Chapter 11 — Am I a Pot Shadow Undercover?
A figure appeared at the doorstep of Ryusuke's home, wearing a white mask and draped in a cloak—suddenly, without any warning.
"Ryusuke, come with me."
His voice was icy, devoid of any emotion.
Ryusuke immediately became alert. The chakra fluctuations from this person were strong; his strength was at least that of a Jonin.
He was dressed like a member of the Anbu, his entire presence numb and cold, without a trace of vitality.
Ryusuke cautiously asked, "Are you Anbu? Who sent you?"
In his mind, he speculated, Damn, could it be that I've caught the attention of that old man Danzo?
His right hand reached for the pouch of ninja tools at his waist, readying himself.
"You're asking too many questions. Come with me," the masked ninja said coldly. "You haven't forgotten the Lord's orders, have you?"
"Huh? What are you talking about? What did my previous self promise?" Ryusuke searched through his fragmented memories but found nothing remotely relevant.
"What are you waiting for?" The masked ninja's voice grew even colder, clearly losing patience.
Ryusuke slowly reached for his dagger, thinking, Lord Danzo ordered that this person must be brought back. Since he's not obeying, I have no choice but to act.
Just as the tension between them reached its peak, a voice called from the stairs:
"Really, how can you leave the hospital alone? Why didn't you wait for me?"
The voice from the staircase was female, and it immediately made the masked ninja's expression darken. He muttered softly to Ryusuke, repeating, "Do not forget the Lord's orders."
Then, his figure vanished in front of Ryusuke.
Thump, thump~
Footsteps grew closer, and soon a figure with golden hair appeared before Ryusuke.
"The doctors said it's nothing serious, so I came back."
Ryusuke smiled. "How have you been keeping busy?"
Tsunade let out a long, weary sigh. "I had three surgeries today, just finished. Aren't you going to invite me in for a seat?"
Ryusuke scratched his head tactically, thinking, I didn't even have to use my lame excuse about my cat doing a backflip, and yet here you are, walking right into my trap.
"This place hasn't been lived in for a while, it's a bit messy. If you don't mind, come in."
He stepped aside, and Tsunade entered without hesitation, curiously surveying the room.
The interior was simple: the living room had only a sofa, a table, and three chairs.
Ryusuke smiled awkwardly. "I'll tidy up a bit; why don't you rest first?"
He pulled the cover off the sofa. Tsunade smiled, "No, I'll help you clean."
Ryusuke was slightly taken aback, finding it hard to believe this tomboyish woman would voluntarily help tidy up.
In his memory, Tsunade belonged to the type of person who was free-spirited and unruly; his home should have resembled a pigsty with her around.
Sure enough, with Tsunade's help, the cleaning progressed rather slowly.
Ryusuke's face darkened as he said, "You! Go sit on the sofa and rest properly."
"From now on, leave the household chores to me."
Tsunade blinked, a little surprised, and then gave an awkward smile, curling up on the sofa and quietly watching Ryusuke clean.
Without Tsunade causing distractions, Ryusuke quickly finished tidying the rest of the rooms within an hour.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he suddenly asked casually, "Are you doubting me? Or are you trying to verify something?"
Tsunade didn't answer directly to this out-of-the-blue question. She lowered her head silently, clearly understanding what Ryusuke meant.
"Earlier, when we went upstairs, it was obvious. Why couldn't a well-trained ninja control the sound of his footsteps?"
"And with your perceptiveness, you surely noticed someone was nearby before you went upstairs."
"But you intentionally made noise, to warn me, so I wouldn't have to witness a guessing game, right?"
"Plus, you seemed distracted while tidying up. What are you worried about?"
Ryusuke turned to Tsunade.
"You are quite perceptive," Tsunade said with a self-mocking smile. "I didn't realize I revealed so many cracks."
"Maybe… to you, I'm somewhat special," Ryusuke said, sitting on the sofa openly. "If you still trust me, shouldn't we just talk honestly?"
Tsunade was silent for a long moment, then slowly pulled out a scroll from her waist.
"Take a look at this first."
Ryusuke took it and read carefully.
The scroll recounted Ryusuke's life—from a happy family to becoming an orphan.
The following part was particularly interesting. Because of his outstanding talent, he had been selected by Shimiru Danzo and inducted into the Anbu Root…
The scroll was extremely detailed, even covering his mission to Rain Village under Danzo's orders.
Ryusuke seemed to understand something. No wonder, when he had transmigrated, the original host's memories were shattered.
At that time, the curse seal from Root, thinking he was performing a probing jutsu, had directly broken the original host's soul, erasing all Root memories.
The fact that Tsunade had such a detailed record indicated she too had a competent intelligence network behind her.
Could it be the remnants of the Senju clan disbanded by Tobirama? Ryusuke guessed.
"I really dislike politics. Aren't people in the village supposed to gather for peace?"
"Why then do they bicker and scheme for all sorts of interests?"
"Wouldn't it be better if everyone just lived happily together?"
Tsunade hugged her knees, curling up as she whispered.
Now, at just 22 years old, Tsunade hadn't yet experienced the hardships later in life. She was still influenced by Senju Hashirama, pure and a bit naive.
Like Hashirama, she held a somewhat innocent understanding of peace.
Ryusuke didn't know how to explain. He couldn't very well say he had started over as a new person.
"They gave me this scroll, and I thought it was absurd, but trusting my instincts, I still came."
Her voice was calm, not sorrowful, simply narrating: "From the Rain Village mission, I didn't think you were like the Root members."
Tsunade looked at Ryusuke, showing a conflicted expression—wanting to hear more but afraid of what she might learn.
"The person who came for me just now, based on my deduction, should be a Root operative."
"He came for me to report to Shimiru Danzo, probably giving me some mission during the Rain Village assignment."
"And my situation… was somewhat special."
"You could understand it like this: on the way to Rain Village, something went wrong. Most of my previous memories were destroyed."
"All Root memories were lost, likely because of the curse seal they placed earlier."
Ryusuke spoke earnestly, trying to convey everything he could, unwilling to let any gap grow between them.
Tsunade was momentarily stunned, a medical-ninjutsu expert who had never heard of such an outrageous experience.
Seeing her thoughtful expression, it was clear she wasn't sure whether to believe Ryusuke.
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.