Yuu had indeed considered sealing the Six-Tails into himself to solve his relatively limited chakra reserves.
Well…
compared with Kakashi and the others, his chakra reserves were already quite large.
He estimated they might even exceed Namikaze Minato's.
But compared with monsters like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, whose chakra could practically be measured in tons—
or even the slightly lower-tier Jiraiya and Tsunade—
Yuu still seemed rather ordinary.
He clearly still had a long way to go.
If he also possessed tailed-beast-level chakra reserves,
then perhaps he could use moves like Three Dragons Turning Destruction as ordinary basic attacks without ever worrying about running out of chakra.
However,
there were plenty of ways to increase chakra reserves.
He didn't necessarily need the Six-Tails specifically.
In theory, aside from the Nine-Tails, which was already sealed inside Kushina, and the Eight-Tails, which had extremely high compatibility with Killer B and would be difficult to transfer to another jinchūriki—
all the other tailed beasts were potential targets.
And actually,
the optimal choice would be to collect a portion of chakra from all nine tailed beasts—
then directly synthesize the Ten-Tails.
Even if that Ten-Tails were somewhat smaller,
its level of power would still be far above an ordinary tailed beast.
Yuu figured that after returning, he could contact Pakura and first ask her for some chakra from the One-Tail.
Based on the timeline,
Sunagakure's first jinchūriki, Bunpuku, should be close to death by now.
The village was probably already considering who the next jinchūriki would be.
Yuu wondered whether it would still be Gaara this time.
As for the other tailed beasts…
since both Iwagakure and Kumogakure had already begun deploying theirs onto the battlefield,
there would probably be opportunities to obtain chakra from them as well.
Worst case,
he could simply dump the blame onto Uchiha Madara afterward.
He could claim that the inherently evil old Uchiha fossil had been targeting the tailed beasts of every nation and was secretly preparing some massive conspiracy against the entire ninja world…
In a sense, that was exactly what would happen in the future anyway.
So it wouldn't even really count as falsely accusing Madara.
A short while later,
Fugaku and Kakashi finished cleaning up the battlefield and returned to regroup.
Everyone briefly exchanged information.
When Fugaku learned the truth about Madara, his expression changed noticeably.
Originally, he had thought that the enemy might have been some Uchiha descendant who had ended up in Kirigakure.
He had even considered whether there might be some way to persuade the man to defect—
adding another powerful fighter to both Konoha and the Uchiha clan,
while earning himself another achievement in the process.
But then…
Good grief.
He was supposed to persuade the clan's legendary ancestor, who had defected decades ago, to come back?
Forget it.
Absolutely not.
He couldn't afford to provoke someone like that.
Beside him,
Kakashi remained relatively calm.
To him, someone on Uchiha Madara's level was simply too far removed from his own world.
If the sky collapsed, Yuu would—
No, wait.
The taller people would hold it up.
Kakashi was still just an ordinary ninja who hadn't even officially received his jōnin title yet.
There was no reason for him to worry himself sick over matters that far above his level.
The group didn't waste any more time.
After briefly organizing themselves, they began heading back toward the Shakuka Town stronghold.
This time,
they couldn't rely on Black Wing.
There were simply too many people present.
If all of them rode on the giant eagle together, it probably wouldn't be able to carry the load comfortably.
Besides,
Black Wing had already been running everywhere with them all night.
First it had flown all the way to the Kumogakure front to notify Minato.
Then it had returned and accompanied Yuu in confronting Madara and the Yatagarasu.
Afterward, it had stayed behind to protect Rin…
It had basically played the entire match from beginning to end.
Making more demands of it now would be blatant exploitation.
So Yuu simply canceled the Summoning Technique, allowing Black Wing to return and rest.
Then he continued toward the stronghold on foot with Minato and the others.
Along the way,
Rin remained beside Yuu the entire time.
Yuu supported her by the arm as they moved.
