"Let's head over there," Kiyohara said, letting out a slight, steadying breath.
The massive chakra drain from firing the Electromagnetic Coin and fully assimilating the Radical Spirit's legacy was slowly beginning to stabilize. His expanded reserves were adapting to their new capacity.
Kurenai nodded, calling out to Genma as they jogged toward the burning detention center.
The distance was covered quickly.
When they arrived, the area was a mess of scorched earth and blood.
Many Konoha captives were still being processed or treated by Katsuyu clones. However, one specific prisoner was gone: Maki, Pakura's beloved disciple. The girl was incredibly lucky to have a master willing to stage a suicidal raid just to save her.
As for the Suna ninja who had tried to escape during the chaos, those without a Kage-level protector had either been recaptured or killed in the crossfire.
"Hey, kid! You!"
As Kiyohara walked into the clearing, a voice called out.
He turned to see Shirakumo Hayama walking toward him. The veteran Jonin was clutching his severely charred sword arm, his face twitching slightly from the pain, but his eyes were filled with undisguised admiration.
"Well done, kid!" Hayama laughed roughly, clapping his good hand hard onto Kiyohara's shoulder. "If it weren't for your sniper fire forcing Pakura to scramble and divide her attention, we would have suffered massive casualties. What kind of jutsu was that? The range is ridiculous!"
"Hayama-Jonin," Kiyohara replied respectfully. "It's a Magnet Release application."
"Magnet Release?" Hayama was startled for a second, then realization dawned in his eyes. "So that's it! You're the kid who awakened the magnetic bloodline during the Whirlpool evacuation. It truly lives up to its reputation!"
Hayama had only heard vague rumors about a commoner awakening a Kekkei Genkai from the vanguard survivors. Only now did he connect the rumors with the incredibly lethal sniper standing before him.
Just then, a messenger ninja sprinted up to them.
"Kiyohara-Chunin! Lady Tsunade requests your presence in the command tent immediately."
Kiyohara glanced around the courtyard and realized the Sannin had vanished. Only the Katsuyu clones remained, diligently sliding across the battlefield to heal the wounded. One of the small slugs slowly crawled up Hayama's leg, settling onto his charred arm to soothe the burns.
"Then I'll take my leave, Hayama-Jonin," Kiyohara bowed his head slightly.
"We'll wait for you outside, Kiyohara," Kurenai said, waving to him.
"Alright. I shouldn't take too long," Kiyohara nodded.
He was genuinely curious about why Tsunade wanted to see him. Was it a commendation? But Tsunade wasn't the troop commander; she was strictly medical logistics.
Thinking this, he followed the messenger ninja's directions toward a large, heavily guarded tent in the rear sector.
Inside the tent, a faint, soothing scent of medicinal herbs permeated the air, forming a stark contrast to the thick smell of blood outside.
Tsunade, supported by her young disciple Shizune, sat heavily on a wide, cushioned wooden chair.
She seemed to have just recovered from a severe bout of nausea. Her face was still somewhat pale, but the color was returning. Pakura's Scorch Release dried people into mummies, but there was still enough ambient, splattered blood on the battlefield from the melee to trigger her crippling hemophobia.
Kiyohara entered the tent and bowed respectfully. "Lady Tsunade."
Tsunade lifted her eyes, truly observing the young man before her for the first time.
Kiyohara took the opportunity to quietly observe the legendary Sannin.
She had long, pale blonde hair tied into two loose ponytails, with a violet, diamond-shaped seal resting perfectly on her forehead. Despite wearing a standard, relatively loose Jonin flak jacket, the material was stretched taut across her notoriously ample chest.
She leaned back in the chair with a heavy, exhausted sigh, exuding the distinct, weary charm of a veteran who had seen too much war.
"Hmm," Tsunade hummed softly through her nose. Her brown-golden eyes locked onto Kiyohara. "That move of yours just now was good. To have such devastating accuracy and kinetic power from that distance... even as a sneak attack, it's highly impressive."
"You flatter me, Lady Tsunade," Kiyohara replied smoothly, keeping his head lowered. "It was just good luck. I happened to hit her."
Tsunade raised a skeptical eyebrow. She didn't believe for a second that a supersonic sniper shot was "luck." However, she didn't dwell on the issue. She had called him here for something entirely unrelated to his combat prowess.
"Kiyohara, right?" Tsunade leaned forward slightly, her tone shifting from commanding to something much more guarded. "I have a question. When you were deployed to the ruins of Uzushiogakure... did you notice a graveyard? A specific area where many Konoha ninja were buried during the Second War?"
Kiyohara's heart stirred. He immediately understood what she was asking about.
Dan Kato.
Dan and Tsunade were deeply in love. But tragically, before they could marry, Dan's internal organs were completely ruptured in a skirmish during the Second Great Ninja War. Even with Tsunade's unparalleled medical skills, she couldn't conjure complex organs out of thin air. Once the cellular limit is exceeded, a Medical Ninja can only watch their patient die.
It seemed that Dan's remains had never been repatriated to Konoha. He had been buried on the battlefield where he fell.
"Lady Tsunade, while I was on patrol, I did pass through an area and saw many simple Konoha gravestones," Kiyohara answered truthfully. There were indeed impromptu cemeteries scattered across the Whirlpool island—a grim microcosm of past wars.
However, he hadn't stopped to read the names.
"Then..." A desperate flash of light instantly appeared in Tsunade's eyes. Her hands gripped her knees so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "Did you notice a gravestone named Dan Kato?"
She stared at him, her voice trembling slightly. "Or... what is the current state of that graveyard? Has it been damaged by the Mist invasion?"
Tsunade had visited that specific gravesite every year since the Second War. She hadn't brought him back to Konoha because she couldn't bear to disturb his rest; she wanted him to remain at peace alongside his fallen squadmates.
But this year, the entire island had been overrun by the Bloody Mist.
Behind Tsunade, Shizune also looked at Kiyohara with a deeply anxious expression. Dan Kato was Shizune's uncle. It was this familial bond that gave her the qualification to stay by Tsunade's side as her disciple and surrogate daughter.
"Lady Tsunade," Kiyohara replied carefully. "I only caught a glimpse of the area while retreating. I didn't check the names. Moreover, the entire island is now an active warzone occupied by thousands of Mist ninja. I do not know if the graveyard is still intact."
Tsunade's expression crumbled slightly. She closed her eyes.
"Then..." Tsunade opened her eyes, her gaze hardening into steel. "What if I hire you to go back and check?"
She stated her request bluntly. She hadn't expected the Mist to launch such a massive, overwhelming invasion of the island. If she had known, she would have retrieved Dan's remains years ago.
'Hire me to go back into the meat grinder?' Kiyohara thought, his mind racing.
This was the exact opening he needed.
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