Akane set Himari down on a crate in the abandoned warehouse. She was barely conscious, her eyes unfocused, her breathing shallow.
He pressed two fingers to her temple and pushed her into sleep. Her body went limp at his actions. Then he asked a zetsu to go to sleep on its own.
He closed his own eyes and entered the Dream Space.
The violet sky stretched above him, empty and still. He reached for Himari's consciousness and found it drifting, unguarded, her dreams already forming around her.
He stepped into them.
The memories played like scenes on a stage. The incense burning in her room. The fog settling over her thoughts. The faces of servants who brought her food. The voice of Akemi, soft and reassuring, always at the edges. The smell of the poison she had been breathing for weeks.
He watched, noted what was necessary and remembered.
When he had enough, he pulled a Zetsu into the Dream Space. The pale form rose through the violet ground, confused, waiting.
Akane projected the memories into it, not words, but impressions. The way Himari moved, the way she spoke and the small habits that made her recognisable.
The Zetsu absorbed them in silence.
When it understood, Akane released it from the Dream Space and opened his eyes.
He looked at the Zetsu standing beside him. "Transform."
The Zetsu's form rippled. Its pale body shifted, compressed, reshaped. Within seconds, Himari stood in its place, identical down to the sleeping clothes and the dishevelled hair.
Akane studied it. The mannerisms were there, the slight tilt of the head, the way she held her hands. Zetsu had learned what was needed to showcase a fake, and it was enough for now.
"The resemblance will hold," he said.
He turned to his own transformation. His features shifted, his frame adjusted, and his chakra signature compressed into something that felt familiar and clinical.
'Tsunade will need something to present there. That Wind Daimyo sure is something.'
He created another Shadow clone who looked at him. The Shadow clone moved towards Himari and held her.
"Take her to the secondary location and wait for my signal."
The clone nodded and vanished into the night.
Akane turned to the Zetsu-Himari. He lifted it into his arms. The weight was slightly wrong, and the warmth was different, but no one would hold her long enough to notice.
'This should be enough. These guys, they wanna play? Then let's play.'
"Keep track of everything happening in the mansion. Tell me everything that happened there before I reach there."
The other Zetsu nodded and sank into the floor.
Akane adjusted his grip and began the walk back.
It didn't take long for him to arrive back at the mansion. The guards had spread around, but they weren't strong enough to detect him.
"I have her testimony." The Wind Daimyo gestured at Akemi. "She saw your man. She heard him claim your authority. If my daughter is found dead in a ditch tomorrow, that testimony becomes evidence of conspiracy."
Akane smirked at the words and stepped inside.
"What testimony?"
The corridor was frozen when he arrived.
He saw himself first, the real Tsunade, standing at the edge of the crowd, her arms folded, her expression unreadable.
'Good. She had played her part and given me the time I needed'
He saw the Wind Daimyo, his face caught between fury and confusion. He saw Akemi, pale, her hands clasped tight. He saw the Fire Daimyo, his composure cracked, looking between the two Tsunades with something close to panic.
He saw Orochimaru. The man's eyes narrowed the moment he stepped into the light.
Akane did not hesitate. He walked past the gathered crowd without looking at any of them, entered the room, held Himari in his hands and turned to face them.
"I found her wandering the eastern district. Disoriented, alone and wearing nothing but her sleeping clothes."
The silence held.
Then the Wind Daimyo found his voice. "That is impossible. She was poisoned, and she couldn't even walk. My informant was certain."
"Your informant was wrong."
Akemi's face drained of colour.
The Wind Daimyo's hands curled into fists. "I want a full examination. I want to know what happened to her."
"She will be examined. By me." Akane let a note of professional irritation enter his voice. "But before that, I have a question for your aide."
He turned to Akemi.
"You claimed there was a guard outside this room. A man who told you he was acting on my orders."
Akemi's throat moved. "Yes."
"When did you see him?"
"Approximately an hour ago."