Obito, meanwhile, walked several steps behind them together with Kakashi.
He kept glancing upward at the two ahead of him, his expression extremely complicated.
Kakashi was utterly exhausted by now and didn't have much energy left to pay attention to his best friend's changing emotions.
He merely glanced occasionally at Yuu's back and silently lamented how much wider the gap between them had become.
At this rate,
he, who had once practically acted as the "assistant instructor" of Team Minato,
was about to become nothing more than some random roadside dog.
It wasn't until the following morning,
when daylight fully illuminated the surroundings,
that the group finally returned near the stronghold.
The Hyūga ninja assigned to sentry duty had already spotted them from far away and returned to report to Tsunade and the others.
So by the time Yuu's group arrived,
the main gate of the stronghold was already open.
Tsunade strode out and met them directly at the entrance.
"Yuu, you brat…"
"You were gone for so long!
"You finally remembered how to come back!
"You really kept us waiting!"
Tsunade hurried forward.
She originally seemed ready to throw an arm around Yuu's shoulders to show some affection.
But when she noticed Minato and the others behind him, her movement paused.
Instead—
she punched Yuu lightly in the chest.
The delight on her face was impossible to hide.
Counting from the time Yuu's group left the stronghold,
nearly an entire day had passed.
That wasn't actually very long.
Most rescue missions of this kind were measured in weeks.
Finishing everything within one or two days was already extraordinarily fast.
But Tsunade had absolutely no confidence in her own gambling luck.
Or rather—
she had far too much confidence in her own tendency to lose the people closest to her.
She had spent the entire day unable to settle down.
Every now and then, she feared that at any moment someone might carry Yuu's corpse back—
or worse, that there wouldn't even be a complete body left to recover,
just like what had happened with Nawaki and Katō Dan…
Fortunately—
Yuu had returned safely in the end.
None of the terrible scenes she had imagined had come true.
Mm.
All four limbs intact.
No arms or legs missing.
His internal organs should still all be there too.
Nothing had been blown out or hollowed away.
As for whether any hidden injuries remained beneath the areas covered by clothing…
she could find an opportunity to inspect those more carefully later.
No rush.
At once,
Tsunade looked past Yuu and swept her gaze over the people behind him.
When she saw Minato, surprise appeared on her face.
Then her attention shifted toward Hizashi.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"This is…"
"It's like this."
Yuu stepped aside and explained,
"Brother Hizashi's eyes were injured by the enemy during the operation.
"At present, he's temporarily unable to see.
"I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, Teacher Tsunade, to help formulate a treatment plan and see whether there's any chance of restoring them."
For most ninja,
losing their eyesight essentially meant saying farewell to their career.
That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
It meant they could retire and enjoy life instead of continuing to risk their lives on battlefields.
But Hizashi probably wouldn't be able to accept that so easily.
He had always possessed quite a bit of pride and had long wanted to compete with his elder twin brother, Hyūga Hiashi.
Besides,
he was still unmarried.
Losing his sight might even affect his future marriage prospects…
"The Byakugan, huh…"
Tsunade looked at Hizashi's eyes, which had been temporarily bandaged.
Blood was still seeping through the cloth.
"This is going to be a troublesome operation."
Then she turned toward Yuu.
"Let me make this clear first.
"You'll be the one performing the examination and surgery.
"Consider it another test from me."
"I'll only be responsible for helping you formulate the treatment plan."
"…Alright."
Yuu nodded.
Tsunade's request was perfectly reasonable.
After all, she still suffered from hemophobia and couldn't personally work around blood.
If that information leaked and Konoha's enemies learned about it,
it could cause serious trouble.
They might even design traps specifically around that weakness.
So under the excuse of "testing her disciple,"
having Yuu—nominally her student and in practice the second-best medical ninja currently stationed at Shakuka Town—perform the surgery in her place was entirely logical.
Afterward,
everyone entered the stronghold one after another.
