The fragrance in his arms swept over him, making Kairen's heart itch. He couldn't help but plant a kiss on Tsunade's cheek.
"I fought so desperately to protect you. Isn't a kiss just a little reward?!"
Tsunade, still trembling, lay in Kairen's embrace. She didn't dare lift her head, still trapped in the darkness of her mental world.
Above them, the Sunagakure ninja couldn't stand watching Kairen acting frivolous toward the number one beauty of Konoha. Together, they formed hand seals.
"Combined Wind Release: Wind Cutter Jutsu!"
Hundreds, even thousands of razor-sharp wind blades slashed down from above.
Kairen immediately used Body Flicker, but two or three blades still cut across his back, piercing through him.
His face turned pale, and he spat a mouthful of blood that splattered onto Tsunade's face.
Seeing this, Tsunade's body trembled even more, her mouth muttering nonstop.
"Blood… blood… blood…"
Kairen's heart ached. Not from his wounds, but from seeing Tsunade suffer.
He quickly exchanged from the system space a pair of sunglasses from the Aburame Clan and put them on Tsunade's face, whispering comfortingly.
"Don't be afraid… don't be afraid… what's so scary about blood? You deal with it every month anyway."
From behind came Meimuda's furious shout.
"Moku Kairen, stop right there!"
Kairen turned his head slightly, a cold smile spreading across his lips.
"Why should I listen to you?!"
Just as he was about to say something, a massive net fell from the sky — woven entirely from steel wire.
The steel-wire net covered both Kairen and Tsunade. Kairen quickly formed a one-handed seal, spat out a stream of dragon fire, and burned a hole straight through the net.
He leapt out of the opening in an instant, vanishing like a streak of red light.
...
But as he flickered forward, he found himself surrounded on all sides by Sunagakure ninja — the pursuing reinforcements had caught up.
"Brat, die!"
"Brat, don't run!"
"Brat, just hand over your life!"
The Sunagakure shinobi advanced with cruel smiles, closing in on Kairen step by step.
Kairen held Tsunade tightly with one arm while preparing to weave seals with the other. But a kunai whizzed through the air, piercing straight through his hand. A Sunagakure Jōnin had struck, preventing him from making seals.
"Rise!"
Kairen suddenly hurled Tsunade upward with force, sending her soaring into the air.
Taking the chance, he freed his other hand to form a seal, detonating the explosive tag on his chest. His body was blown apart — dead again — only to resurrect.
Suspended in the air, Tsunade was spotted by the Sunagakure shinobi. Shuriken and kunai flew at her in a deadly storm, about to turn the beauty into a bloodied sieve.
A red blur flashed by. Kairen reappeared, catching Tsunade midair. He landed swiftly atop a tree before dashing away again.
...
But everywhere around them was packed with Sunagakure shinobi. After running only a hundred meters, dozens more closed in, their attacks all aimed at Tsunade.
Kairen spun around, using his own body as a shield against the flying shuriken.
"Kh—!"
He coughed up more blood, splattering across Tsunade's face. Thankfully, she still wore the sunglasses. To her, the red looked faint and muted.
Resurrected once again, Kairen immediately opened the Fourth Gate — the Gate of Pain. His powerful body shattered the air, propelling him skyward.
Shuriken and Wind Release jutsu followed him into the sky, but Kairen dodged them all.
When he landed again, he felt a faint stirring at his chest. Looking down, he saw Tsunade slowly raising her head. From behind the sunglasses, her eyes were regaining their light.
"Brat…"
Still holding her tightly, Kairen urged her.
"Don't talk yet. We're surrounded by Sunagakure. I'll get you out first!"
Tsunade, cradled in his arms, squirmed slightly, uncomfortable. Peeking back through the sunglasses, she saw hundreds of Sunagakure ninja charging from every direction of the forest, faces brimming with bloodlust.
"So many Sunagakure ninja… where have we ended up?"
Kairen answered.
"You went berserk just now and smacked me straight into Sunagakure's front lines. Their commander spotted us, saw two big catches, and immediately mustered the army to surround us."
Tsunade pinched his neck lightly, scolding in a flustered tone.
"You shameless rogue! This all started because you got handsy with me!"
"Wind Release: Blade of Wind!"
Two Sunagakure Jōnin rushed forward, each holding swirling masses of wind in their hands, forming swords of cutting air.
"Woo—woo…"
The blades howled with a tearing sound as they slashed down toward Kairen and Tsunade.
Tsunade closed her eyes. Kairen stomped against the air with force, breaking through it to launch himself skyward. From above, he aimed his mouth toward the two Jōnin while forming a seal with one hand.
"Fire Release: Multiple Fire Gun!"
In an instant, over thirty fire bullets spewed forth, engulfing the two Jōnin.
Without looking back, Kairen clutched Tsunade tightly and Body Flickered away.
...
Tsunade wrapped her arms around his shoulders, peering back. Behind them, the two Jōnin tried to escape, but the explosion still left them charred and disheveled.
"What a fast Fire Release," Tsunade remarked. "It carries a wind nature and can even explode!"
Kairen glanced at her pale face. The forest wind lifted his golden hair slightly, making the moment strikingly beautiful.
He thought to himself — perhaps being able to hold this woman forever would be the happiest thing in his life.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Jutsu!"
Countless blades of wind swept in from every side. Kairen shook his head and, protecting Tsunade, dashed upward again.
"Chirp—!"
From the sky descended a ninja hawk. On its back stood Meimuda, smirking coldly as he formed hand seals.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
A massive blast of compressed wind cannon erupted toward Kairen and Tsunade.
Kairen immediately hurled Tsunade aside. Her body was still weak, not yet fully recovered from the trauma of her hemophobia.
As she was flung away, she gazed at the dark-haired boy. She had once thought she could protect him — but it was he who had been protecting her all along.
"Kairen!"
The blast consumed him, shattering his body into smoke as he plummeted from the sky.
In an instant, sealing scrolls wrapped around him.
Above, Meimuda slapped a red sealing talisman onto the scrolls, his face overflowing with joy.
"Perfect! Finally caught this brat!"
Next, he would be delivered to the Kazekage's office, turned into a human swine.
The Sunagakure sealing scroll wasn't a simple barrier — it restricted Kairen's entire body. Even the extra Nine-Tails chakra in him was suppressed.
Fury flared in Tsunade's heart. A powerful aura burst from her body as she stomped down, snatching the sealing scroll that bound Kairen.
"I am Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin!"