Chapter 113: Afterward
The great battle to clear the teleportation portal had finally come to an end.
The villagers of Konoha had also felt the faint tremors coming from the southwest.
Considering that a large number of shinobi had left the village not long ago, they couldn't help wondering whether something had happened again.
Compared with ordinary people, shinobi possessed far sharper senses.
At that moment, on the roof of the Konoha Inn, a group of Cloud shinobi stood gazing toward the southwest, their expressions changing one after another.
Far too many things had happened in Konoha.
On the very day they arrived, they had inexplicably been subjected to a "display of force" that had nearly resulted in one of them being killed. Later, however, they had been told that the two people involved had acted on their own and had never intended to harm them.
But who would believe that?
If Konoha went to Kumogakure for negotiations, they could just as easily arrange for two people to act independently and conduct another "display of force."
What happened next was even more bizarre.
They had indeed received an anonymous report accusing Orochimaru of conducting human experiments.
But instead of reporting such a matter to the Hokage, someone had reported it to Kumogakure.
That alone was enough to make them suspect that some sort of conspiracy was involved.
Could Konoha be planning to destroy Kumogakure?
And then there was what they had just witnessed.
The Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō had passed through the area in combat gear, leading dozens of Jōnin with grim, murderous expressions.
"Boss, is Konoha planning some kind of major operation?"
"I hope this has nothing to do with us."
"Don't count on that. We need to report this to the village council. The negotiations aren't going smoothly either, so that needs to be reported as well."
"…"
"Hey! I bought a lot of fried chicken this time!"
The Cloud shinobi on the rooftop heard a shout from below.
They all looked down at once and saw a little girl on the street waving enthusiastically at them.
Seeing her pushing a cart loaded with so many family-sized water containers, the leader's eyelid twitched.
He couldn't help muttering,
"Why can't I taste anything resembling the flavor of my homeland in this stuff?"
The man beside him shrugged helplessly.
"Maybe all the chickens in her family were stolen, and she developed some sort of mental illness because of it. So everything she eats tastes like her own chickens."
Hearing this, the leader looked at Mabui sympathetically and lowered his voice.
"I heard Tsunade recently returned to the village. Tomorrow, I'll discuss it with the Hokage and ask Tsunade to take a look at her."
That evening.
Tsunade sat in a bar, drinking one cup after another.
She had only returned to the village to collect some money. After hearing that Asuka had developed a new medical ninjutsu, however, she had stayed for a few days.
How had things become like this?
Orochimaru.
How had things become like this?
The two of them had once been comrades who fought side by side, willing to risk their lives for each other.
Tsunade had treated Orochimaru's injuries countless times in the past. During their battle against Hanzo, she and Orochimaru had worked together seamlessly, repeatedly holding off Hanzo's attacks.
Tsunade had never denied Orochimaru's desire to explore every ninjutsu in the world. As one of his closest comrades, she knew that Orochimaru had been devastated by Nawaki's death. He had lamented the impermanence of life and begun researching forbidden techniques. After Dan's death, he had become even more withdrawn.
But she had never imagined things would turn out like this.
The last time Tsunade had heard news about Orochimaru was when he had failed to become the Fourth Hokage.
She knew Orochimaru didn't particularly care whether he became Hokage.
What he cared about was why his teacher had chosen Minato instead.
Even so, she had worried that he might be plotting something and had managed to establish contact with him through certain channels.
At the time, Orochimaru had given her only one sentence in reply.
"I believe the Third Hokage's original intention was to use Minato Namikaze as a puppet, allowing the two of them to control Konoha through their master-disciple relationship."
When Tsunade read those words, she hadn't thought much of them.
She had simply assumed Orochimaru harbored some resentment toward his teacher.
She had never imagined...
Bang!
A crisp sound suddenly interrupted Tsunade's thoughts.
She looked at the scroll Asuka had slapped onto the table and said dejectedly,
"You didn't have to return it so quickly."