"Describe him."
"Dark hair. Calm voice. Not in uniform. He stood in front of the door and did not move."
Akane nodded slowly, and then he spoke; his voice was flat but certain, mocking in it.
"I asked everyone on my way here if they had seen a man matching that description. Security, staff, even the kitchen hands. No one saw him. No one knows him. No one admitted to seeing anyone near the medical wing."
Akemi's breath caught.
"Which means either he was invisible," Akane said, "or he was never there."
The accusation hung in the air, unspoken but unmistakable.
Akemi's hands trembled. "I am not lying. There was a man."
"Then you should have no problem proving it."
Akane turned to address the room, his voice carrying.
"If Akemi is willing to testify under genjutsu, we can settle this immediately. A simple verification, not by me, but by Orochimaru here. He will perform the Genjutsu. If the guard existed and I had ordered it, the genjutsu would confirm it. If he did not, the genjutsu would confirm that too."
Akemi's face went white.
The Wind Daimyo's head turned slowly toward her. He understood the trap. If she agreed, the genjutsu would reveal not just the guard but everything else, the orders, the poison, the conspiracy. If she refused, she would confirm she was lying in front of everyone.
Either way, she lost.
Akemi opened her mouth, closed it and opened it again to say something. But no words came out of them.
The silence stretched.
The Wind Daimyo watched her. His expression was unreadable, but his posture had shifted. He was no longer looking at Tsunade. He was looking at his own informant, the one who had told him the poison was complete, the body was ready, and the narrative was set.
None of it was true.
"I see," he said quietly.
He turned and walked down the corridor without another word.
Akemi stood frozen for a moment, then followed, her steps unsteady, her head bowed.
The corridor was quiet.
The Fire Daimyo exhaled slowly. He looked at Tsunade, the real one and then at the Tsunade who had just arrived. He did not ask the question. He did not need to ask any question. Instead, there was something else he had to restore.
"I will see him."
Before anyone could respond, the Fire Daimyo walked away. He had to catch up with the Wind Daimyo and ask him to pay for the damages he had caused, for the words he spoke without proof.
Orochimaru looked at the two Tsunades. He was surprised by how the events had happened. Lots of questions were there, but there was no need for answers.
"Kuku." A laugh escaped his lips, and he walked away to follow the Fire Daimyo, as Konoha had been insulted and he couldn't let the moment go away.
The room emptied slowly, until only the two Tsunades remained.
The real Tsunade looked at the transformed Akane. Her expression was cold.
"Tell me you had a plan."
"I had a plan."
"Tell me it included not getting caught in that disguise."
"It included not getting caught."
"And yet Orochimaru knows."
Akane paused. "He suspects."
"Which is the same thing."
She turned to look at the Zetsu-Himari on the bed. "How long?"
"A few days. Then it deteriorates."
"Long enough."
She walked to the window. The Capital rooftops stretched below, silver in the moonlight.
"The Wind Daimyo will not rest."
"Let him try."
"He still has Akemi."
"Whose testimony is worthless now. She claimed a guard existed, and no one corroborated it. She was offered genjutsu verification and refused. Her word means nothing."
Tsunade was quiet.
Then she said, "Where is the real one?"
"Safe. With my clone."
"Good."
She turned from the window. Her eyes met his own face, reflected in the Tsunade features he wore.
"You can drop that now."
Akane let the disguise fall. His own features returned, tired but intact.
Tsunade looked at him for a moment.
"Next time, tell me before you act."
"If there is a next time, I will."
Akane responded, but neither of them believed it. He kept staring at Tsunade, who stared back at him, and finally, she sighed.
"I admit it, I missed one thing."
Akane grinned in response and said, "You did not expect him to act, did you?"
"The plan was set. Himari had to leave either way. Now, she is away but here too, and they will never know." Tsunade spoke, a smirk on her face, and Akane nodded in response.
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Chapter 93 out on ptreon.