The morning sun was rising.
Tsunade's eyelids felt unbearably heavy as she slowly forced them open.
Her body didn't even feel like her own anymore.
Every muscle ached, her joints stiff, her limbs heavy...as if she'd been working for hours without rest. Every inch of her body throbbed faintly, reminding her of how it had been used beyond its limits.
She blinked weakly, dazed, watching the sunlight spread across the horizon.
Birds chirped in their nests. The soft wind brushed through her hair, carrying the scent of morning dew.
Everything around her looked so calm… so peaceful.
And yet, none of that peace could reach her heart.
She felt the beauty of the world, but within it — the cruelty reveled.
So… it wasn't a dream.
She had hoped it was.
That everything had been nothing more than a cruel illusion.
But the dull ache in her body and the traces left behind told a different story.
For some reason, she felt nothing but calm. No anger. No fear. Just a hollow stillness inside.
"L–Lady Tsunade…"
The trembling, choked voice snapped her from her trance. Only then did she realize someone was beside her all this time.
I didn't even notice it, she thought faintly.
Then she noticed her body had been clothed again, her torn garments replaced and tied loosely.
Mercy like that wouldn't have come from that monster. But…
She lifted her head with effort, and a soft warmth spread through her chest — healing chakra.
Shizune's hands were glowing pale green, trembling as she poured chakra into her master's body.
Her lips were bitten until they bled. Her cheeks were wet with tears that refused to stop.
The guilt in Shizune's eyes overflowed, raw and unbearable.
The terrifying calm in Tsunade's own gaze began to fade.
She finally understood what happened.
She must've seen me… in that state.
Her state had been anything but graceful.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Only the distant sound of birds and rustling leaves filled the silence.
Then Tsunade's voice came softly.
"I can do the rest myself, Shizune. Rest…"
But before she could finish, Shizune broke down completely.
"Waaah… L–Lady Tsunade! Arghhh!"
She threw herself into Tsunade's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
Tsunade held her tightly, stroking her back with a trembling hand.
Her eyes burned as tears welled up but she held them back, forcing herself to stay strong.
The morning sun climbed higher, washing them both in golden light.
For the first time since that nightmare, Tsunade finally let herself breathe.
"It's… all my fault… it's all my fault… Lady Tsunade, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
Shizune kept weeping, tears streaming endlessly down her cheeks. Her voice broke into a growl as her throat gave out, turning rough from crying too long.
"…None of this has anything to do with you, Shizune. It's all my—"
Tsunade hadn't even finished speaking when Shizune suddenly cut her off, shouting through the sobs.
"No! Please, Lady Tsunade, don't blame yourself! It's all that devil's fault!"
Her voice was choked but fierce, her expression twisted with hatred.
In the anime, Shizune had never shown such a face before.
"We must go back to Konoha and—and…" Shizune stammered, words tumbling over themselves in her rush. "We must make that devil pay for everything he's done!"
Tsunade, however, fell silent.
Shizune's words had triggered something in her mind—memories she didn't want to recall.
That monster's voice echoed back to her.
When he was violating her, he had said something...something about feeding Shizune something that allowed him to kill her anytime, from anywhere.
It sounded insane… but Tsunade knew better.
Such a jutsu wasn't impossible. Not when it came from him.
Just by the sheer number of abilities he had shown that day, Tsunade knew he had no reason to boast about anything false.
Her heart tightened. Without a word, she raised her arm and pressed her palm gently against Shizune's stomach, flooding it with her chakra.
"L–Lady Tsunade…?" Shizune blinked, confused, her earlier anger fading into worry.
"…I'm checking something, Shizune. Don't worry," Tsunade replied softly, though hesitation lingered in her tone.
But in the end, she didn't tell Shizune the truth — everything she had remembered.
Time passed in tense silence. Sweat began to bead on Tsunade's forehead as she focused all her strength, her chakra scanning every corner of Shizune's body.
Still...
There's nothing I can find in her.
Tsunade gritted her teeth. She checked again and again, but no matter how carefully she searched, she couldn't detect anything strange.
Tsunade realized, cold and slow, that if the thing were easy to find, that man wouldn't have spoken so confidently. He wouldn't have said it aloud without hiding it. Even with all her knowledge, she couldn't detect it—much less solve it.
Why was this happening? A cold panic pressed at her chest. It felt as if her life had slipped into a place with no light, a tunnel that led only deeper.
No… at least Shizune must never be allowed to go down that path, Tsunade thought. Whatever had happened to her was already done.
Even if every part of Tsunade wanted to strangle and kill that man herself, she couldn't. If she cried for help she might drag more innocent people into this. And she wasn't the sort to pawn off the mess she'd been forced into onto others.
First: calm Shizune. She couldn't let the girl act on blind fury and run to the village. Things would spiral.
"Shizune… listen to me," Tsunade said, feeling nausea rise at the thought of covering this up.
The veins in her hands stood out, tight with strain, but worse than the physical pain was the helplessness that wouldn't go away.
---
On the other side of the mountain, in front of a huge lake, Obito sat atop a thick boulder with a fishing rod in hand. His mask was gone, the breeze brushing against his bare face.
Beside him sat Tobi and White Zetsu, both holding their own fishing rods.
The atmosphere was pin-drop silent.
All three stared at the still water with the focus of men guarding a sacred treasure. Not a word. Not a twitch. Just...peace.
…Until Tobi suddenly shot to his feet, threw his fishing rod to the ground, and stomped on it furiously.
"Damnit! You shitty, shitty rod! It's all your fault!"
