Chapter 43: Wrong Trust, Premature Death

Tsunade couldn't believe it. She could barely contain her joy, though deep in her heart, there was a burning rage.

'To think that Danzo did something like this...' She furrowed her brows so tightly that she could have killed a fly between them.

"Tsunade-sama, please!" A clever monkey spoke to her respectfully. There was infinite adoration in its eyes.

Tsunade pushed aside her confused thoughts and entered. As she did, she saw a ninja from Uzushiogakure in the room, inside a cave, and he was using medical ninjutsu on a man who was none other than the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Sensei..." she murmured softly. She quickly approached.

"You're here, thank goodness." The Uzushio ninja said with a weak smile. There was a lot of sweat dripping from his pale face.

"Mm, leave it to me!" Tsunade said confidently. She didn't perform a full analysis, but from what she could see, in a few months, she would be able to help her sensei recover and seek justice.

They say that going through a life-or-death situation changes a person's perspective on life. Tsunade, seeing her sensei weaker than ever, almost on the brink of entering the 'Pure Land,' hoped he would no longer be so compassionate and would not allow Danzo to escape from what he had done.

══════

"Hidden Leaf Village..." Tanaka murmured as he flew over the sky.

Before him was the village surrounded by walls. He could even see in the distance, with his enhanced vision, the faces of the three Hokages and noticed that a new face was being carved.

'So, Danzo didn't waste any time, though they say he only became the interim Hokage...'

It was a bit ironic to think it would be different. It was like a dog that had been given a bone. It's practically impossible to make the dog drop the bone. In fact, Danzo could be classified as even worse than a dog that wouldn't drop the bone. If he could, he would sink his teeth into it and swallow it whole to ensure no one took it from him.

Going to the Hidden Leaf Village, which was under Danzo's control, didn't seem like a smart choice.

Changing direction to the northwest, he flew towards the Hidden Rain Village.

'For now, I'll assess the situation in that village. There, I'll decide what to do next.'

With this in mind, he didn't waste any time and accelerated, using the wind element in the elemental exchange of his ring, increasing his flight speed to over 200 km/h.

══════

As he flew, the sky cleared a bit, and night fell.

Tanaka stopped in a relatively remote location in the Land of Fire and began to set up camp.

He used Fuuinjutsu to construct a simple barrier around his camp, just as a precaution.

After creating a campfire, he took skewers with meat and vegetables out of his inventory. It was something he had prepared before the trip, with the help of Akane and Kushina.

Speaking of them, he wondered how they were doing now...

Well, they must be fine; if they weren't, one of the clones would have informed him by dispelling...

"Fuuu~"

Looking up at the sky, he exhaled warm breath with a sigh that created a puff of white smoke.

The cold was still present. Just because it had stopped snowing didn't mean the weather had warmed up.

[You have gained 1 level in <Cooking >! The skill has now reached level 41!]

'You level up very quickly, huh...' Tanaka mentally commented, as if talking to some entity.

He was really surprised by the rapid growth of this skill. It wasn't like he used it proactively. However, it might be that the Orc meat was the real reason for the exaggerated EXP gain.

After enjoying a meal of meat and vegetable skewers, Tanaka pondered for a moment before taking out various items obtained as dungeon drops.

Soon, a pile of items formed, and he created 10 shadow clones to begin dismantling these items while he himself busied with creating some items that might be useful at some point.

Before starting, he looked up at the sky. The moon was visible now, and he thought, 'Was this really created artificially?'

He felt that he had a long way to go to be capable of such a feat. Although he felt he possessed considerable strength, it wasn't to the point of creating something like a moon.

'By the way, does its surface reflect sunlight like in my previous life? Or does it have its own light?'

If it's like in the anime, he knew that there was someone living on the moon. But would that be enough to produce light?

He knew the moon is depicted in the anime as having oxygen and a breathable atmosphere, allowing the characters to fight and survive there.

And, if he remembers correctly, there was a moment when Toneri Ōtsutsuki manipulated the moon, and it seemed to shine more intensely or create a unique visual effect, but that was due to special powers and not because the moon had its own light...

'So, in the end, the moon doesn't have its own light, I guess...'

He thought randomly. It wasn't as if it had deep meaning. It was simply a reflection he had while looking at that moon and comparing it to the moon of the world from his previous life.

══════

January 22nd, Monday. Cold wind, clear sky, 6:20 AM.

Tanaka woke up later than he was used to. He stored the bedding in his inventory, then stepped out of the tent he had constructed with earthen walls.

"Mmm~"

He shivered a little as he stretched; the sky was clear, but the day was still cold. The sun was starting to rise.

Taking a bucket from his inventory, he brushed his teeth and washed his face.

══════

While for some, that night was like any other, for Tsunade, it was a sleepless one.

"Fuuuh~~" She wiped the sweat from her forehead, letting out a long sigh.

The Uzushio ninja handed her a towel: "You worked hard, Tsunade-sama."

After witnessing her skills in action, the admiration this ninja had for her increased considerably. He began to understand why she was considered the best medical ninja in the world.

"Thank you, Uzaki." She took the towel and wiped her face.

Observing her sensei, Tsunade began to understand how they managed to leave him in that state.

Only someone who knew his ways, his steps, well would be capable of setting such a cunning and malicious trap.

Hiruzen's injuries were mostly caused by an explosion of explosive tags. Although common, when used skillfully, they are the most effective way to injure someone with Hiruzen's level of power.

Of course, that was just a means to an end. Tsunade realized that initially, they set a trap with explosive tags, injuring Hiruzen in the process. However, he also had sword wounds, including a strike that almost pierced his heart. He survived by the slimmest margin; if the blade that pierced his chest had gone a little more to the left...

They probably believed that would be enough to kill Hiruzen and left, but Hiruzen managed to summon Enma, who saved him just in time.

However, the same could not be said for the other ninjas who accompanied Hiruzen, including his eldest son...

||- Note -||

Chapter 64 is already released on Pa treon!

patre on.com/Tozoku