Minato stopped and looked back toward Yuu and the others.
"Yuu, you all go rest first.
"I'll explain everything that happened to Lady Tsunade."
"Alright.
"Thank you, Minato-sensei."
Yuu nodded.
They had spent the entire night fighting battle after battle and repeatedly encountering dangerous situations.
Everyone was exhausted.
They needed to recover their chakra as quickly as possible—
just in case a certain legendary Uchiha ancestor suddenly decided to come back for another round.
Although the probability of that happening wasn't particularly high.
When they reached the tents,
Rin suddenly called out to Yuu.
Under his gaze,
she gathered her courage and moved closer.
She rose slightly onto her toes—
and kissed him on the cheek.
"Yuu…
"Good night.
"Have sweet dreams."
Crack—!
A crisp snapping sound rang out.
Obito had unconsciously broken the handle of the kunai in his hand.
To be fair…
it wasn't like Obito had been clutching a kunai this whole time because he intended to cause some huge incident.
During the entire journey back, he had simply kept one hand resting inside his ninja pouch and unconsciously fiddled with the tools there to distract himself.
Then Rin's action instantly shattered his concentration.
And so—
the kunai handle snapped.
"…Obito?"
Yuu and Rin heard the sound and turned toward him.
Obito didn't say anything.
He simply turned around and walked away.
Kakashi nodded once toward Yuu before quickly chasing after him.
"Hey, Obito!
"What are you sulking about this time?
"Wait…
"What happened to your eyes?
"Let me take a look…"
Around the same time,
another soft sound came from nearby.
Clink.
Kurenai had been brushing her teeth.
The moment she heard that Yuu and the others had returned, she rushed over without even putting down the things in her hands.
From a distance,
she happened to witness Rin kissing Yuu.
Her toothbrush cup slipped from her hand.
It hit the ground and chipped at one corner.
Six eyes met.
The atmosphere became slightly awkward.
Kurenai inhaled and quietly said,
"Um…
"Did I come at a bad time?"
"…"
Yuu coughed lightly.
He swallowed the instinctive response—
No, your timing is perfect.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Kurenai.
"We've safely returned from the Land of Whirlpools.
"Nothing happened at the stronghold over the past two days, right?"
"No…"
Kurenai shook her head and gave a somewhat vague reply.
Then she quickly lifted her cup, rinsed her mouth, washed away the remaining toothpaste foam around her lips, and walked over.
"Welcome back, Yuu. Rin.
"We were worried about you all day yesterday…"
Then she turned toward Yuu.
"Right!
"Yuu, you're not injured, are you?
"Let me check!"
As she spoke,
Kurenai grabbed Yuu's hand and pretended to inspect him for wounds.
"I'm alright.
"I just consumed quite a lot of chakra."
"Really…?
"Then your body must be really sore, right?
"Do you want me to give you a massage?
"I'm actually pretty good at it.
"I used to massage Dad's shoulders at home all the time."
Kurenai cautiously offered.
"That won't be necessary.
"Right now, I mostly want to take a shower and sleep as soon as possible…"
As Yuu spoke,
he glanced toward a nearby corner.
At some point,
Yūhi Shinku had appeared there.
The old father was silently staring in their direction.
Kurenai followed Yuu's gaze and looked back.
The moment she saw her father,
a faintly resentful expression appeared on her face while her back was turned toward Yuu.
Before long,
Yuu and the others returned to their respective tents to sleep.
And they slept through the entire day.
It wasn't until nightfall
that Yuu finally woke up.
The moment he opened his eyes—
a pair of exceptionally prominent mountain peaks entered his vision from beside the bed.
Above them was a fair, beautiful face illuminated by the faintly flickering candlelight, half-bright and half-shadowed.
"You're awake?"
A calm female voice sounded.
"…Teacher Tsunade?"
Yuu blinked.
"Mm. It's me."
Tsunade nodded.