"…"
"…"
White Zetsu just sighed quietly, as if this was the thousandth time he'd seen it happen.
Obito's hand, still gripping the fishing rod, trembled slightly.
Then he turned his head toward Tobi with that usual indifferent expression.
"Captain! This guy must be cheating!" Tobi shouted dramatically, pointing at White Zetsu. "He must've coated his fishing rod with his saliva or something!"
"…"
White Zetsu, who was being accused out of nowhere, went completely speechless. After a long pause, he sighed helplessly.
"That doesn't even make sense, you idiot. It's just that I'm that good at fishing. Deal with it."
The words had barely left his mouth when his hand jerked suddenly, and a massive fish burst out of the lake, splashing water everywhere before landing neatly in his already overflowing basket.
He turned to glance at Obito — whose basket was still completely empty and raised an eyebrow.
"…"
Obito's grip on his fishing rod tightened. Then... crack.
The rod snapped clean in two.
"You know what, Tobi?" Obito said calmly, voice flat but eyes twitching. "I think you're right. This son of a bitch is definitely cheating. Get his ass."
Tobi's eyes flashed red in an instant. "Finally! Permission granted!"
White Zetsu broke out in cold sweat. "H–Hey! What the hell do you mean?! You two have zero sportsmanship!"
He tossed his own fishing rod away and bolted.
But it was already too late — Tobi lunged like a wild animal, grabbing him with ridiculous speed.
A moment later...
Tobi grinned wildly, lifting his hand high into the air, a wriggling fish dangling from the line. His basket was already full.
"Hahaha! Look, Captain, I got a fish! This shit is too easy!"
"You're right," Obito said calmly, then in one smooth motion, he reached over and took the "special fishing rod" straight from Tobi's hand.
"But I'm still better."
A few moments later, the rod twitched and Obito pulled up a huge fish of his own.
"Mmmm… mmmph…"
"Glar… garrr…"
Both of them froze.
"Hey, Captain… do you hear those voices?" Tobi tilted his head, confused.
"I don't," Obito replied with a completely straight face. "It must be your illusion."
"Yeah… I think so too." Tobi nodded seriously, and both of them turned back to the lake, pretending nothing happened.
--
'Damnit… these two fuckers…'
That was White Zetsu's only thought as he was once again used as bait and thrown straight into the lake. His mouth had been covered beforehand, and soon, schools of fish began swimming toward him.
'Don't come over here…! Arghhh!' White Zetsu screamed in his mind as he was surrounded by a swarm of fish nibbling all over him.
Then, amidst the chaos, his eyes widened.
'That's… that's a shark!!'
White Zetsu froze in disbelief before thrashing violently in panic.
"Mmmm… blurb… burrrlp…!"
Bubbles burst to the surface of the water as muffled screams echoed from below.
"…"
"…"
"Captain, did we… go too far?" Tobi asked nervously, guilt flashing in his voice as he watched the shark bite into White Zetsu, who was now using Wood Style underwater to skewer it in self-defense.
Obito watched the chaotic underwater battle in silence for a long moment before speaking calmly.
"…Let's compensate him. We'll give him the biggest fish we caught."
He said it with complete sincerity, eyes still focused on the spectacle beneath the water, his expression full on interest.
--
Soon, the three of them...
No, the two of them...sat by a campfire, cooking fish over the flames.
White Zetsu sat nearby, arms crossed, eyes blazing with fury as he glared at the two idiots who didn't even dare to meet his gaze.
"Captain, throw a little more salt on it…"
"Captain, I think a bit more spice would be good too."
"Captain, I think you made it too spicy… maybe a little lemon wou—"
"Tobi," Obito cut in flatly, sprinkling a lemon slice over the sizzling fish, "say one more word and I'm cooking you next."
He didn't even know if lemon would make it taste better or worse but it didn't matter. He said it like a man with authority.
Tobi immediately went silent, sitting stiff as a soldier.
After a moment, Obito walked over to White Zetsu, still sulking with his arms around his knees, and set down a cooked fish beside him.
The tension lasted for a few minutes—then slowly, the air around them softened.
"Hey, Captain… are you okay? Suddenly asking to go fishing and all…" Tobi asked, tilting his head while chewing.
Obito paused mid-bite. His gaze flickered for a moment before he shook his head.
"It's nothing. This place just looked suitable for an outing, so I thought it'd be fun."
"Yeah, I've got nothing to complain about anyway," Tobi said, stuffing another mouthful into his mouth.
"Well, I have tons of complaints," White Zetsu grumbled. "But it's fine overall… just don't bring me fishing next time. I'm perfectly happy just eating."
"Right…" Obito murmured after a while, a faint smile forming on his face. Without his mask, the expression looked unexpectedly natural and handsome.
"…Damn, Captain, you look hella fine," Tobi said with exaggerated admiration.
"Tobi, I'm warning you...get that gay shit out of here," Obito said darkly, his good mood evaporating instantly.
"Captain! You can question my character, but you can't question my conscience!" Tobi raised one hand to his chest and the other to the sky as if making a solemn oath. "If I'm lying, then… may White Zetsu be struck by lightning one day!"
"…"
"I've had enough of your bullshit," White Zetsu muttered, standing up with a grim face.
Without warning, he lunged at Tobi, the two crashing into a ridiculous sumo-style wrestling match—with zero jutsu, just pure stupidity.
Obito watched the scuffle for a moment, then sighed softly.
A helpless smile crept across his face. He knew both of them were just trying to lighten the mood.
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