushes were waiting for us."

"Let's quickly leave this place, and I will need to know how you did that, Orochimaru." Tsunade said right before they could vanish from the place

====================

The following battles against Suna were mostly in Konoha's favor.

Tsunade was able to make an antidote countering Chiyo's poison which allowed Sakumo and other elite Jōnin to face her without the risk of dying from a single wound.

The addition of a medical-nin in each squad greatly reduced the losses from Konoha's side as they were also given antidotes for the different poisons used by Suna.

The Third Kazekage couldn't even go and help his village because he was forced to face the Land of Rain, being stopped by Hanzō who stood his ground against him.

During this one-year struggle, Suna and Konoha ended up setting a bounty on two specific targets that interested me.

The first was a woman with long yellow hair, purple eyes, and extremely pale skin that got famous for her unmatched speed and the quick slaughter she made against Konoha.

On the other hand, a man with pale blue hair that reached his back and dark green eyes became feared because of a weird technique that allowed him to be intangible, while capable of killing hundreds of shinobi.

The kunoichi from Suna was using Swift Release, according to my analysis, to increase not only her speed but the speed of the projectiles she threw.

The shinobi from Konoha was none other than Dan Katō and his 'Spirit Transformation Technique' which was unique to him and deadly.

Orochimaru and I were both interested in such a technique that made use of the user's spirit... So if he died, one of us will take his body back into the lab.

The thing about this conflict was that it happened mostly around the Land of Rain, and because Suna retreated, for now, Hanzō started multiple skirmishes against Konoha since his confidence grew after making Suna retreat.

The conflict between Konoha and Ame had barely begun.

====================

*Yuichi's POV*

"Sweet home Konohama~" I hummed as I appeared back into the Senju compound

'If there is something that I am missing from my previous life, it would be songs and music' I thought with a small sigh

This song may have become a 'meme' at some point, but Lynyrd Skynyrd made a banger for sure.

I sensed the compound and found the presence of Kushina, Konan, as well as someone else in our house's garden.

'If I can't refill my wife-energy, I will use the daughter-energy alternative' I thought with a smirk before teleporting where they were

My sudden appearance surprised the three youngsters before I said "I'm back Kushina~ Come and give me a welcome back hug~" with my arms wide open and a silly expression on my face

But as I expected her to run into my arms like she always did, she simply became uncomfortable and said "Gross! You're embarrassing me-dattebane!" while looking away

My cheerful expression crumbled before crouching and starting to draw a circle with my finger while mumbling "Give me my cute Kushina back... Why do they have to become teens..."

As I was still depressed, I heard someone who moved toward me said "I- I can hug you if you want." with a small and cute voice

Looking up, I saw Konan who had a smile and opened her arms as I did before.

I looked quickly toward Kushina who still tried to avoid my gaze with some hesitation, then I looked back at Konan and with a smirk, I accepted her offer.

I sat cross-legged, made her sit on my lap, then started to pat her head as I gazed at Kushina with a look that said 'Look what you're missing'.

As Konan was happily getting patted, I heard the boy that was near Kushina ask "So... He's your father?"

Kushina looked at him and said "You could say so." with a smile but quickly tried to erase it by adding "But he's a weirdo."

I narrowed my eyes and wondered why she acted like that 'She doesn't want me to embarrass her in front of Minato?'

That's right, the boy to her side was Minato, and it didn't look to be the first time she invited him to our compound.

Weirdly enough, I felt that she didn't want me to embarrass her, not in front of her friend, but seemingly her crush.

'Either Jiraiya hid something about them from me, or they got even closer this last year as they couldn't leave to do any mission' I thought as I was still recharging some of my batteries thanks to Konan who still had a delighted expression

"I see." Minato said before looking at me and announced with a smile "I am Minato Namikaze, nice to meet you." before adding "I didn't expect the man who fought thousands of shinobi and two Kage alone to be this doting."

"If a man stayed the same with his family as he does on the battlefield, he would lose his mind." I said as I glared at him

"I know. In fact, I'm glad that you aren't someone like that." he replied as he kept smiling at me

"Glad? Why would yo-" I was going to ask but then I shifted my gaze and saw a reddened Kushina

'Don't tell me'

I stopped patting Konan and announced "It will soon be time for dinner. Since I am here, I will cook for you all." as I started getting up

Both Kushina and Konan were happy about that since they loved my cooking, while Minato sensed that something fishy was going to happen.