Then she tossed a paper report onto Yuu's chest.
"Here.
"The preliminary examination report on Hyūga Hizashi is finished.
"Take a look so you have some idea what you're dealing with when you perform the operation."
"Alright."
Yuu picked up the report.
But Tsunade didn't leave.
Instead, she leaned forward slightly, bringing herself closer to Yuu.
Then she lowered her voice.
"I heard from Minato that while rescuing Rin…
"you encountered Uchiha Madara?"
"What exactly happened?
"Are you certain it was really him and not someone impersonating him?"
"Tell me everything about how you encountered him."
Among everyone who learned that Uchiha Madara had seemingly "returned from the dead,"
Tsunade was one of the most shocked.
After all,
she was Senju Hashirama's granddaughter.
In theory, she was probably the person in the current ninja world with the closest connection to Madara.
That was right.
The people closest to Uchiha Madara throughout his life were essentially—
his father Tajima,
his younger brother Izuna,
and Senju Hashirama.
The first two were already dead and had left no surviving bloodlines.
So the only descendants Madara might still spare a second glance for were Hashirama's.
At the same time,
Tsunade was one of the very few people still alive in Konoha who had personally seen Uchiha Madara.
She knew the history between him and her grandfather.
If Madara had truly survived—
and after Hashirama's death had spent all these decades hiding in the shadows…
then that was an extremely terrifying thought.
Perhaps even more terrifying than Madara simply jumping out openly and causing another Nine-Tails disaster.
After all,
the man had once been unbelievably flamboyant and arrogant.
Yet now,
he had apparently become an old schemer even better at hiding himself than Senju Tobirama.
The contrast alone was chilling.
Even Tsunade, who had spent years living relatively detached from village politics,
felt a shiver when she imagined that someone might have been secretly watching Konoha from behind the scenes all these years.
"Well…"
"It's a long story."
Yuu sat up.
He looked at Tsunade leaning against the bedside beside him—
and began to explain everything.
Yuu had indeed considered sealing the Six-Tails into himself to solve his relatively limited chakra reserves.
Well…
compared with Kakashi and the others, his chakra reserves were already quite large.
He estimated they might even exceed Namikaze Minato's.
But compared with monsters like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, whose chakra could practically be measured in tons—
or even the slightly lower-tier Jiraiya and Tsunade—
Yuu still seemed rather ordinary.
He clearly still had a long way to go.
If he also possessed tailed-beast-level chakra reserves,
then perhaps he could use moves like Three Dragons Turning Destruction as ordinary basic attacks without ever worrying about running out of chakra.
However,
there were plenty of ways to increase chakra reserves.
He didn't necessarily need the Six-Tails specifically.
In theory, aside from the Nine-Tails, which was already sealed inside Kushina, and the Eight-Tails, which had extremely high compatibility with Killer B and would be difficult to transfer to another jinchūriki—
all the other tailed beasts were potential targets.
And actually,
the optimal choice would be to collect a portion of chakra from all nine tailed beasts—
then directly synthesize the Ten-Tails.
Even if that Ten-Tails were somewhat smaller,
its level of power would still be far above an ordinary tailed beast.
Yuu figured that after returning, he could contact Pakura and first ask her for some chakra from the One-Tail.
Based on the timeline,
Sunagakure's first jinchūriki, Bunpuku, should be close to death by now.
The village was probably already considering who the next jinchūriki would be.
Yuu wondered whether it would still be Gaara this time.
As for the other tailed beasts…
since both Iwagakure and Kumogakure had already begun deploying theirs onto the battlefield,
there would probably be opportunities to obtain chakra from them as well.
Worst case,
he could simply dump the blame onto Uchiha Madara afterward.
He could claim that the inherently evil old Uchiha fossil had been targeting the tailed beasts of every nation and was secretly preparing some massive conspiracy against the entire ninja world…
In a sense, that was exactly what would happen in the future anyway.