Asuka pushed the scroll toward her.
"I'll return it after you sign it."
"Besides, there's something else I want to ask you."
Tsunade put away the scroll, raised her eyelids to glance at Asuka, then took a long drink from the cup in front of her.
"Ask."
Asuka looked around before leaning close to Tsunade's ear and whispering,
"How did you know I'd awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Gulp!
Tsunade took another drink before setting the cup down.
Her eyes slightly unfocused from the alcohol, she stared at Asuka and sneered.
"A new medical ninjutsu, plus a space-time ninjutsu for transporting people, plus suddenly putting on sunglasses.
"Then there's Mikoto constantly making excuses and brushing me off afterward, as well as your great-grandfather's research into the Uchiha clan.
"Do you take me for an idiot?"
"Oh~"
Asuka nodded, an expression of realization appearing on his face.
"You're really clever."
Bang!
Seeing Tsunade slam her cup onto the table, Asuka's eyelid twitched.
He instinctively tried to stand up and leave.
"Sit down."
Tsunade casually grabbed Asuka by the belt and pulled him back into his chair. Then, drunk and swaying slightly, she pushed the cup beside her toward him.
"Have a drink with this old woman!"
"No!"
Asuka shook his head firmly and tried to pry her hand off his belt.
Tsunade's grip was surprisingly strong—warm, firm, and unyielding. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't free himself.
Asuka lowered his head and stared at the fair hand gripping his belt. His expression darkened slightly.
"When you've had enough, have a drink with this old woman."
"Damn it. Shouldn't I be the one saying that? Let go of my belt."
Tsunade glanced at the belt that had been stretched out of shape by her grip, then withdrew her hand and disgustedly wiped it on her clothes.
At that moment, Asuka crossed his right leg over his left and accepted the cup of tap water the bartender handed him.
He stirred the surface of the water elegantly, as though he were savoring fine wine, and asked,
"When are you planning to leave Konoha?"
"Probably tomorrow."
"Have a pleasant journey."
"…"
"The water quality is pretty good."
"Mm."
The July weather suddenly felt rather chilly.
An awkward atmosphere instantly filled the bar.
The bartender stopped polishing his glasses and immediately turned around, heading straight toward the liquor storage room behind him.
The awkward silence continued until Tsunade finally passed out drunk on the table.
Asuka glanced at the drunken Tsunade, then looked at the half-cup of tap water in his hand.
He finished the remaining water before wrapping an arm around Tsunade's waist and carrying her toward Shizune's house as though he were carrying a child.
Half the job was already done.
Tsunade shifted uncomfortably and elbowed Asuka.
"You're holding me too tightly. My stomach hurts."
"You complain too much."
Asuka poked her cheek.
Seeing that she still hadn't completely sobered up, he led Tsunade into an empty alley and propped her against the wall. Then he rubbed his hands together excitedly.
His Mangekyō Sharingan slowly began to rotate.
Asuka gently lifted Tsunade's clothes, his gaze lingering on her fair abdomen for a moment.
He lightly poked her stomach.
When she merely let out a soft groan, he couldn't help sneering.
"You're going to drink yourself to death sooner or later."
"Ōkuninushi!"
With that, Asuka traced a circle around Tsunade's abdomen, cut an opening, and removed her stomach.
He then made a small incision in the stomach and poured out the alcohol inside.
After reconnecting everything, Asuka picked Tsunade up again and continued toward Shizune's house.
Recently, he had discovered that using his ocular technique for minor surgical procedures consumed almost none of his eyesight.
As long as he didn't use it to slice mountains apart, he probably wouldn't go blind for a very, very long time.
That would be more than enough time for the system to restore his eyesight.
After all, he didn't have any siblings.
On the day he awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, he had asked the system what would happen if he went blind.
The system's response had been:
If you go blind, you go blind. Leave the rest to fate.
"How reassuring!"