"The fetus is developing well."
Tsunade brought Na-snow out of the bedroom.
"That puts my mind at ease. Thank you for your help."
Na-snow gently touched her belly, feeling the first sprout of maternal affection.
"Sister-in-law, don't be polite with me."
"Haha, from now on we're family."
Na-snow's straightforward words made Tsunade blush.
"Let's go. Kawakaze is still waiting."
Tsunade pulled Na-snow back into the living room.
"Don't worry—your sister-in-law and the baby are both perfectly fine."
"Stay for dinner tonight. It's been a long time since we shared a drink."
Kawakaze nodded. He invited Tsunade to stay for drinks, though he clearly had other motives.
"That sounds great."
Tsunade agreed without hesitation.
The three of them drank and laughed late into the night. Na-snow was relaxed and cheerful; it had been a long time since the house felt this lively.
As expected, both Kawakaze and Tsunade became completely drunk.
The cunning Kawakaze lost all capacity for scheming, and Na-snow skillfully arranged for servants to drag the two drunkards into Kawakaze's room.
The next morning, Tsunade woke up to find herself sleeping in Kawakaze's arms.
She was already used to it; this had happened several times.
Calmly, she lifted his large hand off her body.
Kawakaze's hands seemed to have their own navigation system—after a while, one of them slid precisely back into place.
Tsunade started to suspect he might actually be awake.
She leaned in, brought her face close to his, and blew a soft breath across his cheek.
Kawakaze frowned, rolled over, and turned his back to her.
"What a pervert."
Tsunade smiled and quietly got up to go to the bathroom.
When Kawakaze fully woke up, he thought he had fallen asleep alone.
After breakfast, he accompanied Tsunade to the hospital. While she conducted her research, Kawakaze chatted with others.As for the technical medical work—he was completely useless.
Time passed, while Orochimaru and his forces anxiously waited in the border town.
Meanwhile, Kawakaze and Tsunade spent every day in the lab, showering each other with affection.This, unsurprisingly, severely slowed Tsunade's research progress.
At the same time, Shimon arrived in the Land of Wind and met with the Fire Salamander, Hanzō.
"Lord Hanzō, Lord Sanmaru has died."
"We suffered a crushing defeat while attempting to block Konoha's main forces."
"Lord Sanmaru led the remaining survivors, carrying large numbers of explosive tags, and charged into Konoha's camp."
"Our objective was to destroy their supplies."
"Konoha's forces still haven't advanced into our heartland. This proves Lord Sanmaru's plan succeeded."
"What should we do next?"
Shimon had removed his gas mask and knelt on one knee before Hanzō.
Tears streamed down his face as he recounted everything that happened on the battlefield.
"Imaru was a good man. I have my own methods for dealing with Konoha. You may all withdraw."
Hanzō did not reinstate Shimon. With a wave of his hand, a shadowy figure appeared in the darkness.
"Send word to our agents in the Land of Fire. Regardless of any bribes they've accepted or secrets they've obtained, they must arrest the Fire Minister of Supply."
"Tell them to delay Konoha's supplies. If they can't hold out any longer, report back to me."
Though the Land of Rain was small, its assassins and intelligence networks were formidable.Konoha would never imagine that Hanzō had operatives embedded inside the Fire Daimyō's own residence.
Once the messenger left, Hanzō finally relaxed his tightly clenched fists.His emotions were far from calm—he had lost a full third of his shinobi.
His heart felt like it was being sliced open.
Was peace through force nothing more than a fantasy?
"It seems we must accelerate our battle against the Sand."
Hanzō muttered to himself while issuing a new round of battle commands.
As things escalated, the conflict between the Rain and Sand grew even bloodier. Countless shinobi died each day.
Chiyo grew increasingly frustrated with Hanzō's poisons and redoubled her efforts to create antidotes.
Whenever Chiyo and Hanzō clashed, no one could stop them.
No one but Hanzō himself could resist his own poisons; and no one could approach Chiyo's puppet, the Near-Pine Ten.
This "demigod" of the shinobi world couldn't gain any advantage over a woman—that alone was enough to make Hanzō furious.
Even with the help of his summon, the Fire Salamander, he only held a slight edge.Hurting Chiyo, let alone killing her, was nearly impossible.
Hanzō would turn to attack other Sand shinobi, but then Chiyo would slaughter Rain shinobi in return.
In terms of numbers, Hanzō knew he was at an absolute disadvantage.Without his large-scale poison attacks, the Rain forces would have been wiped out long ago.
The war became a stalemate.Fighting to the end would only result in mutual destruction, and Hanzō was already considering retreat.
But he could not swallow such humiliation, so he forced himself to continue.
Meanwhile, when Konoha's ANBU reached the Daimyō's palace, they explained the situation.
With the support of the militarist faction, the Daimyō quickly approved the request to send supplies.
However, the Minister of Supply repeatedly stalled with excuses.ANBU reported this to the Daimyō—who completely ignored it.
Food and fodder deliveries were delayed.
When the Third Hokage heard the news, he could only watch in frustration while Orochimaru quietly waited.
Konoha shinobi were more than happy to stay in the village; as long as there was no fighting or danger, life wasn't bad at all.
The two boys continued training daily under the guidance of Shomao, Dai, and Orochimaru.
Fresh from the battlefield, both progressed rapidly.
Within a few years, they might very well reach jōnin level.
"Orochimaru-kun, it's been several months now."
"Still no word on supplies?"
Shomao and Orochimaru were drinking tea in a quiet room.
Outside, Nawaki and Minato were sparring fiercely.Dai supervised them carefully, correcting their excessive force and unnecessary movements.
"The teacher told me to wait for news. I suspect something has happened in the Daimyō's court."
"As for whether the Rain shinobi are involved—I can't say."
Orochimaru was clever; he knew the Daimyō's household had both conservative and hardline factions.
Now that supplies weren't being sent—there was no other explanation.Even he couldn't imagine that Hanzō's influence extended so far.
"If we keep waiting like this, when will it end?"
Shomao was naturally impatient—months of doing nothing had nearly exhausted him.
If this weren't a mission, he would have returned to Konoha long ago.
"The teacher is quite frail these days. If the Daimyō refuses to send supplies, he won't pressure him."
Orochimaru could clearly see the Third Hokage was no longer as bold as in his youth.
If he weren't familiar with Shomao, he would never speak so freely.
"The Third might have his reasons. You could speak with him again."
Shomao's tone was more tactful. His opinion of the Third Hokage was slipping; he had even imagined Tsunade sitting in that seat.
If she were Hokage, the supplies probably would've arrived long ago—though she'd likely be furious.
"This is the only way. I'll consult the teacher again."
"Kawakaze seems very comfortable since returning to the village."
Orochimaru shook his head with a faint smile, finishing his tea before standing.
"Yes, that brat."
"Dai and I will head back soon."
"My wife is about to give birth."
When Shomao shared the news, Orochimaru congratulated him and agreed.
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "Naruto: Tsunade the Fugitive Healer" is 30 chapters ahead there