So it wouldn't even really count as falsely accusing Madara.
A short while later,
Fugaku and Kakashi finished cleaning up the battlefield and returned to regroup.
Everyone briefly exchanged information.
When Fugaku learned the truth about Madara, his expression changed noticeably.
Originally, he had thought that the enemy might have been some Uchiha descendant who had ended up in Kirigakure.
He had even considered whether there might be some way to persuade the man to defect—
adding another powerful fighter to both Konoha and the Uchiha clan,
while earning himself another achievement in the process.
But then…
Good grief.
He was supposed to persuade the clan's legendary ancestor, who had defected decades ago, to come back?
Forget it.
Absolutely not.
He couldn't afford to provoke someone like that.
Beside him,
Kakashi remained relatively calm.
To him, someone on Uchiha Madara's level was simply too far removed from his own world.
If the sky collapsed, Yuu would—
No, wait.
The taller people would hold it up.
Kakashi was still just an ordinary ninja who hadn't even officially received his jōnin title yet.
There was no reason for him to worry himself sick over matters that far above his level.
The group didn't waste any more time.
After briefly organizing themselves, they began heading back toward the Shakuka Town stronghold.
This time,
they couldn't rely on Black Wing.
There were simply too many people present.
If all of them rode on the giant eagle together, it probably wouldn't be able to carry the load comfortably.
Besides,
Black Wing had already been running everywhere with them all night.
First it had flown all the way to the Kumogakure front to notify Minato.
Then it had returned and accompanied Yuu in confronting Madara and the Yatagarasu.
Afterward, it had stayed behind to protect Rin…
It had basically played the entire match from beginning to end.
Making more demands of it now would be blatant exploitation.
So Yuu simply canceled the Summoning Technique, allowing Black Wing to return and rest.
Then he continued toward the stronghold on foot with Minato and the others.
Along the way,
Rin remained beside Yuu the entire time.
Yuu supported her by the arm as they moved.
Obito, meanwhile, walked several steps behind them together with Kakashi.
He kept glancing upward at the two ahead of him, his expression extremely complicated.
Kakashi was utterly exhausted by now and didn't have much energy left to pay attention to his best friend's changing emotions.
He merely glanced occasionally at Yuu's back and silently lamented how much wider the gap between them had become.
At this rate,
he, who had once practically acted as the "assistant instructor" of Team Minato,
was about to become nothing more than some random roadside dog.
It wasn't until the following morning,
when daylight fully illuminated the surroundings,
that the group finally returned near the stronghold.
The Hyūga ninja assigned to sentry duty had already spotted them from far away and returned to report to Tsunade and the others.
So by the time Yuu's group arrived,
the main gate of the stronghold was already open.
Tsunade strode out and met them directly at the entrance.
"Yuu, you brat…"
"You were gone for so long!
"You finally remembered how to come back!
"You really kept us waiting!"
Tsunade hurried forward.
She originally seemed ready to throw an arm around Yuu's shoulders to show some affection.
But when she noticed Minato and the others behind him, her movement paused.
Instead—
she punched Yuu lightly in the chest.
The delight on her face was impossible to hide.
Counting from the time Yuu's group left the stronghold,
nearly an entire day had passed.
That wasn't actually very long.
Most rescue missions of this kind were measured in weeks.
Finishing everything within one or two days was already extraordinarily fast.
But Tsunade had absolutely no confidence in her own gambling luck.
Or rather—
she had far too much confidence in her own tendency to lose the people closest to her.
She had spent the entire day unable to settle down.
Every now and then, she feared that at any moment someone might carry Yuu's corpse back—
or worse, that there wouldn't even be a complete body left to recover,
just like what had happened with Nawaki and Katō Dan…
Fortunately—
Yuu had returned safely in the end.
None of the terrible scenes she had imagined had come true.
Mm.
All four limbs intact.
No arms or legs missing.
His internal organs should still all be there too.
