The campfire roared, its lively glow illuminating Tsunade's beautiful face —
So beautiful it was almost unreal.
She clenched her teeth and glared at Uchiha Yu, raising a hand to unfasten her sash.
For this trip, Tsunade had already prepared herself for the worst possible situation with Uchiha Yu.
She just didn't expect things to unfold this suddenly, in this way.
Swish—
Her soaked Uchiha-clan outfit slid to the ground, silky and smooth, pooling around her snow-white bare feet.
…
…
After changing their clothes, the two of them sat again beside the fire, drying their garments.
Tsunade frowned sharply and growled:
"Are you satisfied now?"
"It's… acceptable."
Uchiha Yu was stubborn with his words, yet he still couldn't help but nod slightly. When it came to Tsunade's looks, he did acknowledge them.
"'Acceptable?'"
Tsunade's anger spiked; a strange sort of competitiveness ignited. She shifted her footing, knocked Uchiha Yu down, grabbed his collar, and leaned close to his ear:
"Who's prettier—me, or Mikoto?"
The atmosphere froze instantly.
It was a twisted sort of mindset. To Tsunade, this Uchiha had done nothing but terrible things — she truly despised him.
Yet at this moment, she wanted to get closer.
As if approaching him would allow her to draw out some emotional value, something to fill the void in her heart.
She appeared forceful, but in truth, her heart had long been thrown into chaos.
In her mind, there was no beating Uchiha Yu anymore.
Back in Konoha… even her grandfather and great-uncle's Edo Tensei bodies had been wiped away by him with ease.
He was evil, and overwhelmingly strong.
But how evil, really?
After interacting with Uchiha Yu, she realized he didn't indiscriminately use extreme methods on other people.
But to say he wasn't evil—
He had done far too many inhuman things to her personally.
"…"
Fury trembled across Tsunade's beautiful face; she nearly ground her molars to dust.
Her breathing grew heavy. Even after changing twice, her scent still lingered.
Uchiha Yu glanced sideways at Tsunade's eyes and said calmly:
"I don't know?"
"Bastard!!"
Tsunade glared murderously, her forehead pressing against his.
Her breathing quickened.
Her whole body trembled.
Their eyes locked. Uchiha Yu quietly held her gaze; from her quivering brown irises, he could feel the defenses inside her crumbling bit by bit.
It was like a frail girl standing before an unclimbable wall —
and even if she wanted to run from it, behind that wall was a bottomless abyss constantly devouring her worldview.
Their "interaction" had escalated far too quickly and violently.
Even Uchiha Yu felt helpless about it.
All he could do now was give Tsunade more of his affection from here on, soothe that battered heart of hers.
As the tension reached its peak—
Uchiha Yu leaned closer:
"You and Mikoto are both beautiful."
"You bastard…"
Tsunade averted her gaze toward the fire. Releasing her grip on his collar, her eyes turned empty, exhausted — her resistance completely gone.
"Cough… cough—"
From deeper within the cave, a weak cough echoed.
Uchiha Yu lifted Tsunade off his body, then looked toward the sound.
Tsunade finally snapped back to her senses, frowned, and walked inside.
She was a medical ninja — hearing any abnormality in a patient's condition triggered her instinct to check.
Uchiha Yu handed her a torch, and together they moved deeper into the cave.
"Check her chest."
Uchiha Yu reminded.
Tsunade shot him a sharp glare, fully exuding disdain.
Uchiha Yu explained,
"Don't overthink it. This woman hid that meteorite there earlier—"
"I know."
Tsunade finished speaking, then crouched beside Natsuhi and laid her flat on the ground. She released the Mystical Palm Technique and began her examination.
After a moment, Tsunade's brows tightened. She said in a low voice,
"This woman has the same lingering internal damage as that man. However, her chakra is compatible with that strange energy, so the injuries aren't as apparent."
Uchiha Yu considered this.
"Mm. Wake her up first. I have questions for her."
"…"
Tsunade then began performing medical ninjutsu, soothing Summer Star's tense mind while steadily healing the injuries within her body.
A short while later—
"Cough… cough…"
Natsuhi's brows knitted. As the treatment deepened, her expression slowly eased. She opened her eyes and stared blankly at the roof of the cave.
Realizing something, tears slid from the corners of her eyes. She frantically looked around for someone.
When she saw her husband's corpse, the tension in her shoulders loosened slightly—only to be swallowed again by sorrow.
"My condolences… You still have your child."
Tsunade placed a hand on her back. She understood this woman's grief.
Hearing this, Natsuhi quickly looked toward her son, worry overtaking her face.
"He's fine," Tsunade said. "Just like you, he collapsed from grief. He'll wake up tomorrow."
Natsuhi forced her sorrow down and looked at Tsunade and Uchiha Yu. She bent forward in a small bow.
"Thank you… thank you so much…"
"Tell me what happened."
Uchiha Yu asked.
Heartbroken and numb, Natsuhi answered truthfully:
"My name is Natsuhi. We're from the Hoshinin Village…"
She hesitated, then lifted her gaze, staring at Uchiha Yu in confusion.
"Were you… specifically here to take the meteorite?"
Her gentle eyes shimmered with tears—like emotional gems glowing faintly in a pitch-black night.
Uchiha Yu shook his head.
"No."
Natsuhi froze, then realized it made sense. She and her husband had defected from the village, but that information hadn't spread. No foreign shinobi should have had a reason to ambush them.
She continued,
"You've touched the meteorite as well. With short-term contact, one's chakra grows stronger, and you can even learn the secret technique we named the Peacock Method…"
"But if you stay near it for too long, the body is eaten away by that chakra."
"That's how my husband died."
She finished in one breath, grief shadowing her face as she looked at her husband and child.
Uchiha Yu understood. It was radiation—the meteorite constantly emitted something harmful, the true cause behind the man's death.
Even Tsunade couldn't have saved him.
"But that meteorite is the cornerstone of the Star Village's founding, isn't it? So you and your husband planned to steal it and seal it away?"
Tsunade asked.
Natsuhi blinked, surprised that the blonde medic had already pieced everything together.
She nodded.
"Yes. But it wasn't just us—many of our comrades supported me and my husband."
"After we stole the meteorite…"
"The village labeled us rogue shinobi. The Third Star Shadow ordered our execution."
"While we were fleeing—"
Those companions who supported us all died horribly just to buy us time."
As she spoke, Natsuhi's tears fell again. In her mind, she kept seeing one companion after another collapsing in front of them.
"What's the situation in the Star Ninja Village now?" Uchiha Yu asked.
"The one in power now is the Third Star Shadow. After we defected, the only one Star Shadow can rely on is a ninja named Akahoshi. Death-Burial and Yae are both under his command."
After saying this, Natsuhi expression suddenly changed. She looked fearfully toward the mouth of the cave and asked:
"Yae…"
Tsunade answered for Uchiha Yu: "All dead. Not a single one left. Don't thank me—thank the one standing next to me."
"All dead…" Natsuhi's pupils trembled. She immediately looked toward Uchiha Yu with deep gratitude and quietly asked, "Are you really that Uchiha Yu?"
Earlier, her husband had entrusted his wife and child to Uchiha Yu precisely because of who he was.
"Yes," Uchiha Yu replied. "In the shinobi world, no one would dare impersonate me."
Tsunade also now understood why the man, upon seeing Uchiha Yu, had entrusted his family without hesitation.
She couldn't help but mutter in surprise, "So your… weird little hobby has already spread across the entire ninja world?"
Uchiha Yu shot her a glare.
Tsunade shrank her neck in embarrassment.
This woman..
°°°
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