I then added "...But before, let me talk with him, alone." I said as I pointed at Minato before vanishing from a now disappointed Konan, grabbed him, and teleported us outside of the garden

We reappeared inside a forest located within the compound before I released him from my grasp, looked coldly at him, and asked "What's your relationship with Kushina?"

Not intimidated at all, he replied "We started dating six months ago but you were away."

"Dating already? But both of you are only 12 years old! You didn't do anything weird to her, did you?" I inquired as I stayed calm

"From what I learned, didn't you start dating with your wife when you were also 12 years old?" he first replied, which I couldn't refute as we even started holding hands at that age

"As to what we did and do, we train a lot together in your Clan compound, we had a few dates where I prepared our lunches, we may have hugged a few times too..." he then announced which made my left eyebrow twitch

I closed my eyes and thought 'I did say that I wouldn't interfere with Kushina's love life since I don't need Naruto to be born, but I didn't expect her to fall in love with Minato'

Well, unlike in the canon, they both graduated at the same time and ended up in the same team, which gave them a lot more interactions with each other.

The moment I opened my eyes, they changed, and it instantly put Minato into a strong Genjutsu.

He couldn't hear me as I said "If you truly love her then prove it."

I may know that in the canon he will be someone strong that does love his wife BUT, unlike me, he would put the village before her, and because we are talking about Kushina whom I consider as my daughter, a test was needed.

Protecting the village is fine... But sacrificing your wife to do so is a big no.

You just need to be strong enough.

The Genjutsu he was in was quite peculiar because he won't realize that it is an illusion as everything seems real.

He may never wake up if he doesn't prove his love toward Kushina... Damn, I feel like a hermit giving the protagonist a trial.

As I wanted to leave a clone and go back to Kushina and Konan, I suddenly sensed him move which could only mean one thing.

'He did it already?' I thought with shock visible on my face

He blinked a few times while holding his head as he asked "W-what was that? Why did it seem so... real?"

I didn't respond as I was wondering about how he left my Genjutsu that soon... I made him experience a similar event to the moment of his death in the canon, along with Kushina's death, and the only way he could've woke up was if it ended without her death.

I made it so when it reset, he would not remember the last time which means that he would do the same thing over and over...

But he chose to save Kushina's life in the first round.

*Clap Clap*

"Impressive Minato." I said with a smile as I clapped my hands

"You've got guts, a strong will, great potential, you are kind, you can cook, and now that I see you in the flesh... You will be handsome enough." I added as he looked weirdly at me

"I can't believe I would say that but... I accept you as my future son-in-law, Minato Namikaze." I finally said which gave him a beaming smile

"But be aware." I notified as my look became cold again and some killing intent was directed at him

"If you ever hurt Kushina's feelings, or fail to protect her... Death would be a blessing for you, believe me." I declared as he was forced to kneel because of the pressure and sweat was noticeable on his forehead

I stopped releasing my insignificant killing intent and with a smile, I said "Alright let's go! They are waiting for us after all, and I did say that I would cook for all of you." before letting him catch his breath

I grabbed him again and teleported us into my house.

"This is quite a useful technique that you can use, father-in-law." Minato said as the last part made a tick mark appear on my forehead

I bonked his head with my fist and said "Listen there, you will have the right to call me like that once you two get married and not before, is that clear?"

I then heard an angry voice say "You didn't do anything mean to Minato, right dad?"

I smiled and replied to the redhead "Don't worry, I just had a talk with your boyfriend~" which made her face as red as her hair

I approached her, put my hand on her shoulder, and said close to her ear "If he does anything you don't like, tell me okay? I will take care of him."

"Welcome back, Yuichi-sama. Did you report to the Hokage already?" said a serious voice I knew well to our side

It was Chizu, who was accompanied by Konan to her right, that welcomed me back as respectfully as ever.

"You know how my priorities are, that old man can wait." I said before chuckling and added "Come and help me with today's lunch Chizu, will you?"

'He will die soon anyway' I thought as a sinister glint appeared in my eyes before quickly fading away

Yugito Nii will also be able to live more freely once he is gone... And for now, I will let her leave Shiromari's body only after placing a special barrier around the area, to prevent anyone keen enough to sense Matatabi's chakra.