Nothing had been blown out or hollowed away.
As for whether any hidden injuries remained beneath the areas covered by clothing…
she could find an opportunity to inspect those more carefully later.
No rush.
At once,
Tsunade looked past Yuu and swept her gaze over the people behind him.
When she saw Minato, surprise appeared on her face.
Then her attention shifted toward Hizashi.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"This is…"
"It's like this."
Yuu stepped aside and explained,
"Brother Hizashi's eyes were injured by the enemy during the operation.
"At present, he's temporarily unable to see.
"I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, Teacher Tsunade, to help formulate a treatment plan and see whether there's any chance of restoring them."
For most ninja,
losing their eyesight essentially meant saying farewell to their career.
That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
It meant they could retire and enjoy life instead of continuing to risk their lives on battlefields.
But Hizashi probably wouldn't be able to accept that so easily.
He had always possessed quite a bit of pride and had long wanted to compete with his elder twin brother, Hyūga Hiashi.
Besides,
he was still unmarried.
Losing his sight might even affect his future marriage prospects…
"The Byakugan, huh…"
Tsunade looked at Hizashi's eyes, which had been temporarily bandaged.
Blood was still seeping through the cloth.
"This is going to be a troublesome operation."
Then she turned toward Yuu.
"Let me make this clear first.
"You'll be the one performing the examination and surgery.
"Consider it another test from me."
"I'll only be responsible for helping you formulate the treatment plan."
"…Alright."
Yuu nodded.
Tsunade's request was perfectly reasonable.
After all, she still suffered from hemophobia and couldn't personally work around blood.
If that information leaked and Konoha's enemies learned about it,
it could cause serious trouble.
They might even design traps specifically around that weakness.
So under the excuse of "testing her disciple,"
having Yuu—nominally her student and in practice the second-best medical ninja currently stationed at Shakuka Town—perform the surgery in her place was entirely logical.
Afterward,
everyone entered the stronghold one after another.
Minato stopped and looked back toward Yuu and the others.
"Yuu, you all go rest first.
"I'll explain everything that happened to Lady Tsunade."
"Alright.
"Thank you, Minato-sensei."
Yuu nodded.
They had spent the entire night fighting battle after battle and repeatedly encountering dangerous situations.
Everyone was exhausted.
They needed to recover their chakra as quickly as possible—
just in case a certain legendary Uchiha ancestor suddenly decided to come back for another round.
Although the probability of that happening wasn't particularly high.
When they reached the tents,
Rin suddenly called out to Yuu.
Under his gaze,
she gathered her courage and moved closer.
She rose slightly onto her toes—
and kissed him on the cheek.
"Yuu…
"Good night.
"Have sweet dreams."
Crack—!
A crisp snapping sound rang out.
Obito had unconsciously broken the handle of the kunai in his hand.
To be fair…
it wasn't like Obito had been clutching a kunai this whole time because he intended to cause some huge incident.
During the entire journey back, he had simply kept one hand resting inside his ninja pouch and unconsciously fiddled with the tools there to distract himself.
Then Rin's action instantly shattered his concentration.
And so—
the kunai handle snapped.
"…Obito?"
Yuu and Rin heard the sound and turned toward him.
Obito didn't say anything.
He simply turned around and walked away.
Kakashi nodded once toward Yuu before quickly chasing after him.
"Hey, Obito!
"What are you sulking about this time?
"Wait…
"What happened to your eyes?
"Let me take a look…"
Around the same time,
another soft sound came from nearby.
Clink.
Kurenai had been brushing her teeth.
The moment she heard that Yuu and the others had returned, she rushed over without even putting down the things in her hands.
From a distance,
she happened to witness Rin kissing Yuu.
Her toothbrush cup slipped from her hand.
It hit the ground and chipped at one corner.
Six eyes met.
The atmosphere became slightly awkward.
