Time Skip

"Don't forget, Nawaki almost died. My grandmother, on her deathbed, asked me to take care of him! And I almost lost him!"

"Nawaki almost died, and I won't let this go!" she roared as she tried to break free from Chen's grip.

The mere thought that her master, Hiruzen, or Danzo could do something so despicable against Nawaki filled her with a murderous rage. Fortunately, Chen had arrived in time to save him. If he hadn't, the guilt would have consumed her for the rest of her life.

The more she thought about it, the more her anger grew, devouring her until, unable to contain herself, she broke free from Chen's embrace and, filled with determination, ran towards where Hiruzen was.

She wanted answers, and she wanted them now.

Chen watched her for a moment, seeing the intensity in her eyes, and sighed before following her. He knew this wouldn't end well.

….

Upon arriving at the headquarters, Tsunade burst into the tent where Hiruzen was. Her voice echoed like thunder: "OLD MAN, TELL ME RIGHT NOW WHAT HAPPENED TO NAWAKI!"

Hiruzen was stunned for a moment. Then his face darkened, and he sighed sadly.

"You already know...?"

He sighed again, trying to stay calm. "I feared you'd be sad, so I tried to hide it from you. Nawaki was a good kid, but unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side. He was attacked from behind by a Sand ninja and... unfortunately, died."

"Haha..." Tsunade let out a bitter, sarcastic laugh.

"Did you make up that story for me? How many brain cells did you have to sacrifice to come up with that trash?" she retorted coldly.

"Huh...?" Hiruzen was dumbfounded, confused.

"I'll ask you again: what really happened?! Who wanted to kill Nawaki?! And you, the Hokage, what role did you play in all this?!" Tsunade's face was red with rage, her hands trembling as she lowered her head, her eyes full of unshed tears.

"Tsunade, you're misunderstanding me. Why would anyone want to kill Nawaki?" Hiruzen tried to remain calm, but concern was evident in his voice, which began to tremble.

"Heh..." Tsunade chuckled, but the laughter was filled with bitterness. "Misunderstanding you? Old man... if you'd been honest with me, maybe there'd be something to forgive, but now..."

Before Hiruzen could even react, Tsunade clenched her fists, and with all her pent-up rage, she struck the Hokage directly in the chest.

Boom!

The impact echoed throughout the tent. Tsunade's punch broke Hiruzen's ribs, sending him flying backward.

He fell unconscious instantly.

"Tsunade-sama, how dare you attack Hokage-sama?!" shouted one of the ANBU guarding Hiruzen, his eyes wide with shock.

He quickly drew a shuriken, looking at Tsunade with fear and determination.

Tsunade's attack had been so sudden that not even the Hokage had time to react, let alone the ANBU watching over him.

"It's better if you take a little nap," Chen said as he arrived. He looked at the ANBU, and in an instant, they all fell under his genjutsu, collapsing unconscious on the ground.

"Hokage... the bond between us... today it breaks forever," Tsunade said coldly, as she took Chen's hand and walked away without looking back.

Hiruzen slowly got up, in pain and defeated, without saying a word.

"....."

He knew Tsunade had held back her punch; if she had used all her strength, he'd already be in the other world. However, what hurt more wasn't the physical blow, but the complete severance of his relationship with Tsunade.

The pain of knowing he had lost her struck him harder than any punch.

"Danzo... Danzo, this is your fault..." Hiruzen murmured between coughs. He knew he had allowed Danzo to get away with too much, he knew he was partly responsible for all of this. But that didn't ease his pain.

…

"Thank you, Chen. If it weren't for you, I don't know how I could face my grandmother... even if I died," Tsunade said with a trembling voice, as the rage that had consumed her slowly faded, leaving only sadness and emptiness.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to thank me?" Chen replied gently, approaching her with a sympathetic smile. "Do you want to see Nawaki?"

Tsunade paused, her gaze distant. After a moment, she slowly shook her head. "No... Nawaki is stubborn. Let him think carefully about what happened. We'll visit him when he's ready to listen."

….

Three years have passed. During this time, Chen has stayed away from the battlefield, avoiding any direct combat. He hasn't raised his sword or killed an enemy in three years.

The same goes for Tsunade. Her disappointment with Konoha has led her to distance herself, although in a final gesture of loyalty, she helped Konoha free itself from Chiyo the Puppeteer. That was her last act of service to the village she once loved.

Kushina and Mikoto have stayed by Chen's side, and together they have formed an inseparable trio, moving as a unit on the battlefield.

During these three years, Chen's physical strength and chakra reserves have grown enormously, raising his abilities to a much higher level. But what has occupied most of his time has been studying the Tenseigan's ability to control time.

His efforts have not been in vain, and he has made significant progress.

Now he can accelerate time within a radius of 50 meters for several decades, draining the life of any enemy caught in the area of effect in the blink of an eye.

He has also managed to reverse time within a radius of five meters around him for ten seconds. This provides him with an invaluable ability to save lives, returning to the state of ten seconds ago, regardless of the severity of the injuries or chakra depletion and physical condition.

Chen has placed great emphasis on studying the ability to stop time. This is the key to immortality and, therefore, the skill he has focused on the most.

After countless attempts, he has discovered that it is possible to suspend the time of an object forever, but there is a limitation: the suspended object cannot move or change. It is frozen in the same position it was in when it was suspended, which, in essence, is no different from death.

In addition to his studies on time control, he has been exploring ways to achieve immortality. In these three years, he has developed three possible methods to achieve immortality. One of them is to rely on the ability to freeze his own temporal flow without affecting his vital functions.

The second method is to follow Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's example, consuming the fruit of the Divine Tree and becoming the Jinchūriki of the Ten Tails, gaining the power of immortality.

The last method is related to the system. Chen knows that immortality is just a trivial matter for the system. There are countless items in the store that can extend life or even grant immortality. Unfortunately, for now, Chen doesn't have the coins needed to acquire them.

Among these three methods, Chen leans more towards the first. Although he hasn't succeeded yet, he has identified the problem preventing him from achieving immortality in this way: his understanding of time is still insufficient, and the Tenseigan's ocular power isn't enough.

Chen is convinced that if he can overcome these two obstacles, he will be able to achieve immortality. His understanding of time requires more experience and study, something that will take time and patience but doesn't cause him anxiety.

His immediate focus is on increasing his Tenseigan's power, which will also facilitate his understanding of time.

Although his ocular power is vast, it still hasn't reached the level necessary to fulfill his goal. The reality is proving much more challenging than he imagined.

There are three ways to increase his ocular power. The first is through the increase of his personal strength in combat. The second is through the gradual and natural growth of his ocular power, but this takes too long. The third option is to plunder and absorb the ocular power of others, strengthening himself in the process.

Chen didn't hesitate to choose the third method, as it has the most potential to lead him to his goal in the shortest possible time.

________

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