Kurenai inhaled and quietly said,
"Um…
"Did I come at a bad time?"
"…"
Yuu coughed lightly.
He swallowed the instinctive response—
No, your timing is perfect.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Kurenai.
"We've safely returned from the Land of Whirlpools.
"Nothing happened at the stronghold over the past two days, right?"
"No…"
Kurenai shook her head and gave a somewhat vague reply.
Then she quickly lifted her cup, rinsed her mouth, washed away the remaining toothpaste foam around her lips, and walked over.
"Welcome back, Yuu. Rin.
"We were worried about you all day yesterday…"
Then she turned toward Yuu.
"Right!
"Yuu, you're not injured, are you?
"Let me check!"
As she spoke,
Kurenai grabbed Yuu's hand and pretended to inspect him for wounds.
"I'm alright.
"I just consumed quite a lot of chakra."
"Really…?
"Then your body must be really sore, right?
"Do you want me to give you a massage?
"I'm actually pretty good at it.
"I used to massage Dad's shoulders at home all the time."
Kurenai cautiously offered.
"That won't be necessary.
"Right now, I mostly want to take a shower and sleep as soon as possible…"
As Yuu spoke,
he glanced toward a nearby corner.
At some point,
Yūhi Shinku had appeared there.
The old father was silently staring in their direction.
Kurenai followed Yuu's gaze and looked back.
The moment she saw her father,
a faintly resentful expression appeared on her face while her back was turned toward Yuu.
Before long,
Yuu and the others returned to their respective tents to sleep.
And they slept through the entire day.
It wasn't until nightfall
that Yuu finally woke up.
The moment he opened his eyes—
a pair of exceptionally prominent mountain peaks entered his vision from beside the bed.
Above them was a fair, beautiful face illuminated by the faintly flickering candlelight, half-bright and half-shadowed.
"You're awake?"
A calm female voice sounded.
"…Teacher Tsunade?"
Yuu blinked.
"Mm. It's me."
Tsunade nodded.
Then she tossed a paper report onto Yuu's chest.
"Here.
"The preliminary examination report on Hyūga Hizashi is finished.
"Take a look so you have some idea what you're dealing with when you perform the operation."
"Alright."
Yuu picked up the report.
But Tsunade didn't leave.
Instead, she leaned forward slightly, bringing herself closer to Yuu.
Then she lowered her voice.
"I heard from Minato that while rescuing Rin…
"you encountered Uchiha Madara?"
"What exactly happened?
"Are you certain it was really him and not someone impersonating him?"
"Tell me everything about how you encountered him."
Among everyone who learned that Uchiha Madara had seemingly "returned from the dead,"
Tsunade was one of the most shocked.
After all,
she was Senju Hashirama's granddaughter.
In theory, she was probably the person in the current ninja world with the closest connection to Madara.
That was right.
The people closest to Uchiha Madara throughout his life were essentially—
his father Tajima,
his younger brother Izuna,
and Senju Hashirama.
The first two were already dead and had left no surviving bloodlines.
So the only descendants Madara might still spare a second glance for were Hashirama's.
At the same time,
Tsunade was one of the very few people still alive in Konoha who had personally seen Uchiha Madara.
She knew the history between him and her grandfather.
If Madara had truly survived—
and after Hashirama's death had spent all these decades hiding in the shadows…
then that was an extremely terrifying thought.
Perhaps even more terrifying than Madara simply jumping out openly and causing another Nine-Tails disaster.
After all,
the man had once been unbelievably flamboyant and arrogant.
Yet now,
he had apparently become an old schemer even better at hiding himself than Senju Tobirama.
The contrast alone was chilling.
Even Tsunade, who had spent years living relatively detached from village politics,
felt a shiver when she imagined that someone might have been secretly watching Konoha from behind the scenes all these years.
"Well…"
"It's a long story."
Yuu sat up.
He looked at Tsunade leaning against the bedside beside him—
and began to explain everything.